Study shows sea urchins existed far longer than originally thought
An international study of echinoids can change the way we understand the evolution of many species.
A new study revealed that echinoids — marine seabed animals like sea urchins, starfish and sea cucumbers appeared in the oceans about 300 million years ago which is about 50 million years earlier than previously thought.
The study, which was published in the peer-reviewed eLife journal, implemented new dating methods which combined the phylogenetic analysis of 54 different species and paleontological dating using sea urchin fossils.
The new finding could mean that more species survived than was originally thought when the mass extinction event wiped out more than 80% of Earth's species 250 million years ago.
“Echinoids are also ecologically significant, as they are a major player in the marine environment, at every depth and in every area on the planet, and their disappearance from a particular area brings with it extreme changes," said Dr. Omri Bronstein from Tel Aviv University who took part in the study.
"An example of this occurred in the 1980s when the population of sea urchins in the Caribbean was devastated by disease. As a result, the algae that used to feed the sea urchins greatly increased — their uncontrolled growth leading to the death of coral reefs," said Bronstein.
Dr. Omri Bronstein. (credit: DR. TOM SHLESINGER)
"And here at home, the echinoid population in the Gulf of Eilat has decreased significantly in recent decades, while on the other hand certain species of sea urchins from the Red Sea (Eilat) migrated and established themselves in the thousands on the shores of the Mediterranean – two phenomena that raise concerns about disturbing the ecological balance of our shores,” he added.
The study was the most comprehensive study of echinoids in general and sea urchins in particular.
Bronstein explained that the study showed that it is possible that many species survived the mass extinction event, changing the whole way we understand the evolution of these species.
THIS PAGE WAS POSTED BY SPUTNIK ONE OF THE SPUTNIKS ORBIT BLOG
No comments:
Post a Comment