Over the past 500 million years in Earth's history,five mass extinctions("Big Five")have been identified,each with an extinction rate of exceeding 75%of marine species[1].Abrupt climatic and environmenta...Over the past 500 million years in Earth's history,five mass extinctions("Big Five")have been identified,each with an extinction rate of exceeding 75%of marine species[1].Abrupt climatic and environmental changes attributed to intra-or extraterrestrial events were proposed to cause these mass extinctions.Today the world is likely facing an ongoing biotic crisis,the socalled sixth mass extinction[2],due to the accelerated climate and environmental changes resulting from various anthropogenic activities.It is estimated that the average rate of vertebrate species loss in the last century is 100 times greater than the background rate[2].Deciphering the causes and mechanisms of past mass extinctions therefore is of great importance,as it provides critical knowledge for understanding the pattern and underlying mechanism of current biodiversity loss.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(42025703,42325202,and 42277072)。
文摘Over the past 500 million years in Earth's history,five mass extinctions("Big Five")have been identified,each with an extinction rate of exceeding 75%of marine species[1].Abrupt climatic and environmental changes attributed to intra-or extraterrestrial events were proposed to cause these mass extinctions.Today the world is likely facing an ongoing biotic crisis,the socalled sixth mass extinction[2],due to the accelerated climate and environmental changes resulting from various anthropogenic activities.It is estimated that the average rate of vertebrate species loss in the last century is 100 times greater than the background rate[2].Deciphering the causes and mechanisms of past mass extinctions therefore is of great importance,as it provides critical knowledge for understanding the pattern and underlying mechanism of current biodiversity loss.
