Plankton revived oceans after dinosaur-era extinction

Enjoying his apex position at the top of the food chain when ... WHAMMO ... along comes a space rock that blasts a hole in the Gulf of Mexico some 65.5 million years ago.

The impact, "ejected large amounts of material into the atmosphere, blocking sunlight to levels below photosynthesis compensation, and contributing to a global collapse of terrestrial and marine food webs," begins the Nature Communications study led by Sofia Ribeiro of Denmark's University of Copenhagen. Massive earthquakes, tsunamis, ozone depletion, wildfires and a cloudy blackout of the sky lasting perhaps nine months also resulted from the blast, with global cooling that lasted decades as well.

But not every critter fared too badly, the study notes. Deep ocean microbes fared badly for the next three million years. But much less catastrophic extinction rates appear to have afflicted their coastal critter cousins. "In fact, life resurgence in coastal areas appears to have been relatively rapid, possibly occurring in less than a century," says the study.

Why did that happen?

We isolated phytoplankton resting stages from sediment cores retrieved from a low-oxygen sill fjord, and found these to be viable for up to 87 ± 12 years ... The growth performance of the tested strains was not affected by nearly a century of dormancy. As this species belongs to a lineage well-established by the Cretaceous, and presumably little affected by the (65.5 million-year-ago) crisis, we argue that resting stages could effectively have contributed to the survival of phytoplankton groups possessing this life-history trait. Our findings indicate that resting stages in coastal sediments may play a significant role for the recovery of primary production after events of global photosynthesis disruption.

Plankton includes bacteria and other microbes, even tiny jellyfish, any type of drifting sea surface critter, basically. But the coastal ones in the study were of the " cyanobacteria " variety, blue-green algae that obtain their energy from photosynthesis. Other types, such as single-celled algae and a variiety seen today in toxic algae blooms, also survive long dormancy.

Some of these same sort of bugs likely first filled the early Earth's skies with oxygen, billions of years ago. And they saved our hash one more time after the impact they wiped out many other creatures some 65.5 million years ago, the researchers conclude. "Germination after long-term dormancy appears to be common.

Dinosaur Food Chain - News


Plankton revived oceans after dinosaur-era extinction
Plankton revived oceans after dinosaur-era extinction

Poor old Tyrannosaurus Rex, enjoying his apex position at the top of the food chain when WHAMMO along comes a space rock that blasts a hole in the Gulf of Mexico some 65.5 million years ago. The impact, "ejected large amounts of material into



The 12 Marine Protected Areas proposed by the CPAWS
The 12 Marine Protected Areas proposed by the CPAWS

Arctic cod is the base of the food chain in this area, making up the diets of most seabirds and marine mammals found here. Schools of Arctic cod have been estimated at up to 30000 tons, feeding one of the richest marine mammal areas in the world.



The Save Our Sea Turtles (SOS) Project

Without sea grass beds, many marine species that humans harvest would be lost and the marine food chain disentangles. And we will have no fish, no food. Beaches and dunes are a fragile ecosystem that does not get many nutrients to support its



Younger Tyrannosaurs Relied on Speed not Power for Food
Younger Tyrannosaurs Relied on Speed not Power for Food

This is a fascinating look into a species long since gone from our planet, and a revelation which helps shed light on just how the tyrannosaurus was so powerful and at the top of the food chain. With different hunting strategies – the younger ones



Canada Post rejects latest offer from union
Canada Post rejects latest offer from union

"One problem will beget another problem further down the food chain and the system will become gummed up, I would imagine, in a week to 10 days," Dan Kelly, senior vice-president of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, told The Canadian




Plant Dinosaur Food | Dinosaur Overflow

Is humanity as a kind of aging too fast?

All species age and die. I believe that aging and dying, as more than specialize. In the game of survival of the fittest, competition is greater in the species itself. Increased competition from a lion to another lion's survival. Both eat the same meal. In general, the best adapted survive. However, to be the best specialized animals adapted to survive. A South American hummingbird has a peak of 7 cm and generally eats a plant that requires a peak of 7 cm. When the plant dies so does the bird. More specialized dinosaurs as their new environment that became extinct. The greater the expertise the greater the probability of extinction. Is humanity specialized or aging too fast? The man and can not eat carrion – rotting meat. 10,000 years ago could, like other animals. We are now in the great age of science, but man can be more specialized and as a kind of aging very fast.

wow … that is very deep, and I think it's true. Our society is moving at a pace that eventually we will not be able to to keep up with. We are one of the most or species evolve faster!

Plant Dinosaur Food

Your eyes are veiled will happen in 2012 Bible prophecy and knowledge to everyone in a collision?

Some scientists believe that the sun has an unseen companion star that orbits so close to the solar system about once every 26 million years. . According to this theory, in an earlier passage (about 65 million years), many of these comets struck the earth. This has resulted in collisions that have explosive leads to a large cloud of dark dust in the upper atmosphere and thus protected from the surface of the earth from the sun for many years. As the plants could not grow, hunger and vegetarian carnivorous dinosaurs soon broken food chain also affected. Geologists call this the Cretaceous extinction. The star is supposed it all began is the proper name of Nemesis – the Death Star – after the Greek goddess the sentence nearest star system could host Earth double www.foxnews.com The Earth can have a dual orbiting one of our closest stellar neighbor, suggests a new study-http: / / www.foxnews.com/js/photoPop.html?0

Only God knows and you can be afraid all your life or be prepared to go.God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but a healthy mind, we are not able to use 1 / 2 times May God bless you

Protect That Dinosaur!


Dinosaur Food Chain - Bookshelf

After the dinosaurs, the age of mammals

After the dinosaurs, the age of mammals

For example, some have blamed dinosaur extinction on the development of flowering ... to organisms at the top of the food chain, such as the dinosaurs. ...

Amazing Dinosaurs

Amazing Dinosaurs

-- See how the food chain works as you learn about the favorite foods of the dinosaurs. -- Learn how to say each dinosaur's name, and discover what it means.

The Cretaceous-Tertiary event and other catastrophes in earth history

The Cretaceous-Tertiary event and other catastrophes in earth history

Carnivores Mammals Herbivores Dinosaurs Detritus Feeders Insects, Snails, Worms Plants Pre-lmpact Food Chains AND ACID RAIN Carnivores Dinosaurs Herbivores ...

Dinosaur tracks, and other fossil footprints of the western United States

Dinosaur tracks, and other fossil footprints of the western United States

Were Dinosaurs Mostly Meat-Eaters? It is known that the tracks of bipedal, ... This classic idea of a food chain (more properly, an "ecological pyramid") ...

The Complete Dinosaur

The Complete Dinosaur

Because plants lie at the base of the food chain, they have had an immense influence on the ... This is a common solution for mammals, but of the dinosaurs , ...

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Dinosaurs
Sunshine State Standards Benchmarks - Dinosaur Food Chain. SC.B.1.1.1- The student knows that the Sun supplies heat and light energy to Earth. ...

Paleontology and Geology Glossary: F
Dinosaur glossary explains basic paleontological terms, F. ... A food chain is is the sequence of who eats whom in a biological community (an ecosystem) to obtain nutrition. ...

Dinosaur Extinction Questions-Zoom Dinosaurs
How and when did the dinosaurs go extinct? ... Then, at the top of the food chain, the carnivores (meat eaters), having lost their prey, would have to eat each other, and ...

Dinosaur Types - Herbivore
dinosaur Types - Types of Dinosaurs from around the world. ... link in the food chain as they transform the sun's energy stored in the plants to food that can be consumable ...

Dinosaur Food Chains Home
by Betty Carew - Helium The food chain went in the order of tertiary consumers that ate . Some dinosaurs were carnivores but others were herbivores. ...