Ancient Mass Extinction Of Earth's Creatures Summary
In the scientific article, “Ancient mass extinction may have shrunk Earth’s creatures” by Sid Perkins, Perkins explains that the mass extinction that occurred millions of years ago may have a correlation to the size of organisms on Earth’s surface in the present. Perkins states that long ago organisms used to be the size of school buses, but information from a new study shows that the mass extinction caused most of the vertebrate species to shrink to the size of a human forearm. Lauren Sallan, a paleobiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, states that the one-hundred thousand year long cold spell which occurred about three-hundred and fifty-nine million years ago during the end of the Devonian Period caused the growth of glaciers. This …show more content…
Sallan and Andrew Galimberti, the co-author of the study, looked at the fossil records of over one-thousand species of vertebrates that were alive during the ninety-six million year period before and after the mass extinction. For sixty million years the size of the vertebrates steadily increased in size reaching up to sizes matching a school bus. However, the vertebrate species that survived the mass extinction during the thirty-six million year period following the mass extinction were much smaller compared to the size of the vertebrates before the extinction. In fact, most of the surviving species observed by the team were measured to be less than forty centimeters in length. Information about this adaptation was published earlier in The Science Magazine, which stated that this change is unrelated to the climate and oxygen levels at the time. This led the team to believe that this adaptation occurred because of the advantages smaller organism had over larger ones. The team stated that smaller organisms today tend to grow and reproduce faster because they are able to create a new generation before they are killed off by
Summary Of The Sixth Extinction By Elizabeth Kolbert
855 Words | 4 PagesThe book title the sixth Extinction Written by Elizabeth Kolbert is based on The extinction of species. Author Kolbert discusses personal research and scientific studies of certain species that have become extinct are becoming extinct. One species Kolbert discusses in her research studies is the Panama Golden A discovery of a fugues that has brought extinction of the golden frog from wild and has speared throughout different counties including the United States. Kolbert travels to Panama to document first-hand what she discovers through scientific research of the mass Extinction of the one of the longest living Amphibians.
Lab 105 Human Species Essay
780 Words | 4 PagesFirst, we measured the skull of the Australopithecus using a caliper. We measured the cranium length, width and height and received different measurements. We used the measurements we found and estimated the brain size by using the formula given: 10^(2.53*log(Orbit Height)-2.29)= Body Mass. After plugging in the measurements, we found that the body mass of an Australopithecus is about 41 kilograms. From this, we can estimate that the brain size of this species is not large because their body mass is not large.
Were Dinosaurs Warm Blooded
1240 Words | 5 PagesThe dinosaur extinction theory – a large asteroid impact and a giant volcanic eruption at the end of cretaceous – also supports that dinosaurs were cold blooded, when the dust due to the meteorite covered the earth, then the sun light could not penetrate the smoke and dust, thus sunlight did not enter the earth for many years, this lead to the drop in temperature on the land, as dinosaurs were cold blooded they could not raise their body temperature without sunlight and hence were
Analysis Of The Sixth Extinction By Elizabeth Kolbert
498 Words | 2 PagesFrom the beginning of The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert we can see a very different style of writing from what we previously encountered in Encounters with the Archdruid. The Story is told in a more colorful and up beat way. As we begin the book the author talks about humans and their destructive nature on the planet. I really enjoyed how Kolbert depicted as if she was telling the history of any other creatures. When she describes how man is pollution of the planet she did in a way that to me painted the picture of an animal that was destructive in nature, as If the best thing for earth and all of its inhabitants would be the removal of this plague.
Summary Of Paul S. Martin's 'Twilight Of Mammoths'
788 Words | 4 PagesTherefore, through the addition of further survival pressures, humans changed the local ecosystem, inevitably subjecting megafauna species on the verge of extinction to their demise. Moreover, Martin demonstrates the responsibility of human activity in the extinction of species through the comparison of the relative megafauna age extinctions between
World Class By Lisa Randall Knows, By Julia Alvarez
1202 Words | 5 PagesThe theory of the asteroid being the reason for the extinction of the dinosaurs and with the help of some colleagues, it was able to confirm the extinction of the extinction
Baleen Whales: A Brief Summary
422 Words | 2 PagesThey also found that it was not just the largest whales that grew over time; the smallest whales found today are larger than the smallest extinct species. Further analysis revealed that the baleen whales had been diversifying in size for 30 million years; this began to take place between 4.5 million and a few hundred thousand years ago. The recent timing rules out the possibility that the emergence of gigantism was caused by the evolution of bulk filter feeding, large predators like giant sharks and falling global ocean temperatures. Slater says that the recent onset of glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere caused the evolution of gigantism in baleen whales. While the scenario for one of the last stages in the evolution of size of baleen whales is convincing, Olivier Lambert, a paleontologist from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Science, says that it was likely other factors such as the evolution of large predators and other climatic events which played a role in the development of the animals ' size.
Paleogeography: Devonian Extinction
1103 Words | 5 PagesThe evolution of advantageous traits in these two taxa would have made it much easier for them to prey on the placoderms. In addition to predation, the new adaptations exhibited by the ray-finned and cartilaginous fishes could have make them more efficient at capturing prey items that the placoderms may have had sole access to in the past (Carr, 1995). Pressure by predators as well as competitive pressure would have made it much harder for the placoderms to deal with other changes in the
Pleistocene Epoch Evolution
1355 Words | 6 PagesThe Pleistocene epoch, which occurred around 2.6 million years ago and lasted until about 11,700 years ago, was a time of severe global warming and global cooling. This period of time is known to have marked the most recent documented Ice Age. Of the five cited Ice Ages that have occurred since the beginning of time, The Pleistocene Epoch was the first to accrue humans. Moreover, the animals inhabiting the Earth throughout this era were predominately larger than animals living today. Given the facts, many have claimed that the animals existing in the time of the Pleistocene Epoch were genetic ancestors of the animals living in our present day; however, it can be more accurately presumed that it was within the Pleistocene Epoch that the evolution
Ap Biology Chapter 1 Answer Key
1260 Words | 6 PagesThe discovery of this mammal was proof that mammals had lived alongside the dinosaurs. It gave scientist a small glimpse into ancient mammal species. Chapter 6– Questions
Permian Extinction
110 Words | 1 PagesOne extinction that occurred was at end Permian, at the end of the Paleozoic era which wiped out about 90% of all species which may be caused by volcanism, meteor, global warming, sea-level changes, glaciation, or ocean chemistry changes. Another extinction that occurred was at end Cretaceous, at the end of the Mesozoic era which made around 60-80% of all species extinct which may have been caused by a meteor impact, volcanic activity, or sea-level change. Another extinction that occurred was at late Pleistocene at the end of the Cenozoic era which made nearly all mammals and birds over 45 pounds extinct, which may be caused by over-hunting by humans.
Rhetorical Analysis Of Sex Drugs And The Extinction Of Dinosaurs
594 Words | 3 PagesTitle Researchers and scientists have constructed extensive research on dinosaur’s extinction. Speculation instead of real evidence seems common in most theories about the dinosaurs’ extinction. However, Jay Gould’s essay “Sex, Drugs, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs” is the complete opposite of speculation over evidence. Rather, Gould uses the mix of persuasive techniques, such as rhetorical questions, logos, along with profound evidence to not only disapprove of other theories but convince readers of his place on the dinosaur’s extinction.
Intelligent Design Argument Analysis
1939 Words | 8 PagesThe creation story retold by evolution does little to bridge the distance between faith and science, although “creation scientists” have tried, who, according to Ronald Numbers at the University of Wisconsin, “compress the history of life on earth into less than ten thousand years. To accomplish this, they attribute most of the fossil record to the brief period of the flood and its aftermath. They believe that the majority of plants and animals buried sequentially in the stratified rocks once lived together in the antediluvian world; thus these relics do not represent successive populations of flora and fauna spanning millions of years, as evolutionists and most other creationists would assert.” However, for David Mindell, a professor of Ecology
The Permian-Triassic Extinction
1718 Words | 7 PagesIt has been found that about 8-9 orders of insects went extinct as a direct result of the event, since the highest extinction rates can be traced very close to the Permian-Triassic boundary (Erwin, 1994). Most of the fossils found after the major extinction occurred differ greatly from the more primitive insects of the Permian. The orders that survive today show very strong diversifications during the periods that followed the Permian, especially the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. The diversity has been steadily increasing ever since (Labandeira and Sepkoski, 1993). Something interesting about a different type of invertebrates, the Gastropods, is that there appear to be many Lazarus taxa.
The Pros And Cons Of Natural Selection
918 Words | 4 PagesImagine what would happen if we lived in a world where water was kept 8 feet off the ground and there was absolutely no way you could get it if you weren’t tall enough. Most likely, the short people would die off. The taller ones would multiply, and before long, instead of a population of people of all sizes, you would have a population of only tall people. Living things that are best suited, or adapted, to their environment survive and multiply. Those that are not, are unable to survive.
More about Ancient Mass Extinction Of Earth's Creatures Summary
Summary Of The Sixth Extinction By Elizabeth Kolbert
855 Words | 4 PagesLab 105 Human Species Essay
780 Words | 4 PagesWere Dinosaurs Warm Blooded
1240 Words | 5 PagesAnalysis Of The Sixth Extinction By Elizabeth Kolbert
498 Words | 2 PagesSummary Of Paul S. Martin's 'Twilight Of Mammoths'
788 Words | 4 PagesWorld Class By Lisa Randall Knows, By Julia Alvarez
1202 Words | 5 PagesBaleen Whales: A Brief Summary
422 Words | 2 PagesPaleogeography: Devonian Extinction
1103 Words | 5 PagesPleistocene Epoch Evolution
1355 Words | 6 PagesAp Biology Chapter 1 Answer Key
1260 Words | 6 PagesPermian Extinction
110 Words | 1 PagesRhetorical Analysis Of Sex Drugs And The Extinction Of Dinosaurs
594 Words | 3 PagesIntelligent Design Argument Analysis
1939 Words | 8 PagesThe Permian-Triassic Extinction
1718 Words | 7 PagesThe Pros And Cons Of Natural Selection
918 Words | 4 Pages