Shared patterns in body size declines among crinoids during the Palaeozoic extinction events

Mariusz A Salamon,Przemysław Gorzelak,Anwesha Saha,Tomasz Brachaniec,Dorota Kołbuk

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-99789-6

Mariusz A Salamon, Przemysław Gorzelak + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-99789-6

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Abstract

Crinoids were among the most abundant marine benthic animals throughout the Palaeozoic, but their body size evolution has received little attention. Here, we compiled a comprehensive database on crinoid calyx biovolumes throughout the Palaeozoic. A model comparison approach revealed contrasting and complex patterns in body size dynamics between the two major crinoid clades (Camerata and Pentacrinoidea). Interestingly, two major drops in mean body size at around two mass extinction events (during the late Ordovician and the late Devonian respectively) are observed, which is reminiscent of current patterns of shrinking body size of a wide range of organisms as a result of climate change. The context of some trends (marked declines during extinctions) suggests the cardinal role of abiotic factors (dramatic climate change associated with extinctions) on crinoid body size evolution; however, other patterns (two intervals with either relative stability or steady size increase in periods between mass extinctions) are more consistent with biotic drivers.

Highlights

Crinoids were among the most abundant marine benthic animals throughout the Palaeozoic, but their body size evolution has received little attention
The present paper aims to fill this gap by investigating macroevolutionary body-size trends of crinoids across the Palaeozoic times using a comprehensive dataset of calyx biovolumes for 1005 crinoid genera (Supplementary Data 1), and explores the role of mass extinctions and global temperature in shaping these patterns
Our analyses demonstrate that temporal variation in crinoid calyx size is scale-dependent; i.e., it is related to the considered taxonomic level and temporal duration of sequences

Summary

Introduction

Crinoids were among the most abundant marine benthic animals throughout the Palaeozoic, but their body size evolution has received little attention. The present paper aims to fill this gap by investigating macroevolutionary body-size trends of crinoids across the Palaeozoic times using a comprehensive dataset of calyx biovolumes for 1005 crinoid genera (Supplementary Data 1), and explores the role of mass extinctions and global temperature in shaping these patterns. This decline in calyx size was not driven by a long-term directional trend with a negative mean step change beginning in the pre-extinction intervals.

Results

Conclusion