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Marine ecosystem resilience during extreme deoxygenation: the Early Jurassic oceanic anoxic event

  • Ecosystem ecology – original research
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Abstract

Global warming during the Early Jurassic, and associated widespread ocean deoxygenation, was comparable in scale with the changes projected for the next century. This study quantifies the impact of severe global environmental change on the biological traits of marine communities that define the ecological roles and functions they deliver. We document centennial–millennial variability in the biological trait composition of Early Jurassic (Toarcian) seafloor communities and examine how this changed during the event using biological traits analysis. Environmental changes preceding the global oceanic anoxic event (OAE) produced an ecological shift leading to stressed benthic palaeocommunities with reduced resilience to the subsequent OAE. Changes in traits and ecological succession coincided with major environmental changes; and were of similar nature and magnitude to those in severely deoxygenated benthic communities today despite the very different timescales. Changes in community composition were linked to local redox conditions whereas changes in populations of opportunists were driven by primary productivity. Throughout most of the OAE substitutions by tolerant taxa conserved the trait composition and hence functioning, but periods of severe deoxygenation caused benthic defaunation that would have resulted in functional collapse. Following the OAE recovery was slow probably because the global nature of the event restricted opportunities for recruitment from outside the basin. Our findings suggest that future systems undergoing deoxygenation may initially show functional resilience, but severe global deoxygenation will impact traits and ecosystem functioning and, by limiting the species pool, will slow recovery rates.

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Acknowledgments

Facilities were provided by the Environmental Futures Research Institute and School of Environment, Griffith University. Thanks to Matt Spencer, Angela Coe, Liam Herringshaw for discussions who helped to develop the work; and Angela Coe, Eleanor Maddison, Stephanie Dawn, Paul Scott, and Alice Kennedy for help with fieldwork. Thanks to Andrew Bush, Mark Patzkowsky and Kate Lyons for constructive feedback that helped to improve the paper. We would also like to thank the authors who collected much of the original data on which this work is based. Data are from: ∂18Obel (Saelen et al. 1996; Korte and Hesselbo 2011); ∂13Corg and TOC (Cohen et al. 2004; Kemp et al. 2011; Littler et al. 2010); DOP, [Mo], ∂98/95Mo and Re/Mo ratio (Harding 2004; Pearce et al. 2008), fossil data (Little 1995; Caswell et al. 2009; Caswell 2010; Howard 1984; Martin 2004). Trace fossil data from this study will be made available after a period of embargo, but if interested in this data in the meantime please contact the corresponding author.

Author contribution statement

BAC and CLJF conceived the study. BAC compiled the data and conducted the analyses. BAC and CLJF wrote the manuscript.

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  1. Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Parklands Drive, Gold Coast, Southport, Queensland , 4222, Australia

    Bryony A. Caswell

  2. School of Environment, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan, Brisbane, Queensland , 4111, Australia

    Christopher L. J. Frid

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  1. Bryony A. Caswell
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Correspondence to Bryony A. Caswell.

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Caswell, B.A., Frid, C.L.J. Marine ecosystem resilience during extreme deoxygenation: the Early Jurassic oceanic anoxic event. Oecologia 183, 275–290 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3747-6

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