The Late Miocene coldspot of z-coral diversity in the Mediterranean: Patterns and causes |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Station d’écologie expérimentale à Moulis, USR 2936 du CNRS, 2, route du CNRS, 09200 Moulis, France;2. Centre de recherches sur la paléobiodiversité et les paléoenvironnements, UMR 7207 du CNRS, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, CP38, 8, rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France;3. Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche e Geologiche, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, L.go S. Eufemia 19, 41121 Modena, Italy |
| |
Abstract: | The Late Miocene distribution and diversity of zooxanthellate-like corals in the Mediterranean are analyzed in their paleobiogeographical framework, using our REEFCORAL database. The Late Miocene Mediterranean pool reached 20 z-coral genera. Although this fauna could build flourishing reef ecosystems during the Early Messinian, it was a relict fauna with severely limited speciation that lived on the edge of its ecological requirements in terms of solar energy and temperature range. Most z-coral genera, because they had long stratigraphic ranges and had survived previous extinctions, were able to adapt to the Messinian environments, which were unusual for such biotas. Hence, Porites, the most widespread genus in the region and also the most dominant in ecological assemblages, was the best equipped to cope with the drastic changes related to the Messinian Salinity Crisis. |
| |
Keywords: | Late Miocene Mediterranean Corals Biodiversity Messinian Tortonian Salinity Crisis Miocène supérieur Méditerranée Coraux Biodiversité Messinien Tortonien Crise de Salinité |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|