Mechanisms behind rapid radiolarian origination events

Determine the precise mechanisms and causes of the rapid origination events of radiolarians across the Phanerozoic.

Background

Radiolarians exhibit repeated episodes of rapid blooming and origination throughout the Phanerozoic, often followed by long periods of evolutionary equilibrium. While various abiotic factors (e.g., volcanism, nutrient flux changes) and biotic interactions (e.g., competition, selection) have been considered, the paper argues that the precise drivers remain unresolved.

The authors propose a potential abiotic influence via periodic changes in Galactic cosmic-ray flux associated with the Solar system’s vertical oscillation about the Galactic plane, but emphasize that the underlying mechanisms of these rapid origination events are not yet established.

References

Although the precise mechanisms and causes of the rapid origination events of radiolarians are not yet clear, our study may reveal a more complex pattern of biotic and abiotic dynamics than has previously been appreciated.

— Cosmic radiation drives quasi-periodic changes in the diversity of siliceous marine microplankton  (2402.09163 - Ozsvárt et al., 2024) in Section 1: Introduction