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Detritus feeding as a buffer to extinction at the end of the Cretaceous

1986; Geological Society of America; Volume: 14; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1130/0091-7613(1986)14 2.0.co;2

1943-2682

Peter M. Sheehan, Thor A. Hansen,

Evolution and Paleontology Studies

Research Article| October 01, 1986 Detritus feeding as a buffer to extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Peter M. Sheehan; Peter M. Sheehan 1Department of Geology, Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 West Wells Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Thor A. Hansen Thor A. Hansen 2Department of Geology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington 98225 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Peter M. Sheehan 1Department of Geology, Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 West Wells Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53233 Thor A. Hansen 2Department of Geology, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington 98225 Publisher: Geological Society of America First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 Geological Society of America Geology (1986) 14 (10): 868–870. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1986)14 2.0.CO;2 Article history First Online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Peter M. Sheehan, Thor A. Hansen; Detritus feeding as a buffer to extinction at the end of the Cretaceous. Geology 1986;; 14 (10): 868–870. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1986)14 2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract At the end of the Cretaceous the principal animals that became extinct, such as dinosaurs, marine animals that lived in the water column, and benthic filter feeders, were in food chains tied directly to living plant matter. Animal groups less affected by extinction, including marine benthic scavengers and deposit feeders, small insectivorous mammals, and members of stream communities, were in food chains dependent on dead plant material. The proposal that an asteroid or comet impact at the end of the Cretaceous produced a dust cloud that cut off photosynthesis for several months is consistent with this pattern of extinction. Food chains dependent on living plant matter crashed, while food chains based on detritus were buffered from extinction because there was a food supply adequate for the interval when photosynthesis was halted. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.