The marine biodiversity impact of the Late Miocene Mediterranean salinity crisis
Massive salt accumulations, or salt giants, have formed in highly restricted marine basins throughout geological history, but their impact on biodiversity has been only patchily studied. The salt giant in the Mediterranean Sea formed as a result of the restriction of its gateway to the Atlantic during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) 5.97 to 5.33 million years ago. Here, we quantify the biodiversity changes associated with the MSC based on a compilation of the Mediterranean fossil record. We conclude that 86 endemic species of the 2006 pre-MSC marine species survived the crisis, and that the present eastward-decreasing richness gradient in the Mediterranean was established after the MSC.
Authors
- Elsa Gliozzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5608-1995)
- Francisco Javier Sierro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8647-456X)
- Evangelia Besiou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6604-8849)
- Francesca Bulian (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1003-8761)
- Enrico Borghi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6112-9364)
- Marta Coll (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6235-5868)
- Mathias Harzhauser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4471-6655)
- Ildefonso Bajo Campos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5267-4926)
- Konstantina Agiadi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8073-559X)
- Alan Maria Mancini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4009-9781)
- Francesca Bosellini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2125-0802)
- Giovanni Bianucci (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7105-0863)
- Angelo Camerlenghi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8128-9533)
- Assimina Antonarakou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8901-8423)
- George Iliopoulos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4875-128X)
- Iuliana Vasiliev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1024-6966)
- Efterpi Koskeridou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9646-6240)
- Daniel García‐Castellanos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8454-8572)
- Pierre Moissette (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4432-1394)
- Alberto Collareta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6513-8882)
- Francesca Lozar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7309-2653)
- Niklas Hohmann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1559-1838)
- Stergios D. Zarkogiannis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7441-5506)
- Danae Thivaiou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8182-9619)
- Marco Taviani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0414-4274)
- George Kontakiotis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9371-6726)
- Laurent Londeix (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1621-923X)
- Stefano Dominici (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3719-0605)
- Costanza Faranda
Institutions
- University of Pisa (IT)
- Roma Tre University (IT)
- University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (IT)
- Marche Polytechnic University (IT)
- Natural History Museum Vienna (AT)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Vienna (AT)
- Université de Bordeaux (FR)
- University of Patras (GR)
- Universidad de Salamanca (ES)
- Utrecht University (NL)
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR)
- Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn (IT)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Azienda Sanitaria Unità Locale di Reggio Emilia (IT)
- Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques et Continentaux (FR)
- Institut Català de Ciències del Clima (ES)
- Geociencias Barcelona (ES)
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (DE)
- National Research Council (RO)
- National Archaeological Museum of Spain (ES)
- Institute of Archaeology (HU)
- Natural History Museum of Basel (CH)
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (ES)
- National Research Council (IT)
- Department of Earth Sciences (RU)
- National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (IT)
- University of Florence (IT)
- University of Turin (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2024-08-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp3703
- Citations
- 33
- Primary Topic
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 15.14
Funders
- European Commission
- Austrian Science Fund