Ecosystem Stability in the Late Cretaceous Preceding the Chicxulub Impact

The K-Pg mass extinction significantly altered the course of life on Earth— nearly 75% of all life went extinct. However, we still do not know the exact cause of this extinction event. There are two hypotheses: 1) the extinction was created solely by the Chicxulub meteor impact; 2) the global ecosystem was already in decline before the meteor. Here, we test these hypotheses using fossils from the Lance Creek Formation of Wyoming. We gathered data on taxonomic richness, abundance, evenness and compared our data to historically well-sampled sites. Continued testing on these two hypotheses will allow us to gather support for the exact cause of this critical chapter of life on Earth.