ALBERT

Description / Table of Contents: Abstract Considering the diversity distribution of invertebrates throughout Phanerozoic time one can see clearly: Extinction rates in the Permian are not higher than at other times (tab. 1, fig. 3). But the origination of new forms is extremly low (tab. 1, fig. 4). So the low diversity at the Permian-Triassic boundary is not the result of a catastrophic event, but merely the result of reduced rates of origination. This is indicated by a more detailed look at the Trilobites (fig. 5, 6, 7), the Ammonites (fig. 8, 9, 10), the Blastoids (fig. 11, 12, 13) and the Fusulinids (fig. 14). Faunal diversity was reduced over millions of years during the Upper Palaezoic by lower rates of origination. The second part of this paper is concerned with the reasons for these low rates of originations. At first the environment through time is examined. Fig. 15 shows the shifting environment through time, which is altered by input from the mantle, the cosmos and biologic factors. If life lineages, that only could evolve within that environment are going to collide with the boundaries of that environment then they become extinct. This extinction may be very slow, it can be established not only by desasters but also by reduced rates of origination. Because so many different organisms in different environments were affected by the faunal change from Permian to Triassic, it seems to be appropriate to look for reasons that act in the upper levels of the ecologic hierarchy (see fig. 16). The formation of Pangea during Upper Paleozoic times was a process that could have affected several faunal provinces covering a considerable part of the biosphere. So we have to look for a possible relationship between continental convergence and reduced rates of origination. Fig. 17 shows how mantle and cosmic input act on the environment and how some essential factors of the environment interact with themselves and with organisms. Environmental change by the formation of Pangea is geologically well documented for the Upper Paleozoic, so we should deduce the possible implications. Fig. 18 shows the physical implications of continental convergence. Origination of new species is predomninantly correlated with the possibility of isolation (allopatric speciation). Isolation is correlated with the presence of barriers. The most important barriers are morphology and climate. In Fig. 20 the possible barriers for different environments are listed. If we look at Fig. 18 we can see that continental convergence is a well-known process that can destroy the barriers cited in Fig. 20. Taking in mind the importance of allopatric speciation, we must clearly deduce from theory the same thing, that really happened in the Upper Paleozic: lowering of rates of species origination and higher taxa. Because Triassic was a time of beginning continent dispersal, the opposite effects are to be expected: higher origination rates and increased diversity. This is well documented by the geologic record.