Fern spike

Illustration depicting an ecosystem in successive temporal stages. It begins as a biodiverse system with many species, followed by a sudden loss of plant life when a disaster strikes (depicted as dust in the air and on the ground). Gradually, ferns germinate in and colonize the area. Once ferns are established, conifer trees begin growing.
Succession of an ecosystem following disturbance, in the form of a fern spike.

In paleontology, a fern spike is the occurrence of unusually high spore abundance of ferns in the fossil record, usually immediately (in a geological sense) after an extinction event. The spikes are believed to represent a large, temporary increase in the number of ferns relative to other terrestrial plants after the extinction or thinning of the latter. Fern spikes are strongly associated with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event,[1][2] although they have been found in other points of time and space such as at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary.[3][4] Outside the fossil record, fern spikes have been observed to occur in response to local extinction events, such as the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption.[5]

  1. ^ Schultz, P. H.; D'Hondt, S. (1996). "Cretaceous-Tertiary (Chicxulub) impact angle and its consequences". Geology. 24 (11): 963–967. Bibcode:1996Geo....24..963S. doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<0963:CTCIAA>2.3.CO;2.
  2. ^ Vajda, V.; Raine, J. I.; Hollis, C. J. (2001). "Indication of global deforestation at the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary by New Zealand fern spike". Science. 294 (5547): 1700–1702. Bibcode:2001Sci...294.1700V. doi:10.1126/science.1064706. PMID 11721051.
  3. ^ Fowell, S. J.; Olsen, P. E. (1993). "Time calibration of Triassic-Jurassic microfloral turnover, eastern North-America". Tectonophysics. 222 (3–4): 361–369. Bibcode:1993Tectp.222..361F. doi:10.1016/0040-1951(93)90359-R.
  4. ^ Olsen, P. E.; Kent, D. V.; Sues, H. D.; et al. (2002). "Ascent of dinosaurs linked to an iridium anomaly at the Triassic-Jurassic boundary". Science. 296 (5571): 1305–1307. Bibcode:2002Sci...296.1305O. doi:10.1126/science.1065522. PMID 12016313.
  5. ^ Adams, Jonathan (2009). Species Richness: Patterns in the Diversity of Life. Environmental Sciences. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. p. 125. ISBN 9783540742784.