Nautilus paradigm in mass extinction

This is Nautilus (Nautilus pompilius), a cephalopod that evolved around 500million years ago, it has therefore seen all the major extinction events that wiped out 99% of species ever lived. This living fossil is a remarkable success story that oversaw billions of species vanishing around it over millions of years of earth’s tumultuous and violent history. Starting with major extinction event around 444million years ago; the End Ordovician extinction that wiped out 86% of species which bloomed during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event. The biodiversification unfortunately led to too much CO2 accumulation over millions of years, that eventually caused glaciation. Life had not evolved onto land hence the extinction was confined to ocean. Nautilus survived this first big extinction event. Next was Late Devonian extinction that happened around 365million years ago again in Paleozoic era that took away 70% to 80% of species, caused by culmination of series of events over millions of years but mainly due to drastic drop in O2 in Devonian ocean because of sedimentation. It needs to be pointed out that life had moved to land to create first terrestrial ecosystem consisting of trees and tetrapods, these terrestrial ecosystem within few million years developed into carboniferous forest. At this geological time scale landmass of earth had coalesced into supercontinent Pangea (meaning all lands). The ocean moisture did not reach the interior of pangea, there was severe drop of humidity and temperature which led to dying of carboniferous trees. Next big extinction event was one of the catastrophic occurrence that very nearly wiped out life from earth.  The End Permian extinction event happened about 250million years ago. Geological evidence through Siberian traps points to massive volcanic event that went on for millions of years, covering the basalt lava to a landmass as large as America in a mile deep, this activated a cycle of acid rain and huge amount of CO2 into the atmosphere, the situation was made much dire by methane hydrates that accelerated into runway greenhouse, increasing the temperature by as much as 10degress Celsius, wiping out a staggering 96% of species. Nautilus survived this one too, and it need to be noted that all the species, including Homo sapiens, that survive today are from the evolution of this 4% left over species. About 50million later another major extinction event referred to as Late Triassic extinction wiped off 76% of all marine and terrestrial species. The exact reasons are not yet confirmed but seems to culmination of series of unfortunate events of glaciation, volcanoes and possibly asteroids. Ofcourse this event has reference in popular imagination as it snuffed out the apex predator opening it in favor of dinosaurs, who ruled for millions of years evolving and occupying all niche of ecosystem.

The next extinction event is arguably the most discussed and much exposed in mainstream media and entertainment. The End Cretaceous extinction event or Cretaceous Paleogene extinction event or simply K-T extinction event happened about 66million years ago, it wiped out 75% of species, significantly the charismatic dinosaurs. The evidence of asteroid strike got emboldened in thin layer of cretaceous clay without marine lifeforms sandwiched between abundance and handful marine lifeforms. Lucky find for geologist Walter Alvarez whose meticulous persistence with some providential insight from Nobel laureate father paid off big time. It was his physicist father who came up with the wild idea of clocking the clay using element Iridium. 

 Now, Iridium is extremely rare on the surface of the earth but much common in meteorites. Bits of meteorites constantly rain down on earth but the amount of Iridium in the clay sample was way off the chart. It had to be asteroid. Corroboration through ‘shocked quartz’ consolidated asteroid impact hypothesis. Final conclusion came with the discovery of ‘crater of doom’ –a 150km wide crater was discovered beneath Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, widely known after the nearest town, as the Chicxulub crater. All because of clairvoyant collaboration of geology and physics upping the providence. The reason why it is increasingly important to have collaborative study, open outlook and inquisitive inviting mindset. All these singularly absent in our education system. One is reminded of Feynman (today quite coincidently is also the birthday of the incredible man) “If our small minds, for some convenience…divide this universe, into parts –physics, biology, geology, astronomy, psychology, and so on –remember that nature does not know it!”     

Cephalopods like ammonites (quite popular among fossil collectors) too became extinct in the K-T event, but nautilus survived this one too. A comparison of ammonites and nautilus is worthy focus here. While ammonites produced very tiny, barely a millimeter, eggs, the resulting hatchlings just floated near the surface of the earth while Nautilus eggs were very large, indeed largest of all invertebrates, over two centimeters in diameter. Hatchling emerge only after a year of gestation, which swam into the depths for food. These critical differences set ammonites for extinction although they were perfectly adapted to their ecosystem but couldn’t take the abrupt change. Nautilus survived all these extinction events and is living among us. And now after 500million years it is on the verge of extinction pushed by the greed and misplaced priorities of an upstart specie. Wonder what nautilus thinks about humans?  I guess it will just try to avoid. That surely is the best option to deal something that doesn’t care to understand the meaning of it all despite amazing level of insightful knowledge nor the mindfulness to experience, and all the while carrying grand illusion of itself exacerbated by the systems it has nurtured. In the words of inimitable Carl Sagan “…The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that in glory and in triumph they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of the dot on scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner of the dot. How frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark…”    

 After billions of years, when oxygen producing cyanobacteria changed the content of atmosphere leading to mass extinction of countless species of anaerobic bacteria, it is for the first time that a specie has so catastrophically impacted the survivability of earth’s life form. We are firmly in Anthropocene extinction event or Anthropogenic impacted extinction event. The cataclysmic changes humans have brought in an insignificant geological timescale is unprecedented and is indeed alarming. The Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services has sounded the beagle. More than one million species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction, and are becoming extinct at an alarming rate. The Report finds that more than 40% of amphibian species, almost 33% of reef-forming corals and more than a third of all marine mammals are threatened, and at least 680 vertebrate species had been driven to extinction since the 16th century.  Based on a review of about 15,000 scientific and government sources and compiled by 145 expert authors from 50 countries, the global report is the first comprehensive look in 15 years at the state of the planet’s biodiversity. The report includes, for the first time, indigenous and local knowledge as well as scientific studies. They found overwhelming evidence that human activities are behind nature’s decline. They ranked the major drivers of species decline as land conversion, including deforestation; overfishing; bush meat hunting and poaching; climate change; pollution; and invasive alien species. It’s an ominous scene. Dead zones in ocean are increasing, latest data points to about 400 of them covering thousands of acres, forests are becoming silent as insects are vanishing, and grasslands are becoming deserts. The report succinctly points that we must radically change the way we live, including how we use energy to power our societies, grow our food, and manage our waste.

Biodiversity is important in the survival of the ecosystem which is very much connected to human survival. It is also a repository of diverse genetic database of millions of years of evolution as also unique insight into the strategies of survival. Each specie is a genius of its habitat and miraculous ability of life to survive and thrive.  Nature works on mutualism and cooperation, any disturbance of this balance has a reaction that goes deep into the connected equilibrium of life. Nature is an inspiration, guide and source of our wisdom, creative impulses and deepest connection to our being. The loss of each specie diminishes our ability to connect with our planet as also with our own self. We have lot to learn from nautilus.