Agiadi, K., Hohmann, N., Gliozzi, E., Thivaiou, D., Bosellini, F. R., Taviani, M., Bianucci, G., Collareta, A., Londeix, L., Faranda, C., Bulian, F., Koskeridou, E., Lozar, F., Mancini, A. M., Dominici, S., Moissette, P., Campos, I. B., Borghi, E., Iliopoulos, G., … García-Castellanos, D. (2024). The marine biodiversity impact of the Late Miocene Mediterranean salinity crisis. Science, 385(6712), 986–991. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adp3703
Editor’s summary
The disconnection of the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic in the late Miocene 5 to 6 million years ago led to the sea’s nearly complete desiccation, leaving only a few hypersaline lakes similar to the present-day Dead Sea. There is a mass of data from both the geological and modern biological records that tracks this crisis and its legacy. Agiadi et al. undertook a comprehensive analysis of the event, including an evaluation of extinction rates and where repopulation originated, allowing a precise assessment of biodiversity before, during, and after the crisis. —Caroline Ash
Abstract
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.