Darkness and size thresholds steered the end-Cretaceous plankton crash
A size-based, trait-driven EcoGENIE model in the cGENIE Earth system reproduces end-Cretaceous marine plankton extinction patterns by applying biomass thresholds that scale with body size, showing that darkness from impact-driven sunlight loss was the primary driver of collapse, with CO2 having a minor direct role; the model predicts complete extinction of foraminifera and strong losses for other zooplankton while small plankton survive, especially at high latitudes, and it shows rapid rebound of productivity within years but a weaker biological pump; the results reconcile fossil patterns with the impact-winter hypothesis and illustrate the value of trait-based modelling for past biodiversity crises.
