Climate change 'triggered age of the dinosaurs' 250 million years ago
was what triggered the age of the dinosaurs over 250 million years ago - not mass extinction of other species - according to new research. We are suggesting we have two major factors at play,' said Tiago R. Simoes, a postdoctoral fellow in the Pierce lab at Harvard University and lead author on the study. 'Not just this open ecological opportunity that has always been thought by several scientists but also something that nobody had previously come up with. 'Climate change actually directly triggered the adaptive response of reptiles to help build this vast array of new body plans and the explosion of groups that we see in the Triassic. 'Basically, rising global temperatures triggered all these different morphological experiments - some that worked quite well and survived for millions of years up to this day, and some others that basically vanished a few million years later.' Their evolutionary rates slowed down and stabilised in response to the rising temperatures. The findings have implications for today, as temperatures continue to rise. The Harvard researchers pointed out that the rate of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere today is about nine times what it was during the Permian-Triassic mass extinction 252 million years ago. Some animals have already started shape-shifting to cope with weather-linked stresses. Recent research by the University of Sheffield found birds are adapting to global warming by developing bigger beaks, which help keep them cool. Meanwhile, Australian scientists revealed elephants and rabbits are coping by turning into 'Dumbo' and 'Bugs Bunny' - they are growing bigger ears. Elephants use them as fans, while an extensive network of blood vessels contract in rabbits to cool them down. 'Major shifts in global temperature can have dramatic and varying impacts on biodiversity said co-author Professor Stephanie Pierce, of Harvard University in the US. 'Here we show that rising temperatures during the Permian-Triassic led to the extinction of many animals, including many of the ancestors of mammals, but also sparked the explosive evolution of others, especially the reptiles that went on to dominate the Triassic period.' The researchers are now planning to investigate the impact of environmental catastrophes on evolution of organisms with abundant modern diversity, such as the major groups of lizards and snakes. The study is published in the journal Science Advances.