Borealization: a biodiversity refugium and evolutionary cradle during the Permian-Triassic climate crisis

Authors

Shatwell, A., Foster, W. J.

Abstract

Understanding how organisms track suitable environments during rapid climate change is constrained by the brevity of modern observations. Using the fossil record, we identify the mid- to high-latitude Boreal Ocean as a regional biodiversity refugium during the Permian-Triassic climate crisis. Additional Boreal successions indicate sustained diversity and comparatively hospitable conditions. Biogeographic reconstructions reveal that 30% of Sassendalen taxa survived the extinction event, with two-thirds expanding or shifting their latitudinal ranges into the Boreal Ocean. More than 90% of newly evolved species originated there, and their lineages subsequently dispersed at differing rates into other regions throughout the Early Triassic. These findings identify poleward migration and high-latitude refugia as key drivers of biodiversity persistence and evolutionary recovery during climate crises.

Preprint server: bioRxiv
The authors list and abstract were imported from bioRxiv on 17 Oct 2026.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this preprint? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.