Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41876495›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Recurring marine phosphorus spikes during major palaeozoic mass extinctions and climate change.

Matthew S Dodd, Chao Li, Zihu Zhang, Aleksey Y Sadekov, André Desrochers, Olle Hints, Detian Yan, Xiangrong Yang, Annette D George, Maya Elrick and 5 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Matthew S Dodd *School of Earth and Oceans, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia. matthew.dodd@uwa.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4470-933X
Chao Li *State Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation & Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China. chaoli@cdut.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9861-661X
Zihu ZhangState Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation & Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China.
Aleksey Y SadekovSchool of Earth and Oceans, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
André DesrochersEarth and Environmental Sciences, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0004-2106-5265
Olle HintsDepartment of Geology, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, 19086, Tallinn, Estonia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4670-4452
Detian YanKey Laboratory of Tectonics and Petroleum Resources of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.
Xiangrong YangKey Laboratory of Tectonics and Petroleum Resources of Ministry of Education, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.
Annette D GeorgeSchool of Earth and Oceans, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia.
Maya ElrickEarth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
David WhiteEarth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
Wenkun QieState Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6185-1405
Bo ChenState Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China.
Andrew S MerdithSchool of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences, Adelaide University, Adelaide, SA, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7564-8149
Benjamin J W MillsSchool of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9141-0931

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mass extinctions in the early Palaeozoic have been attributed to global climate change and ocean anoxia with elevated phosphorus (P) proposed as a key driver. However, this hypothesis has lacked geochemical support due to the absence of proxies that can reconstruct changes in marine P availability. Focusing on the Late Ordovician Mass Extinction (LOME) and the Late Devonian Mass Extinction (LDME), we present carbonate-associated phosphate (CAP) data from seven globally distributed sections, providing a proxy record for seawater P variation across these events. Our data reveal short-lived, globally coherent P pulses that coincided with both events. These transient P surges align with biodiversity loss, widespread anoxia, and seawater temperature declines, suggesting a link between P flux, ocean anoxia, and global climate shifts, as supported by biogeochemical model results. These findings provide an empirical connection between brief marine P pulses and ecological crises during the LOME and LDME.

Identifiers

PMID41876495
PMCPMC13187173

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.