Recovering From Disaster: OU Professor Awarded Junior Faculty Fellowship to Study Life After Mass Extinctions

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NORMAN, OKLA. – Understanding how life recovers in the aftermath of a mass extinction is critical to unraveling the broad patterns of evolutionary development that have shaped Earth’s history.

To further this understanding of Earth’s turbulent history, David Wright, Ph.D., assistant curator of invertebrate paleontology at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and assistant professor in University of Oklahoma Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy, recently received a Junior Faculty Fellowship to further his research on crinoids – ancient and living relatives of starfish and sea urchins – and discover how this group diversified following the end-Permian mass extinction.

Mass extinctions, which eliminate vast portions of Earth’s biodiversity in geologically brief periods, have reshaped life on Earth multiple times. The end-Permian mass extinction, the most severe extinction event in history, wiped out nearly all crinoid species, leaving only a single lineage to repopulate the oceans. Wright’s research focuses on how surviving species diversified after this catastrophic event and how these evolutionary patterns can inform our understanding of how life changes over time.

“The fossil record effectively provides a set of natural experiments on the consequences of environmental change,” Wright said. “By studying these historical events, we gain insights into how ecosystems respond when pushed past their breaking points, which has direct implications for understanding biodiversity loss today.”

By comparing molecular phylogenetics, which maps evolutionary relationships through DNA with fossil evidence, Wright seeks to bridge the gap between ancient and modern species. His research reveals how environmental crises drive evolutionary adaptation and how species that survive mass extinctions shape the ecosystems that follow.

“Broadly speaking, the environmental drivers of global change during the end-Permian event are worryingly similar to a number of modern environmental challenges facing today’s marine ecosystems, including climate change, ocean acidification and habitat destruction,” Wright said.

“Perhaps more so today than previously in Earth history, the best strategy to mitigate the potential loss of crinoids and other marine animals is to protect and conserve critical habitats for biodiversity, such as coral reefs. By researching how life survives and diversifies, we can more efficiently direct conservation efforts and help prevent a new mass extinction.”