CLEMSON, S.C. - Algae could have had a lot to do with the extinction of dinosaurs and other species, two Clemson University scientists report.
And that could bode ill for present species if the Earth's temperatures are rising, as many scientists have reported.
The two Clemson professors studied the rise of algae blooms and the decline of dinosaurs and other species and found a possible link. They presented their findings in a scientific journal in March, and it is the feature presentation at a meeting of the Geological Society of America in Portland, Ore., this week.
The two-year study was done by James Castle, professor in Clemson's Department of Engineering Services and Earth Sciences, and John Rodgers Jr., a professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources.
A prominent theory on the fate of dinosaurs is that asteroids crashed into Earth, causing massive species deaths. The algae idea can be included in that theory, too, Rodgers said.
Their research shows the extinctions were gradual, not immediate, as the former theory claims.
He said a study of fossilized rock, Earth temperatures and other data showed a correlation between the extinction of species and an increase in temperatures, leading to the algae blooms.
"We came across the original hypothesis about two years ago," Rodgers said.
Rodgers, an environmental toxicologist, said the pair was able to determine algae blooms through fossils known as stromatolite structures, which are algae deposits.
"We went back (through) millions of years and watched that through the rock record," he said. "As warming occurs it favors the growth of algae."
Algae is toxic in some forms, such as a neurotoxin, or through massive algae blooms that remove oxygen, Rodgers said.
"We have those blooms going on today," he said.
One is currently causing havoc to marine life near Corpus Christi, Texas; the worst algae bloom in West Virginia history was recently reported; and there are others going on in New Mexico and Arizona, Rodgers said.
"As warming occurs, that favors (algae) growth," he said. "It is sort of a message to folks: Be on the lookout."
The scientists' work has drawn reaction worldwide from other scientists, Rodgers said.
"We've gotten communications from all over the world," he said. "This kind of pulls their research together.
The Discovery Channel was in Portland to feature the paper, Rodgers said. The paper was originally published in the journal Environmental Geosciences.
(John Staed is a reporter for the Anderson Independent-Mail in Anderson, S.C.)
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