TPO 39 Integrated

Both the reading and the lecture talk about the mass-extinction tacking place at the end of the Triassic period 200 million years ago. The reading presents some theories indicating that what might have caused the elimination of vast numbers of species in a mostly short period of time. The professor, nevertheless, casts doubt on this claim by bringing up three reasons to refute the author's view.

Firstly, the author alleges that the decrease of sea level caused the destruction of the ocean habitats, which lived in the shallow and the species which live on the coast. Conversely, the lecturer highlights that such species of the shallow and coastal habitats were able to adapt to the diminish of sea level. Moreover, it took several years for declining sea levels. Nonetheless, the mass-extinction of living species happened suddenly.

Secondly, the reading holds the view that enormous volcanic activity released massive amounts of sulfur dioxide(SO2) in the atmosphere, inducing climate cooling. Therefore, such low temperatures could have caused the extinction of various species. In contrast, the professor contents that SO2 did not remain in the atmosphere. In other words, it got back to the Earth by precipitations such as rain.

Finally, the author points out that, when the asteroid collided with Earth, its crushed rocks blocked out sunlight for a few years, which caused various numbers of plants and animals to die out. However, the lecturer asserts that the collision with the asteroid happened 12 years ago before mass-extinction, which was too long times before species extinctions. As a result, it might not be the reason for species' starvation.