Massive salt accumulations, or salt giants, have formed in highly restricted marine basins throughout geological history, but their impact on biodiversity has been only patchily studied. The salt giant in the Mediterranean Sea formed as a result of the restriction of its gateway to the Atlantic during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) 5.97 to 5.33 million years ago. Here, we quantify the biodiversity changes associated with the MSC based on a compilation of the Mediterranean fossil record. We conclude that 86 endemic species of the 2006 pre-MSC marine species survived the crisis, and that the present eastward-decreasing richness gradient in the Mediterranean was established after the MSC.

中文翻译：

---

晚中新世地中海盐度危机对海洋生物多样性的影响


在整个地质历史中，大量的盐堆积或盐巨星在高度受限的海洋盆地中形成，但它们对生物多样性的影响的研究却很少。地中海的盐巨头是由于5.97至533万年前的墨西拿盐度危机（MSC）期间其通往大西洋的门户受到限制而形成的。在这里，我们根据地中海化石记录的汇编量化了与 MSC 相关的生物多样性变化。我们得出的结论是，2006 年 MSC 之前的海洋物种中有 86 个特有物种在危机中幸存下来，地中海目前向东递减的丰富度梯度是在 MSC 之后建立的。