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| Ecology of the Exinogene; A guide to the geography, ecology, and biology of the future | |
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| Topic Started: Mar 3 2017, 12:08 PM (3,410 Views) | |
| Beetleboy | Mar 3 2017, 12:08 PM Post #1 |
neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Ecology of the Exinogene Period This is not to act as a field guide to future species, but rather focuses on the bigger picture. The amount of research I have put into this project is more than I've ever done before, to create something that I hope will be detailed and realistic. What I want from this project is something that embraces every aspect of the world, with as much effort put into the geography and climate as there is put into the animals. I don't want to write about species, unless it is a really unique and notable one. Instead, in this I am going to discuss the evolution of groups as a whole. Ecology will play a major role in this, as I want to follow the evolution of not just species, but the evolution of a group, of an ecosystem, of Earth itself. I think this is to be key to understanding and creating plausible organisms, to see it not as a creature on its own, but something that is dependant and interlinked with everything around, the ecosystem, the Earth, the climate, and the geography. The Exinogene is a 53 million year long time period that goes from the end of the Holocene, to the Imeracene. Through this time period, I am going to look at how the continents move and the climate changes, and how this has effects on the organisms. I will follow the evolution of ecosystems and groups, looking at how they interlink and compete with each other. To create an in-depth and believable future world, this is not just going to be about large animals, as you often see. We will look at the evolution of flora, fungi, and invertebrates from mites to cephalopods. All of these are interlinked and create a complex world that hopefully will increase in depth and diversity as time goes on. This project is the culmination of years of thought about future evolution, and experimenting with largely unsuccesful projects. It is a project that fulfils all of my interests, from geography to ecology, zoology to evolution. I hope that you enjoy it. *** Our journey through time and evolution begins in the Holocene, with the Yellostone eruption and the extinction of Homo sapiens. From there, we move on through the Polycene, as the world slowly begins to warm up from geographical and climatic events, then on into the Thermacene, in which we see the evolution of many new and revolutionary groups. Finally, we shall end our journey in the Imeracene, a world where the ice caps are non-existant, and Earth is experiencing a hothouse climate. The Exinogene Period is a time characterised by its warm climate, and slow build up to the formation of a new Pangaea, beyond the scope of this project. Many radical evolutionary changes appear during this period, in both flora and fauna. Both the land and sea are changing fast, in a flurry of new adaptations. The Exinogene is an interesting period to look at due to its high amount of diversity - its hot climate and lack of any major extinction events allowed for a large biomass to appear. There were other contributing factors too, such as Antarctica drifting away from the pole, allowing for its previously inhospitable land to be colonised by a wide range of species. This biodiverse, changing, dynamic world is the one that we shall look at. We will look first at the geography and geological time scale, before moving onto the ecology and the organisms themselves. Welcome to the Exinogene. *** Author's final note: There is a lot more stuff to come. I didn't want to make the introduction too lengthy, because things such as geographical details deserve their own individual posts. Ecology of the Exinogene is to be a long-term project, and will gradually increase in detail and depth. Constructive criticism, comments, questions, and feedback are welcome. Also, the majority of updates featuring organisms should include, at some point, drawings and possibly diagrams. I kind of need a map(s) as well, if anybody is willing eventually, but that can wait for now. Catalogue of Major Revisions & Changes Here every time there are major changes or something is revised in the project, it will be catalogued here along with the date of the change. Contents - Ordered By Subject Contents - Ordered By Epoch |
| ~ The Age of Forests ~ | |
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| CaledonianWarrior96 | Mar 6 2017, 03:18 PM Post #31 |
An Awesome Reptile
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Good work on Antarctica, I'm very interested in what else you have in store. Also don't worry about double posts; this is your project you can do whatever you want |
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Come check out and subscribe to my projects on the following subforums; Future Planet (V.2): the Future Evolution of Life on Earth (Evolutionary Continuum) The Meuse Legacy: An Alternative Outcome of the Mosasaur (Alternative Evolution) Terra Cascus: The Last Refuge of the Dinosaurs (Alternative Evolution) - Official Project - Foundation The Beryoni Galaxy: The Biologically Rich and Politically Complex State of our Galaxy (Habitational Zone) - Beryoni Critique Thread (formerly: Aliens of Beryoni) The Ecology of Skull Island: An Open Project for the Home of King Kong (Alternative Universe) The Ecology of Wakanda: An Open Project for the Home of Marvel's Black Panther (Alternative Universe) (Click bold titles to go to page. To subscribe click on a project, scroll to the bottom of the page and click "track topic" on the bottom right corner) And now, for something completely different
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| IIGSY | Mar 6 2017, 05:35 PM Post #32 |
A huntsman spider that wastes time on the internet because it has nothing better to do
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Nice work, but I have a few things too say. How did spiders and earthworm get to Antarctica? The only land invertebrates on Antarctica are springtails, tardigrades, nematodes, rotifers, mites and the Antarctic midge. And will there be descendants of the Antarctic midge (Antarctica's only insect)? |
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Projects Punga: A terraformed world with no vertebrates Last one crawling: The last arthropod ARTH-6810: A world without vertebrates (It's ded, but you can still read I guess) Potential ideas- Swamp world: A world covered in lakes, with the largest being caspian sized. Nematozoic: After a mass extinction of ultimate proportions, a single species of nematode is the only surviving animal. Tri-devonian: A devonian like ecosystem with holocene species on three different continents. Quotes Phylogeny of the arthropods and some related groups In honor of the greatest clade of all time More pictures Other cool things All African countries can fit into Brazil
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| Tartarus | Mar 6 2017, 05:39 PM Post #33 |
Prime Specimen
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Yes that sounds like a good idea. |
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| Yiqi15 | Mar 6 2017, 05:46 PM Post #34 |
Prime Specimen
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Highly doubt it. Antarctic midges can't survive in temperatures above 10 Celsius, and once Antarctica warms, that species is going the way of the dodo. |
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Current/Completed Projects - After the Holocene: Your run-of-the-mill future evolution project. - A History of the Odessa Rhinoceros: What happens when you ship 28 southern white rhinoceri to Texas and try and farm them? Quite a lot, actually. Future Projects - XenoSphere: The greatest zoo in the galaxy. - The Curious Case of the Woolly Giraffe: A case study of an eocene relic. - Untittled Asylum Studios-Based Project: The truth behind all the CGI schlock - Riggslandia V.II: A World 150 million years in the making Potential Projects - Klowns: The biology and culture of a creepy-yet-fascinating being My Zoochat and Fadom Accounts - Zoochat - Fandom | |
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| IIGSY | Mar 6 2017, 05:51 PM Post #35 |
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A huntsman spider that wastes time on the internet because it has nothing better to do
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But if the warming happens slow enough, it can adapt. |
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Projects Punga: A terraformed world with no vertebrates Last one crawling: The last arthropod ARTH-6810: A world without vertebrates (It's ded, but you can still read I guess) Potential ideas- Swamp world: A world covered in lakes, with the largest being caspian sized. Nematozoic: After a mass extinction of ultimate proportions, a single species of nematode is the only surviving animal. Tri-devonian: A devonian like ecosystem with holocene species on three different continents. Quotes Phylogeny of the arthropods and some related groups In honor of the greatest clade of all time More pictures Other cool things All African countries can fit into Brazil
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| Beetleboy | Mar 7 2017, 07:57 AM Post #36 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Thank you! There's a lot more stuff planned for Antarctica, not to mention the rest of the world.
Thank you. I am looking forward to showing more of the Exinogene. 
Thanks! Earthworms were a mistake, I'll sort that out. And the spiders got there from more northerly islands, some of them ballooning to Antarctica. No, the cooling happened too quickly. There are other midges here by now though.
Okay, I will get to work making it tonight. |
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| Beetleboy | Mar 7 2017, 12:56 PM Post #37 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Timeline This acts as a second table of contents. The first one, here, is ordered by subject - ie, 'Geography & Climate', 'Ecology & Ecosystems', 'Fauna', 'Flora', and 'Fungi'. However, due to the nature of this project, featuring the evolution of ecosystems and organisms over a period of 53 million years, it seems logical to add a second contents page. This is ordered by time period, making it easier to navigate the project, especially as it becomes more extensive. The Exinogene Period Polycene Epoch [0-12.6 million years from now] Antarctica On The Move: development of Antarctic life during the Polycene Mediterranean Flamingo Thermacene Epoch [12.6 – 32.1 million years from now] Imeracene Epoch [32.1 – 53 million years from now] |
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| IIGSY | Mar 7 2017, 07:29 PM Post #38 |
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A huntsman spider that wastes time on the internet because it has nothing better to do
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It would have been interesting to see the only invertebrate land fauna descended from the ones that already lived their ie. nematodes rotifers etc. But, I guess it would be inevitable for others to reach. So, if your getting rid of earthworms, what's gonna replace them? Nematodes? Slugs? Millipedes? Something else? This project looks like pin worthy material already. Keep it up. |
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Projects Punga: A terraformed world with no vertebrates Last one crawling: The last arthropod ARTH-6810: A world without vertebrates (It's ded, but you can still read I guess) Potential ideas- Swamp world: A world covered in lakes, with the largest being caspian sized. Nematozoic: After a mass extinction of ultimate proportions, a single species of nematode is the only surviving animal. Tri-devonian: A devonian like ecosystem with holocene species on three different continents. Quotes Phylogeny of the arthropods and some related groups In honor of the greatest clade of all time More pictures Other cool things All African countries can fit into Brazil
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| Beetleboy | Mar 8 2017, 03:00 AM Post #39 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Actually, there are small creatures such as nematodes doing interesting things in the ground, and I might cover Antarctic microfauna some time in the future.
Thanks, it means a lot!  However, this project needs a lot more content and work before it could be pinned.
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| Beetleboy | Mar 8 2017, 10:30 AM Post #40 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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The Mediterranean Salt Flat Late Polycene – approximately 11 mya A recently formed natural phenomena, the Mediterranean Salt Flat is the remains of the sea that was once here. It was seperated from the Atlantic Ocean, and increased in salinity as it was pressured from the up-moving Africa, squeezed into a narrow space. The water evaporated as the climate increased in temperature – the reopening of the Isthmus of Panama and the deglaciation of the Arctic ice cap occurred a little while previously – leaving behind only this immense salt pan. The Nile River drains out into a less hostile south-eastern region of the salt flat, where it has been forming a somewhat saline lake. With nowhere to go, the water from the lake has in turn flowed out into smaller tributaries that move the water the short distance east to the Gulf of Suez, the northern end of the Red Sea. The Mediterranean Salt Flat is not permament: in the next few million years, during the Thermacene, it will be folded inbetween Europe and Africa, being pushed up into a mountain range. But for now it is a hostile, but fascinating enviroment, and the world's largest salt pan. While un-diverse, the few lifeforms that do manage to scrape a living here are interesting in their adaptability and ability to not only survive, but thrive on the salt pan. Mediterranean Flamingo Salinaves salinaves Dotted across the salt flat are saline lakes, and within these are specialized, halophilic micro-organisms, including unusual algae which grow in reddish mats in the pools. These are in turn fed upon by filter-feeding flamingoes, a specialized species which can only be found here: the Mediterranean flamingo. This primitive species is quite unlike the increasingly marine American genera, and closely resembles Holocene flamingoes, at least, more so than their relatives. However, their behaviour is quite different. S. salinaves can can grow to more than 2 metres in heigh, their large sizes achieved by the lack of predators and the sheer amount of resources available for them on the saltpan. Their plumage is white to pink, depending on the amount of caretonoids that have been sequestered – their food source, halophilic organisms living in salt lakes, produce large amounts of this, and causes their pinkish colouration. In this, this species has changed very little from its ancestor, the greater flamingo. Their long, lanky legs, as well as their downturned bill, are also pinkish in colouration. A short crest of feathers on the back of their head is bright red, and is present in both males and females, although it is not developed until sexual maturity. Mediterranean flamingoes are largely solitary animals, opposed to its highly social ancestor. This may be an adaptation to the lack of predators on the salt flats, which is largely uninhabited by all but very small, hardy organisms. They will come together in loose congregations at particularly large or food-rich salt lakes, but these groups are temporary, and have no hierachy of sorts. Therefore, foraging usually takes place alone, as the flamingo uses its wide, webbed feet to stir the silt at the bottom of the water, then it will use its unusual bill to sift out micro-organisms. There is little fresh water in the Mediterranean Salt Flat – any standing rain water quickly becomes just as salty as the surrounding lakes. Incredibly, however, the flamingoes can drink some salt water, so long as it doesn't come from the lakes. They can concentrate the salt in it, and exude it from their body, via their prominent, almost tubular nostrils, and through glands near their eyes. These salt secretions run down a groove on their beak, before dripping away along the downturned point. This adaptation is also seen in seabirds such as albatrosses and petrels, as they too must drink salty water. However, some water is just too salty for them, so they need to be careful about what they drink. Some flamingoes spend much of their time out in the saltpan, but have to return to the less saline lakes which the Nile flows into for water. Mediterranean flamingoes breed just once a year, when the males will use caretonoid-rich secretions from their uropygial gland to enhance the bright colours of their feathers. They will create loud, far-carrying honking noises. Because the salt flats are very, well, flat, there is nothing to block the sound waves, and they can travel far across the area. Females are attracted to the males by these strange songs, so that they can view his mating display, a strange dance, consisting of head bobbing, crest raising, neck swinging, and more honking vocalizations. If this is satisfactory, then they will mate, and will remain together until the female lays a single, white egg upon a mound of scraped-together ground. The egg hatches in around 30 days, after which time both parents use crop milk to feed it with, a nutritious substance produced in the upper digestive tract. Once the chick is able to walk and swim by itself, it remains with the male, while the female abandons them to continue a largely solitary life. For now, however, the male has to stick around, as the chick begins to feed upon aquatic lifeforms, but must also be fed with the crop milk. The chicks can't drink salty water until they develop the ability to remove the salt, so they rely on the milk less as a food source and more as their source of liquid now. During this time of caring for the young, the adults will bring the chicks to particularly large lakes, where food is plentiful, so that they can manage to feed enough to also look after and produce milk for the chick. At these large bodies of water multiple adults and chicks will gather, so that when the young are able to look after and feed themselves, and the males leave them to their own devices, the chicks generally stay at this lake, with the other chicks, forming a creche. These are short-lived, and gradually the birds will disperse. Author's Note
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| Corecin | Mar 8 2017, 02:02 PM Post #41 |
Prime Specimen
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So I take it that these flamingos will go extinct in the Thermacene? Anyways, a nice profile, very indepth, I can't wait to see more. |
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| Beetleboy | Mar 8 2017, 02:05 PM Post #42 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Yes, this species will, as the saltpan is risen up into the beginnings of the mounain range. However, I'm undecided what should happen to flamingos in general. |
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| Corecin | Mar 8 2017, 02:09 PM Post #43 |
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Prime Specimen
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Wasn't it mentioned that some were going the marine route? Or is that sort of a dead end? |
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| Hananas59 | Mar 8 2017, 02:10 PM Post #44 |
Traveller of the imagination
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I found this to be a very plausible but also very interesting addition to your world. The creature's struggle on the salt flats reminds me of the harshness penguins have to endure .... There's a certain flair to it if you'd ask me. I'd really like a picture of this creature if you have them, and I'm very excited for the American flamingos ;D |
| Treading the line between imagination and reality | |
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| Beetleboy | Mar 8 2017, 02:15 PM Post #45 |
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neither lizard nor boy nor beetle . . . but a little of all three
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Thank you!
Not at the moment, but perhaps in the future. I keep trying to draw these, but man flamingos are hard to draw
Oh boi. |
| ~ The Age of Forests ~ | |
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