Did plants nearly wipe out all marine life on Earth—twice?

Phys.org

March 3, 2026

UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Thomas Algeo has been studying the planet's five major mass extinctions since the Ordovician Period, when global sea levels were much higher than today. In a paper published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, Algeo provides context for a study examining the process of colonization and spread of plants, known as terrestrialization.