Fig. 1: Proposed cause-and-effect relationships of bolide impacts, LIPs, and anthropogenic activity with heavy metal toxicity.
From: Heavy metal toxicity and its role as a major driver of past biodiversity crises
Despite the different sources of heavy metals, the effects are expected to be similar. Note: Current models do not demonstrate an understanding of this complexity and directly link heavy metal emissions to toxic metal poisoning. For bioessential metals, thresholds between essential and toxic levels vary across taxa; both depletion and overaccumulation may act as stressors, adding uncertainty to these relationships.
