The following submission statement was provided by /u/NadiyaJeba:

To recreate the ancient marine environment, researchers examined fossils from South China, a shallow sea during the Permian-Triassic transition. The team was able to analyze prey-predator relationships and determine the functions ancient species performed by categorizing species into guilds, or groups of species that exploit resources in similar ways. These simulated food webs represented the ecosystem before, during, and after the extinction event in a plausible way.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/11c9ctr/new_study_reveals_biodiversity_loss_drove/ja2axw2/