Evolutionary synchrony of Earth’s biosphere and sedimentary-stratigraphic record

Davies, Neil S.; Shillito, Anthony P.; Slater, Ben J.; Liu, Alexander; McMahon, William J.

doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.102979

Cited by 41 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 320 publications

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“…Siliciclastic deposition on an unvegetated planet. Depositional models are largely based on sedimentary environments on Earth, where physical form and process is near ubiquitously influenced by biology 39 . Comparisons between the terrestrial and Martian sedimentary record therefore require careful consideration before application.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustained fluvial deposition recorded in Mars’ Noachian stratigraphic record

et al. 2020

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Orbital observation has revealed a rich record of fluvial landforms on Mars, with much of this record dating 3.6-3.0 Ga. Despite widespread geomorphic evidence, few analyses of Mars' alluvial sedimentary-stratigraphic record exist, with detailed studies of alluvium largely limited to smaller sand-bodies amenable to study in-situ by rovers. These typically metre-scale outcrop dimensions have prevented interpretation of larger scale channel-morphology and long-term basin evolution, vital for understanding the past Martian climate. Here we give an interpretation of a large sedimentary succession at Izola mensa within the NW Hellas Basin rim. The succession comprises channel and barform packages which together demonstrate that river deposition was already well established >3.7 Ga. The deposits mirror terrestrial analogues subject to low-peak discharge variation, implying that river deposition at Izola was subject to sustained, potentially perennial, fluvial flow. Such conditions would require an environment capable of maintaining large volumes of water for extensive time-periods, necessitating a precipitation-driven hydrological cycle.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustained fluvial deposition recorded in Mars’ Noachian stratigraphic record

et al. 2020

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“…These therefore cannot logically be used to confirm any one hypothesis [2,4]. Some workers have suggested that environmental disturbance might influence species richness on an evolutionary time scale [6,7], although the spatial scale on which the evolutionary effects of disturbance has been observed varies between studies: disturbance on large spatial scales [6,8], which is best recorded over geological time scales [9], might have a different impact on species richness to disturbance on a small spatial scale, where evolutionary time scale effects must be inferred from ecological time scale observations [7,10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary simulations clarify and reconcile biodiversity-disturbance models

et al. 2021

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There is significant geographic variation in species richness. However, the nature of the underlying relationships, such as that between species richness and environmental stability, remains unclear. The stability-time hypothesis suggests that environmental instability reduces species richness by suppressing speciation and increasing extinction risk. By contrast, the patch-mosaic hypothesis suggests that small-scale environmental instability can increase species richness by providing a steady supply of non-equilibrium environments. Although these hypotheses are often applied to different time scales, their core mechanisms are in conflict. Reconciling these apparently competing hypotheses is key to understanding how environmental conditions shape the distribution of biodiversity. Here, we use REvoSim, an individual-based, eco-evolutionary system, to model the evolution of sessile organisms in environments with varying magnitudes and scales of environmental instability. We demonstrate that when environments have substantial permanent heterogeneity, a high level of localized environmental instability reduces biodiversity, whereas in environments lacking permanent heterogeneity, high levels of localized instability increase biodiversity. By contrast, broad-scale environmental instability, acting on the same time scale, invariably reduces biodiversity. Our results provide a new view of the biodiversity–disturbance relationship that reconciles contrasting hypotheses within a single model and implies constraints on the environmental conditions under which those hypotheses apply. These constraints can inform attempts to conserve adaptive potential in different environments during the current biodiversity crisis.

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“…), substantial shifts in the nature of biogenic sediments (Davies et al . , fig. 1), a disappearance of macroscopic Ediacara‐style preservation (Butterfield ), and major changes in the composition of acritarch assemblages (Moczydłowska ; Butterfield ; Nowak et al .…”

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Cochleatina: an enigmatic Ediacaran–Cambrian survivor among small carbonaceous fossils (SCFs)

et al. 2020

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Conspicuously few body‐fossil taxa are known to span the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary, a pattern usually taken to signal either a terminal Proterozoic mass extinction, or taphonomic failure. We draw attention to the emerging record of small carbonaceous fossils (SCFs), which exhibit continuous preservation spanning this critical interval. Here we focus on the enigmatic SCF Cochleatina, a morphologically complex coil‐shaped problematicum that ranges across the Ediacaran–Cambrian divide, and is potentially among the oldest fossil occurrences of metazoans. We report new material of Cochleatina canilovica from the Ediacaran of Estonia and Ukraine, which offers new characters for assessing its palaeobiology. Significantly, new specimens include sets of three‐alike triplets of Cochleatina adhering to organic sheets, suggesting a clustering habit, or grouping of elements within an individual during life; an important step in constraining the morphology and ecology of this Ediacaran–Cambrian problematicum. We present revised systematic descriptions for Cochleatina and C. canilovica, and critically evaluate previous biological interpretations, drawing comparisons with metazoan, algal and protistan analogues. We reject hypotheses supporting Cochleatina as a metazoan mouthpart, and suggest new grounds for viewing Cochleatina as a potential multicomponent predator that trapped protists among microbial mats. Most occurrences are from Baltica, but we synthesize sporadic reports of Cochleatina from other palaeocontinents, pointing to its global distribution during the latest ˜10 myr of the Ediacaran and majority of the earliest Cambrian Fortunian Stage. As a rare example of an ‘Ediacaran survivor’, Cochleatina highlights the broader significance of SCFs as a novel means of tracking evolutionary patterns through the Proterozoic–Phanerozoic transition.

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Evolutionary synchrony of Earth’s biosphere and sedimentary-stratigraphic record

Cited by 41 publications

References 320 publications

Sustained fluvial deposition recorded in Mars’ Noachian stratigraphic record

Sustained fluvial deposition recorded in Mars’ Noachian stratigraphic record

Evolutionary simulations clarify and reconcile biodiversity-disturbance models

Cochleatina: an enigmatic Ediacaran–Cambrian survivor among small carbonaceous fossils (SCFs)

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