Using ecology to unlock the secrets of Ediacaran evolution - Emily Mitchell

Using ecology to unlock the secrets of Ediacaran evolution
- Emily Mitchell
University of Cambridge
The sudden appearance of animals in the fossil record, during the Ediacaran time period, is one of the most important events in the history of life on Earth. While studying Ediacaran evolution is fraught with difficulties due to the lack of clear Phanerozoic counterparts, the preservation of Ediacaran fossils is exceptional, with thousands of organisms preserved where they lived. This exceptional preservation means that we can use a suite of ecological methodologies, normally only applicable to extant communities, to understand the ecology and evolution of the first animals. In order to map out these Ediacaran communities, we laser-scan hundreds of square meters of Ediacaran bedding planes, and so far have captured over 30,000 fossils in-situ from across Newfoundland, Canada and Charnwood Forest, UK. Using spatial, Bayesian network and metacommunity analyses, we have started to tease apart Ediacaran eco-evolutionary dynamics, revealing how Ediacaran dynamics shifted from a stochastic start, dominated by clonal reproduction, reduced competition, and limited environmental interactions to more complex dynamics, with niche specialization and strong biotic interactions just prior to the Cambrian.

[@shadetreader]

"You don't need to compete with your neighbours if you're sharing resources", in other words, Karl Marx was right.

[@leezebede4469]

How did a lecture on ediacaran evolution evolve into a pro for Marxism. And this comment got a like. Im like 99.8% it was the person writing the comment. Communism is great on paper like in Marxs book but put it into the world and it fails.