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Ediacaran matground ecology persisted into the earliest Cambrian
Luis A Buatois1, Guy M Narbonne2, M Gabriela Mángano1
1Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada SK S7N 5E2.
Nature Communications
|March 29, 2014
Summary
Ediacaran-style ecology persisted into the early Cambrian, evidenced by trace fossils. The disappearance of Ediacara biota was an abrupt evolutionary event, not a gradual environmental fade.
Area of Science:
- Paleontology
- Sedimentology
- Geology
Background:
- The Cambrian period saw significant biological and sedimentary shifts, replacing microbial matgrounds with bioturbated mixgrounds.
- Understanding the ecological transition from the Ediacaran to the Cambrian is crucial for evolutionary studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the persistence of Ediacaran-style ecology into the earliest Cambrian.
- To analyze the sedimentary structures and ichnofossils at the basal Cambrian type section in Fortune Head, Newfoundland.
Main Methods:
- Field study of sedimentary structures and ichnofossils.
- Analysis of microbially induced sedimentary structures and Ediacaran-type matground ichnofossils.
- Examination of body fossil distribution and arthropod trace fossils.
Main Results:
- Widespread microbially induced sedimentary structures and Ediacaran-type matground ichnofossils were found.
- Ediacara-type body fossils were absent in the Cambrian succession, despite preservation potential.
- The first abundant arthropod scratch marks appeared on microbial surfaces in the Cambrian.
Conclusions:
- Ediacaran-style matground-based ecology extended into the early Cambrian.
- The Ediacara biota's disappearance was an abrupt evolutionary event linked to new bilaterian clades.
- This event was not due to a gradual loss of suitable preservation conditions.
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