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Updated: Feb 20, 2026

Experimental Manipulation of Body Size to Estimate Morphological Scaling Relationships in Drosophila
Published on: October 1, 2011
Nutrient-dependent growth underpinned the Ediacaran transition to large body size
Jennifer F Hoyal Cuthill1,2, Simon Conway Morris3
1Earth-Life Science Institute, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, 152-8550, Japan. jfh41@cam.ac.uk.
Abstract:
Macroscale rangeomorph fossils, with characteristic branching fronds, appear (571 Myr ago) after the Gaskiers glaciation (580 Myr ago). However, biological mechanisms of size growth and potential connections to ocean geochemistry were untested. Using micro-computerized tomography and photographic measurements, alongside mathematical and computer models, we demonstrate that growth of rangeomorph branch internodes declined as their relative surface area decreased. This suggests that frond size and shape were directly responsive to nutrient uptake.
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