Wang, D, Ling, H-F, Struck, U et al. (6 more authors) (2018) Coupling of ocean redox and animal evolution during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition. Nature Communications, 9 (1). 2575. ISSN 2041-1723
Abstract
The late Ediacaran to early Cambrian interval witnessed extraordinary radiations of metazoan life. The role of the physical environment in this biological revolution, such as changes to oxygen levels and nutrient availability, has been the focus of longstanding debate. Seemingly contradictory data from geochemical redox proxies help to fuel this controversy. As an essential nutrient, nitrogen can help to resolve this impasse by establishing linkages between nutrient supply, ocean redox, and biological changes. Here we present a comprehensive N-isotope dataset from the Yangtze Basin that reveals remarkable coupling between δ¹⁵N, δ¹³C, and evolutionary events from circa 551 to 515 Ma. The results indicate that increased fixed nitrogen supply may have facilitated episodic animal radiations by reinforcing ocean oxygenation, and restricting anoxia to near, or even at the sediment–water interface. Conversely, sporadic ocean anoxic events interrupted ocean oxygenation, and may have led to extinctions of the Ediacaran biota and small shelly animals.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018, The Author(s). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Earth Surface Science Institute (ESSI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 09 Aug 2018 13:16 |
Last Modified: | 09 Aug 2018 13:16 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41467-018-04980-5 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:134348 |
Download
Filename: Coupling of ocean redox and animal evolution during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition.pdf
Licence: CC-BY 4.0