Data from: Population structure of the oldest known macroscopic communities from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland ...
The presumed affinities of the Terminal Neoproterozoic Ediacara biota have been much debated. However, even in the absence of concrete evidence for phylogenetic affinity, numerical paleoecological approaches can be effectively used to make inferences about organismal biology, the nature of biotic in...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Dataset |
| Language: | English |
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Dryad
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.3j07n https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.3j07n |
| Summary: | The presumed affinities of the Terminal Neoproterozoic Ediacara biota have been much debated. However, even in the absence of concrete evidence for phylogenetic affinity, numerical paleoecological approaches can be effectively used to make inferences about organismal biology, the nature of biotic interactions, and life history. Here, we examine the population structure of three Ediacaran rangeomorph taxa (Fractofusus, Beothukis, and Pectinofrons), and one non-rangeomorph taxon (Thectardis) across five fossil surfaces around the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, through analysis of size-frequency distributions using Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). Best-supported models resolve communities of all studied Ediacaran taxa at Mistaken Point as single cohorts with wide variance. This result is best explained in terms of a “continuous reproduction” model, whereby Ediacaran organisms reproduce aseasonally, so that multiple size modes are absent from preserved communities. Modern benthic invertebrates (both as a ... : Raw dataExcel file with raw data for all surfaces (univariate and multivariate). Measurements are retrodeformed, after mathematically removing tectonic bed-parallel shortening (see Clapham et al., 2003; Wood et al., 2003). Only complete measurements are used; measurements from incomplete/broken specimens are excluded. ... |
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