'Conga lines' of Ediacaran fronds: insights into the reproductive biology of early metazoans.
Late Ediacaran strata from Newfoundland, Canada (~574-560 Ma) document near-census palaeocommunities of some of the earliest metazoans. Such preservation enables reproductive strategies to be inferred from the spatial distribution of populations of fossilized benthic organisms, previously revealing...
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231601 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39076788 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11286166/ |
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ftpubmed:39076788 2024-09-15T18:20:10+00:00 'Conga lines' of Ediacaran fronds: insights into the reproductive biology of early metazoans. Delahooke, Katie M Liu, Alexander G Stephenson, Nile P Mitchell, Emily G 2024 May https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231601 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39076788 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11286166/ eng eng PubMed Central https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231601 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39076788 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11286166/ © 2024 The Authors. R Soc Open Sci ISSN:2054-5703 Volume:11 Issue:5 CFD Ediacaran plasticity rangeomorphs reproduction stolons Journal Article 2024 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231601 2024-07-31T16:03:00Z Late Ediacaran strata from Newfoundland, Canada (~574-560 Ma) document near-census palaeocommunities of some of the earliest metazoans. Such preservation enables reproductive strategies to be inferred from the spatial distribution of populations of fossilized benthic organisms, previously revealing the existence of both propagule and stoloniferous reproductive modes among Ediacaran frondose taxa. Here, we describe 'conga lines': linear arrangements of more than three closely spaced fossil specimens. We calculate probabilistic models of point maps of 13 fossil-bearing bedding surfaces and show that four surfaces contain conga lines that are not the result of chance alignments. We then test whether these features could result from passive pelagic propagules settling in the lee of an existing frond, using computational fluid dynamics and discrete phase modelling. Under Ediacaran palaeoenvironmental conditions, preferential leeside settlement at the spatial scale of the conga lines is unlikely. We therefore conclude that these features are novel and do not reflect previously described reproductive strategies employed by Ediacaran organisms, suggesting the use of mixed reproductive strategies in the earliest animals. Such strategies enabled Ediacaran frondose taxa to act as reproductive generalists and may be an important facet of early metazoan evolution. Article in Journal/Newspaper Newfoundland PubMed Central (PMC) Royal Society Open Science 11 5 |
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Open Polar |
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PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
CFD Ediacaran plasticity rangeomorphs reproduction stolons |
spellingShingle |
CFD Ediacaran plasticity rangeomorphs reproduction stolons Delahooke, Katie M Liu, Alexander G Stephenson, Nile P Mitchell, Emily G 'Conga lines' of Ediacaran fronds: insights into the reproductive biology of early metazoans. |
topic_facet |
CFD Ediacaran plasticity rangeomorphs reproduction stolons |
description |
Late Ediacaran strata from Newfoundland, Canada (~574-560 Ma) document near-census palaeocommunities of some of the earliest metazoans. Such preservation enables reproductive strategies to be inferred from the spatial distribution of populations of fossilized benthic organisms, previously revealing the existence of both propagule and stoloniferous reproductive modes among Ediacaran frondose taxa. Here, we describe 'conga lines': linear arrangements of more than three closely spaced fossil specimens. We calculate probabilistic models of point maps of 13 fossil-bearing bedding surfaces and show that four surfaces contain conga lines that are not the result of chance alignments. We then test whether these features could result from passive pelagic propagules settling in the lee of an existing frond, using computational fluid dynamics and discrete phase modelling. Under Ediacaran palaeoenvironmental conditions, preferential leeside settlement at the spatial scale of the conga lines is unlikely. We therefore conclude that these features are novel and do not reflect previously described reproductive strategies employed by Ediacaran organisms, suggesting the use of mixed reproductive strategies in the earliest animals. Such strategies enabled Ediacaran frondose taxa to act as reproductive generalists and may be an important facet of early metazoan evolution. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Delahooke, Katie M Liu, Alexander G Stephenson, Nile P Mitchell, Emily G |
author_facet |
Delahooke, Katie M Liu, Alexander G Stephenson, Nile P Mitchell, Emily G |
author_sort |
Delahooke, Katie M |
title |
'Conga lines' of Ediacaran fronds: insights into the reproductive biology of early metazoans. |
title_short |
'Conga lines' of Ediacaran fronds: insights into the reproductive biology of early metazoans. |
title_full |
'Conga lines' of Ediacaran fronds: insights into the reproductive biology of early metazoans. |
title_fullStr |
'Conga lines' of Ediacaran fronds: insights into the reproductive biology of early metazoans. |
title_full_unstemmed |
'Conga lines' of Ediacaran fronds: insights into the reproductive biology of early metazoans. |
title_sort |
'conga lines' of ediacaran fronds: insights into the reproductive biology of early metazoans. |
publisher |
PubMed Central |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231601 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39076788 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11286166/ |
genre |
Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland |
op_source |
R Soc Open Sci ISSN:2054-5703 Volume:11 Issue:5 |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231601 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39076788 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11286166/ |
op_rights |
© 2024 The Authors. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.231601 |
container_title |
Royal Society Open Science |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
5 |
_version_ |
1810458540104482816 |