The utility of height for the Ediacaran organisms of Mistaken Point.
Ediacaran fossil communities consist of the oldest macroscopic eukaryotic organisms. Increased size (height) is hypothesized to be driven by competition for water column resources, leading to vertical/epifaunal tiering and morphological innovations such as stems. Using spatial analyses, we find no c...
Main Authors: | , |
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Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2018
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/283142 https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.30505 |
Summary: | Ediacaran fossil communities consist of the oldest macroscopic eukaryotic organisms. Increased size (height) is hypothesized to be driven by competition for water column resources, leading to vertical/epifaunal tiering and morphological innovations such as stems. Using spatial analyses, we find no correlation between tiering and resource competition, and that stemmed organisms are not tiered. Instead, we find that height is correlated with greater offspring dispersal, demonstrating the importance of colonization potential over resource competition. Gibbs Travelling Fellowship from Newnham College, University of Cambridge Henslow Research Fellowship, Cambridge Philosophical Society. |
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