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.

Details

Title
Coupling of ocean redox and animal evolution during the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition
Author
Wang, Dan 1 ; Hong-Fei, Ling 2 ; Struck, Ulrich 3 ; Xiang-Kun Zhu 4 ; Zhu, Maoyan 5 ; He, Tianchen 6 ; Yang, Ben 7 ; Gamper, Antonia 3 ; Shields, Graham A 8   VIAFID ORCID Logo 

1  MNR Key Laboratory of Isotope Geology, MNR Key Laboratory of Deep-Earth Dynamics, Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China; State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China 
2  State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China 
3  Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Berlin, Germany; Department of Earth Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany 
4  MNR Key Laboratory of Isotope Geology, MNR Key Laboratory of Deep-Earth Dynamics, Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China 
5  State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China; College of Earth Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China 
6  School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK 
7  MNR Key Laboratory of Stratigraphy and Palaeontology, Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China 
8  Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London, UK 
Pages
1-8
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Jul 2018
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20411723
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-04980-5
ProQuest document ID
2063688535
Copyright
© 2018. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.