Article
Geography, Physical
Olev Vinn, Mark A. Wilson, Andrej Ernst
Summary: Trepostome bryozoans formed the largest number of symbiotic associations with endobionts in the Phanerozoic, and such associations were also formed by other bryozoans and cyclostomes. Most of the associations were with cnidarians, while fewer were with worms and lophophorates. The evolution of symbiotic relationships and the decrease in parasitic associations in bryozoans can be attributed to their selective behavior and the development of defense mechanisms.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
B. P. Smith, M. D. Cantine, K. D. Bergmann, E. J. Ramos, R. C. Martindale, C. Kerans
Summary: The study examines the connection between ocean chemistry, carbonate sedimentation, Earth's climate, carbon cycle, and marine pH. It explores how sedimentary textures like tepee structures and pisoids can serve as independent proxies for past seawater carbonate chemistry, offering insights into global carbon cycle models and providing a new proxy record of seawater chemistry. The findings indicate that shifts in the global and temporal abundances of tepee structures and pisoids are correlated with changes in seawater chemistry due to tectonics and biotic innovation.
Article
Geology
Xi Xu, Hanlin Chen, Andrew Zuza, An Yin, Peng Yu, Xiubin Lin, Chongjin Zhao, Juncheng Luo, Shufeng Yang, Baodi Wang
Summary: This study demonstrates the significance of plume-driven cratonization process in the formation of continents using the geological-geophysical data set from the Tarim region.
Article
Geology
Andrea Baucon, Carlos Neto de Carvalho, Fabrizio Felletti, Gabriele Tosadori, Alexandre Antonelli
Summary: The study reveals that burrow morphologies show persistent patterns over evolutionary time scales, influenced by small-world dynamics and forming associations between shallow and deep-sea burrows. This pattern follows assembly rules similar to those shaping human social networks.
Article
Geology
Lewis A. Jones, Kilian Eichenseer
Summary: Paleotemperature proxy records are widely used to reconstruct global climate history and test macroevolutionary hypotheses. However, the spatial distribution of these records varies over time, leading to potential biases in reconstructed temperature curves. Our study evaluated the influence of this spatial sampling evolution and found that global paleotemperature is overestimated in around 70% of stages.
Article
Biology
Ahmed J. Saadi, Julian Bibermair, Kevin M. Kocot, Nickellaus G. Roberts, Masato Hirose, Andrew Calcino, Christian Baranyi, Ratcha Chaichana, Timothy S. Wood, Thomas Schwaha
Summary: This study presents the first phylogenomic analysis of the Phylactolaemata class, resolving the interrelationships and estimating divergence time using transcriptomic data and dense taxon sampling. The results show the sister relationship of Stephanellidae and the confirmation of Lophopodidae as the second offshoot within the phylactolaemate tree. The study also highlights the likelihood of cryptic speciation in some species. Divergence time estimates suggest the appearance of Phylactolaemata in the Ediacaran and divergence starting in the Silurian.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Tassy Aurelie, Borgomano Jean, Leonide Philippe, Hairabian Alex, Lanteaume Cyprien, Michel Julien
Summary: This pilot study investigates the relationship between geodynamic controls and the characteristics of carbonate platforms during the Phanerozoic. It identifies nine models of Geodynamic Carbonate Platforms and finds that passive margins are the most favorable settings for their development. The study also introduces the concept of spatial intersection between geodynamic and climatic windows favorable to carbonate platforms.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
L. M. Ward, D. T. Johnston, P. M. Shih
Summary: This study reveals that bacterial ammonia oxidation is relatively young, originating later than previously thought and coinciding with the widespread oxygenation of the deep ocean. It has significant implications for understanding the importance of nutrient cycles and challenges earlier interpretations of ancient nitrogen isotope records.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Yan Yuan, Tianyu Chen, Feifei Zhang, Yuanyuan Liu, Guolin Xiong, Guang-Yi Wei, Tais W. Dahl, Wen Yan, Hong-Fei Ling, Hai Cheng, Shu-Zhong Shen
Summary: The uranium isotope ratio in marine carbonates is an important tool for reconstructing past oceanic redox conditions. However, diagenetic processes may complicate this proxy by introducing isotopically heavy uranium into the carbonates. This study quantifies the valence states of trace amounts of uranium in geological carbonate samples and finds that modern coral carbonates faithfully record uranium from seawater. Surprisingly, drill core samples from a modern coral carbonate platform show a significant positive correlation between a specific valence state of uranium and the uranium isotope ratio, suggesting the presence of this valence state in marine carbonates and its influence on the uranium isotope ratio. The study suggests that coupled valence and isotope analyses of uranium in marine carbonates could provide critical constraints for reconstructing marine redox evolution.
GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Review
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Benjamin J. W. Mills, Alexander J. Krause, Ian Jarvis, Bradley D. Cramer
Summary: An oxygen-rich atmosphere is crucial for complex animals. The study aims to understand the changes in oxygen levels over the Phanerozoic Eon and concludes that oxygen levels were around 5-10% during the Cambrian, increased to 15-20% in the Devonian, and peaked over 25% in the Permo-Carboniferous before declining. The rise in oxygen levels aligns with significant evolutionary events.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Khushboo Gurung, Katie J. Field, Sarah A. Batterman, Yves Godderis, Yannick Donnadieu, Philipp Porada, Lyla L. Taylor, Benjamin J. W. Mills
Summary: Climatic variables have a significant impact on plant evolution. This study identifies two "windows of opportunity" that support the expansion of plant biomass through linking climate and dynamic vegetation modeling. These windows coincide with the expansion of land plants and the radiation of angiosperms. The timing and expansion of habitable space for plants played an important role in plant evolution and diversification.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Geology
Mingtao Li, Paul B. Wignall, Xu Dai, Mingyi Hu, Haijun Song
Summary: The study suggests that the abundance of dolomite during the Phanerozoic era is closely related to changes in marine benthic biodiversity, with four dolomite peaks occurring during mass extinctions and being associated with ocean anoxic conditions.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Pedro Cermeno, Carmen Garcia-Comas, Alexandre Pohl, Simon Williams, Michael J. Benton, Chhaya Chaudhary, Guillaume Le Gland, R. Dietmar Mueller, Andy Ridgwell, Sergio M. Vallina
Summary: The fossil record of marine invertebrates has been used to study the limits of global diversity in the sea. Ecological theory suggests that as diversity grows, biological interactions impose limits on diversity. However, the extent to which these interactions have constrained diversity over evolutionary time remains unclear. A regional diversification model was developed to reproduce the trends in global diversity of marine invertebrates, and it was found that less than 2% of the global flooded continental area approached ecological saturation. The overall increase in global diversity was attributed to the development of diversity hotspots under stable Earth system conditions and maximum continental fragmentation.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ethan L. Grossman, Michael M. Joachimski
Summary: The oxygen isotope compositions of carbonate and phosphatic fossils provide important insights into the evolution of the Earth-system over the past 500 million years. The temperature change seems to be the main factor contributing to the rapid shifts observed in the oxygen isotope records. The paleotemperature trends for carbonates and phosphates are similar, suggesting that CO2 played a role as a climate driver in the Paleozoic.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Richard G. Stockey, Alexandre Pohl, Andy Ridgwell, Seth Finnegan, Erik A. Sperling
Summary: The decline in background extinction rates of marine animals through geologic time is linked to the synergistic impacts of oxygen and temperature on aerobic respiration, making marine animals more vulnerable to ocean warming events during periods of limited surface oxygenation. Physiological theory predicts that atmospheric oxygen is the dominant predictor of extinction vulnerability for marine animals.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Paul D. Taylor, Silviu O. Martha, Dennis P. Gordon
JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY
(2018)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Emanuela Di Martino, Jeremy B. C. Jackson, Paul D. Taylor, Kenneth G. Johnson
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Paul D. Taylor, Emanuela Di Martino, Silviu O. Martha
PALAEOBIODIVERSITY AND PALAEOENVIRONMENTS
(2019)
Article
Paleontology
Jun-Ye Ma, Paul D. Taylor, Caroline J. Buttler
Article
Paleontology
Emanuela Di Martino, Paul D. Taylor, Allan Gil S. Fernando, Tomoki Kase, Moriaki Yasuhara
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Andrea M. Erhardt, Alexandra Turchyn, J. A. D. Dickson, Aleksey Yu Sadekov, Paul D. Taylor, Mark A. Wilson, Daniel P. Schrag
GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS
(2020)
Article
Plant Sciences
Emanuela Di Martino, Paul D. Taylor, Dennis P. Gordon
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TAXONOMY
(2020)
Article
Paleontology
Paul D. Taylor, Raymond R. Rogers
Summary: A new species of cheilostome bryozoan from the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway shows morphological similarities with a Recent species, suggesting its potential euryhaline nature. This Campanian bryozoan was found in a sedimentary environment believed to be a swamp or tidally influenced fluvial backwater, indicating occasional marine flooding.
JOURNAL OF PALEONTOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhiliang Zhang, Zhifei Zhang, Junye Ma, Paul D. Taylor, Luke C. Strotz, Sarah M. Jacquet, Christian B. Skovsted, Feiyang Chen, Jian Han, Glenn A. Brock
Summary: Bryozoans, also known as ectoprocts or moss animals, are aquatic, primarily sessile, filter-feeding lophophorates that construct an organic or calcareous colonial exoskeleton. Fossils of Protomelission gatehousei from the early Cambrian of Australia and South China have been identified as potential stem-group bryozoans, pushing back the origin of the phylum Bryozoa by approximately 35 million years and aligning it with other skeletonized phyla in the Cambrian Age 3. This discovery reconciles the fossil record with molecular clock estimations of an early Cambrian origin and subsequent Ordovician radiation of Bryozoa following the acquisition of a carbonate skeleton.
Article
Plant Sciences
Paul D. Taylor, Jean-Georges Harmelin, Andrea Waeschenbach, Claude Bouchon
Summary: The taxonomy of cyclostome bryozoans is primarily based on skeletal characteristics, but molecular sequence data have revealed that established higher taxa are not always monophyletic. A new species from Guadeloupe has been identified with unique skeletal morphology, placing it in a suborder where its colony-form has not been previously recorded. This new species, Disporella guada, is well-suited to life in shallow rocky habitats exposed to severe wave action.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF TAXONOMY
(2021)
Article
Anatomy & Morphology
Peter B. Batson, Yuta Tamberg, Paul D. Taylor
Summary: This study used micro-computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy to investigate the zooidal budding in Horneridae from the initial bud. The results revealed two distinct budding modes, frontal autozooids budding from a multizooidal lamina and lateral autozooids budding from discrete abfrontal budding loci by exomural budding. These two budding modes integrate during primary branch morphogenesis, forming bilaminate branches. The findings provide insights for the taxonomy and phylogeny of Cancellata.
JOURNAL OF MORPHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Andrei Grischenko, Dennis P. Gordon, Paul D. Taylor, Piotr Kuklinski, Nina Denisenko, Mary E. Spencer-Jones, Andrew N. Ostrovsky
Summary: This study describes twenty-four recent species of the boreal-Arctic and Pacific cheilostome bryozoan genus Rhamphostomella. The taxonomic revision, morphology, ecology, zoogeography, and identification keys of these species are discussed. The diversity of Rhamphostomella peaks in the northwestern Pacific.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sara B. Pruss, Lexie Leeser, Emily F. Smith, Andrey Yu Zhuravlev, Paul D. Taylor
Summary: A study reports a possible earliest occurrence of palaeostomate bryozoan fossils, providing further evidence for the early Cambrian roots of Bryozoa. These fossils show similarities to known bryozoans and exhibit characteristics of early bryozoans.
Article
Paleontology
Mali H. Ramsfjell, Paul D. Taylor, Emanuela Di Martino
Summary: This study describes three new species of the cheilostome bryozoan genus Microporella from the early Miocene in New Zealand, as well as the ovicells of another fossil species. These findings contribute to the understanding of the classification and evolution of Microporella.
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Dennis P. Gordon, Judy E. Sutherland, Brenda A. Perez, Andrea Waeschenbach, Paul D. Taylor, Emanuela Di Martino
JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY
(2020)