Palaeobiology: The Cambrian smorgasbord

Frood, Arran

doi:10.1038/453717a

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 4 publications

(4 reference statements)

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“…The substrate revolution triggered feedback loops between organisms and the environment that destroyed the simple, gently graded uniform Ediacaran microbial mat habitats and replaced them with increasingly complex, fragmented, heterogeneous, dynamic Cambrian habitats (Budd & Jackson, 2016; Erwin & Tweedt, 2012; Mangano & Buatois, 2017). Over tens of millions of years, simple ecosystems containing animals that ate microbial slime were transformed into ecosystems containing recognizable modern animal phyla and complex food webs resembling modern inshore marine ecosystems (Fox, 2016; Frood, 2008). Most modern animal phyla, most of which have nervous systems, appear in the fossil record before 500 Ma (Budd & Jackson, 2016; Darroch, Smith, Laflamme, & Erwin, 2018; Droser et al, 2017; Marshall, 2006; Schiffbauer et al, 2016).…”

Section: The Cambrian Revolutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Events in Early Nervous System Evolution

Paulin

Cahill-Lane

2019

Topics in Cognitive Science

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We propose that neurons and nervous systems evolved among thin, motile, microbe‐eating animals during the Ediacaran period (635–543 million years ago). Spiking neurons evolved from epithelial cells around the margins of Ediacaran microbial mat grazers that initially specialized to detect weak bioelectric fields of nearby animals and to trigger rapid withdrawal movements. According to this scenario, nervous systems are a consequence of two preceding animal innovations, external digestion and motility, which have co‐evolved in concert with nervous systems ever since. We suggest that fundamental characteristics of modern nervous systems can be explained by studying how nervous systems originated during the Ediacaran period, as natural computers for predictive statistical inference given event‐based sense data.

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Section: The Cambrian Revolutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Events in Early Nervous System Evolution

Paulin

Cahill-Lane

2019

Topics in Cognitive Science

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“…3). This food‐size effect has wide resonance in understanding the principles governing food web structure (reviewed by Frood, 2008).…”

Section: Feeding Adaptations Among Dipteran Larvaementioning

confidence: 99%

The evolutionary ecology of detritus feeding in the larvae of freshwater Diptera

McLachlan

Ladle

2009

Biological Reviews

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Detritus (dead organic matter), largely of terrestrial origin, is superabundant in inland waters but because of its indigestible nature, would appear to be a poor food source for animals. Yet this unpromising material is widely used as food and indeed can be viewed as a defining characteristic of the freshwater environment. We here explore the relationships among animals, detritus and its associated micro-organism decomposers, taking a functional approach. We pose questions about interrelationships and attempt to arrive at new insights by disentangling them from an adaptive point of view. To do this we have been careful in selecting the habitats for detailed consideration. Rain pools on rock surfaces in tropical Africa and pools on peat moorland in the UK were chosen. Both examples have a relatively simple community structure and hence offer the prospect of achieving our aim. As model organisms for study we focus principally on the aquatic stages of selected holometabolous insects; that is, selected genera of the universally common midges, Ceratopogonidae and Chironomidae. We approach these case studies from an evolutionary ecology perspective and see detritus as a simple template upon which a beautiful complex of adaptations can evolve.

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Palaeobiology: The Cambrian smorgasbord

Cited by 2 publications

References 4 publications

Events in Early Nervous System Evolution

Events in Early Nervous System Evolution

The evolutionary ecology of detritus feeding in the larvae of freshwater Diptera

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