Ediacaran Period
Ediacaran Period
635-541 Million Years Ago
635-541 Million Years Ago
Works Cited
Antcliffe, Jonathan B., Anthony D. Hancy, and Martin D. Brasier. “A New Ecological Model for the ∼565Ma Ediacaran Biota of Mistaken Point, Newfoundland.” Precambrian research 268 (2015): 227–242. Web.
Yuan, Lin et al. “Multiple Ocean Oxygenation Events during the Ediacaran Period: Mo Isotope Evidence from the Nanhua Basin, South China.” Precambrian research 388 (2023): 107004-. Web.
Algal bloom in Lake Binder, Iowa. Photo: Dr. Jennifer Graham, USGS
Ediacaran Climate and Atmosphere
The climate was recovering from the previous temperature drop of the Cryogen Period. While the Icebergs were melting the nutrients from the water trapped inside seeped into the ocean. This supports the idea “that oceans were widely oxygenated following Marinoan glaciation” (Yuan). With huge amounts of nutrients supported cyanobacteria, raising the oxygen in the ocean and supporting life 575 million years ago.
The Major Event of The Ediacaran Period
The major event during the Ediacaran Period was The Avalon explosion. It was a Pre-Cambrian explosion of new unique organisms unlike anything familiar to Cambria. Although scientists are not completely sure as to the cause of the explosion, the prevailing hypothesis is that nutrients from melting icebergs led to the rise in oxygen in the ocean giving life to cyanobacteria. This acted as the tipping point leading to the beginning of the explosion. New never before seen life forms called Ediacaran Biota.
Ediacaran Organisms
It is unclear where the pre-Cambrian organisms fit into our tree of life today with some scientist considering them stem-animals, retaining the idea that we share a common ancestor or that they are more related to fungi, kelp or algae and represent a entire separate kingdom of life. The reason it is difficult for scientists to narrow down where these organisms fit is because
“these hypotheses are highly dependent upon the taphonomic interpretation of [fossils found at] Mistaken Point, Newfoundland as a consensus population representing the associations of the organisms in life. Reanalyses of [the surfaces surrounding the fossils], however, indicate that this taphonomic model is inconsistent with the range of preservation states seen in each taxon” (Antcliff).
Some specific organisms of the Ediacaran Period consisted of plant appearing but organism-like creatures called Rangeomorphs and Kimberella. Rangeomorphs being pre-Cambrian life resembling Charnia living too deep in the ocean to be considered plants. These organisms grew fractally with smaller repeating versions of its pattern in each leaf. Meanwhile Kimberella are a soft mollusk-like creature with exhibited bilateral symmetry.
Mini-Research Project: Ediacaran Period
Evan Stabler
Created on February 16, 2024
Mini-Research Project of the Ediacaran Period By Evan Stabler
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Transcript
Ediacaran Period
Ediacaran Period
635-541 Million Years Ago
635-541 Million Years Ago
Works Cited
Antcliffe, Jonathan B., Anthony D. Hancy, and Martin D. Brasier. “A New Ecological Model for the ∼565Ma Ediacaran Biota of Mistaken Point, Newfoundland.” Precambrian research 268 (2015): 227–242. Web.
Yuan, Lin et al. “Multiple Ocean Oxygenation Events during the Ediacaran Period: Mo Isotope Evidence from the Nanhua Basin, South China.” Precambrian research 388 (2023): 107004-. Web.
Algal bloom in Lake Binder, Iowa. Photo: Dr. Jennifer Graham, USGS
Ediacaran Climate and Atmosphere
The climate was recovering from the previous temperature drop of the Cryogen Period. While the Icebergs were melting the nutrients from the water trapped inside seeped into the ocean. This supports the idea “that oceans were widely oxygenated following Marinoan glaciation” (Yuan). With huge amounts of nutrients supported cyanobacteria, raising the oxygen in the ocean and supporting life 575 million years ago.
The Major Event of The Ediacaran Period
The major event during the Ediacaran Period was The Avalon explosion. It was a Pre-Cambrian explosion of new unique organisms unlike anything familiar to Cambria. Although scientists are not completely sure as to the cause of the explosion, the prevailing hypothesis is that nutrients from melting icebergs led to the rise in oxygen in the ocean giving life to cyanobacteria. This acted as the tipping point leading to the beginning of the explosion. New never before seen life forms called Ediacaran Biota.
Ediacaran Organisms
It is unclear where the pre-Cambrian organisms fit into our tree of life today with some scientist considering them stem-animals, retaining the idea that we share a common ancestor or that they are more related to fungi, kelp or algae and represent a entire separate kingdom of life. The reason it is difficult for scientists to narrow down where these organisms fit is because “these hypotheses are highly dependent upon the taphonomic interpretation of [fossils found at] Mistaken Point, Newfoundland as a consensus population representing the associations of the organisms in life. Reanalyses of [the surfaces surrounding the fossils], however, indicate that this taphonomic model is inconsistent with the range of preservation states seen in each taxon” (Antcliff). Some specific organisms of the Ediacaran Period consisted of plant appearing but organism-like creatures called Rangeomorphs and Kimberella. Rangeomorphs being pre-Cambrian life resembling Charnia living too deep in the ocean to be considered plants. These organisms grew fractally with smaller repeating versions of its pattern in each leaf. Meanwhile Kimberella are a soft mollusk-like creature with exhibited bilateral symmetry.