TREE 2407 No. of Pages 11
Opinion
Ediacaran Extinction and Cambrian Explosion
1, 2 3 4
Simon A.F. Darroch, * Emily F. Smith, Marc Laflamme, and Douglas H. Erwin
The Ediacaran–Cambrian (E–C) transition marks the most important geobio- Highlights
logical revolution of the past billion years, including the Earth’s first crisis of We provide evidence for a two-phased
bioticturnovereventduringtheEdiacaran-
macroscopic eukaryotic life, and its most spectacular evolutionary diversifica-
–Cambrian transition (about 550–539
tion. Here, we describe competing models for late Ediacaran extinction, Ma),whichbothcomprisestheEarth’sfirst
major biotic crisis of macroscopic eukar-
summarize evidence for these models, and outline key questions which will
yotic life (the disappearance of the enig-
drive research on this interval. We argue that the paleontological data suggest
matic ‘Ediacara biota’) and immediately
– –
two pulses of extinction one at the White Sea Nama transition, which ushers precedes the Cambrian explosion.
in a recognizably metazoan fauna (the ‘Wormworld’), and a second pulse at the
Wesummarizetwocompetingmodelsfor
E–C boundary itself. We argue that this latest Ediacaran fauna has more in
the turnover pulses – an abiotically driven
‘
common with the Cambrian than the earlier Ediacaran, and thus may represent model(catastrophe)analogoustothe Big
5’ Phanerozoic mass extinction events,
the earliest phase of the Cambrian Explosion.
and a biotically driven model (biotic repla-
cement) suggesting that the evolution of
Evolutionary and Geobiological Revolution in the Ediacaran bilaterian metazoans and ecosystem
The late Neoproterozoic Ediacara biota (about 570–539? Ma) are an enigmatic group of soft- engineering were responsible.
bodied organisms that represent the first radiation of large, structurally complex multicellular
We summarize the evidence in support
eukaryotes. Although many of these organisms may represent animals (Metazoa), few share
of both models and identify several key
any synapomorphies with extant metazoan clades and thus may represent extinct groups with research questions which will help to
distinguish between them, and thus
no modern representatives [1] (Figure 1). Consequently, the position of the Ediacara biota in the
shed light on the origins of the modern,
context of the late Neoproterozoic–Cambrian rise of animals remains poorly understood. After
animal-dominated biosphere.
nearly 30 million years (my) as the dominant components of benthic marine ecosystems, the
Ediacara biota disappeared in the first major biotic transition of complex life, succeeded by a We argue that the first turnover pulse
(about 550 Ma) marks the greatest
spectacular biotic radiation – the ‘Cambrian Explosion’ – which marks the appearance of a
change in organismal and ecological
majority of extant animal clades and the establishment of metazoan-dominated ecosystems
complexity, leading to a more recog-
[2,3]. Understanding the cause(s) behind the disappearance of the Ediacara biota and its
nizably metazoan global fauna that has
relationship to the subsequent Cambrian radiation is thus key to understanding the origins of much more in common with the Cam-
brian than the earlier Ediacaran. This
the modern biosphere, and is an important research goal in geology, paleontology, and
latest Ediacaran interval (the ‘Nama’)
evolutionary biology. However, the mechanisms behind this transition are poorly understood,
may therefore represent the earliest
with recent research providing support for different models. One model posits an abiotic driver phase of the Cambrian Explosion.
similar to the causes of the Phanerozoic ‘Big 5’ mass extinctions (hereafter termed the
1
‘ ’ – –
catastrophe model ), while a separate but not necessarily mutually exclusive scenario Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
37235-1805, USA
invokes a biotic driver linked to the radiation of metazoans with new behaviors and feeding 2
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore,
modes (the ‘biotic replacement’ model). An alternative model suggesting that the apparent
MD 21218-2683, USA
3
extinction is an artifact of a closing preservational window has been rejected, on the basis that University of Toronto Mississauga,
Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada
Ediacaran-style matgrounds (and thus the conditions necessary for fossilization) persist into the 4
Smithsonian Institution, PO Box
Cambrian [4]. The catastrophe model would place the Cambrian Explosion as a postextinction
37012, MRC 121, Washington, DC
fi fi
diversi cation, similar in form if greatly different in result, to the early Cenozoic diversi cations of 20013-7012, USA
birds and placental mammals. By contrast, a biotic replacement model potentially creates a
more gradual transition from the latest Ediacaran faunas into the earliest Cambrian. Here, we
*Correspondence:
synthesize recent work on this interval and identify a series of fundamental research goals. [email protected]
Answering these questions will shed light on the sequence of events leading to the origin of (Simon A.F. Darroch).
Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Month Year, Vol. xx, No. yy https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2018.06.003 1
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
TREE 2407 No. of Pages 11
(A) (B) (C) (D)
(E) (F) (H)
(G)
(I) (J) (K)
(M)
(L)
Figure 1. Enigmatic Fossils from the Ediacaran. (A–D) Soft-bodied Ediacara biota belonging to the ‘White Sea’ assemblage, and which disappear prior to the
onset of the late Ediacaran ‘Nama’ interval about 550 Ma (A, Andiva; B, Dickinsonia; C, Yorgia; D, Tribrachidium). (E–H) Soft-bodied erniettomorph and rangeomorph
Ediacara biota belonging to the relatively species-poor ‘Nama’ assemblage (E, Swartpuntia; F, Rangea; G, Ernietta; H, Pteridinium). (I–M) Characteristic metazoan
(See figure legend on the bottom of the next page.)
2 Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Month Year, Vol. xx, No. yy
TREE 2407 No. of Pages 11
modern-looking ecosystems, as well as add valuable new information on the processes that
have driven both mass extinctions and evolutionary radiations over the last about 550 my.
Ediacaran–Cambrian Bioevents
The Ediacaran [635–539? million years ago (Mya)] marks the transition from Proterozoic to
Phanerozoic, and is the most recently named geological period. The base of the Ediacaran is
defined by a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) in South Australia marking the
end of the Marinoan Snowball Earth glaciation [5], while its top (and base of the Cambrian) is
intended to coincide with the first appearance of the trace fossil Treptichnus pedum in southeast
Newfoundland [6,7]. Fossils of soft-bodied Ediacara biota first appear in the Avalon Peninsula
(Newfoundland) in sequences that overly diamictite recording the Gaskiers glaciation. Recent
dates from the Avalon and Bonavista peninsulas give a maximum age of 570.94 Æ 0.38 Ma for the
first appearance of Ediacaran fossils [8]. New ashes that have been dated at the onset and at the
13
nadir of the basal Cambrian d C excursion in South China constrain this secondary chronostrati-
graphic marker of the Ediacaran–Cambrian (E–C) boundary to about 539 Ma, consistent with re-
dated ashes from southern Namibia [9]. Within this interval, three temporally and faunally distinc-
tive assemblages have been recognized: the ‘Avalon’, ‘White Sea’, and ‘Nama’ [10,11] (Figure 2).
The White Sea assemblage (about 558–550 Ma) marks the apex of Ediacaran diversity, with many
iconic groups (sometimes clades, see [12]), such as the Dickinsonimorpha, Bilateromorpha, and
Triradialomorpha, well represented. By contrast, the youngest Ediacaran assemblage – the Nama
(550–539? Ma) – contains a relatively species-poor community overwhelmingly dominated by the
Rangeomorpha and Erniettomorpha, with many other Ediacaran groups apparently already
extinct [13,14]. The Nama assemblage also records a proliferation of organic-walled tubular
organisms, a diversification in bilaterian trace fossils [15], and the appearance of the calcifying
invertebrates Cloudina, Namacalathus, and Namapoikia, marking a fundamental shift to commu-
nities with a much higher proportion of metazoans [16–18]. This proliferation of vermiform
metazoans has led to the latest Ediacaran Nama assemblage being referred to as ‘Wormworld’
and may indicate an escalation in metazoan ecosystem engineering and the evolution of the
Eltonian pyramid (i.e., the appearance of primary and secondary metazoan consumers) [19]. With
a few rare (and contested) exceptions, the Ediacara biota disappear entirely at the Cambrian
boundary, along with the majority of the ‘Wormworld’ fauna [20–23].
We argue that the biostratigraphic evidence points to two episodes of biotic turnover and
extinction: one at about 550 Ma at the transition between the White Sea and Nama assemb-
lages, and a second at the E–C boundary itself. This second event was closely followed by the
Cambrian Explosion, marked by the appearance of a diverse array of metazoan groups, and the
most dramatic interval of metazoan morphologic innovation in the history of life [24].
Ediacaran–Cambrian Record of Environmental Change
One of the great challenges of the E–C transition is understanding the possible causal
connections between the dramatic biotic shifts and coeval environmental changes. One feature
of Phanerozoic mass extinctions is that they are frequently accompanied by negative carbon
isotope excursions, which record perturbations to global marine oceans. Rather than exploring
the list of possible environmental triggers for the Cambrian radiation, we focus our discussion
here on the two large, possibly global perturbations to the carbon cycle at the close of the
Proterozoic: the Shuram and the Basal Cambrian Carbon Isotope Excursion (the ‘BACE’).
‘Wormworld’ body fossils and trace fossils that existed alongside Ediacara biota in the Nama assemblage, representing the onset of biomineralization, diversification of
feeding behaviors, and intensification of animal ecosystem engineering (I, Gaojiashania; J, Namacalathus; L, unnamed trace fossil; K, Shaanxilithes; M, large,
treptichnid-like traces from the late Ediacaran of Namibia). Filled scale bars 1 cm, open 5 mm.
Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Month Year, Vol. xx, No. yy 3
TREE 2407 No. of Pages 11
Carbon isotope Metazoans and Global diversity ‘Ediacara biota’ (δ13C) record ‘ecosystem engineering’
Calcifying Organic-walled 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 metazoans metazoans 40 20 0 529 529 (’Wormworld’fauna)
533 533 Fortunian Fortunian Cambrian ? Cambrian 538 ? 538 ? ? ‘BACE’
543 ons 543 Ɵ
‘Wormworld’ omorpha nc Ʃ Nama Nama Ɵ Ex
548 Rangeomorpha 548 Ernie Arboreomorpha ? ? 553 553 Time (mya) Cloudina Wutubus ‘Shuram’ Conotubus Namacalathus White Sea White Sea White
558 Gaojiashania 558 ‘Complex’ burrowing Sekwitubulus Ediacaran Ediacaran Pentaradialomorpha Tetraradialomorpha Plausible metazoans Shaanxilithes
Ediacara biota predation Macroscopic 563 563 Avalon Avalon
568 Bilateromorpha 568 Triradialomorpha Dickinsonimorpha 571 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 4 0 4 880 4 0 4 4 0 4 2 0 2 4 0 4 440 4 0 4 -12 -6 0 +6 40 20 0
# Genera # Genera δ13C (‰VPDB) # Bilaterian ichnogenera
Figure 2. Ediacaran–Cambrian Timescale. This illustrates the stratigraphic distribution and gamma diversity of enigmatic Ediacaran groups (Ediacara biota), the
more recognizably metazoan ‘Wormworld’ fauna (both ‘calcifying’ and ‘organic-walled’ metazoans), diversity of bilaterian ichnogenera, and the onset of putative
13
‘ecosystem engineering’ effects, alongside the record of environmental perturbation (as compilation d C curve). Diversity of Ediacara biota and bilaterian ichnogenera
13
replotted from [11] and [15], respectively. d C data compiled by [26] and [58]. BACE, Basal Cambrian Carbon Isotope Excursion; mya, million years ago; VPDB, Vienna
Pee Dee Belemnite standard.
The Shuram event is a large negative carbon isotope excursion that reaches values as low as
À12m, much lower than the modern mantle carbon value of À5m [25]. This excursion is
commonly thought to end at about 551 Ma [26], however, there are poor radiometric age
constraints for its onset, duration, and return to baseline values; better age constraints are
critical for demonstrating its global synchroneity [27]. Diagenesis has been proposed as a
13
possible explanation for the extreme negative d C values (e.g., [28]). More recently, however,
Ca and Mg isotopic data have been used to argue for a primary nature of the Shuram [29]. What
13
remains to be determined is whether or not the Shuram d C values recorded isotopic values of
global dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) at the time of deposition or, as has been suggested for
other large Proterozoic excursions, a local phenomenon [30].
13
The BACE, a negative d C excursion that accompanies the biotic shift that occurs across the
E–C boundary [31], has better radiometric constraints than the Shuram, but is similarly lacking a
mechanistic explanation. As with the Shuram, it is not clear whether this signal is primary or
diagenetic, local or global in nature.
Competing Models for End-Ediacaran Transition
Several alternative scenarios have been posited for the shift between the Ediacara and earliest
Cambrian biotas. An abiotic driver of extinction is invoked by the ‘catastrophe’ model,
potentially represented by the Shuram and/or the BACE. If globally synchronous, these
excursions represent major perturbations to the global carbon cycle, and could reflect a variety
of possible kill mechanisms. The ‘biotic replacement’ model, by contrast, suggests that biotic
modification of substrate and other environments by emerging metazoans may have been
responsible. Ecosystem engineering encompasses physical, ecological, and chemical modifi-
cation of their environment by organisms, which may create, modify, or destroy habitats for
4 Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Month Year, Vol. xx, No. yy
TREE 2407 No. of Pages 11
other organisms [33,34]. Unlike much of the Ediacara biota, which were dominantly sessile and
used only a limited variety of feeding modes [21], many extant metazoan groups have important
ecosystem engineering and trophic impacts. Examples include the ability to vertically mix the
sediment column (thus aerating the subsurface and creating new habitat), actively ‘pumping’
water to aid in filter feeding (removing suspended organic matter and ventilating the water
column), and predatory feeding modes, which can precipitate predator–prey arms races, or
alternatively eliminate prey species that are unable to adapt [19]. Although there is no direct
evidence for the early bilaterians recorded in the Nama ‘Wormworld’ outcompeting Ediacara
biota in the Ediacaran [35], this model suggests that the activities of evolving metazoans were
deleterious to soft-bodied Ediacara biota and led to their disappearance prior to the Cambrian.
These differences in extinction drivers between competing models – ‘catastrophe’ and ‘biotic
replacement’ – can be illustrated using the predicted trajectories of both soft-bodied Ediacara
biota and the burgeoning Cambrian-style metazoan fauna (Figure 3). ‘Biotic replacement’
predicts that depauperate latest Ediacaran ecosystems reflect a fauna that was being
progressively stressed, marginalized, and replaced, while also showing increased evidence
for diversification and ecosystem engineering by new metazoan lineages. By contrast,
‘catastrophe’ would predict that Ediacaran ecosystems should remain relatively high diversity
and ‘unstressed’ until the E–C boundary, at which point environmental disturbance triggers
extinction in both Ediacara biota and metazoans alike. These scenarios are end members of a
continuum, with additional permutations possible: the simple ‘catastrophe’ model does not
account for the two apparent episodes of extinction, and sequential environmental events
(pulsed catastrophe) may have driven biotic turnover at the start and end of the Nama interval
(represented by the Shuram and BACE events, respectively).
The differences in extinction models can also (potentially) be distinguished on the basis of rate
and timing of biotic turnover. Of the ‘big 5’ Phanerozoic events known to have been caused by
‘catastrophe’-type events – for example, the Permian–Triassic (P–T) and Cretaceous–Paleo-
gene (K–Pg) – the rate of ecosystems collapse is fast on geological timescales (virtually
3 4
instantaneous in the K–Pg, and about 10 –10 years in the case of the P–T, see [36]).
Consequently, a ‘catastrophe’-type event in the Late Ediacaran might be expected to result
in geologically rapid turnover. ‘Biotic replacement’, by contrast, relies on the appearance of
new behaviors and traits in multiple metazoan clades, and therefore might be expected to result
5 6
in more protracted biotic turnover on evolutionary timescales (10 –10 years). However, this
latter point is more speculative, because unlike ‘catastrophe’, large-scale ‘biotic replacement’
has no direct analog in the Phanerozoic. Although some authors [14] have suggested that the
ongoing diversity crisis (the ‘6th mass extinction’) might represent a similar process, the extent
to which current extinction rates are comparable with mass extinctions in the geological past is
uncertain [37], and thus we argue that ‘fast’ and ‘slow’ are useful predictions for each model.
In the following sections, we outline several key questions that will help discriminate between
these models, resolve the cause(s) of the E–C transition, and shed new light on the drivers of
(and links between) mass extinctions and subsequent diversification.
Key Questions and Research Priorities for the Ediacaran–Cambrian
What, and When, Was the Shuram?
Can the large environmental perturbations represented by the Shuram be stratigraphically and
radiometrically linked to the biotic shift, and possible extinction event, that happens across the
White Sea–Nama transition? This interval is thought to coincide with the Shuram excursion [38],
but radiometric constraints on the Shuram are poor, with some estimates placing the start of
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TREE 2407 No. of Pages 11
1.) ‘Catastrophe’ Metazoan ‘ecosystem engineers’ (abundance/evenness/diversity)
Ediacara biota Community metric
2.) ‘Pulsed catastrophe’ Metazoan ‘ecosystem engineers’
Ediacara biota
3.) ‘BioƟc replacement’ Metazoan ‘ecosystem engineers’
Ediacara biota
White Sea Nama Cambrian Ediacaran
550Age (Ma) 530
Figure 3. Modeled Trajectories of Different Biological Groups (Ediacara Biota and Cambrian-Style
Metazoan ‘Ecosystem Engineers’) and Predicted Fossil Community Responses (Community Metric), under
Three Proposed Extinction Scenarios. Figure modified from [3].
the excursion at about 560–550 Ma [26,39], while others suggesting that Shuram-like excur-
sions may have begun as early as about 609 Ma [40], predating the Gaskiers glaciation. In
sections where the Shuram and Ediacaran fossils are both present, the excursion is typically
finished before White Sea assemblage fossils appear [41]. In addition, some studies suggest
that the Shuram may have been a protracted event lasting up to about 50 my [40]. With its
extreme nadir and unusually long duration, the Shuram requires either an Ediacaran carbon
cycle fundamentally different from the modern one (e.g., [25]), a global diagenetic event [42], or
the product of authigenic carbonate formation [43,44]. Adequately testing this facet of the
‘catastrophe’ hypothesis requires (i) establishing radiometric ages on the onset and termination
of the Shuram; (ii) demonstrating that the Shuram is synchronous globally; and (iii) linking these
environmental changes with the fossil record (see Outstanding Questions).
What, and When, Was the BACE?
Until it has been demonstrated that it is a synchronous global chemostratigraphic marker, it is
13
not clear whether the d C chemostratigraphic profiles that have been documented across
several E–C boundary sections record coeval changes in DIC (e.g., [30]). Although the BACE
has better radiometric age constraints than the Shuram excursion [9,20,45], it has not been
precisely dated radiometrically in more than one region. If it is established that BACE records a
global signature of DIC, follow-up questions about its driving mechanism and causal relation-
ship to biotic turnover can be addressed, including: (i) What is the extent and pace of biotic
turnover? Does abrupt biotic turnover coincide with an environmental perturbation
[20,22,46,47], or is the biotic transition gradual and uncorrelated to environmental changes?
6 Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Month Year, Vol. xx, No. yy
TREE 2407 No. of Pages 11
[31]; (ii) What is the mechanism driving the BACE? Only with absolute ages can the carbon
fluxes, reservoir sizes, and oxidant demands needed to drive the BACE and other large E–C
excursions be rigorously constrained (e.g., [48]).
Can We Disentangle Correlation versus Causation in the Late Ediacaran Extinction Event?
Establishing proximal extinction drivers is a major challenge in deciphering the causes of biotic
turnover in the late Ediacaran. In terms of ‘catastrophe’, establishing a temporal correlation
between isotope excursions and biotic impact is crucial, however, this says little about
13
causation. Taking the P–T mass extinction (251 Ma) as an example, a negative d C change
at the end-Permian has been convincingly linked to volcanism associated with the Siberian
Traps; this in turn drove global warming, ocean acidification, elevated carbonate saturation
states, and primary productivity collapse, all of which would have devastated the biosphere and
comprised proximal extinction drivers [36,49]. However, establishing similar causal connec-
tions in the late Ediacaran is far more challenging, not least from the difficulty of finding sections
where it is possible to link geochemical proxies with the paleontological record. Considerable
debate persists over the mechanism causing the Shuram excursion, and similar problems are
associated with the source of the BACE [22]. This uncertainty in the ultimate source of
perturbation to the late Ediacaran carbon cycle renders any discussion of proximal extinction
drivers associated with them speculative.
Inferring extinction drivers associated with ‘biotic replacement’ is no easier. Although the
diversification of metazoan trace and body fossils in the Nama indicates an escalation in
metazoan ecosystem engineering, how this may have affected the soft-bodied Ediacara biota
has not been established. Suggestions that expansion of grazing and burrowing in metazoans
disrupted microbial matgrounds that served as food for some Ediacaran organisms have been
largely rejected, since similar substrates persisted into the Cambrian [4]. Given the discovery of
drill holes in biomineralizing Cloudina [50] it is tempting to suggest the evolution of macroscopic
metazoan predation as a plausible extinction driver, however, no fossil evidence has been
found for metazoans preying directly on soft-bodied Ediacarans (in fact, slabs preserving both
Ediacara biota and bilaterian trace fossils in the Nama are rare, suggesting a degree of niche
partitioning [35]). Although there is some limited evidence for large populations of metazoan
passive predators living in the same communities as Ediacara biota (and thus possibly
representing a significant ecological pressure upon Ediacaran larvae in the water column –
see [35]), these sorts of biotic interactions are hard to demonstrate convincingly.
In sum, although demonstrating a close temporal correlation between isotope excursions and
global faunal turnover may be enough to support the ‘catastrophe’ model, support for ‘biotic
replacement’ will hinge on demonstrating a plausible extinction driver stemming from early
animal activity. Interrogating the ‘biotic replacement’ model thus necessitates a deeper under-
standing of Ediacaran paleoecology, in particular establishing how the Ediacara biota inter-
acted with the emerging metazoan fauna. Interestingly, examining the survivors of the first
extinction pulse may be a key to understanding the proximal extinction drivers associated with
either the ‘catastrophe’ or ‘biotic replacement’ models. Although many Ediacaran groups
apparently perished during the White Sea–Nama transition, the Rangeomorpha and Ernietto-
morpha survived; representatives of these groups have been found in Nama-aged assemb-
lages on three paleocontinents, suggesting that they are some of the few Ediacaran organisms
to have persisted into the metazoan-dominated ‘Wormworld’. These two clades may have
been ecological generalists (in terms of habitat preferences and/or modes of nutrient acquisi-
tion) [14], or may have possessed characteristics that made them resistant to the stresses
associated with the extinction pulse (e.g., tolerance to low oxygen). Either way, establishing
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TREE 2407 No. of Pages 11
how and why these groups survived will offer valuable clues as to why many others did not. New
techniques involving computational fluid dynamics [51,52] provide a powerful new way of
examining Ediacaran paleobiology (including determination of feeding mode and mobility), and
so offer one potential way forward to testing these hypotheses.
What Role Did End-Ediacaran Extinction Play in the Cambrian Explosion?
Several of the Phanerozoic ‘Big 5’ mass extinctions were followed by the origin of new clades,
expansions of morphologic disparity, and rapid diversification of new taxa. For example,
bivalves show transient increases in origination rate after the three most recent mass extinction
events [53]. Given that the Cambrian Explosion remains one of the most rapid and dramatic
biotic radiations in Earth history, there has been speculation that this event may have been
triggered by environmental perturbation across the E–C boundary (e.g., [46]). However,
demonstrating this has remained elusive; small shelly faunas show a relatively steady pattern
of diversification across the E–C transition [32], and there is little evidence for a postmass
extinction ecological vacuum or ‘disaster fauna’ in the earliest Cambrian. In addition, the overall
notion of ecological opportunity as a driver of biotic radiations is being re-evaluated, with the
recognition that most are associated with macroevolutionary ‘lags’ between the first appear-
ance of new organismal traits and their eventual ecological dominance. This suggests that
morphological novelty often arises long before the environmental or ecological conditions that
might guarantee their success [54]. The discovery that many complex bilaterian behaviors that
were initially thought to be restricted to the Cambrian actually arose in the late Ediacaran about
548 Ma (albeit in a primitive/preliminary form; see [55]) supports the notion that forerunners to
the Cambrian evolutionary fauna were present millions of years before the Cambrian boundary.
That Cambrian-type metazoan organisms are present and apparently diversifying in the latest
Ediacaran poses an alternative question: does the Nama ‘Wormworld’ interval represent the
earliest phase of the Cambrian Explosion? Although opinion is still divided on whether many of
the White Sea fauna represent metazoans (Box 1), the appearance of biomineralization,
macroscopic predation, and complex, Treptichnus-like burrowing behaviors are arguably
metazoan traits that have far more in common with the Cambrian evolutionary fauna than
the Ediacaran White Sea fauna preserved in South Australia and Russia. If all the ecological and
evolutionary changes that take place over the Ediacaran and Cambrian are considered
Box 1. Which of the Ediacara Biota Represent Metazoans?
Despite >80 years of study the biological affinities of the Ediacara biota remain enigmatic, principally because few share
any synapomorphies with Phanerozoic animal groups. Some, however, do preserve characters that align them with
metazoan phyla that subsequently diversify in the Cambrian. Among these, Kimberella (IV) is the best candidate for a
bilaterian metazoan, possessing a number of mollusk-like characteristics: Kimberella was likely mobile, preserves
evidence for a muscular ‘foot’, and is commonly associated with scratch marks (Kimberichnus isp.), illustrating
possession of paired radula-like structures. Other Ediacaran groups, however, possess body plans entirely unknown
among extant metazoan phyla. For example, the Rangeomorpha (I) are a clade that possesses ‘fractal’ morphology
composed of self-similar frondlets, while the Erniettomorpha are constructed from unbranched cylindrical modules
arranged in leaflike sheets. Although the Dickinsonimorpha (V), Triradialomorpha (VI), and Bilateromorpha (VII) have all at
one time been placed somewhere on the metazoan tree (e.g., the Dickinsonimorpha with Placozoa, see [59]), there has
been no scientific consensus on these placements (Figure I). As a result, there is currently no basis for assigning these
groups to the Metazoa. We therefore split soft-bodied Ediacaran fossils in Figure 2 into either ‘Ediacara biota’ (genera
with no incontrovertible metazoan synapomorphies) or ‘plausible metazoans’. The former group includes many iconic
Ediacaran fossils, such as Dickinsonia, Tribrachidium, and Rangea (Figure 1), while the latter includes Kimberella, as well
as possible sponges such as Thectardis, Rugoconites, and Paleophragmodictya. The distinctive tubular and calcifying
forms of the ‘Wormworld’ fauna during Nama time are likely metazoans (for example, [18]). Splitting the Ediacaran fossil
assemblage in this way oversimplifies much of the phylogenetic uncertainty surrounding some of these organisms,
however, it illustrates the rise of organisms in the late Ediacaran, which bear a stronger resemblance to the Cambrian
evolutionary fauna.
8 Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Month Year, Vol. xx, No. yy
TREE 2407 No. of Pages 11
Outstanding Questions
Paleophragmodictya Inaria Kimberella What, and when, was the Shuram?
II III IV
What, and when, was the BACE?
Can we disentangle correlation and
causation in Ediacaran extinction?
What role did end-Ediacaran extinction
Bilateria play in the Cambrian Explosion? Porifera Placozoa Cnidaria Lophotrochozoa Ecdysozoa Deuterostomia
Rangeomorpha? Avalofractus Examples of unknown
I groups V VI VII
Dickinsonia Tribrachidium Spriggina
Figure I.
together, it could be argued that the biggest change in organismal and ecological complexity
arrives at the White Sea–Nama boundary, rather than at the E–C boundary itself. In this context,
establishing the timing and driver of the Shuram excursion takes on added importance, as in
this scenario it would coincide not only with the earliest major turnover in complex macroscopic
life, but also with the onset of the most dramatic evolutionary radiation in Earth History.
Concluding Remarks
Understanding the drivers and pacing of late Ediacaran extinction, as well as how it is
connected to the evolutionary radiation that followed, will reveal the origins of the modern
metazoan-dominated biosphere. On the one hand, support for the ‘catastrophe’ model would
illustrate a crucial role played by environmental fluctuations in driving early metazoan evolution.
On the other, support for ‘biotic replacement’ would instead represent the first evidence for a
biological driver of mass extinction, and suggest that evolutionary innovation, ecosystem
engineering, and biological interactions ultimately caused the first major biotic turnover of
complex life. However, we also note that these two models are not mutually exclusive; either or
both could be operating in the late Ediacaran and be responsible for either of the two turnover
events. Even more intriguingly, the two could be mechanistically linked – the effects of
bioturbation on sediment and ocean chemistry are well known (e.g., [56]), and so a model
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TREE 2407 No. of Pages 11
whereby the evolution of new metazoan behaviors were responsible for perturbations to the
global carbon cycle (the Shuram and BACE) is one that deserves testing. In summary, the E–C
transition is undoubtedly a complex interval and determining between abiotic and biotic drivers
will be challenging. However, the questions we pose above are all readily answerable with new
data, and the recent discovery of continuous sections through the E–C boundary preserving
both a rich fossil assemblage and a detailed chemostratigraphic record [57] offers much
promise for understanding this critical interval in Earth History.
Acknowledgments
S.A.F.D. acknowledges generous funding from National Geographic (Grant No. 9968-16), and a Paleontological Society
Arthur Boucot Award. E.F.S. was supported by the Smithsonian Institution Peter Buck Fellowship Program and The
Palaeontological Association (Award ID PA-RG201703). M.L. acknowledges funding from NSERC Discovery Grant
(RGPIN 435402). D.H.E. was supported by NASA through National Astrobiology Institute (Grant No. NNA13AA90A)
to the MIT node. This manuscript was considerably improved after constructive reviews by Susannah Porter and two
anonymous reviewers.
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