Proterozoic Evolution Isabella DAmbra 18 February 2008 Meert & Liebermann (2007): reconstruction of the scenario where the Ediacaran- Cambrian transition happened; Stanley (1976): factors affecting the transition Ediacaran Cryogenian Tonian Stenian Ectasian Calymmian Statherian Orosirian Rhyacian Siderian Neoproterozoic era 1000-542 Ma Mesoproterozoic era 1600-1000 Ma Paleoproterozoic era 2500-1600 Ma Proterozoic eon Reconstruction of the scenario but there are several hypotheses about the formation of this super- continent!!! From very simple ones (just the collision of pre-assembled pieces) to very complex ones, based on paleomagnetic studies (reconstruction of the latitude) and remains of the orogenetic events. Unfortunatelly, often just data from a single region are taken into account, giving a partial vision of the reconstruction. The existence of a previous super-continent (Rodinia or Paleopangea) seems well supported. 2 Important points: 1) The role played by tectonics and re-organization of the land masses in affecting: climate (as for the Snow-ball events); geochemical processes in both ocean and atmospheric reservoirs; 2) The rise in oxygen concentration (feedback mechanism associated with the melting of glaciers); 3) This period of Earths history is highly unknown; reconstructions of the assemblage of land masses are based on the presence of similar Ediacaran fossils in areas that are now widely dispersed and far away the one from the other 3 (from Goy, 1997) ( the Burgess Shale) What did trigger the Proterozoic Evolution? 1) External triggers: - sea level rise, resulting in flooding of continental margins; - Snow-ball events; - oxygenation of deep oceans; - weathering of rocks followed by increase of nutrients in the oceans; - rise in oxygen in both ocean and atmosphere; but also disasters (the rectangular model proposed by Stanley(1973))such as the Acraman impact; the output of the Laurentinian plume the three glaciation ((Sturtian, Marinoan, Glaskiers) (the Ediacaran explosion may have followed these disastrous events, as the explosion of Mammals followed the extinction of Reptilians in the Cenozoic) 2) Internal triggers (Stanley, 1976): the establishment of multicellularity; the advent of sexuality with the following advantages: higher rate and dispersal of mutations, recombination of genetic characters; possibility of creating clades by speciation that can colonize new environments better than the ones formed asexually, higher chance to survive to extinction events; the increase in complexity in the environment, with the establishment of interactions among organisms: heterotrophy predation competition parasitism the arms race model (Stanley, 1973): the necessity to develop offensive and defensive skills (like a shell, which is also well preserved in fossils (!) or the increase in body size) Uhmmmumble mumble Our knowledge is based on fossils .so how reliable are our reconstructions? Is there a leading factor or a co-occurrence of factors triggering evolution? Can we adequately adapt the mechanisms that we observe in present ecosystems to past ecosystems that we know so scarcely?