Ediacaran ecology and early animal evolution
Animals first appear in the fossil record during the Ediacaran time period (631-541 million years ago). It is during the Ediacaran animals evolved some of their most important traits: most obviously large body-size but also tissue-differentiation, mobility, bilateral symmetry and ecosystem engineering (reef-building). The study of Ediacaran organisms is fraught with difficulties because commonly-used morphological approaches have only limited use due to the unique anatomies of Ediacaran organisms. Fortunately, the preservation of Ediacaran fossils is exceptional with thousands of immobile organisms preserved where they lived under volcanic ash. Therefore, the position of the fossil on the rock surface encapsulates their entire life history: how they reproduced and how they interacted with each other and their environment. As such, ecological statistics provides a novel approach for investigating fundamental issues in early animal evolution.
Deep-sea benthic ecology
The deep-sea hosts an extensive variety of benthic organisms across wide range of habitats, from hydrothermal vents to abyssal planes. Community composition differs widely within these habitats as well as between them with high beta diversity and variable alpha diversity. However, relatively little is known about the fine-scale community ecology of deep-sea systems because it is only recently that video and photographic data had the resolution to create accurate reconstructions. We are interested in drivers of community structure of deep-sea benthic communities on fine and large scales using newly developed methodologies for the analysis of community ecology and 3D model reconstruction. This work will enable us to investigate the drivers behind community composition, and how deep-sea taxa interact with each other and their environment.
Ecology through deep-time
We are interested in the relationship between evolutionary innovations and ecosystem structure through deep-time. Using ecological network models we consider how the ecosystem structure and stability develop with the introduction of key animal traits, such as mobility, biomineralization and macro-predation. Working on fossil assemblages in the Cambrian, Silurian and Jurassic we are looking at how macro-ecological patterns are related to the evolution of different traits and animal groups impacts ecosystem structure.
Antarctic Benthic Ecology
The ecological structure of modern Antarctic benthic marine communities is unique and differs from the rest of the world. It is dominated by epifaunal suspension feeders (including brachiopods, sponges and stalked crinoids) in shelf areas, with a paucity of shell crushing predators (sharks, rays, durophagous decapods). However, generally there is limited data on the Southern Hemisphere benthic ecosystems compared to other areas globally. Together with colleagues at British Antarctic Survey and Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research we are investigating the spatial structure of Antarctic communities on fine and large scales using newly developed methodologies for the analysis of community ecology. This will enable us to establish key species that underpin benthic community ecology, and the environmental factors that affect Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs). This investigation will help quantify the potential future adverse effects of bottom fisheries and anthropogentic climate change on modern Antarctic benthic marine communities. Such information is essential to inform policy makers and develop future sustainable management plans for the region.
Photo credit: OFOBS at the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI).
Photo credit: OFOBS at the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI).