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Reconstructing the feeding ecology of Cambrian sponge reefs: the case for active suspension feeding in Archaeocyatha

Sponge-grade Archaeocyatha were early Cambrian biomineralizing metazoans that constructed reefs globally. Despite decades of research, many facets of archaeocyath palaeobiology remain unclear, making it difficult to reconstruct the palaeoecology of Cambrian reef ecosystems. Of specific interest is h...

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Autores principales: Gibson, Brandt M., Chipman, Max, Attanasio, Paolo, Qureshi, Zaid, Darroch, Simon A. F., Rahman, Imran A., Laflamme, Marc
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Royal Society 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10663785/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38026009
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230766
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author Gibson, Brandt M.
Chipman, Max
Attanasio, Paolo
Qureshi, Zaid
Darroch, Simon A. F.
Rahman, Imran A.
Laflamme, Marc
author_facet Gibson, Brandt M.
Chipman, Max
Attanasio, Paolo
Qureshi, Zaid
Darroch, Simon A. F.
Rahman, Imran A.
Laflamme, Marc
author_sort Gibson, Brandt M.
collection PubMed
description Sponge-grade Archaeocyatha were early Cambrian biomineralizing metazoans that constructed reefs globally. Despite decades of research, many facets of archaeocyath palaeobiology remain unclear, making it difficult to reconstruct the palaeoecology of Cambrian reef ecosystems. Of specific interest is how these organisms fed; previous experimental studies have suggested that archaeocyaths functioned as passive suspension feeders relying on ambient currents to transport nutrient-rich water into their central cavities. Here, we test this hypothesis using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of digital models of select archaeocyath species. Our results demonstrate that, given a range of plausible current velocities, there was very little fluid circulation through the skeleton, suggesting obligate passive suspension feeding was unlikely. Comparing our simulation data with exhalent velocities collected from extant sponges, we infer an active suspension feeding lifestyle for archaeocyaths. The combination of active suspension feeding and biomineralization in Archaeocyatha may have facilitated the creation of modern metazoan reef ecosystems.
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spelling pubmed-106637852023-11-22 Reconstructing the feeding ecology of Cambrian sponge reefs: the case for active suspension feeding in Archaeocyatha Gibson, Brandt M. Chipman, Max Attanasio, Paolo Qureshi, Zaid Darroch, Simon A. F. Rahman, Imran A. Laflamme, Marc R Soc Open Sci Earth and Environmental Science Sponge-grade Archaeocyatha were early Cambrian biomineralizing metazoans that constructed reefs globally. Despite decades of research, many facets of archaeocyath palaeobiology remain unclear, making it difficult to reconstruct the palaeoecology of Cambrian reef ecosystems. Of specific interest is how these organisms fed; previous experimental studies have suggested that archaeocyaths functioned as passive suspension feeders relying on ambient currents to transport nutrient-rich water into their central cavities. Here, we test this hypothesis using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of digital models of select archaeocyath species. Our results demonstrate that, given a range of plausible current velocities, there was very little fluid circulation through the skeleton, suggesting obligate passive suspension feeding was unlikely. Comparing our simulation data with exhalent velocities collected from extant sponges, we infer an active suspension feeding lifestyle for archaeocyaths. The combination of active suspension feeding and biomineralization in Archaeocyatha may have facilitated the creation of modern metazoan reef ecosystems. The Royal Society 2023-11-22 /pmc/articles/PMC10663785/ /pubmed/38026009 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230766 Text en © 2023 The Authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Earth and Environmental Science
Gibson, Brandt M.
Chipman, Max
Attanasio, Paolo
Qureshi, Zaid
Darroch, Simon A. F.
Rahman, Imran A.
Laflamme, Marc
Reconstructing the feeding ecology of Cambrian sponge reefs: the case for active suspension feeding in Archaeocyatha
title Reconstructing the feeding ecology of Cambrian sponge reefs: the case for active suspension feeding in Archaeocyatha
title_full Reconstructing the feeding ecology of Cambrian sponge reefs: the case for active suspension feeding in Archaeocyatha
title_fullStr Reconstructing the feeding ecology of Cambrian sponge reefs: the case for active suspension feeding in Archaeocyatha
title_full_unstemmed Reconstructing the feeding ecology of Cambrian sponge reefs: the case for active suspension feeding in Archaeocyatha
title_short Reconstructing the feeding ecology of Cambrian sponge reefs: the case for active suspension feeding in Archaeocyatha
title_sort reconstructing the feeding ecology of cambrian sponge reefs: the case for active suspension feeding in archaeocyatha
topic Earth and Environmental Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10663785/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38026009
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.230766
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