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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...
Autores principales: | , , , , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
The Royal Society
2023
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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. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10663785 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | The Royal Society |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
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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