Constraining the origins of the Metazoa: Insights from ichnology, palaeoecology and taphonomy
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Cambridge
Department Name: Earth Sciences
Abstract
Life on Earth has experienced a remarkable history, in which it has endured climatic catastrophes, developed incredible biological innovations, and survived cycles of extinction and radiation as organisms have continually adapted to their changing environment. One of the most dramatic intervals of Earth history is the late Neoproterozoic Era some 700-541 million years ago (Ma), which witnessed amongst other things the biological recovery from the great Snowball Earth global glaciations, and the evolution and radiation of the first animals.
Characterizing and explaining the evolution of animals is currently one of the most topical areas in palaeontology. It not only excites philosophical interest, but also provides a wealth of scientific information that can advance our understanding of evolutionary processes and the interactions between life and the planet at times of major environmental change. Traditionally, scientists considered animals to have evolved suddenly and rapidly at the base of the Cambrian period, 541 Ma. That view was challenged in the 1940s and 1950s by the discoveries of complex fossilized impressions in rocks of Precambrian age - a suite of large, multi-cellular organisms that have become known as the Ediacaran biota. Their discovery prompted a paradigm shift from a rapid "Cambrian Explosion" model of animal evolution at the base of the Cambrian, to an "Ediacaran-to-Cambrian transition" whereby animal evolution extended over tens of millions of years.
Ediacaran (635-541 Ma) fossils are currently known from over 50 localities worldwide and include more than 100 different species, but they remain some of the most enigmatic and controversial fossils in the geological record. Since they are preserved as impressions of soft-bodied organisms rather than as shells, bones, or teeth, and the shapes and structures of the fossils differ from those of any living organisms, there has been much disagreement amongst scientists about what the fossils might have originally been. An emerging view, however, is that the Ediacaran biota may include the remains of some of the first true animals.
My research explores the initial evolution of animals, examining the causes for their emergence, and the consequences of their appearance for other organisms in marine habitats. In this project I aim to resolve the relationships between Ediacaran organisms and modern animals alive today, and investigate the ways in which Ediacaran fossils are preserved around the world, in order to improve our understanding of the timing and progression of animal evolution. By combining detailed study of Ediacaran fossils, sediments, and environments with experimental work to recreate the pathways through which organisms were fossilized 580 million years ago, I hope to constrain models for fossil preservation, and provide new insights into the tissues the organisms were originally composed of. I will also investigate the fossil record of animal movement in the Ediacaran period, since in recent years this has become a key piece of evidence for the presence of animals. Results I obtain will be fed into molecular studies, which will allow better prediction of how and when the major animal groups diverged and evolved at this critical point in Earth history.
Taken together, the proposed project will rigorously address the questions of when and why animals evolved by improving our understanding of Ediacaran organisms and environments. It will reveal new information about Ediacaran marine ecosystems, and, most importantly, will provide us with a clearer picture of the steps involved in early animal evolution.
Characterizing and explaining the evolution of animals is currently one of the most topical areas in palaeontology. It not only excites philosophical interest, but also provides a wealth of scientific information that can advance our understanding of evolutionary processes and the interactions between life and the planet at times of major environmental change. Traditionally, scientists considered animals to have evolved suddenly and rapidly at the base of the Cambrian period, 541 Ma. That view was challenged in the 1940s and 1950s by the discoveries of complex fossilized impressions in rocks of Precambrian age - a suite of large, multi-cellular organisms that have become known as the Ediacaran biota. Their discovery prompted a paradigm shift from a rapid "Cambrian Explosion" model of animal evolution at the base of the Cambrian, to an "Ediacaran-to-Cambrian transition" whereby animal evolution extended over tens of millions of years.
Ediacaran (635-541 Ma) fossils are currently known from over 50 localities worldwide and include more than 100 different species, but they remain some of the most enigmatic and controversial fossils in the geological record. Since they are preserved as impressions of soft-bodied organisms rather than as shells, bones, or teeth, and the shapes and structures of the fossils differ from those of any living organisms, there has been much disagreement amongst scientists about what the fossils might have originally been. An emerging view, however, is that the Ediacaran biota may include the remains of some of the first true animals.
My research explores the initial evolution of animals, examining the causes for their emergence, and the consequences of their appearance for other organisms in marine habitats. In this project I aim to resolve the relationships between Ediacaran organisms and modern animals alive today, and investigate the ways in which Ediacaran fossils are preserved around the world, in order to improve our understanding of the timing and progression of animal evolution. By combining detailed study of Ediacaran fossils, sediments, and environments with experimental work to recreate the pathways through which organisms were fossilized 580 million years ago, I hope to constrain models for fossil preservation, and provide new insights into the tissues the organisms were originally composed of. I will also investigate the fossil record of animal movement in the Ediacaran period, since in recent years this has become a key piece of evidence for the presence of animals. Results I obtain will be fed into molecular studies, which will allow better prediction of how and when the major animal groups diverged and evolved at this critical point in Earth history.
Taken together, the proposed project will rigorously address the questions of when and why animals evolved by improving our understanding of Ediacaran organisms and environments. It will reveal new information about Ediacaran marine ecosystems, and, most importantly, will provide us with a clearer picture of the steps involved in early animal evolution.
Planned Impact
The proposed research has the potential to provide social or economic impacts for five primary user groups:
Policy makers: Many of my study sites are either located within protected areas (e.g. Flinders Ranges National Park in Australia), or are currently working towards obtaining additional protective legislation (e.g. SSSI status for Charnwood sites in the U.K., and bids to make the Catalina Dome in Newfoundland a UNESCO Geopark, and Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve a World Heritage Site). The strength of these bids, and the case for continued protection and funding, is dependent in part on the scientific significance and importance of the fossil resources the sites contain. Groups such as Natural England and the National Trust (U.K.), Parks and Natural Areas Division (Newfoundland), and the Coaker Foundation (Newfoundland) will be particularly interested in the findings of this project.
General public: Many members of the general public have an interest in animal evolution, since as well as being of direct relevance to our own origins, it plays an important role in many philosophical, evolutionary, and theological discussions. People are keen to know how we as humans evolved.
Local communities living near to fossil sites: Exceptional fossil sites have long been considered as potential sources of revenue for their neighbouring communities. Historically, fossils were sold to museums and collectors, but more recently they have become tourist attractions and sources of inspiration for artwork. However, local communities need to have accurate information about the nature and significance of their sites in order to fully realise economic and social benefits.
Schools: Teaching of evolution is a core part of the curriculum in the U.K.
Museums: Local museums in Bristol, and museums in the countries of the study areas, have exhibits and collections of Ediacaran material for research and educational purposes.
How will these groups benefit?
Policy makers: My research may produce scientific advances or discoveries that are of national or international importance, and these would increase the prestige and significance of their host sites, permitting policy makers to recognize and utilize their full scientific potential, and to provide adequate site protection. My image dataset can also be used by policy makers to monitor site erosion and the condition of fossils, allowing better resource management.
General public: Benefits will be in the form of an increased understanding of animal evolution, and will be realized via appropriate distribution of knowledge obtained by this project through a variety of outreach media.
Local communities: My work will directly reveal the scientific importance of the fossils at each site, providing communities with the information they need to assess how best to promote their fossil resources to local funding agencies and tourists. By ensuring that communities receive accurate information, any tourism endeavors they develop are far more likely to be successful. Through the development of resources for sale to tourists, and in some cases of guided tours to the fossil sites, the local economy can be boosted (since tourists bring with them revenue for food, accommodation, and transport), and a sense of local pride in the community is often developed.
Schools: My research will provide insights into some of the most critical and fundamentally important questions in evolutionary history, and could be incorporated into teaching of components of biology or geology at secondary school level to ensure students receive the most up-to-date information for their education.
Museums: By studying existing collections, and potentially adding new material to some of them, my work will boost the research profile of host institutions, increase their value as scientific resources, and provide the knowledge necessary for gallery managers to create informative, educational displays.
Policy makers: Many of my study sites are either located within protected areas (e.g. Flinders Ranges National Park in Australia), or are currently working towards obtaining additional protective legislation (e.g. SSSI status for Charnwood sites in the U.K., and bids to make the Catalina Dome in Newfoundland a UNESCO Geopark, and Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve a World Heritage Site). The strength of these bids, and the case for continued protection and funding, is dependent in part on the scientific significance and importance of the fossil resources the sites contain. Groups such as Natural England and the National Trust (U.K.), Parks and Natural Areas Division (Newfoundland), and the Coaker Foundation (Newfoundland) will be particularly interested in the findings of this project.
General public: Many members of the general public have an interest in animal evolution, since as well as being of direct relevance to our own origins, it plays an important role in many philosophical, evolutionary, and theological discussions. People are keen to know how we as humans evolved.
Local communities living near to fossil sites: Exceptional fossil sites have long been considered as potential sources of revenue for their neighbouring communities. Historically, fossils were sold to museums and collectors, but more recently they have become tourist attractions and sources of inspiration for artwork. However, local communities need to have accurate information about the nature and significance of their sites in order to fully realise economic and social benefits.
Schools: Teaching of evolution is a core part of the curriculum in the U.K.
Museums: Local museums in Bristol, and museums in the countries of the study areas, have exhibits and collections of Ediacaran material for research and educational purposes.
How will these groups benefit?
Policy makers: My research may produce scientific advances or discoveries that are of national or international importance, and these would increase the prestige and significance of their host sites, permitting policy makers to recognize and utilize their full scientific potential, and to provide adequate site protection. My image dataset can also be used by policy makers to monitor site erosion and the condition of fossils, allowing better resource management.
General public: Benefits will be in the form of an increased understanding of animal evolution, and will be realized via appropriate distribution of knowledge obtained by this project through a variety of outreach media.
Local communities: My work will directly reveal the scientific importance of the fossils at each site, providing communities with the information they need to assess how best to promote their fossil resources to local funding agencies and tourists. By ensuring that communities receive accurate information, any tourism endeavors they develop are far more likely to be successful. Through the development of resources for sale to tourists, and in some cases of guided tours to the fossil sites, the local economy can be boosted (since tourists bring with them revenue for food, accommodation, and transport), and a sense of local pride in the community is often developed.
Schools: My research will provide insights into some of the most critical and fundamentally important questions in evolutionary history, and could be incorporated into teaching of components of biology or geology at secondary school level to ensure students receive the most up-to-date information for their education.
Museums: By studying existing collections, and potentially adding new material to some of them, my work will boost the research profile of host institutions, increase their value as scientific resources, and provide the knowledge necessary for gallery managers to create informative, educational displays.
Organisations
- University of Cambridge (Fellow, Lead Research Organisation)
- Universidade de São Paulo (Collaboration)
- University College London (Collaboration)
- British Geological Survey (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE (Collaboration)
- Russian Academy of Sciences (Collaboration)
- University of South Australia (Collaboration)
- University of Bristol (Collaboration)
People |
ORCID iD |
Alexander Liu (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Dunn F
(2017)
Fossil Focus: The Ediacaran Biota
Davies N
(2016)
Resolving MISS conceptions and misconceptions: A geological approach to sedimentary surface textures generated by microbial and abiotic processes
in Earth-Science Reviews
Davies N
(2020)
Evolutionary synchrony of Earth's biosphere and sedimentary-stratigraphic record
in Earth-Science Reviews
Cunningham JA
(2017)
The origin of animals: Can molecular clocks and the fossil record be reconciled?
in BioEssays : news and reviews in molecular, cellular and developmental biology
Cunningham J
(2017)
The origin of animals: can molecular clocks and the fossil record be reconciled?
Brasier M
(2016)
Remarkable preservation of brain tissues in an Early Cretaceous iguanodontian dinosaur
in Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Description | Over the course of the lifetime of the award my research group and I have published several key papers that have together strengthened the evidence for the presence of animals within the Ediacaran Period - demonstrating that the evolution of animals pre-dates the canonical 'Cambrian Explosion'. Papers led by my PhD student Frances Dunn consolidate evidence for the iconic Ediacaran fossils Charnia masoni and Arborea arborea being metazoan, and provide a timely reassessment of how the field should discuss the Ediacaran biota in light of recent findings that they likely reflect early animal ancestors. A recent study led by myself investigates the mechanisms involved in Ediacaran fossil preservation in Australia, and suggests that early diagenetic pyritisation is responsible for such preservation, in contrast to other recent studies. This paper reflects the first of several collaborative projects involved in looking at aspects of early animal evolution in Australia. Other highlights include recognition that the earliest animal communities were likely to have been clonal, and were attached to each other on the seafloor (published in Current Biology in February 2020). The award is now closed, and virtually all publications relating to data collected during the award are now published (one or two remaining project will use some data, but as ancillary information to newly collected data). |
Exploitation Route | Other academics, both within palaeobiology and in the fields of developmental biology and evolution, will use my findings as calibration points in phylogenetic/molecular clock studies, and to inform understanding of the sequence in which key animal morphological characters evolved, and the anatomy of ancestral members of major animal clades. The findings will also be of interest to the governmental bodies in charge of managing/protecting the areas (including National Parks and UNESCO World Heritage Sites and Geoparks) from which these data originate. |
Sectors | Education,Environment,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
URL | https://alexanderliu.weebly.com/research.html |
Description | The findings of this award have been compiled by myself and my students and collaborators into an educational website on the Ediacaran biota: www.ediacaran.org This site attracts over 500 visitors a week, and we are continually updating the content to ensure it is informative, comprehensive, and accurate. The findings have also been highly cited in the nomination dossier of the Discovery Aspiring Geopark, Newfoundland, Canada, in their successful (2019-20) bid to gain UNESCO Geopark status for the region. |
Sector | Education,Leisure Activities, including Sports, Recreation and Tourism,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Economic |
Description | Discovery Aspiring Geopark, Canada |
Geographic Reach | North America |
Policy Influence Type | Citation in other policy documents |
Impact | My research formed a significant part of the basis for nomination of the Discovery Aspiring Geopark area in Newfoundland, Canada, for UNESCO Geopark status. This nomination was successful, and was ratified in April 2020, when the Discovery Geopark became an official UNESCO Geopark. The Geopark and its component communities are already benefiting from significant increases in visitation (economic benefits), and funding from Government and local investment (societal benefits). |
URL | https://discoverygeopark.com/ |
Description | NERC NIGL Facilities Grant: Calibrating the late Ediacaran record of early animal diversification |
Amount | £62,200 (GBP) |
Funding ID | IP-1724-0517 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Department | NERC Isotope Geosciences Laboratory |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 06/2017 |
Title | Data associated with NERC grant NE/L011409/2 |
Description | Photographs, analytical datasets and GPS data relating to NERC grant NE/L011409/2, uploaded to the NERC National Data Centre |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2021 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | None - deposited in fulfillment of NERC grantholder conditions. |
URL | https://webapps.bgs.ac.uk/services/ngdc/accessions/index.html?simpleText=NE/L011409/2 |
Title | Supplementary data supporting "Petrological evidence supports the death mask model for the preservation of Ediacaran soft-bodied organisms in South Australia" |
Description | Figures and graphs in support of the manuscript. Figures provide SEM, petrological and laser Raman data demonstrating the presence of clay minerals and oxidised pyrite framboids in Ediacaran fossil-bearing sandstones of the Ediacara Member, South Australia. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Description | Australian sedimentology |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | A joint project with Dr William McMahon to investigate the sedimentology and palaeoecology of Ediacaran organisms in South Australia. My contribution is to lead the palaeobiological side of the study, finding fossils in the field, identifying them, and assessing their taphonomy, with respect to each facies we explored. |
Collaborator Contribution | Dr McMahon raised most of the external funding for our fieldwork, and provided the sedimentological expertise and interpretation in the field. Our colleagues at UniSA provided logistical support. |
Impact | Published manuscript in Journal of Sedimentary Research (2021) |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Australian sedimentology |
Organisation | University of South Australia |
Country | Australia |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | A joint project with Dr William McMahon to investigate the sedimentology and palaeoecology of Ediacaran organisms in South Australia. My contribution is to lead the palaeobiological side of the study, finding fossils in the field, identifying them, and assessing their taphonomy, with respect to each facies we explored. |
Collaborator Contribution | Dr McMahon raised most of the external funding for our fieldwork, and provided the sedimentological expertise and interpretation in the field. Our colleagues at UniSA provided logistical support. |
Impact | Published manuscript in Journal of Sedimentary Research (2021) |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Brazil dating project |
Organisation | Universidade de São Paulo |
Country | Brazil |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Geochronology and ichnology of the Corumba Region, SW Brazil. I was involved in fossil identification, and in writing the proposal to get material from Corumba dated. My research team then analysed ichnological samples using CT and SEM. |
Collaborator Contribution | Facilitating research, collecting samples, and leading us around the outcrops. Joint writing of publications. |
Impact | Parry, L.A., Boggiani, P.C., Condon, D.J., Garwood, R.J., Leme, J. de M., McIlroy, D., Brasier, M.D., Trindade, R., Campanha, G.A.C., Pacheco, M.L.A.F., Diniz, C.Q.C. and Liu, A.G. (2017) Ichnological evidence for meiofaunal bilaterians from the terminal Ediacaran and earliest Cambrian of Brazil Nature Ecology & Evolution, 1, 1455-1464. doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0301-9 This was a multi-disciplinary collaboration, involving geochronology, palaeobiology, stratigraphy, and ichnology. |
Start Year | 2014 |
Description | Bristol PhD student |
Organisation | British Geological Survey |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I wrote the proposal to attract a NERC DTP funded student to Bristol to work on Ediacaran research. I co-supervised the student, Frances Dunn, successfully through to completion and graduation with a PhD in summer 2019. She is now a JRF at the University of Oxford, and we continue to collaborate as she writes up her thesis chapters as publications. |
Collaborator Contribution | Professor Phil Donoghue (Bristol) and Dr Phil Wilby (BGS) co-supervised the student with myself, with all three of us taking an active role in guiding the project, but with me leading the day to day supervision and most of the manuscript writing guidance. |
Impact | Liu, A.G., and Dunn, F.S. (2020) Filamentous connections between Ediacaran fronds. Current Biology, 30, 1322-1328, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.01.052 Dunn, F.S., Liu, A.G., and Gehling, J.G. (2019) Anatomical and ontogenetic reassessment of the Ediacaran frond Arborea arborea and its placement within total group Eumetazoa. Palaeontology, 62, 851-865. doi: 10.1111/pala.12431 Dunn, F.S. and Liu, A.G. (2019) Viewing the Ediacaran biota as a failed experiment is unhelpful Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3, 512-514. doi: 10.1038/s41559-019-0815-4 Dunn, F.S., Wilby, P.R., Kenchington, C.G., Grazhdankin, D.V., Donoghue, P.C.J. and Liu, A.G. (2019) Anatomy of the Ediacaran rangeomorph Charnia masoni Papers in Palaeontology, 5(1), 157-176. doi: 10.1002/spp2.1234 Dunn, F.S., Liu, A.G. and Donoghue, P.C.J. (2018) Ediacaran developmental biology Biological Reviews, 93, 914-932. doi: 10.1111/brv.12379 |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Bristol PhD student |
Organisation | University of Bristol |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I wrote the proposal to attract a NERC DTP funded student to Bristol to work on Ediacaran research. I co-supervised the student, Frances Dunn, successfully through to completion and graduation with a PhD in summer 2019. She is now a JRF at the University of Oxford, and we continue to collaborate as she writes up her thesis chapters as publications. |
Collaborator Contribution | Professor Phil Donoghue (Bristol) and Dr Phil Wilby (BGS) co-supervised the student with myself, with all three of us taking an active role in guiding the project, but with me leading the day to day supervision and most of the manuscript writing guidance. |
Impact | Liu, A.G., and Dunn, F.S. (2020) Filamentous connections between Ediacaran fronds. Current Biology, 30, 1322-1328, doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.01.052 Dunn, F.S., Liu, A.G., and Gehling, J.G. (2019) Anatomical and ontogenetic reassessment of the Ediacaran frond Arborea arborea and its placement within total group Eumetazoa. Palaeontology, 62, 851-865. doi: 10.1111/pala.12431 Dunn, F.S. and Liu, A.G. (2019) Viewing the Ediacaran biota as a failed experiment is unhelpful Nature Ecology & Evolution, 3, 512-514. doi: 10.1038/s41559-019-0815-4 Dunn, F.S., Wilby, P.R., Kenchington, C.G., Grazhdankin, D.V., Donoghue, P.C.J. and Liu, A.G. (2019) Anatomy of the Ediacaran rangeomorph Charnia masoni Papers in Palaeontology, 5(1), 157-176. doi: 10.1002/spp2.1234 Dunn, F.S., Liu, A.G. and Donoghue, P.C.J. (2018) Ediacaran developmental biology Biological Reviews, 93, 914-932. doi: 10.1111/brv.12379 |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Ediacaran palaeoecology |
Organisation | University of Cambridge |
Department | Department of Earth Sciences |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Assistance with data collection in the field, advice on selection of field sites, and work on identification of species for a research project led by Dr Emily Mitchell investigating the palaeoecology of Ediacaran fossils via spatial statistical techniques. |
Collaborator Contribution | Data collection, collation, processing and interpretation. Also co-supervision of a Masters student in Cambridge during autumn 2018, investigating spatial distributions of Ediacaran discoidal fossils in Newfoundland. |
Impact | Mitchell, E.G., Bobkov, N., Bykova, N., Dhungana, A., Kolesnikov, A.V., Hogarth, I.R.P., Liu, A.G., Mustill, T.M.R., Sozonov, N., Rogov, V.I., Xiao, S. and Grazhdankin, D.V. (2020) The influence of environmental setting on the community ecology of Ediacaran organisms. Interface Focus, 10(4), 20190109, doi: 10.1098/rsfs.2019.0109 Mitchell, E.G., Harris, S., Kenchington, C.G., Vixseboxse, P., Roberts, L., Clark, C., Dennis, A., Liu, A.G. and Wilby, P.R. (2019) The importance of neutral over niche processes in structuring Ediacaran early animal communities Ecology Letters, 22(12), 2028-2038, doi: 10.1111/ele.13383 |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | Russia dating collaboration |
Organisation | British Geological Survey |
Department | Urban Geoscience Team |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | I wrote the research proposal and brought my collaborators together. This initial project on geochronology expanded to include CT scanning of specimens for one of the collaborator's students, and we have written those findings up as a joint manuscript (Kolesnikov et al., 2018, see below). |
Collaborator Contribution | The BGS (Dan Condon) is conducting geochronological dating of zircons collected from 11 field sites by IPGG collaborator Dr Dima Grazhdankin. |
Impact | Kolesnikov, A.V., Liu, A.G., Danelian, T. and Grazhdankin, D.V. (2018) A reassessment of the problematic Ediacaran genus Orbisiana Sokolov 1976 Precambrian Research, 316, 197-205. doi: 10.1016/j.precamres.2018.08.011 |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Russia dating collaboration |
Organisation | Russian Academy of Sciences |
Department | Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences |
Country | Russian Federation |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | I wrote the research proposal and brought my collaborators together. This initial project on geochronology expanded to include CT scanning of specimens for one of the collaborator's students, and we have written those findings up as a joint manuscript (Kolesnikov et al., 2018, see below). |
Collaborator Contribution | The BGS (Dan Condon) is conducting geochronological dating of zircons collected from 11 field sites by IPGG collaborator Dr Dima Grazhdankin. |
Impact | Kolesnikov, A.V., Liu, A.G., Danelian, T. and Grazhdankin, D.V. (2018) A reassessment of the problematic Ediacaran genus Orbisiana Sokolov 1976 Precambrian Research, 316, 197-205. doi: 10.1016/j.precamres.2018.08.011 |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | UK-China BETR Neoproterozoic project |
Organisation | University College London |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I am assisting in working on the bioturbation aspect of this large NERC-funded project. This involved a visit to China in November 2019 to view Ediacaran drill cores from South China, and also the start of another collaborative project with scientists at the Nanjing NIGPAS institute, led by Prof. Maoyan Zhu, to look at Cambrian body fossils. |
Collaborator Contribution | My partners in China are assisting in collecting field samples and cores, and providing analytical facilities. My collaborators in the UK (led by UCL) are involved in studying the geochemistry and geology of the field sites, and in modelling the links between life and climate during the studied (late Neoproterozoic) interval. |
Impact | No outputs yet other than international meetings in London (December 2017) and Nanjing (January 2018). |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | International Symposium on the Ediacaran-Cambrian Transition, 2017 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | I was Chair of the organizing committee for this major international meeting in the field of early animal evolution. In addition to organising the meeting, booking venues, dealing with registrations and abstract submissions, choosing a talks timetable, and running the three-day meeting, I also organised five multi-day field trips in Newfoundland (Canada) for delegates (leading two of these), and was lead author on two field guides for these trips. The purpose of the meeting was to bring together researchers in this field to discuss key topics, and to provide them with the opportunity to visit some of the classic fossil sites for these organisms. 140 delegates attended, and we also hosted a public lecture at the Memorial University of Newfoundland by Professor Andy Knoll, which was attended by the public, policy makers, and industry geologists (~200 attendees). The conference has been described by several attendees as a major success. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
URL | http://www.isect2017.org/ |
Description | Interviews for media outlets relating to dinosaur brain paper |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | The release of our paper (Brasier et al.) on a fossilised dinosaur brain sparked a flurry of media interest, and I gave radio interviews, email responses and filmed a podcast that formed the basis of stories and related articles in many international media outlets (e.g. BBC World Service, ABC news, National Geographic). Guinness World Records have included our research on their website. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
URL | http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/449184-first-discovery-of-a-fossilised-dinosaur-br... |
Description | Linnean Society talk |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | I was invited to give a talk on my research at the Linnean Society, London, as part of a day of talks on the importance of fieldwork in the Earth and Life Sciences. Over 50 people attended and my talk was recorded for archiving on the Linnean Society website. Questions and discussion afterwards flowed into the evening, and it is hoped that the audience left inspired to either participate in, or support, fieldwork in these areas. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Museum exhibit design |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Co-developer of a temporary research exhibit in the Sedgwick Museum of Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge, on the subject of Ediacaran palaeobiology, in conjunction with collaborators Dr Emily Mitchell and Dr Charlotte Kenchington. The exhibit will remain open for 9 months. Events surrounding the exhibit have included public talks, and children's arts and crafts events. The exhibit team won a University of Cambridge Vice Chancellor's Award in 2019 to recognise the impact achievements of this exhibit. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019,2020 |