BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Modern views on the diversity\, functional disparity\, and structu
 re of Cambrian ecosystems - Karma Nanglu\, Harvard University
DTSTART:20230228T130000Z
DTEND:20230228T140000Z
UID:TALK194359@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Stephen Pates
DESCRIPTION:The Cambrian Explosion is one of the most significant biotic e
 vents in the history of the Earth. During this time\, the complexity of in
 teractions between animals as well as with their environments increased ra
 pidly\, in turn leading to more complex community structures. Thus\, a cle
 ar picture of the structure of Cambrian animal communities is integral to 
 understanding the origins of modern ecosystems. However\, relatively few C
 ambrian fossil sites preserve the total animal community\, including the m
 ost soft-bodied taxa. Additionally\, datasets with high stratigraphic reso
 lution\, which are necessary to understand fine scale spatiotemporal gradi
 ents\, are rare. As a result\, fundamental aspects of Cambrian community e
 cology\, such as trophic structure and spatial diversity gradients\, remai
 n cryptic. In this seminar\, I will present recent work delving into the c
 ommunity ecology of Cambrian marine ecosystems through the lens of some of
  the best preserved fossil sites in the world. First among these is the ce
 lebrated Burgess Shale\, located in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. For over
  100 years\, this site has provided unparalleled insights into early anima
 l evolution\, but community-scale analyses have been relatively rare. My d
 ata shows that the animal communities of the Burgess Shale were highly var
 iable in terms of total diversity\, as well as the most abundant ecologica
 l modes represented. Further\, even localities within the same geological 
 formation have highly distinct fauna\, with several indicator species sugg
 esting a degree of species endemism. Broadly\, this suggests that some of 
 the earliest complex animal communities were highly variable both spatiall
 y and temporally. I then expand the scope of this study to include older C
 ambrian communities from China\, and re-analyze this enlarged dataset thro
 ugh the lens of functional diversity. One of the major results of these an
 alyses is the observation that alpha diversity and functional diversity fl
 uctuate independently of each other\, suggesting that typical metrics of b
 iodiversity alone cannot adequately describe the structure of Cambrian com
 munities. Moving forward\, integrating more rigorously sampled datasets wi
 th time series information and functional traits is necessary to fully und
 erstand the ecological dynamics of the earliest complex ecosystems. Furthe
 r\, expanding the temporal scope of this work\, particularly to Ediacaran 
 community datasets\, is necessary for a more complete understanding of how
  early animal ecosystems developed.
LOCATION:Part II Lecture Theatre and online via Zoom - contact organiser f
 or details
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR