@article{ef799d74ec0f4818a1b2b1d839556b94,
title = "Branching archaeocyaths as ecosystem engineers during the Cambrian radiation",
abstract = "The rapid origination and diversification of major animal body plans during the early Cambrian coincide with the rise of Earth's first animal-built framework reefs. Given the importance of scleractinian coral reefs as ecological facilitators in modern oceans, we investigate the impact of archaeocyathan (Class Archaeocyatha) reefs as engineered ecosystems during the Cambrian radiation. In this study, we present the first high-resolution, three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions of branching archaeocyathide (Order Archaeocyathida) individuals from three localities on the Laurentian paleocontinent. Because branched forms in sponges and corals display phenotypic plasticity that preserve the characteristics of the surrounding growth environment, we compare morphological measurements from our fossil specimens to those of modern corals to infer the surface conditions of Earth's first reefs. These data demonstrate that archaeocyaths could withstand and influence the flow of water, accommodate photosymbionts, and build topographically complex and stable structures much like corals today. We also recognize a stepwise increase in the roughness of reef environments in the lower Cambrian, which would have laid a foundation for more abundant and diverse coevolving fauna.",
keywords = "Cambrian, archaeocyath, biodiversity, coral, ecosystem engineering, paleoenvironment, reef, sponge, three-dimensional",
author = "Manzuk, {Ryan A.} and Maloof, {Adam C.} and Kaandorp, {Jaap A.} and Mark Webster",
note = "Funding Information: We thank Kurt Konhauser and James Schiffbauer for editorial handling, and three anonymous reviewers for constructive comments that improved the manuscript. We also thank Akshay Mehra for the help and advice in method development. We are grateful to Emily Geyman, Cedric Hagen, Michael LaBarbera, John Moore, Susannah Porter, Sara Pruss, Peter Tierney, and SITU Studio for useful comments on early drafts and helpful discussions. Alec Getraer provided useful insights on the interpretation of branching angles. We also thank Indu Panigrahi and Nishant Kumar Singhal for their help in developing the image tracing pipelines. We are grateful to Jochen Gerber, Justin Lemberg, Neil Shubin, and the Luo Lab at the University of Chicago for helping to secure CT scans of specimens. We thank Nick Swanson‐Hysell for his help with field site paleogeography. Sarah Ward, Sarah Brown, and Akshay Mehra helped conduct field work in Nevada. Bolton Howes, Emily Geyman, and Galen Cadley helped with field work in Yukon Territories. Melvin Rissanan and the team at Boreal Engineering offered generous support for the Yukon field work. Justin Strauss helped in identifying the Yukon field site. Akshay Mehra, Pingping Zhao, Susannah Porter, John Moore, Enrique del Castillo, Jahan Ramezani, and Kaori Tsukui helped in performing field work in Labrador. Funding for this project came from National Science Foundation grants 1410317 and 1028768 to A.C.M., and 1410503 to M.W., as well as the Tuttle Invertebrate Fund and the Geoscience Student Research Fund at Princeton University. Acropora Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.",
year = "2023",
month = jan,
doi = "10.1111/gbi.12521",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "21",
pages = "66--85",
journal = "Geobiology",
issn = "1472-4677",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "1",
}