NSFGEO-NERC: Ancient life in moving fluids: elucidating the emergence of animal ecosystems

Vanderbilt University, Nashville TN

Investigators

Abstract

This is a project that is jointly funded by the National Science Foundation’s Directorate of Geosciences (NSF/GEO) and the National Environment Research Council (UKRI/NERC) of the United Kingdom UK) via the NSF/GEO-NERC Lead Agency Agreement. This Agreement allows a single joint US/UK proposal to be submitted and peer-reviewed by the Agency whose investigator has the largest proportion of the budget. Upon successful joint determination of an award, each Agency funds the proportion of the budget and the investigators associated with its own investigators and component of the work. The fossil record shows that complex life first evolved in the oceans, 571 million to 541 million years ago. Understanding how, when, and why these organisms evolved, as well as their relationships to living animals, is crucial for deciphering the origins of modern biodiversity and ecosystems. However, key fossils from this time interval are poorly understood. This research project will analyze half-a-billion-year-old fossils using an innovative new approach that combines computer modeling and simulation with geological fieldwork. The results obtained will transform our understanding of the oldest animal fossils on Earth, filling critical gaps in our knowledge of the early evolution of life. In collaboration with teachers in Davidson Co., TN, this information will be used to create learning modules for teaching the basic tenets of evolution, adaptation, 3D modeling, and fluid dynamics to students in grades 11–12, which will be made freely available to the public, educators and students in the US and UK. The emergence of animal ecosystems during the late Ediacaran (~571–541 million years ago) was a pivotal episode in evolutionary history. However, most of these Ediacaran organisms disappeared immediately before the Cambrian, in what may represent the first mass extinction of complex life. There are thus two key questions that will provide fundamental insights into the origins of modern ecosystems: 1) where do Ediacaran organisms fit in the tree of life? And, 2) what drove their extinction prior to the onset of the Cambrian? We will address these questions by combining new data collected during fieldwork with computational fluid dynamics and fluid–structure interaction simulations performed on both individual organisms and whole communities. This project will improve knowledge of the early evolution of complex ecosystems, while at the same time pioneering the development of a rigorous new approach for examining how marine organisms evolved in response to moving fluids. In addition to facilitating international research collaboration, the PI team will work together with local high school teachers in Rutherford County, Tennessee, to produce learning modules focused on 3-D modeling and fluid dynamics, suitable for communicating key evolutionary principals to school students (16–18 years old) in the US and UK. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.