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Poop Made Life on Earth Possible. Yes, Poop.
Researchers say larger coprolites may have boosted nutrient cycling and created a positive feedback loop that accelerated early animal diversification.
- New research from Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, suggests a "faecal revolution" sparked the Cambrian explosion around 540 million years ago, as animal waste fueled ecosystem development by cycling nutrients.
- While scientists previously attributed the Cambrian radiation to rising oxygen levels, this study argues the evolution of the "through-gut" enabled animals to process food constantly, producing nutrient-rich waste.
- Evolutionary biologist Dr. Russell Bicknell from Flinders University and paleobiologist Julien Kimmig from Germany's Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe analyzed 36 fossil deposits, with the oldest coprolites dating to 538.8 million years ago.
- This fecal matter, ranging from microscopic pellets to centimeter-scale fragments, redistributed organic carbon and nitrogen through the water column, creating conditions supporting rapid diversification of complex marine life during the Cambrian.
- The study, published in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, positions these ancient diets and digestive systems as crucial components of a feedback loop that accelerated the establishment of early marine ecosystems.
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16 Articles
The IndependentReposted by 
Western Morning News
Western Morning NewsHow animal poop may have sparked Earth’s greatest evolutionary event
Our new research suggests the evolution of fecal matter helped fuel one of the most important events in the history of life on Earth: the Cambrian explosion
·London, United Kingdom
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“Today you predict the sexual revolution,” sang the band La Casa Azul in one of their most famous songs. And it's logical to think that something like that happened 540 million years ago in the Cambrian Period, when an explosion of life led to an incredible diversification of marine species from which almost all current animal groups emerged. However, scientists Julien Kimmig, from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany), and Russell Bic…
·Madrid, Spain
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Total News Sources16
Leaning Left3Leaning Right2Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution38% Left, 37% Center
Bias Distribution
- 38% of the sources lean Left, 37% of the sources are Center
38% Left
L 38%
C 37%
R 25%
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