6. What are some major differences between Ediacaran fauna and those of the Camb
ID: 72790 • Letter: 6
Question
6. What are some major differences between Ediacaran fauna and those of the Cambrian explosion?
7. About 500mya life emerged from the oceans to cover land. Place the following in the correct sequence of which group likely colonized land first and give an explanation of why each proceeded the former: animals, plants, fungi.
8. Define how each of the following helped shape the diversity and distribution of organisms we see on Earth today: continental drift, mass extinctions, adaptive radiations.
9. Explain the importance of studying developmental genes to understand how species evolved.
10. In your own words, discuss what it means to say that evolution is not goal oriented? Some food for thought, consider the following statement: Bacteria have been evolving on Earth for billions of years yet compared to vertebrates; they are simple single celled organisms, evolution must have left them behind.
Explanation / Answer
6. Ediacara fauna comprises of soft-bodied organisms, preserved worldwide as fossil impressions in sandstone. They belong to the Proterozoic Eon . They were the first metazoans (animals made up of more than one type of cell) and required atmospheric oxygen for their growth. These animals were the precursors of skeletal forms.
The Cambrian explosion, or Cambrian radiation, was an evolutionary event of short duration It started around 542 million years ago in the Cambrian Period. Most of the major animal phyla appeared appeared during this time. It lasted for about the next 20-25 million years and the divergence of most modern metazoan phyla occurred during this time.
7. The earliest fungi appeared appeared 560 ma
Primitive plants appeared at 434 ma. They evolved from green algae and lived along the edges of lakes. Their colonization was aided by fungi through symbiosis.
Animals appeared during the Cambrian explosion at 580-500ma. The appearance of animals, fungi and plants is based on appearance of complex forms from simpler forms.
8. Continental drift caused huge shifts in landmass and helped create diversity and distribution of animals.
Mass extinction has resulted in differential survival of taxa. It has caused disruption or preservation of evolutionary trends.
Adaptive radiation is a process of diversifcation of organisms. With availability of new resources and niches due to change in environment, new forms of organisms develop.
9. Study of Developmental genes help understand the development process of organisms and establish evolutionary relationships between them.
10. Evolution depends on the environment and the organisms strive to survive and live in that environment. Evolution is thus not goal oriented.
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