An article published in the journal “Nature Ecology & Evolution” describes a research on the communities formed by the so-called Ediacara biota, the beings that lived during the Ediacaran period. Paleontologist Simon A.F. Darroch of the Vanderbilt University and two colleagues applied a method of analysis developed for modern ecology to organisms of that period including some discovered in Namibia concluding that there was already an ecological complexity in some communities 570 million years ago.

Research on the Ediacara biota is always complex and often causes discussions due to the scarcity of fossils dating back to the Ediacaran period, with the consequence that any interpretation may leave doubts. The strange appearance of the organisms discovered can make it difficult to understand even what kingdom they belong to but according to a research described in an article published in the journal “Paleontology” in August 2018 at least some of them were animals.

Among the few ideas concerning the Ediacara biota on which there was little discussion concerned the complexity of their ecosystems. Most researchers have been thinking for decades that they were simple, with few dominant species fighting for limited resources. An ecological complexity exists when there are species that compete for several different resources or species that create niches for others, as is typical of many modern ecosystems. The common idea is that such complexity started only with the Cambrian Explosion, the greatest diversification ever seen in the history of life on Earth, but three researchers support a different thesis.

This research was conducted examining data collected from previous research and fossils discovered by Simon A.F. Darroch in today’s Namibia, which in the Ediacaran period was the bottom of the ocean. Some of those organisms were filter feeders, others used passive feeding methods, some were mobile organisms that could search for food.

The researchers have applied a method of ecosystem analysis that is used for example to compare some distant ones that may not have any species in common. The analysis indicates that there were complex ecosystems already 570 million years ago, before the Cambrian Explosion. However, there were differences and it seems that the organisms discovered in Namibia formed a simple community.

This is the kind of research that can cause discussion, but if the analysis is correct it’s further evidence that at least some of the organisms that lived in the Ediacaran were more sophisticated than previously thought. Simon A.F. Darroch stated that those organisms may look bizarre but may have more in common with modern animals than expected. He remains cautious about the results and for example he stated that more research is needed to prove that the Ediacara biota died out about 540 million years ago due to the competition of today’s animals’ ancestors. This could be a topic at the center of new studies in the near future.