Overturning the Ediacara biota: community structure of the oldest animal ecosystems. The first systematic excavation of serial fossil beds of South Australia's famous Ediacara biota will lead to an integrated study of the oldest diverse macroscopic assemblages of life on Earth. Once the preservational and biological components of the record have been separated, Ediacaran fossil beds can be treated as 'snap-shots? of benthic marine communities. This will enable the use of palaeoecological tools t ....Overturning the Ediacara biota: community structure of the oldest animal ecosystems. The first systematic excavation of serial fossil beds of South Australia's famous Ediacara biota will lead to an integrated study of the oldest diverse macroscopic assemblages of life on Earth. Once the preservational and biological components of the record have been separated, Ediacaran fossil beds can be treated as 'snap-shots? of benthic marine communities. This will enable the use of palaeoecological tools to determine which if any of these Precambrian fossils were members of animal groups that heralded the Cambrian explosion of animal life.Read moreRead less
Origin of jaws - the greatest unsolved mystery of early vertebrate evolution. The 2008 discovery of an unborn embryo in the 380 million-year-old "Mother Fish" from the famous Gogo fossil deposit in NW Australia has attracted a collaboration of Australian, American and Chinese scientists to a new international collaboration. The team will study spectacular new fossils from central Australia and southern China, the oldest known back-boned animals with jaws and a hard skeleton. Innovative 3D X-ray ....Origin of jaws - the greatest unsolved mystery of early vertebrate evolution. The 2008 discovery of an unborn embryo in the 380 million-year-old "Mother Fish" from the famous Gogo fossil deposit in NW Australia has attracted a collaboration of Australian, American and Chinese scientists to a new international collaboration. The team will study spectacular new fossils from central Australia and southern China, the oldest known back-boned animals with jaws and a hard skeleton. Innovative 3D X-ray computer tomography, and the Australian synchrotron, will be used to investigate ancient cells and preserved soft tissue structures, to search for evidence that copulation and internal fertilization, as in modern mammals, might have originated when jaws first evolved. Read moreRead less
Cyclostome bryozoans: Their use as paleoceanographic, paleoclimatologic and paleoenvironmental proxies throughout the cenozoic of southern Australia. The unravelling of ocean evolution relies largely on data from fossils - geochemical proxies of ancient oceans. Southern Australia contains an inrivalled 45 million-year old record of cool-water carbonate sedimentation and thus global paleoceanography. Currently, the only proxies available in these extensive sediments are brachiopods and planktic f ....Cyclostome bryozoans: Their use as paleoceanographic, paleoclimatologic and paleoenvironmental proxies throughout the cenozoic of southern Australia. The unravelling of ocean evolution relies largely on data from fossils - geochemical proxies of ancient oceans. Southern Australia contains an inrivalled 45 million-year old record of cool-water carbonate sedimentation and thus global paleoceanography. Currently, the only proxies available in these extensive sediments are brachiopods and planktic foraminfers. However, these sediments contain prolific low-magnesium calcite bryozoans, particularly cyclostomes, that could be used instead. This research will assess such bryozoans and test their usefulness and reliability, utilising existing extensive modern marine and Tertiary samples, data bases and sections. Such potential proxies would be globally useful for limestones from the last 500My.Read moreRead less
Biogeography and evolution of Australia's fossil reptiles: A global perspective. Large marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, and missing links such as legged snakes, are spectacular animals that have captured public attention. This collaboration will directly enhance public museum displays by collecting and preparing these spectacular fossils; many of the fossils found by the CIs are now centerpieces of museum displays (e.g. the SA museum). Also, it will also promote awareness and sustainable u ....Biogeography and evolution of Australia's fossil reptiles: A global perspective. Large marine reptiles such as plesiosaurs, and missing links such as legged snakes, are spectacular animals that have captured public attention. This collaboration will directly enhance public museum displays by collecting and preparing these spectacular fossils; many of the fossils found by the CIs are now centerpieces of museum displays (e.g. the SA museum). Also, it will also promote awareness and sustainable use of the environment: it will facilitate CI Kear in running earthwatch-style ecotourism field trips which promote sustainable use of finite fossil resources by making them commercially valuable to local communities as a source of tourism revenue.Read moreRead less
Global implications of Australian Cretaceous faunas: biogeography, evolution and effects of climate change. Climate change is a critical issue with poorly known long-term effects. This collaboration will provide information on how marine and terrestrial faunas have responded to environmental alteration in the past. Mesozoic vertebrates make spectacular fossils that capture public attention. This collaboration will enhance public museum displays by collection and preparation of important new spec ....Global implications of Australian Cretaceous faunas: biogeography, evolution and effects of climate change. Climate change is a critical issue with poorly known long-term effects. This collaboration will provide information on how marine and terrestrial faunas have responded to environmental alteration in the past. Mesozoic vertebrates make spectacular fossils that capture public attention. This collaboration will enhance public museum displays by collection and preparation of important new specimens; many found by the investigators are already centerpieces in major museums (e.g. SA Museum). This project will also promote awareness and sustainable use of the environment through media promotion and 'earthwatch-style' ecotourism field trips; these highlight finite fossil resources as lucrative sources of tourism revenue to regional communities. Read moreRead less