On the origin of metazoan reefs

Presented here is a dataset of all occurrences of palaeoecology (carbonate platform setting, hydrodynamic energy, substrate preferences, reef setting, and ecological growth position) or earliest reef-associated metazoans from the Ediacaran (550-538 million years ago, Ma), and the earliest Cambrian of the Siberian Platform (527-521.5 Ma). To quantify the range of ecological settings occupied by early skeletal metazoans, whether ecological setting was conserved in any given species, and the distribution of substrate preferences, we collated data from all known global in situ (= in life, growth position) occurrences of the terminal Ediacaran (ca. 550-533 Ma) metazoan Cloudina spp. (16 occurrences), and from mainly in situ occurrences of archaeocyath sponge species (n=43 species) and some additional sessile reef-associated groups (coralomorphs, radiocyaths) from the earliest Cambrian (pre-Tommotian and Tommotian, late Fortunian – Cambrian Stage 2, 527-521 Ma), from the Lena-Aldan area on the Siberia Platform (261 occurrences). We define an occurrence as the presence of an in situ assemblage of species in a stratum occupying a limited stratigraphic interval at any given locality (Zhuravlev et al., 2015).  Each such occurrence was studied to identify species, sedimentary facies and their ecological, spatial relationships. Lower Cambrian data were subdivided into five time intervals. These data can be potentially be re-purposed for other analyses. There are no legal or ethical considerations.

本数据集收录了两类出现记录：一是涉及古生态学（palaeoecology）相关参数（包括碳酸盐台地环境（carbonate platform setting）、水动力条件（hydrodynamic energy）、基底偏好（substrate preferences）、礁体环境（reef setting）及生态生长位置（ecological growth position））的所有记录，二是来自埃迪卡拉纪（Ediacaran，5.50~5.38亿年前，Ma）以及西伯利亚地台（Siberian Platform）最早寒武世（5.27~5.215亿年前）的最早礁相关后生动物出现记录。
为量化早期具骨骼后生动物所占据的生态环境范围、特定物种的生态环境是否具有保守性，以及基底偏好的分布特征，我们整理了全球范围内已知的埃迪卡拉纪末期（约5.50~5.33亿年前）后生动物克劳德管虫属（Cloudina spp.）的所有原位（in situ，即生活时的生长位置）出现记录（共16处）；同时整理了西伯利亚地台勒拿-阿尔丹区域（Lena-Aldan area）最早寒武世（前托莫特阶（pre-Tommotian）与托莫特阶（Tommotian），弗洛阶（Fortunian）晚期——寒武纪第2阶（Cambrian Stage 2），5.27~5.21亿年前）的古杯海绵（archaeocyath sponge）物种（共43种）以及部分其他固着礁相关类群（珊瑚形类（coralomorphs）、放射杯类（radiocyaths））的原位出现记录（总计261处，其中以原位记录为主）。
我们将一处出现记录定义为：某一特定地点的地层中，存在一套占据有限地层间隔的物种原位组合（Zhuravlev等，2015）。
对每一处此类出现记录均开展研究，以识别其中的物种、沉积相（sedimentary facies）及其生态与空间关系。下寒武统（Lower Cambrian）数据被划分为五个时间区间。本数据集可被重新用于其他分析研究，且不存在法律或伦理方面的合规问题。