Early metazoan evolution and ecology of the cambrian radiation

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My research focuses primarily on the study of the first complex marine communities from the period just following the Early Cambrian. The Cambrian explosion represents the sudden worldwide appearance and rapid diversification of most major animal groups, starting about 540 million years ago. The record of this critical event is preserved in a series of exceptional fossil deposits, especially in China and Canada, of which the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale (a UNESCO World Heritage site in British Columbia) is certainly the most famous.Goals: The present NSERC discovery grant aims at expanding research programs in three main complementary areas: 1) to elucidate the ecology and affinities of dozens of specific fossil taxa in order to shed crucial light on: a) the origin and relationship of major animal body plans and, b) the acquisition of functional novelties during the Cambrian explosion; 2) to better understand the interaction between environmental signals and community composition in Cambrian biota; 3) to better understand community patterns at varying temporal and spatial scales, especially between sites from different paleogeographic and paleoecologic settings.Methodology: 1) To study undescribed or poorly known fossil species using a combination of traditional (e.g., comparative anatomy and functional morphology) and modern (e.g., Backscattered Electron Microscopy) investigative techniques. 2) To obtain a high resolution geochemical data base from successive fossiliferous horizons in the Burgess Shale. Available species data (from my PhD work) will be compared quantitatively with new geochemical data. 3) To continue field-based investigations in China by expanding to new localities, in order to detect the influence of temporal and spatial factors on community composition.Given the scope and challenges of my proposed research, I will continue to favour a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach by seeking to integrate new colleagues and students to my research lab.