Early metazoan evolution and ecology of the cambrian radiation

我的研究主要集中在对早寒武世之后的第一批复杂海洋生物的研究上。寒武纪的爆发代表着从大约5.4亿年前开始的大多数主要动物种群在全球范围内的突然出现和迅速多样化。这一重大事件的记录保存在一系列特殊的化石沉积物中，特别是在中国和加拿大，其中最著名的是中寒武世伯吉斯页岩(不列颠哥伦比亚省的联合国教科文组织世界遗产)。目标：目前的NSERC发现基金旨在扩大三个主要互补领域的研究计划：1)阐明数十个特定化石类群的生态和亲缘关系，以揭示以下关键问题：a)主要动物身体计划的起源和关系，b)在寒武纪爆发期间获得功能上的新奇事物；2)更好地了解寒武纪生物群中环境信号和群落组成之间的相互作用；3)更好地了解不同时间和空间尺度上的群落格局，特别是不同古地理和古生态背景下的地点之间的群落格局。方法：1)结合传统(如比较解剖学和功能形态学)和现代(如背散射电子显微镜)研究技术研究未描述或鲜为人知的化石物种。2)获取伯吉斯页岩连续化石层位的高分辨率地球化学数据库。现有的物种数据(来自我的博士工作)将与新的地球化学数据进行定量比较。3)通过扩展到新的地点，继续在中国进行实地调查，以发现时间和空间因素对社区组成的影响。考虑到我提议的研究的范围和挑战，我将继续支持协作和跨学科的方法，寻求将新的同事和学生整合到我的研究实验室。

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.