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Expanding the frontiers of research in biomineralization and fossil preservation

Abstract

The relationship between life and the environment offers several perspectives in the study of the geological record and Brazilian fossils have worldwide importance in this discussion. The Ediacaran-Cambrian transition (ca. 541 Ma) marked the emergence of animals capable of synthesizing skeletons made up of minerals (biomineralizing animals), or actively exploring the substrate, which resulted in biological diversification. In the Cambrian Period, there was the so-called 'Cambrian explosion' of life, the most expressive event of diversification in the history of life on Earth, including the profusion of biomineralized groups, the development of the phyla's body plans and the intensification of bioturbation. Questions about the original composition, fossilization, affinity and association of these biomineralizers with oxygenation events are still open. In this context, the study of fossil preservation (Taphonomy) is essential to assess the processes that may bias the fossil record. In this sense, there are uncertainties about the differentiation between local and global mechanisms of preservation and how they relate to different moments and tectonic and sedimentary contexts in Earth's history. Currently, the most innovative approach to test hypotheses involving these issues is the use of Paleometry, that is, imaging, spectroscopic and geochemical techniques that make it possible to extract information with a high level of detail from fossils. However, some issues in Paleontology still face barriers in the existing instrumentation. This project has the following innovative objectives: (1) explore Ediacaran and Cambrian units in search of new fossils, allowing a better understanding of the biological diversity of the past; (2) investigate the biomineralization and preservation of these fossils; (3) deepen the understanding of the dynamics of the relationship between macrofossils and oxygenation in the Ediacaran and Cambrian; (4) understand local and global preservation mechanisms in Precambrian and Phanerozoic geological units; and, (5) develop new instrumentation to break through barriers in the characterization of fossil preservation processes. For that, paleometric imaging, spectroscopic and geochemical techniques will be used. (AU)

Articles published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the research grant:
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Scientific publications
(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)
STORARI, ARIANNY P.; OSES, GABRIEL L.; STANICZEK, ARNOLD H.; RIZZUTTO, MARCIA; LOEFFLER, RONNY; RODRIGUES, TAISSA. Paleometric approaches reveal striking differences in the insect fossilization of two Mesozoic Konservat-Lagerstätten. FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 12, p. 24-pg., . (23/14250-0, 22/06485-5, 21/07007-7)
MORAIS, LUANA; FREITAS, BERNARDO T.; FAIRCHILD, THOMAS RICH; ARCOS, ROLANDO ESTEBAN CLAVIJO; GUILLONG, MARCEL; VANCE, DEREK; DE CAMPOS, MARCELO DA ROZ; BABINSKI, MARLY; PEREIRA, LUIZ GUSTAVO; LEME, JULIANA M.; et al. Dawn of diverse shelled and carbonaceous animal microfossils at ∼ 571 Ma. SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, v. 14, n. 1, p. 18-pg., . (21/07007-7, 20/16140-0, 18/03001-1, 23/14250-0, 16/06114-6, 17/22099-0, 16/05937-9, 22/06485-5)
DIAS, JAIME JOAQUIM; CARVALHO, ISMAR DE SOUZA; SOUZA-DIAS, PEDRO G. B.; ZEFA, EDISON; BARROS, CECILIA DE LIMA; PRADO, GUSTAVO; OSES, GABRIEL LADEIRA. Reproductive organs of a Grylloidea fossil from the Cretaceous Araripe Basin, Brazil. JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, v. 182, n. 3, p. 11-pg., . (23/14250-0, 22/06485-5)