Fecal Revolution hypothesis for Cambrian Explosion

Researchers have proposed that a surge in animal waste during the early Cambrian supplied essential nutrients to seafloor sediments, acting as an additional driver of the rapid diversification of life known as the Cambrian Explosion. The initial hypothesis, presented by an international team that includes Australian scientists and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, links the evolution of more complex digestive systems and the appearance of coprolites to a “nutrient firework” that enriched marine ecosystems alongside rising oxygen levels.

A subsequent study led by Dr. Russell Bicknell at Flinders University provided further evidence, identifying coprolites from 36 global deposits spanning 539 million to 494 million years ago. The researchers argue that fecal pellets transported carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron away from continental shelves, creating new food sources and accelerating ecosystem development. Both papers, published in *Trends in Ecology & Evolution*, suggest that this “faecal revolution” worked in concert with other ecological factors to fuel the evolutionary burst.