Abstract
A LARGE number of theories attempt to explain the ‘apparently’ very late and sudden diversification of life at the end of the Precambrian era either in terms of environmental changes (such as ocean chemistry1, global temperature2, and oxygen and ozone levels3,4) or the time lag necessary for biological evolution5. It seems clear that no single mechanism can be solely responsible for this sudden leap forward in evolution; the origin of multicellular life was almost certainly in response to several forcing mechanisms. The model we present here does not attempt to resolve which parameter was the most important, but seeks to emphasise the vital role of adequate oxygen levels in the early marine environment which must be considered as a further vital condition for life diversification.
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HENDERSON-SELLERS, B., HENDERSON-SELLERS, A. Oxygen in the Palaeoaquatic environment. Nature 272, 439–440 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/272439a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/272439a0
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