Community composition and ecospace analysis of the Cambrian Balang Fauna in Majiang County, Guizhou Province
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Abstract:
Cambrian Konservat-Lagerst?tten preserve the original states of marine communities and provide valuable materials for community ecological studies. However, few quantitative ecological analyses have been conducted on the Cambrian Balang Fauna (Stage 4, Series 2) from Guizhou Province. In this study, we report a new fossil assemblage from the Pingding section in Majiang County and perform multivariate statistical analyses. This fossil assemblage contains 31 genera and 33 species belonging to six phyla (Brachiopoda, Cnidaria, Arthropoda, Hyolitha, Chancelloriida, and Priapulida) and 12 ecological types. Among these phyla, brachiopods are the most abundant component (61.5%) whilst arthropods exhibit the highest taxonomic diversity at species level (60%). Furthermore, sessile benthos dominate the community followed by active swimming predators. By comparing this fossil assemblage from the Pingding section with communities from other Cambrian faunas, we confirm the heterogeneity among the Cambrian marine communities and suggest that arthropods play a crucial role in shaping the community structure and influencing ecospace occupation. Additionally, expansion of epibenthos in marine ecological communities with increasing water depth also reflects the role of the environmental factors in shaping the community structure.
