The Naked Scientists
Toggle navigation
Login
Register
Podcasts
The Naked Scientists
eLife
Naked Genetics
Naked Astronomy
In short
Naked Neuroscience
Ask! The Naked Scientists
Question of the Week
Archive
Video
SUBSCRIBE to our Podcasts
Articles
Science News
Features
Interviews
Answers to Science Questions
Get Naked
Donate
Do an Experiment
Science Forum
Ask a Question
About
Meet the team
Our Sponsors
Site Map
Contact us
User menu
Login
Register
Search
Home
Help
Search
Tags
Member Map
Recent Topics
Login
Register
Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences
Plant Sciences, Zoology & Evolution
Does anybody know anything about stromatolites?
« previous
next »
Print
Pages: [
1
]
Go Down
Does anybody know anything about stromatolites?
2 Replies
4696 Views
0 Tags
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
blakestyger
Guest
Does anybody know anything about stromatolites?
«
on:
12/02/2009 16:48:03 »
I know the usual basic stuff but where I'm stuck is how they don't appear to have changed significantly since they appeared in the fossil record ca. 2.5 bnya.
If the cyanobacteria are more or less the same as now what does it say about them if they can remain unchanged during all the envirinmental changes since then? Is it true to say that they have not evolved?
Any insights would be welcome, thanks.
Logged
LeeE
Naked Science Forum King!
3382
Activity:
0%
Thanked: 3 times
Best Answer
Does anybody know anything about stromatolites?
«
Reply #1 on:
12/02/2009 16:54:25 »
Interesting question; yes, you'd expect them to have changed more than they appear to have done. Dunno.
Logged
...And its claws are as big as cups, and for some reason it's got a tremendous fear of stamps! And Mrs Doyle was telling me it's got magnets on its tail, so if you're made out of metal it can attach itself to you! And instead of a mouth it's got four arses!
Mazurka
Hero Member
510
Activity:
0%
Thanked: 1 times
Best Answer
Does anybody know anything about stromatolites?
«
Reply #2 on:
16/02/2009 23:06:53 »
Strictly speaking stromatolites are strucutres formed by colonies of different microbes and close study shows significant changes. Not all stromatolites are conclusively biological in origin, but the oldest biological stromatolites are bacteria whilst younger tend to be algae.
The descendants of others evolved into other living things not recognisable as bacteria...
Cyanobacteria "work" - they can produce energy and reproduce - they fit a particular (large and varied) ecological niche - from deserts to oceans via hypersaline lakes where modern stromatolite structures are found.
Logged
Print
Pages: [
1
]
Go Up
« previous
next »
Tags:
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...