Paleoecology podcasts

Sara Pruss discusses archaeocyath sponges, the first multicellular reef builders, and their relationship to diversification during the Cambrian. The episode traces successive reef-building groups through the geological record and asks why reefs repeatedly emerge despite environmental disruption and extinction.

Carina Hoorn examines how the Amazon Basin’s geological evolution shaped its extraordinary biodiversity. The discussion connects Andean uplift, fresh sediment supply and marine incursions during the Early Miocene with the diversification of aquatic environments and ecological opportunities.