Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42802171›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Reversed marine phosphorus gradient in the Ediacaran Ocean.

Matthew S Dodd, Chao Li, Meng Cheng, Jun Hu, Zihu Zhang, Haodong Gu, Jie Fang, Lei Zheng, Aleksey Y Sadekov, Mingcai Hou and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Matthew S DoddState Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation & Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4470-933X
Chao LiState Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation & Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China. chaoli@cdut.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9861-661X
Meng ChengState Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation & Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7285-2307
Jun HuState Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation & Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China.
Zihu ZhangState Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation & Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China.
Haodong GuState Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Changes (GMEC), China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.
Jie FangState Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Changes (GMEC), China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.
Lei ZhengState Key Laboratory of Geomicrobiology and Environmental Changes (GMEC), China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.
Aleksey Y SadekovSchool of Earth and Oceans, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia.
Mingcai HouState Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation & Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7583-9159
Thomas J AlgeoState Key Laboratory of Oil and Gas Reservoir Geology and Exploitation & Institute of Sedimentary Geology, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China.
Benjamin J W MillsSchool of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9141-0931

Funding

National Science Foundation of China | National Natural Science Foundation of China-Yunnan Joint Fund (NSFC-Yunnan Joint Fund) 42130208
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Ediacaran Period (635-539 Ma) witnessed the emergence of early animals, rapid oceanic oxygenation, and rising oceanic P availability. However, the relationships among these developments remain intensely debated. Here, we present high-resolution carbonate-associated phosphate (CAP) data from seven Ediacaran sections spanning diverse depositional environments across South China. Contrary to the modern ocean, our measurements reveal an inverted phosphorus (P) gradient, with lower P availability at depth. By integrating these data with a quantitative biogeochemical model, we show that increasing shallow-water P inputs drove enhanced productivity and bottom-water anoxia on continental shelves, while P-starved distal oceans became progressively oxygenated from the top downward, providing an oxygenated niche-a deep-ocean cradle-for early metazoan evolution. Our study establishes a conceptual framework linking nutrient dynamics, marine oxygenation, and evolutionary innovation in Earth's early history.

Identifiers

PMID42802171
PMCPMC13616952

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.