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On October 22, 2024, 8:25:48 PM UTC, Gravatar ckan_admin:

  • Updated description of Estuarine biofilm patterns: Modern analogues for Precambrian self-organization from

    In a field and laboratory study, it is tested whether biologically enhanced self-organisation could explain the formation and multi-annual persistence of regularly patterned, biofilm-covered and internally laminated bedforms on present-day intertidal flats. Algal mats of filamentous macroalgae (Vaucheria sp.) cover topographic highs of regularly spaced, metre-scale ridge and runnel bedforms. Indicators of self-organisation are tested and it is suggested that long-term bedform persistence is promoted by biofilm-induced sediment trapping and biostabilisation. This implies that biofilms can significantly impact bedform development, in contrast to previous studies emphasising biofilm seasonality. The ridges colonised and likely enhanced by Vaucheria consist of wavy-crinkly laminated sedimentary deposits that resemble the layering found in ancient stromatolites and microbially induced sedimentary structures. In addition to layering, both the morphological pattern and the formation mechanism of the recent bedforms are strikingly similar to microbialite strata found in the Precambrian fossil record, which suggests that self-organisation was an important morphological process in times when biofilms were the predominant sessile ecosystem. These findings furthermore emphasise that self-organisation dynamics such as critical transitions invoking ecosystem emergence or collapse might have been captured in fossil microbialites, influencing their laminae, a notion that may be important for paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on such strata.
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    This field and laboratory study examines whether regularly patterned biofilms on present-day intertidal flats are equivalent to microbially induced bedforms found in geological records dating back to the onset of life on Earth. Algal mats of filamentous Vaucheria species, functionally similar to microbial biofilms, cover the topographic highs of regularly spaced ridge–runnel bedforms. As regular patterning is typically associated with self-organization processes, indicators of self-organization are tested and found to support this hypothesis. The measurements suggest that biofilm-induced sediment trapping and biostabilization enhance bedform relief, strength and multi-year persistence. This demonstrates the importance of primitive organisms for sedimentary landscape development. Algal-covered ridges consist of wavy-crinkly laminated sedimentary deposits that resemble the layered structure of fossil stromatolites and microbially induced sedimentary structures. In addition to layering, both the morphological pattern and the suggested formation mechanism of the recent bedforms are strikingly similar to microbialite strata found in rock records from the Precambrian onwards. This implies that self-organization was an important morphological process in times when biofilms were the predominant sessile ecosystem. These findings furthermore emphasize that self-organization dynamics, such as critical transitions invoking ecosystem emergence or collapse, might have been captured in fossil microbialites, influencing their laminae. This notion may be important for paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on such strata.


  • Changed the version of Estuarine biofilm patterns: Modern analogues for Precambrian self-organization to 5 (previously 4)