Fluctuation in redox conditions and the evolution of early Cambrian life constrained by nitrogen isotopes in the middle Yangtze Block, South China

The Ediacaran–Cambrian (E-C) transition (∼542–517 Ma) witnessed the rapid evolution of Cambrian animals, which was accompanied by carbon cycling anomalies and a significant increase in the concentration of oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere. The mechanisms stimulating the evolution of complex eukaryotes, however, remain problematic, especially concerning the link between biological evolution and contemporaneous changes in the oceanic environment. In this study, integrated δ13Ccarb–δ13Corg–δ15N compositions were analysed from the YD-4 core samples to understand redox fluctuations and nitrogen cycling of the middle Yangtze Block across the E-C transition. Two negative δ13Ccarb excursions (N1 and N2) and a positive δ13Ccarb excursion (P1) are identified from the studied samples and are supposedly of primary origin. Constrained by of the U-Pb age, biolithology and pattern of isotopic variation, N1, P1 and N2 are comparable to the Basal Cambrian Carbon Isotope Excursion (BACE), Zhujiaqing Carbon Isotope Excursion (ZHUCE) and Shiyantou Carbon Isotope Excursion (SHICE). We interpreted the decreased δ15N values in this study as resulting from intensified atmospheric nitrogen fixation driven by enhanced denitrification associated with expanded marine anoxia, as well as partial ammonium assimilation, while increased δ15N values suggest weakened denitrification associated with an amplified oxic water mass. The temporal coincidence of N1 and N2, with two episodes of negative δ15N excursions, and of P1, with a positive δ15N excursion, suggests that variable oceanic redox conditions and nitrogen bioavailability may have influenced the evolution of the Cambrian eukaryote-dominated community.