How do we apply this?

Life Modes in the Ediacaran (We're getting technical!)​

• Erect, non-motile (stromatolitic vertical suspension feeder). Raised above the mat to intercept flow; passive/active suspension feeding; firmly attached to the mat or firmground. Shows early vertical tiering and exploitation of pelagic particulates (Conway Morris, 2006).

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• Erect, attached sponge-type filter feeder. Sessile, rigid or semi-rigid body using porous/filter structures to remove particles from water; anchored to seafloor or mat. Exemplifies early metazoan filter-feeding architecture (Conway Morris, 2006).

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• Surficial, unattached mat-surface suspension interceptor. Lies on the mat and captures particles at or just above the surface (e.g. mucus or surface structures). Highlights alternative particle-capture strategies tightly coupled to matgrounds (Narbonne, 2005).

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• Surficial, slow-moving surface-deposit feeder (e.g. Yorgia). Moves across mats consuming mat biomass (external digestion or surface deposit feeding) and leaves characteristic traces; prostrate, non-attached mobility. Evidence for active exploitation of mat resources and simple motility (Buatois and M. Gabriela Mángano, 2016).

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• Surficial, grazing mobile consumer (e.g. Kimberella). Directed grazing or rasping of mats/biofilms, producing scratches and feeding traces; close contact with substrate and purposeful movement. Early sign of complex consumer behaviour within mat ecosystems (Buatois and M. Gabriela Mángano, 2016).

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• Surficial, facultatively mobile opportunist (e.g. Spriggina). Episodic movement with variable feeding (deposit/opportunistic); usually prostrate but able to detach and relocate. Demonstrates behavioural flexibility and steps toward sustained motility (Buatois and M. Gabriela Mángano, 2016).

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• Surficial, broad prostrate mat-feeder (e.g. Dickinsonia). Mostly non-motile but capable of short moves (Buatois and M. Gabriela Mángano, 2016); feeds by mat grazing or external digestion, leaving diagnostic traces; adhesive contact with mats. Key example of large mat-feeding strategy and organized consumer morphology (RETALLACK, 2025).

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• Surficial, attached holdfast form (e.g. Aspidella). Sessile anchoring structures for erect elements; associated fronds passively suspend/absorb resources. Indicates modular community architecture and anchored tiering (Conway Morris, 2006).

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• Semi-infaunal, shallow deposit-feeding trace producers. Shallow under-mat movement or burrowing recorded by simple horizontal traces; exploited mat–sediment interface. Earliest evidence of under-mat sediment exploitation and incipient infaunal behaviour (Narbonne, 2005).

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• Semi-infaunal, partly embedded fractal body (e.g. Rangea). Minimally motile, partly sub-mat organisms that likely absorbed pore-water nutrients or trapped particles; semi-infaunal positioning. Represents 3-D bodyplan experimentation and novel substrate interactions, though function is uncertain (Bambach et al., 2007).

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• Shallow infaunal mining trace producers. Active probing miners that made vertical/horizontal probing burrows to mine organic layers beneath mats. Marks the beginning of sediment reworking and the agronomic transition toward deeper bioturbation (Narbonne, 2005).

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• Shallow infaunal, small-bodied occupants (e.g. Intrites). Tiny infaunal inhabitants (casts/impressions) probably feeding on detritus or mat-associated material within very shallow sediments. Documents limited early infaunal occupation prior to widespread Phanerozoic bioturbation; details remain fragmentary (Bambach et al., 2007)