The Ediacara biota are the earliest known macroscopic life forms on Earth! They lived about 550 million years ago, during the Ediacaran Period, and dominated the algae-covered seafloors of that time. I am diving in to see if there were any members of the Ediacara biota that lived in the water column and were pelagic by investigating the preservation and fossilization of Ediacaran organisms like Attenborites janae, which is named after Sir David Attenborough himself!

Benthic foraminifera are tiny microorganisms that have been around for millions of years. When they die, they leave their shells behind, providing paleontologists with a great record of these organisms through time! I am documenting trends in the biodiversity of benthic foraminifera over the past 5 million years in the Tanner Basin off the coast of Southern California to get an idea of how benthic foraminifera communities have changed in response to changes in Earth's climate.