Like the other crew members, you explored L-305 carefully before reaching your decision. This planet appeared to be ideal for colonization. All the expensive O2 priming, landscaping and infrastructure were done - people could move right in! As for the "critter problem," you'd studied the organisms carefully - see if you can make a case that will convince the Judges that what you saw were harmless creatures, like primitive snails and crabs, that wouldn't scare anybody. Besides, you've used your calculator (figure out those exact numbers!) to show the Judges how many hundreds and hundreds of years would pass before these "sea slugs" ever make it to land. Imagine the research possibilities! Here was evolution to be observed first hand - a glimpse into Earth's primitive past! The Science Facility was already fully equipped and capable of supporting a research team - led by you, of course. Maybe it would be a good thing if colonists weren't brought in just yet; it would give you time to study the planet and do some ground-breaking research on Gould's contingency theory (check it out to refresh your memory). The best plan would be to support re-colonization and try to win a research grant to study the planet. If you play your cards right, you might just win the chance of the century to investigate through direct observation the early stages in animal evolution.
Leads and Sources
Magazines and Articles:
"When Life Exploded," J. Madeleine Nash. Cover Story Time Magazine December 4, 1995.
"On Embryos and Ancestors," Stephen Jay Gould. Natural History 7/98-8/98, p. 20.
"The Evolution of Life on the Earth," Stephen Jay Gould. Scientific American October 1994, p. 85.
"Breathing Room for Early Animals" (Oxygen), Andrew H. Knoll. Nature Vol. 382, July 11, 1996, p. 111.
"The Big Bang of Animal Evolution," Jeffrey Levinton. Scientific American November 1992.
"Hypersea Invasion," Carl Zimmer. Discover October 1995, p. 76.
"The Emergence of Animals," Mark McMenamin. Scientific American April 1987, p. 94.
"Life’s Grand Explosions." (theories on why the Cambrian explosion occurred), Lori Oliwenstein. Discover January 1996, p. 42.
"The Molecular Explosion," Henry Gee. Nature Vol. 373, February 16,1995, p. 558.
Internet Sites:
The Divisions of Precambrian Time
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/precambrian/precambrian.htmlLife of the Vendian
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vendian/vendianlife.htmlLearning About the Vendian Animals
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/vendian/critters.htmlOxygen Pulse and the Evolutionary Expansion of the Metazoans
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hangar/8200/Oxygenation.htmlCambrian Explosion Website
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/03/4/l_034_02.html
Books:
The Emergence of Animals: The Cambrian Breakthrough. Mark and Dianna McMenamin, 1990, Columbia University Press.
The Crucible of Evolution: The Burgess Shale and the Rise of Animals. Simon Conway Morris, 1998, Oxford University Press.
Biology. N.A. Campbell, 1987, Benjamin-Cummings Publishing Co.