Scientists have made an important discovery in understanding the effect oxygen has on vertebrate evolution.
Studies were carried out into the development of bone structures in alligator eggs raised under varying oxygen concentrations and a link created to fossil records of the evolution of vertebrates and prehistoric atmospheric oxygen concentrations.
A paper presented at the Earth System Processes 2 meeting in Alberta, Canada, detailed the work carried out – an important step in understanding the complex interaction between vertebrate development and oxygen levels.
One of the scientists, John Vanden Brooks, said: “Alligator eggs are an ideal self-contained unit for studying the effects of oxygen on development – they have a limited food source in the yolk and they are incubated in their nesting material at a constant temperature of 89°F and 100 per cent relative humidity.”
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