{
  "abstract": "Trilobites, Paleozoic arthropods, have been viewed as marine animals. Using multiproxy geochemical analyses, we suggest that Cambrian Series 2 to early Miaolingian strata in Morocco, preserving three-dimensional trilobites, record deposition within a river- and wave-influenced delta with variable salinity and episodic freshwater influence, including brackish conditions. These populations persisted through environmental transitions, spanning cool, oxic, low-salinity arid conditions with periodic freshwater input during Cambrian Stage 3-4 to warmer, more humid, increasingly saline, and anoxic settings at the transition to Wuliuan. This transition coincides with an increase in trilobite body-size and the emergence of more stable, deeper, and marine salinity environments that could have contributed to enhanced biomineralization, ecological specialization, and habitat broadening. Smaller-bodied Stage 3–4 trilobites appear adapted to dynamic shelves, whereas larger-bodied Wuliuan forms exploited increasingly stable conditions that may have favored size enlargement and exoskeletal thickening. These patterns suggest a potential link between environmental conditions and body-size distribution, with possible implications for ecological structuring across Cambrian ecosystems.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 13,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Ibtissam Chraiki",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-5940-2192"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ernest Chi Fru",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2673-0565"
    },
    {
      "name": "El Hafid Bouougri"
    },
    {
      "name": "M. Gabriela Mángano",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-8747-6033"
    },
    {
      "name": "Luis A. Buatois"
    },
    {
      "name": "Claude Fontaine"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anna El Khoury",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-7323-6049"
    },
    {
      "name": "Arnaud Mazurier",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1894-0554"
    },
    {
      "name": "Loubna Terhzaz"
    },
    {
      "name": "Lalla Amina Ouzzaouit",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-0394-9380"
    },
    {
      "name": "Larbi Boudad"
    },
    {
      "name": "Beatriz G. Waisfeld"
    },
    {
      "name": "Abderrazak El Albani",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-9598-955X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7xw9wkb3zs75r.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s43247-026-04205-4",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "7xw9wkb3zs75r",
  "issns": [
    "2662-4435"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-04205-4",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-11-02",
  "publisher": "Springer Science and Business Media LLC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7xw9wkb3zs75r.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-02T18:20:56Z",
      "native_id": "10.1038/s43247-026-04205-4",
      "source": "feed-nature",
      "url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-04205-4"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-03T00:21:08Z",
      "native_id": "10.1038/s43247-026-04205-4",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-026-04205-4"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "journal-openalex:F19",
      "subfield": "general"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Environmental flexibility across dynamic Cambrian ecosystems fueled trilobite success",
  "title_text": "Environmental flexibility across dynamic Cambrian ecosystems fueled trilobite success",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T00:21:53Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/7xw9wkb3zs75r",
  "venue": "Communications Earth & Environment",
  "versions": []
}