The rise of eukaryotes to ecological prominence represents one of the most dramatic shifts in the history of Earth's biosphere. However, there is an enigmatic temporal lag between the emergence of eukaryotic organisms in the fossil record and their much later ecological expansion. In parallel, there is evidence for a secular increase in the availability of the key macronutrient phosphorus (P) in Earth's oceans. Here, we use an Earth system model equipped with a size‐structured marine ecosystem to explore relationships between plankton size, trophic complexity, and the availability of marine nutrients. We find a strong dependence of planktonic ecosystem structure on ocean nutrient abundance, with a larger ocean nutrient inventory leading to greater overall biomass, broader size spectra, and increasing abundance of large Zooplankton. If existing estimates of Proterozoic marine nutrient levels are correct, our results suggest that increases in the ecological impact of eukaryotic algae and trophic complexity in eukaryotic ecosystems were directly linked to restructuring of the global P cycle associated with the protracted rise of surface oxygen levels. Our results thus suggest an indirect but potentially important mechanism by which ocean oxygenation may have acted to shape marine ecological function during late Proterozoic time.

中文翻译：

---

海洋营养丰富度对早期真核生物生态系统的影响。

真核生物对生态重要性的兴起代表了地球生物圈历史上最重大的变化之一。但是，在化石记录中的真核生物的出现与其后来的生态扩展之间存在时间上的神秘滞后。同时，有证据表明，地球海洋中主要的常量营养素磷（P）的利用率长期呈上升趋势。在这里，我们使用装有规模结构海洋生态系统的地球系统模型来探索浮游生物规模，营养复杂性和海洋养分可用性之间的关系。我们发现浮游生态系统结构对海洋养分丰富度有强烈的依赖性​​，随着海洋养分资源的增加，导致更大的整体生物量，更宽的尺寸谱以及大型浮游动物的丰度增加。如果现有的对元古代海洋营养水平的估计是正确的，我们的结果表明，真核藻类的生态影响的增加和真核生态系统中营养的复杂性直接与全球磷循环的重组有关，而全球磷循环与地表氧水平的持续上升有关。因此，我们的结果提出了一种间接但潜在的重要机制，通过这种机制，海洋氧合作用可能会在元古代晚期形成海洋生态功能。