Judson Olivia P
Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Biology, Königin-Luise-Strasse 1-3, D-14195 Berlin, Germany.
Imperial College London, Department of Life Sciences, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot SL5 7PY, UK.
Nat Ecol Evol. 2017 Apr 28;1(6):138. doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0138.
The history of the life-Earth system can be divided into five 'energetic' epochs, each featuring the evolution of life forms that can exploit a new source of energy. These sources are: geochemical energy, sunlight, oxygen, flesh and fire. The first two were present at the start, but oxygen, flesh and fire are all consequences of evolutionary events. Since no category of energy source has disappeared, this has, over time, resulted in an expanding realm of the sources of energy available to living organisms and a concomitant increase in the diversity and complexity of ecosystems. These energy expansions have also mediated the transformation of key aspects of the planetary environment, which have in turn mediated the future course of evolutionary change. Using energy as a lens thus illuminates patterns in the entwined histories of life and Earth, and may also provide a framework for considering the potential trajectories of life-planet systems elsewhere.
生命-地球系统的历史可分为五个“能量”纪元，每个纪元都以能够利用新能量来源的生命形式的进化为特征。这些能量来源是：地球化学能、阳光、氧气、血肉和火。前两者从一开始就存在，但氧气、血肉和火都是进化事件的结果。由于没有任何一类能量来源消失，随着时间的推移，这导致了可供生物体利用的能量来源领域不断扩大，以及生态系统多样性和复杂性相应增加。这些能量扩张也介导了地球环境关键方面的转变，而这些转变反过来又介导了进化变化的未来进程。因此，以能量为视角可以揭示生命与地球交织历史中的模式，也可能为思考其他地方生命-行星系统的潜在轨迹提供一个框架。
