Stromatolites are commonly assumed to grow only in extreme animal-excluding environments. However, recent work in the Exuma Cays has revealed that stromatolites coexist with thriving infaunal animal communities. PhD students Lidya Tarhan and Noah Planavsky from University of California, Riverside, are investigating these stromatolite-hosted animal assemblages and documenting how variations in faunal abundance and diversity are related to the mat-forming cyanobacteria responsible for stromatolite growth.
