find the balance between taking advantage of the energy gains of oxygenic photosynthesis, and the gradual adaptations to dealing with its byproduct, oxygen

"All of this fits with the emerging idea that the GOE was a protracted ordeal where organisms had to find the balance between taking advantage of the energy gains of oxygenic photosynthesis, and the gradual adaptations to dealing with its byproduct, oxygen,"

As oxygen produced through photosynthesis began to accumulate in the atmosphere, this rise in oxygen led to the extinction of many anaerobic organisms and set the stage for the evolution of aerobic respiration—a process that uses oxygen to break down glucose and provides the energy needed for functions like muscle movement, brain activity and cellular maintenance in humans and other animals.