Collaborative Research: Assembling the foundation of modern mammal community structure in the first 7 million years after the K/Pg mass extinction

合作研究：为 K/Pg 大规模灭绝后的前 700 万年建立现代哺乳动物群落结构的基础

• 批准号: 2321342
• 负责人: Paul Renne
• 金额: $ 18.39万
• 依托单位: Berkeley Geochronology Center
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-08-01 至 2026-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2321342&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Assembling; foundation; modern

Mammals are ecologically dominant in ecosystems today. Their rise to prominence after the mass extinction (K/Pg) that killed off the dinosaurs 66 million years ago is a classic example of evolutionary radiation. Study of such events not only impacts evolutionary theory but also our understanding of loss and origination of biodiversity and the fragility, collapse, assembly, and maintenance of today’s ecosystems. Detailed understanding of the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of this event are lacking. A diverse team of geologists and paleontologists will build a study system in eastern Montana that spans the first 7 million years after the K/Pg mass extinction to address two central questions: 1) How did mammals rise to ecological prominence in local ecosystems in deep time?, and 2) How did factors, like climate and vegetation, shape this trajectory? The team will generate and integrate critical records of fossil mammals and climate proxies in a highly resolved temporal framework across eastern Montana. This will provide a detailed Earth system view of the continental ecosystem across the K/Pg and through most of the Paleocene (the first ~7 million years) that will elucidate long-term connections between mammalian evolution, ecology, and climate. Analyses will also clarify how perturbations to these systems lead to large-scale ecosystem change and moderate biotic recovery and radiation. This work will have implications for geochronology, paleoclimatology, paleontology, ecology, and evolution. The team will engage a wider and more diverse audience through (1) the multi-year outreach initiative the Discoveries in Geosciences (DIG) Field School, which connects K-12 teachers and their classrooms with real Earth science research via fieldwork and classroom activities; (2) broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in research by supporting a PI and a graduate student who are early-career female scientists and a PI from an underrepresented group, in addition to providing full scholarships for 8 teachers from underrepresented groups to attend DIG; and (3) building STEM talent through the education and training of 4 graduate students and at least 6 undergraduate students who will be introduced to the Earth sciences through field and lab work.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

哺乳动物在当今的生态系统中占据着主导地位，在 6600 万年前恐龙大灭绝 (K/Pg) 灭绝之后，它们的崛起是进化辐射的一个典型例子，对此类事件的研究不仅影响了进化理论，而且影响了我们的研究。对生物多样性的丧失和起源以及当今生态系统的脆弱性、崩溃、组装和维护的了解缺乏对这一事件的生态和进化动态的详细了解。蒙大拿州东部的一个研究系统，跨越 K/Pg 大规模灭绝后的前 700 万年，旨在解决两个核心问题：1）哺乳动物如何在很长一段时间内在当地生态系统中占据重要的生态地位？2）因素如何影响，像气候和植被一样，塑造这个轨迹？该团队将在蒙大拿州东部的高度解析的时间框架中生成和整合化石哺乳动物和气候代理的关键记录，这将提供整个 K/Pg 大陆生态系统的详细地球系统视图。并通过大部分古新世（前约 700 万年）将阐明哺乳动物进化、生态和气候之间的长期联系，分析还将阐明这些系统的扰动如何导致大规模的生态系统变化和适度的生物恢复和辐射作用。将对地质年代学、古气候学、古生物学、生态学和进化产生影响。该团队将通过 (1) 地球科学发现的多年推广计划吸引更广泛、更多样化的受众。 (DIG) 实地学校，通过实地考察和课堂活动将 K-12 教师及其课堂与真实的地球科学研究联系起来；(2) 通过支持早期职业生涯的 PI 和研究生，扩大代表性不足的群体对研究的参与；女性科学家和一名来自代表性不足群体的 PI，此外还为来自代表性不足群体的 8 名教师提供全额奖学金参加 DIG；(3) 通过教育和培训 4 名研究生和至少 3 名 STEM 人才； 6 名本科生将通过实地和实验室工作了解地球科学。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。