Plio-Pleistocene Turnover in the Caribbean Reef Coral Fauna and its Relationship to Regional Environmental Change

PI将研究与加勒比海珊瑚礁动物群的重大更替事件有关的灭绝和起源事件的时间、规模和选择性。该项目将需要：1)在哥斯达黎加、牙买加、库拉索岛的中新世晚期至更新世剖面进行广泛收集；2)使用微化石、古地磁学和锶同位素测定这些剖面的年代；3)通过形态计量学鉴定标本。将对不同的分类和生态成分进行比较，以评估不同的灭绝易感性，并确定可能的原因。这一结果将对物种灭绝研究和现代热带珊瑚礁生物群的保护策略产生重要影响。

PI will study the timing, magnitude and selectivity of extinction and origination events associated with a major turnover episode in Caribbean reef coral fauna. Project will entail: 1) making extensive collections in late Miocene to Pleistocene sections, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Curacao; 2) dating the sections using microfossils, paleomagnetics and Sr isotopes; 3) identifying specimens by morphometrics. Differential taxonomic and ecologic components will be compared to evaulate differential susceptibility to extinction and identify possible causes. Results will have important implications for extinction studies and for conservation strategies for modern tropical reef biotas.