US-India Cooperative Research: Evolution of the Cetacean Body Plan--Eocene Whales from India

0216710 Thewissen描述：该奖项支持美国-印度合作研究：鲸目动物身体计划的演变-来自印度的始新世鲸鱼。美国东北俄亥俄大学医学院的Pi Hans Thewissen和印度鲁尔基印度理工学院的Sunil Bajpai将研究脊椎动物化石记录中最显著的进化转变之一，鲸目动物(鲸鱼、海豚和江豚)从陆栖四足动物转变为专职海洋游泳者。他们将研究进化过程和潜在原因，特别是在陆地向水过渡过程中经历最大变化的器官系统。这个项目将测试关于进化过程的假设，这些过程决定了鲸目动物的大部分身体计划。这些系统(运动、平衡和声音传递)被化石记录下来，是鲸目动物进化成功的基础。PI将把传统的解剖学和功能数据与来自发育生物学的新见解结合起来，以产生对进化过程的新理解。调查人员将收集和研究印度的化石。范围：这将是研究人员研究古生物学和发育之间联系的难得机会。美国和印度的私人投资机构非常合格；他们拥有互补的专业知识和既定的合作。Bajpai是印度研究鲸目化石的领先权威，他的机构收藏了最重要的藏品。在科学界之外，这项研究将加强向学生教授进化论和向公众解释科学过程的工具。该奖项将进一步促进包括青年科学家在内的研究人员之间的伙伴关系，机构之间的合作联系，并促进两国的理论兴趣。该项目由印度科技部(DST)在NSF/DST联合计划下联合资助。

0216710Thewissen Description: This award supports the US-India Cooperative Research: Evolution of the Cetacean Body Plan-Eocene Whales from India. US PI Hans Thewissen, Northeastern Ohio University College of Medicine and Sunil Bajpai, Indian Institute of Technology (IITR), Roorkee, India will study one of the most remarkable evolutionary transformations in the vertebrate fossil record, the transformation of cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) from terrestrial quadruped to obligate marine swimmer. They will examine the evolutionary processes and underlying causes, with special reference to the organ systems that underwent the greatest changes in the land to water transition. This project will test hypotheses about the evolutionary processes that determined much of the cetacean body plan. These systems (locomotion, balance, and sound transmission) are documented by fossils and underlie the evolutionary success of the order Cetacea. The PIs will integrate traditional anatomical and functional data with new insights from developmental biology to yield new understanding of the evolutionary process. The investigators will collect and study fossils in India. Scope: This will be a rare opportunity for the investigators to study the link between paleontology and development. The US and Indian PIs are eminently well qualified; they have complementary expertise and an established collaboration. Bajpai is the leading authority on fossil cetaceans in India and his institution houses its most significant collections. Beyond the scientific community, this study will enhance tools for teaching evolution to students and for explaining scientific processes to the public. The award will further partnerships among researchers including young scientists, collaborative links between the institutions, and advance theoretical interests in both countries. This project is jointly funded by the Indian Department of Science & Technology (DST) under the NSF/DST joint program.