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

描述：该奖项支持美印合作研究：鲸类动物身体计划-印度始新世鲸鱼的进化。美国PI Hans Thewissen，东北俄亥俄大学医学院和Sunil Bajpai，印度理工学院（IITR），鲁尔基，印度将研究脊椎动物化石记录中最显著的进化转变之一，鲸类动物（鲸鱼，海豚和鼠海豚）从陆地四足动物到海洋游泳者的转变。他们将研究进化过程和潜在的原因，特别提到在陆地到水的过渡中经历了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，这些过程决定了鲸类动物的身体结构。这些系统（运动、平衡和声音传播）被化石记录下来，是鲸目动物进化成功的基础。pi将整合传统的解剖学和功能数据与发育生物学的新见解，以产生对进化过程的新理解。调查人员将在印度收集和研究化石。范围：对于研究者来说，这将是一个难得的机会来研究古生物学和发展之间的联系。美国和印度的私人投资机构非常合格；他们具有互补的专业知识和已建立的合作关系。Bajpai是印度鲸类化石研究的权威，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年轻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。该项目由印度科学技术部（DST）根据NSF/DST联合计划联合资助。

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.