CAREER: Integrating Geoscience Research on the Neogene of the Dominican Republic with the Science Education of Dominican-American Teachers and Students in New York City

职业：将多米尼加共和国新近纪的地球科学研究与纽约市多米尼加裔美国师生的科学教育相结合

• 批准号: 0238908
• 负责人: Ross Nehm
• 金额: $ 45.37万
• 依托单位: CUNY City College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-06-01 至 2007-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0238908&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Integrating; Geoscience; Research; Neogene

AbstractBeginning with his undergraduate thesis (Nehm and Geary, 1994), and continuing with his doctoral dissertation (Nehm, 1998), the PI has been developing the marginellid gastropod genera Prunum and Volvarina as model macroevolutionary research systems (Nehm, 2001a, b, c,d). Previous NSF funding (NSF Dissertation Improvement Grant and NSF InternationalPostdoctoral Fellowship) has facilitated the PI's construction of systematic, phylogenetic, andpaleontological foundations for his research program on evolution and development in tropical American (primarily Dominican Neogene) gastropods. This CAREER proposal will employ this well developed research system to explore new questions in evolutionary-developmental paleontology. Specifically, this study will be one of the first to analyze patterns and processes of shell microstructural composition and development through speciation events in the fossil record.The morphometric comparison of size and shape is the most common approach to studying evolution and development in paleontology. This approach does not elucidate the patterns and processes by which morphological structures are constructed. Additionally, although structures may be similar in size or shape, they can be constructed of different compositional materials or the same materials in different spatial arrangements. Although similarity in size and shape does not necessarily indicate constructional or compositional similarity, such similarity is being used as the primary criterion for determining the mode of developmental evolution in fossil invertebrates. Research is critically needed in order to determine if shape-space similarity (or difference) coincides with structural and constructional homogeneity. Although many investigations of evolutionary changes in developmental timing (heterochrony) in fossils have characterized morphological change in size and shape, they have failed to investigate the composition and construction of these morphological structures.Conclusions about the processes that produce developmental evolution may be incomplete or inaccurate if we exclude information on how morphological structures are constructed during ontogeny and what they are made of. For these reasons, constructional morphology has great potential in expanding our understanding of both patterns and processes of invertebrate developmental evolution. Few (if any) invertebrate paleontological studies have examined this question. This CAREER grant will permit the PI to continue his research program and integrate morphometric analyses with constructional morphological studies of developmental evolution in the fossil record using marginellid gastropods.The PI has also been involved in science education research and science teacher preparation for the past two years at Columbia University (Nehm, 2001e). The educational component of this CAREER grant will integrate the PI's Geoscience research on the Neogene of the Dominican Republic (DR) with the science education of Dominican-American teachers and students in New York City (NYC). Two broad goals are to: (1) increase the quality of Geoscience education in District 6, NYC, and (2) increase minority participation in Geoscience research. This project will involve K-12 science teachers in DR Geoscience research, fieldwork, and the development of educational modules for use in Dominican-American dominated classrooms inDistrict 6. The PI is well suited for this project because his new position as Assistant Professor involves joint appointments in the Dept. of Biology and the School of Education (ScienceEducation division) at the City College, C.U.N.Y. City College is located near the largest concentration of Dominican Americans in the U.S. The PI's experience with paleobiological research on the DR Neogene, his previous involvement in teacher education, and his location near a Dominican American community with extensive ties to the Dominican Republic provides a unique opportunities to increase minority participation in the geosciences, improve the quality of teacher preparation, and develop culturally-relevant science modules on the Dominican Republic for District 6.The Americas Program of the Office of International Science and Engineering is contributing the funds to support the costs associated with the international travel/collaboration component of this proposal.

从他的本科论文(Nehm and Geary，1994)开始，继续他的博士论文(Nehm，1998)，PI一直在发展边缘腹足类Prunum和Volvarina作为宏观进化研究的模式系统(Nehm，2001a，b，c，d)。NSF之前的资助(NSF学位论文改进补助金和NSF国际博士后奖学金)帮助PI为他的热带美洲(主要是多米尼加新近纪)腹足动物的进化和发展研究计划建立了系统、系统发生和古生物学基础。这份职业计划将利用这一发展良好的研究系统来探索进化发展古生物学中的新问题。具体地说，这项研究将是第一次通过化石记录中的物种形成事件来分析贝壳微结构组成和发育的模式和过程。大小和形状的形态计量学比较是研究古生物学演化和发展的最常见方法。这种方法没有阐明形态结构构建的模式和过程。此外，尽管结构可能在大小或形状上相似，但它们可以由不同的组成材料或相同的材料在不同的空间布置中建造。尽管大小和形状上的相似并不一定意味着结构或组成上的相似，但这种相似被用作确定化石无脊椎动物发育进化模式的主要标准。为了确定形状-空间相似性(或差异)是否符合结构和构造的同质性，迫切需要进行研究。虽然许多关于化石发育时序(异时性)进化变化的研究都描述了大小和形状的形态变化，但他们没有研究这些形态结构的组成和结构。结论如果我们排除个体发育过程中形态结构是如何构造以及它们是由什么组成的信息，那么关于产生发育进化的过程的结论可能是不完整或不准确的。因此，结构形态在扩大我们对无脊椎动物发育进化的模式和过程的理解方面具有巨大的潜力。几乎没有(如果有的话)无脊椎动物古生物学研究研究过这个问题。这项职业资助将允许PI继续他的研究计划，并将形态计量学分析与利用腹足类化石记录的发育进化的构造形态研究相结合。过去两年，PI还参与了哥伦比亚大学的科学教育研究和科学教师培训(Nehm，2001e)。这项职业补助金的教育部分将把国际和平协会对多米尼加共和国新近纪(DR)的地球科学研究与纽约市(NYC)的多米尼加裔美国教师和学生的科学教育结合起来。两个广泛的目标是：(1)提高纽约市第六区的地球科学教育质量；(2)增加少数族裔参与地球科学研究。该项目将包括K-12科学教师参与地球科学博士的研究、田野工作，以及开发教育模块，用于第六区以多米尼加裔美国人为主的教室。PI非常适合这个项目，因为他作为助理教授的新职位涉及到系内的联合任命。纽约州立大学城市学院的生物学和教育学院(科学教育部)。城市学院位于美国最大的多米尼加裔美国人聚集地附近。PI对新近纪博士进行古生物学研究的经验，他以前参与教师教育的经验，以及他所在的多米尼加裔美国人社区与多米尼加共和国有着广泛联系的位置，为增加少数族裔参与地球科学，提高教师培训的质量提供了独特的机会，并为第6区的多米尼加共和国开发与文化相关的科学模块。国际科学和工程办公室的美洲方案正在提供资金，以支持与本提案的国际旅行/合作部分相关的费用。