COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RUI: AN INTEGRATIVE PALEONTOLOGICAL AND PALEOENVIRONMENTAL STUDY OF THE MIDDLE CAMBRIAN SPENCE, WHEELER, AND MARJUM SOFT-BODIED FAUNAS

合作研究：RUI：对中寒武纪 Spence、Wheeler 和 Marjum 软体动物群的古生物学和古环境综合研究

• 批准号: 0519190
• 负责人: Mary Droser
• 金额: $ 4.83万
• 依托单位: University of California-Riverside
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2005
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2005-09-01 至 2008-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0519190&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: COLLABORATIVE; RESEARCH; RUI; INTEGRATIVE; PALEONTOLOGICAL

The study of Cambrian soft-bodied faunas has greatly enhanced our understanding ofsome key events in metazoan evolution. However, enigmas and incompletely describedCambrian Burgess Shale-type soft-bodied faunas still remain, as does the question of why andhow Burgess Shale-type preservation occurs. The immediate objectives of the proposed researchfor which funding is requested are: 1) to prepare, describe, monograph, and fit into aphylogenetic and paleobiogeographic framework new taxa from the Middle Cambrian softbodiedfaunas of the Spence Member and the Wheeler and Marjum Formations using recentcollections made from Utah; 2) to use microanalytical techniques to determine the taphonomy ofthe fossils at the specimen-level; and 3) to place the soft bodied organisms and the taphonomicprocesses involved in their preservation into a detailed paleoenvironmental framework usingnewly developed microstratigraphic techniques.The intellectual merit of this research is to address some enigmas in Cambrianpaleontology and geology, allowing multiple objectives to be attained. First, identifying andcharacterizing the elements of the Utah faunas will help establish which taxa are shared betweenthese formations and other Cambrian soft-bodied faunas distributed throughout the globe. Thus,the stratigraphic and geographic ranges of these species and genera can be determined. Second,in conjunction with pre-existing information, the phylogenetic relationships of the variousarthropods in the Spence, Wheeler, and Marjum can be evaluated. These objectives will increaseour understanding of Cambrian biogeography and also the nature and topology of importantearly episodes in animal evolution. Additionally, intensive taphonomic and microstratigraphicstudy of three of the principal Burgess Shale-type localities will lead to a refined understandingof the paleoenvironmental factors and taphonomic processes that controlled the preservation ofBurgess Shale faunas in the Cambrian, and will contribute to our understanding of why this typeof preservation is unique to the Cambrian. Due to the richness and significance of these poorlyknownfaunas, the excellent exposure across the study areas and the relatively low metamorphicgrade of mudstones hosting the soft-bodied faunas, this project also provides a rare opportunityto address phylogeny, paleoecology, and preservation in Burgess Shale-type deposits in aninterrelated context.Some of the faunas that will be studied are in collections housed at the University ofKansas (KU), and they are accompanied by precise locality data. There is also an emeritusprofessor at the University of Kansas, Dick Robison, with significant expertise in areas related tothis grant. Sue Halgedahl and Richard Jarrard, professors at the University of Utah, have alsoagreed to make their extensive collections of soft-bodied, Cambrian Burgess Shale-type faunasfrom Utah available to us for study; again, these are accompanied by precise locality data. Eachof these factors will greatly facilitate this proposed research.In terms of broader impacts, this project will contribute to the training of two graduatestudents, one at KU and one at the University of California, Riverside, who will participate in theproposed research activities and attend scientific meetings. Through the RUI program, thisproject will also contribute to the field and analytical training of multiple undergraduates fromPomona College, an undergraduate-only institution and member of the Keck geologyconsortium.

对寒武纪软体动物群的研究极大地增强了我们对后生动物进化中一些关键事件的理解。然而，寒武纪伯吉斯页岩型软体动物群的谜团和不完整的描述仍然存在，伯吉斯页岩型保存为何以及如何发生的问题也仍然存在。申请资助的拟议研究的直接目标是：1）利用犹他州最近收集的资料，准备、描述、撰写专着，并将其纳入系统发育和古生物地理学框架中，来自斯彭斯组和惠勒组和马朱姆组中寒武纪软体动物群的新类群； 2）利用微量分析技术确定标本级化石的埋藏学； 3）利用新开发的微地层学技术，将软体生物及其保存所涉及的埋藏过程放入详细的古环境框架中。这项研究的智力价值是解决寒武纪古生物学和地质学中的一些谜团，从而实现多个目标。首先，识别和描述犹他州动物群的元素将有助于确定这些地层和分布在全球的其他寒武纪软体动物群之间共享哪些类群。因此，可以确定这些物种和属的地层和地理范围。其次，结合预先存在的信息，可以评估 Spence、Wheeler 和 Marjum 中各种节肢动物的系统发育关系。这些目标将增加我们对寒武纪生物地理学以及动物进化中重要早期事件的性质和拓扑结构的理解。此外，对三个主要伯吉斯页岩类型地点进行深入的埋藏学和微观地层学研究将有助于我们更好地了解控制寒武纪伯吉斯页岩动物群保存的古环境因素和埋藏过程，并将有助于我们理解为什么这种类型的保存是寒武纪所独有的。由于这些鲜为人知的动物群的丰富性和重要性、整个研究区域的良好暴露以及软体动物群所在泥岩的变质程度相对较低，该项目还提供了一个难得的机会，可以在相互关联的背景下解决伯吉斯页岩型沉积物的系统发育、古生态和保存问题。将要研究的一些动物群位于大学的收藏中 堪萨斯州 (KU)，并且它们附有精确的位置数据。堪萨斯大学还有一位名誉教授迪克·罗宾逊（Dick Robison），他在与这项资助相关的领域拥有丰富的专业知识。犹他大学教授苏·哈尔格达尔和理查德·贾拉德也同意将他们在犹他州收集的大量软体寒武纪伯吉斯页岩型动物群提供给我们研究；同样，这些都附有精确的位置数据。这些因素都将极大地促进这项拟议的研究。就更广泛的影响而言，该项目将有助于培训两名研究生，一名在堪萨斯大学，一名在加州大学河滨分校，他们将参与拟议的研究活动并参加科学会议。通过 RUI 项目，该项目还将为波莫纳学院多名本科生的现场和分析培训做出贡献，波莫纳学院是一所仅限本科生的机构，也是凯克地质学联盟的成员。