CAREER: Exploring the Neogene Plant Record of Global Vegetational and Climatic Changes in eastern North America - Research and Education Program

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CAREER: Exploring the Neogene Plant Record of Global Vegetational and Climatic Changes in eastern North America ? Research and Education Program Yusheng LIU (Department of Biological Sciences, East Tennessee State University. Email: liuc@etsu.edu)The proposed project centers on the collection, identification, paleoclimatic reconstruction, paleoecologic analysis, and biogeographical implication of latest Miocene-earliest Pliocene (7 ? 4.5 million years old) plant fossils from the Gray Fossil Site in northeast Tennessee. A significant component of the research will involve collecting fossils including well-preserved seeds, fruits, leaves, wood, charcoal, pollen, and spores. The systematic, paleoecologic, taphonomic, and biogeographic implications of the plants will be assessed. Neogene climate has become an important research focus. Our understanding on the Neogene climate conditions in eastern North America, however, is limited. Quantitative paleoclimatic reconstruction in this region is largely unexplored. Because fossil plants can provide evidence of ancient climates and several techniques for quantitative climatic reconstruction using fossil plants have been improved, study of the Gray paleoflora will contribute toward understanding the nature and patterns of Neogene climate in southeastern North America. These aspects of the research will be addressed by employing leaf physiognomy analysis and coexistence approach.The impacts of this proposal are manifest in educational and outreach initiatives that bring the excitement of paleontology to college students, K-12 students and teachers, and the public. Following the discovery of the Gray site, East Tennessee State University (ETSU) committed to its development by the development of new courses, the construction of a Natural History Museum adjacent to the site, and with appropriate public outreach programs to local, regional, national, even international audiences. Of the two new courses, ?Paleobotany? will be a biology undergraduate upper-level course to be offered every spring, while ?Fossil Resources of China? is a field-oriented study-abroad summer course. Museum outreach include a hands-on activity for K-12 students, training on natural history for the public, and public talks/workshops for people ranging from administrators, K-12 teachers, to tourists. Research results will be incorporated into education activities, presented at professional meetings, and published in peer-reviewed journals. The research project will support the training of up to three graduate and five undergraduate students at ETSU within funding years. These students will participate in field work, data gathering, fossil processing in the lab, and scientific interpretation and will be encouraged to publish outcomes and participate in professional meetings. They will also involve in museum outreach and help with lab sections of ?Paleobotany? course. The two new courses will impact up to 45 students per year on campus and the museum education programs will affect even larger audiences from local, national, and international visitors.