DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Reconstructing dietary change in herbivorous dinosaurs using stable isotopes and tooth microwear

这个项目将结合创新的采样技术来追踪恐龙饮食和栖息地的进化模式。结合测量磨损模式和确定恐龙牙齿的化学成分的方法，可以帮助确定这些动物生活的地方和它们吃什么。该项目的两个目标是研究一组被称为新角龙的食草恐龙的饮食进化，以及确定原角龙恐龙生长系列的饮食变化。这项研究的目的是量化已灭绝的食草恐龙的饮食，这在以前一直被笼罩在神秘之中。该项目将为美国自然历史博物馆和大纽约地区提供许多指导机会。此外，这些分析的结果将在博物馆教育计划、科学论文和国家会议上传播。它将通过引人入胜的饮食重建概念，向公众展示用于研究恐龙的创新方法。

This project will combine innovative sampling techniques to trace evolutionary patterns of dinosaur diets and habitats. Combining methods of measuring wear patterns and determining the chemical composition of dinosaur teeth can help determine where these animals were living and what they were eating. The two objectives of this project are to examine the dietary evolution of a group of herbivorous dinosaurs called neoceratopsian, and to identify dietary variation in a growth series of protoceratopsian dinosaurs. The goal of this study is to quantify the diets of extinct herbivorous dinosaurs, something that has been previously shrouded in mystery.This project will provide for numerous mentoring opportunities at the American Museum of Natural History and in the greater New York City area. Moreover, results from these analyses will be disseminated in museum educational programs, scientific papers, and at national conferences. It will expose the public to innovative methods being used to study dinosaurs through the engaging concept of dietary reconstruction.