Collaborative Research: Paleobiogeography, paleoecology, and continued investigation of a diverse, terminal Miocene, primate-bearing fauna from southern China

合作研究：古生​​物地理学、古生态学以及对来自中国南方的中新世末期灵长类动物群的持续调查

• 批准号: 1227964
• 负责人: Denise Su
• 金额: $ 11.89万
• 依托单位: Cleveland Museum of Natural History
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-09-01 至 2017-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1227964&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Paleobiogeography; paleoecology; continued

The early and middle Miocene (ca. 23 to 11 million years ago) witnessed an expansion of the world's tropical and subtropical forests, and an increase in the diversity and distribution of mammals that thrived in forests with low seasonality and high productivity. Apes flourished under these conditions in the Old World. The contraction of subtropical forests in the late Miocene in Eurasia resulted in a decline in the diversity and abundance of apes, and the rise of monkeys and other mammals able to survive in more open and seasonal habitats. Several fossil sites in southern China provide evidence of this critical transition. In this project, the fossil site of Shuitangba, Yunnan Province, China, will be investigated because it has yielded the abundant and well-preserved remains of many mammal species of terminal Miocene age (~6.1 mya). Among them are an ape and a monkey, the first such co-occurrence in the Miocene of Eurasia. Recovery and detailed study of the fossils by an international team of American and Chinese investigators will make possible the characterization of the paleoenvironment of Shuitangba and the nature and adaptations of the site's many species, especially its primates and carnivores. Direct comparison of the Shuitangba biota with others of similar age in eastern Asia will provide a clearer idea of the nature and pace of environmental evolution in the region.Shuitangba captures a unique snapshot of the transition from the widespread evergreen forests of the Miocene to the more heterogeneous and seasonal habitats that followed. This project thus promotes the understanding of an ecosystem poised at the tipping point of a major change. The Shuitangba fauna and environment provide an unusually clear picture of a distinctive regional ecosystem that contained long-established species alongside new arrivals. A better understanding of the adaptations of species within such ecosystems may shed light on the dynamics of modern unstable environments.This project fosters strong international collaboration with Chinese scholars, including advanced training for Chinese paleoanthropologists, paleobiologists, and fossil preparators, and promotes public science education in China through media coverage and development of museum displays. A junior US scientist will be integrally involved in the research, and US undergraduate students also will receive substantial participatory research training.

中新世早期和中期（约23至1100万年前）见证了世界热带和亚热带森林的扩张，以及在低季节性和高生产力的森林中繁衍生息的哺乳动物的多样性和分布的增加。在旧世界的这种条件下，猿类繁盛起来。欧亚大陆中新世晚期亚热带森林的收缩导致猿类的多样性和丰度下降，而能够在更开放和季节性栖息地生存的猴子和其他哺乳动物的崛起。中国南方的几个化石遗址提供了这一关键转变的证据。 本项目将对中国云南省水塘坝化石遗址进行调查，因为该遗址出土了许多中新世晚期（~6.1 mya）哺乳动物物种丰富且保存完好的遗骸。其中包括猿和猴子，这是欧亚大陆中新世首次出现此类现象。由美国和中国研究人员组成的国际团队对这些化石进行了恢复和详细研究，这将有助于描述水塘坝的古环境以及该地点许多物种的性质和适应，特别是灵长类动物和食肉动物。将水塘坝生物群与东亚其他类似年龄的生物群进行直接比较，将有助于更清楚地了解该地区环境演化的性质和速度。水塘坝捕捉到了从中新世广泛的常绿森林到随后的更加异质和季节性栖息地的转变的独特快照。因此，该项目促进了对处于重大变化临界点的生态系统的理解。 水塘坝的动物群和环境提供了一幅异常清晰的图景，展示了一个独特的区域生态系统，其中既有历史悠久的物种，也有新来的物种。 更好地了解物种在此类生态系统中的适应可能有助于了解现代不稳定环境的动态。该项目促进了与中国学者的强有力的国际合作，包括对中国古人类学家、古生物学家和化石制备者的高级培训，并通过媒体报道和博物馆展览的发展促进中国的公共科学教育。 一名美国初级科学家将全面参与这项研究，美国本科生也将接受大量的参与性研究培训。