Climate-vegetation interactions in a warming world: establishing a long-term collaboration on the Early Permian floras of Patagonia (Argentina)

该项目旨在为长期合作奠定基础，让来自美国和阿根廷的科学家和学生参与与化石植物群调查相关的研究和教育活动。首席研究员(PI)和两名美国学生将与阿根廷特雷洛古生物博物馆的科学家鲁本·库内奥博士和伊格纳西奥·埃斯卡帕博士合作。这些科学家将提供后勤支持，并贡献他们在当地地质和化石植物群方面的丰富专业知识。PI和美国学生将在阿根廷呆上几个月，在实验室、野外和博物馆收集早二叠世化石植物群。活动将包括对自然历史博物馆的植物化石收藏进行调查，实地收集化石和古生态数据(类群的组合模式和地理分布)，以及描述新类群的实验室工作。PI还将在阿根廷教授一门试点课程。所研究的地质单位--里约热那亚组，对于植物化石保存的多样性、丰富性和质量以及它的早期二叠纪都是重要的。该项目将寻求发现和表征新的类群，并将导致对植物化石多样性的进一步了解。早二叠世标志着从典型古生代植物群向现代植物群转变的开始，并见证了从大冰川到温暖间歇期的转变。该项目将启动一所非博士学位的美国大学和阿根廷一家自然历史博物馆之间的国际研究和教育合作伙伴关系。该项目将研究与教育活动结合在一起；它还将以样本和信息的形式制作教育材料，纳入博物馆展品。

This project aims to lay the foundation for a long-term collaboration that will involve scientists and students from the U.S. and Argentina in research and education activities associated with investigations of fossil floras. The principal investigator (PI) and two U.S. students will collaborate with scientists at the Museo Paleontologico Egidio Feruglio (Trelew, Argentina), Drs. Ruben Cuneo and Ignacio Escapa. These scientists will provide logistic support and contribute their rich expertise on local geology and fossil floras. The PI and U.S. students will spend several months in Argentina, working in the lab, field, and museum collections on Early Permian fossil floras. Activities will include surveys of plant fossil collections in natural history museums, field work to collect fossils and paleoecological data (patterns of association and geographic distribution of taxa), and lab work to describe new taxa. The PI will also teach a pilot course in Argentina.The geologic unit studied, the Rio Genoa Formation, is important for the diversity, richness, and quality of plant fossil preservation, as well as for its Early Permian age. This project will seek to discover and characterize new taxa, and will lead to enhanced understanding of plant fossil diversity. The Early Permian marks the beginning of the transition from typical Paleozoic floras to modern floras, and witnessed the transition from a major glaciation to a warmer interval.This project will start an international partnership in research and education between a non-PhD-granting U.S. university and a natural history museum in Argentina. The project integrates research with education activities; it will also produce educational materials in the form of samples and information to be included in museum exhibits.