COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: An Exceptional Window into Late Triassic Terrestrial Ecosystems from the Western United States

合作研究：了解美国西部晚三叠世陆地生态系统的特殊窗口兰德尔·伊尔米斯，EAR-1349560，犹他州大学斯特林·内斯比特大学，EAR-1349554，霍华德大学内森·史密斯，EAR-1349654，弗吉尼亚理工大学艾伦·特纳，EAR-1349667，纽约州立大学斯通布鲁克大学学术价值：晚三叠世(约2.35亿-2.01亿年前)记录了地球历史上最具活力的时期之一。这段时间是古环境和生物更替的关键时期，见证了现代陆地生态系统的起源。海登采石场(HQ)代表着一个独特的机会，可以从非海相地层中建立一个广泛的数百万年生物-古环境档案。总部和新墨西哥州北部上三叠统钦勒组的相关地点为陆地脊椎动物生态系统的进化提供了一个无与伦比的窗口，包括恐龙的兴起。保存极为完好的HQ化石包括至少12个主要的晚三叠世脊椎动物类群，这些脊椎动物是从15,000多个采集的标本中采集的。该项目有两个主要目标：1)建立新墨西哥州北部上三叠统地层古环境和动物群变化的综合记录；2)利用HQ脊椎动物组合来阐明早中生代始祖龙类爬行动物的演化史。该项目是对恐龙兴起期间陆地生态系统中古环境变化的生物反应进行的首批综合研究之一。更广泛的影响：PIS的发现被吸收到教育课程和古生物幽灵牧场博物馆的新展品中，使里约热内卢阿里巴县的2,000多名K-12学生接触科学(该县70%的居民属于传统上科学代表性较低的群体)，包括通过课堂实地参观海登采石场本身。到目前为止，来自9个不同机构的45名研究生和本科生参加了我们的幽灵牧场实地项目并接受了培训。该项目为至少四名研究生和六名本科生提供实地考察和研究方面的资助，包括支持地球科学中代表性不足的群体(例如非裔美国人和妇女)。将通过学术和大众出版物以及媒体新闻稿(例如，http://www.nsf.gov/tawa).)传播研究成果最后，该项目产生的数据将被贡献给美国国家科学基金会支持的公众可访问的数据库，如形态银行(http://www.morphobank.org))和古生物学数据库(http://paleodb.org/).

Collaborative Research: An Exceptional Window into Late Triassic Terrestrial Ecosystems from the Western United StatesByRandall Irmis, EAR-1349560, University of UtahSterling Nesbitt, EAR-1349554, Howard UniversityNathan Smith, EAR-1349654, Virginia TechAlan Turner, EAR-1349667, SUNY StonybrookABSTRACT Intellectual Merit: The Late Triassic (~235-201 million years ago) records one of the most dynamic intervals of Earth history. A critical time of paleoenvironmental and biotic turnover, this interval witnessed the origin of modern terrestrial ecosystems. The Hayden Quarry (HQ) represents a unique opportunity to establish an extensive multi-million-year biotic-paleoenvironmental archive from nonmarine strata. HQ and associated localities in the Upper Triassic Chinle Formation of northern New Mexico provide an unparalleled window into the evolution of terrestrial vertebrate ecosystems, including the rise of dinosaurs. The extremely well-preserved fossils of HQ include at least 12 major groups of Late Triassic vertebrates sampled from over 15,000 collected specimens. This project has two major goals: 1) to establish an integrated record of paleoenvironmental and faunal change in Upper Triassic strata of northern New Mexico; and 2) utilize the extraordinary HQ vertebrate assemblage to elucidate the evolutionary history of early Mesozoic archosauromorph reptiles. This project represents one of the first integrated studies of biotic response to paleoenvironmental changes in a terrestrial ecosystem during the rise of dinosaurs. Broader Impacts: PIs discoveries are assimilated into the education curriculum and new exhibits at the Ghost Ranch Museum of Paleontology, exposing over 2,000 K-12 students from Rio Arriba County to science (where 70% of residents belong to population groups traditionally underrepresented in science), including through class site visits to the Hayden Quarry itself. To date, forty-five graduate and undergraduate students from nine different institutions have participated in and received training through our Ghost Ranch field project. This project provides funding for a minimum of four graduate students and six undergraduates in fieldwork and research, including support for underrepresented groups in the geosciences (e.g., African-Americans and women). Research will be disseminated through both scholarly and popular publications, as well as media press releases (e.g., http://www.nsf.gov/tawa). Finally, data generated by the project will be contributed to NSF-supported publically accessible databases such as MorphoBank (http://www.morphobank.org) and the Paleobiology Database (http://paleodb.org/).