RAPID: Paleontological Reconnaissance of Threatened, Submerged Primate Fossils in a Flooded Cave

造成栖息地丧失和群落灭绝的两个主要原因--人类因素和气候变化--的影响对科学家和政策制定者来说都很难区分。补救措施可能产生重大的社会和经济后果，必须以可靠的科学和充足的数据为基础。化石记录是少数几种可以重建受到严重影响或现已灭绝的栖息地和群落的方法之一，以进行前后研究，从而更好地了解生态系统规模上的历史过程。这种化石信息的丰富新来源在马达加斯加一个被洪水淹没的大型洞穴中被发现，这种信息之所以罕见，是因为它是一个几乎完整的生态群落和时间片段。这个化石“墓地”含有大量化石材料，这些化石来自已灭绝的马达加斯加特有灵长类动物分类群，称为狐猴，以及与它们共存的其他动物的遗骸，其地质背景存在于世界许多地区，在那里可以期待具有同等价值的史前信息。通过这项直接研究启动的项目的最终目标将检验这样一种假设，即化石淹没的洞穴保存了自然群落更全面的分类横断面，由比古生物遗址更完整、更容易解释的遗骸代表，反映了最近人类占领的千年时间框架。最紧迫的目标是试验所需的方法，以便首次记录这些科学资源的范围。该遗址需要立即得到关注，因为当地政策制定者和国际社会都不知道它，而且它没有受到保护，不受人类干扰或化石丢失的影响。环境对气候和地质因素很敏感，这些因素可能会迅速损害脆弱的标本或将其完全摧毁。之所以迫切，是因为全球优先事项认识到，了解生态退化的原因是找到解决人道主义和野生动物后果的先决条件，特别是在马达加斯加等脆弱的岛屿生态系统中。用来记录这一资源的生物多样性、丰富性和完整性的方法涉及使用网格系统和高分辨率数字水下摄像和特写摄影，详细绘制洞穴外部更容易进入的和更深的部分内化石的空间分布图，这将使从分类上识别化石并确定其提取的优先顺序成为可能。研究团队由六名经验丰富的化石采集潜水员组成，其中包括两名录像师和两名专门研究灵长类进化的科学家。

The effects of two major causes of habitat loss and community extinction - human agency and climate change - can be difficult to distinguish for both scientists and policy makers. Remedies, which can have major social and economic consequences, must be based on sound science and ample data. The fossil record represents one of the few ways heavily impacted or now-extinct habitats and communities can be reconstructed to perform the before-and-after studies leading to a better understanding of historical processes on an ecosystem scale. A rich new source of this fossilized information, rare because it comes as a virtually intact ecological community and time slice, has been discovered in a large flooded cave in Madagascar. This fossil 'graveyard" contains abundant fossilized material from extinct forms of the unique Malagasy primate taxa referred to as lemurs, as well as remains of other animals that co-existed with them, and in a geological context that exists in many parts of the world where comparably valuable prehistoric information can be expected. The ultimate goal of the project initiated through this immediate research will test the hypothesis that fossiliferous submerged caves preserve a more comprehensive taxonomic cross-section of a natural community, represented by more complete, more interpretable remains than is typical of paleontological sites reflecting the millennial timeframe of recent human occupation. The most pressing goal is to pilot the methods needed to document the extent of these scientific resources for the first time. The site is in need of immediate attention because it is unknown to both local policy makers and the international community, and it is not protected from human disturbance or loss of the fossils. The environment is sensitive to climatic and geological factors which can rapidly harm fragile specimens or destroy them entirely. The need is exigent because global priorities recognize that understanding the causes of ecological degradation is a precondition to finding solutions to the humanitarian and wildlife consequences, especially in fragile island ecosystems such as found on Madagascar.The methods used to document the biodiversity, abundance and completeness of this resource involve detailed mapping of the spatial distribution of fossils within the more outwardly accessible and deeper parts of the cave, using a grid system and high-resolution digital underwater videography and close-up photography, which will make it possible to taxonomically identify fossils and prioritize their extraction. The research team consists of six experienced, fossil-collecting divers, including two videographers and two scientists specializing in primate evolution.