Footprint formation and interpreting fossil dinosaur tracks

足迹形成和解释化石恐龙足迹

• 批准号: 1452119
• 负责人: Stephen Gatesy
• 金额: $ 28.41万
• 依托单位: Brown University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2015
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2015-03-01 至 2020-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1452119&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Footprint; formation; interpreting; fossil; dinosaur

New Title:Footprint formation and interpreting fossil dinosaur tracksNon-technical AbstractDinosaur tracks offer unique evidence of the anatomy, behavior, and environment of long-extinct animals when they were alive. These tracks and trackways are recognized as unrivaled glimpses into dinosaur locomotion, recording aspects of gait, speed, limb posture, foot motion, and even social behavior. A single animal's tracks can vary dramatically depending on the firmness of the substrate and how deeply it sank with each step. This project aims to understand both the effects of substrate on locomotion and the origin of track diversity in the fossil record. 3-D movement of birds walking on different substrates will be measured using skeletal models animated using X-ray video. Computer simulations of track formation will reveal how tracks develop both at the surface and at different depths. These exciting new methods developed by the researchers for imaging, quantifying, and simulating locomotion through deformable substrates will provide an entirely new, volumetric perspective on the "birth" of a dinosaur track. Simulated bird tracks will then be compared to 200 million year old dinosaur tracks to help explain variation in shape and correct errors in previous interpretations. Results from this research will fundamentally change our perception and interpretation of dinosaur tracks by unlocking previously invisible motions and mechanisms.Technical AbstractWhy are footprints shaped the way they are? How and why does a single animal produce a disparate array of tracks? The proposed project aims to continue a fruitful collaboration between Gatesy (paleontology, biomechanics, and functional anatomy) and Falkingham (computer science, geology, and paleontology). The PIs will explore the emergence of footprint morphology from the dynamic interplay between bipedal dinosaurs and deformable substrates. They seek to understand the origin and functional significance of Mesozoic track diversity by exploring disparate specimens in the historic Hitchcock Ichnology Collection at the Beneski Museum of Natural History at Amherst College. PIs will integrate living bird experiments (XROMM: X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology) and substrate simulations (DEM: Discrete Element Method) to reveal important interactions among anatomy, motion, and sediment properties governing footprint formation. Volumetric DEM models of guineafowl tracks in varying substrates will serve as reference for interpreting and iteratively simulating specific specimens from the Connecticut Valley and Greenland. Results from this research will fundamentally change our perception and interpretation of dinosaur tracks by unlocking previously inaccessible foot/sediment dynamics.

新标题：足迹的形成和解释化石恐龙足迹非技术摘要恐龙足迹提供了独特的证据，解剖，行为和环境的长期灭绝的动物，当他们还活着。这些足迹和轨道被认为是对恐龙运动的无与伦比的一瞥，记录了步态，速度，肢体姿势，足部运动，甚至社会行为。一只动物的足迹可能会有很大的变化，这取决于基底的坚固程度和每一步下沉的深度。该项目旨在了解基质对运动的影响以及化石记录中足迹多样性的起源。鸟类在不同基质上行走的三维运动将使用骨骼模型进行测量，骨骼模型使用X射线视频进行动画制作。对轨迹形成的计算机模拟将揭示轨迹如何在地表和不同深度发展。研究人员开发的这些令人兴奋的新方法用于通过可变形基底成像，量化和模拟运动，将为恐龙轨道的“诞生”提供全新的体积视角。然后，模拟的鸟类足迹将与2亿年前的恐龙足迹进行比较，以帮助解释形状的变化并纠正以前解释中的错误。这项研究的结果将从根本上改变我们对恐龙足迹的看法和解释，因为它揭示了以前看不见的运动和机制。为什么一只动物会产生一系列不同的足迹？拟议的项目旨在继续Gatesy（古生物学，生物力学和功能解剖学）和Falkingham（计算机科学，地质学和古生物学）之间富有成效的合作。PI将探索足迹形态的出现，从双足恐龙和变形基板之间的动态相互作用。他们试图通过探索阿默斯特学院贝内斯基自然历史博物馆历史悠久的希区柯克遗迹收藏中的不同标本来了解中生代足迹多样性的起源和功能意义。PI将整合活鸟实验（XROMM：移动形态的X射线重建）和基底模拟（DEM：离散元方法），以揭示解剖学，运动和沉积物特性之间的重要相互作用，这些特性决定了足迹的形成。体积DEM模型的珍珠鸡的轨道在不同的基板将作为参考，用于解释和迭代模拟特定的标本从康涅狄格州山谷和格陵兰岛。这项研究的结果将从根本上改变我们对恐龙足迹的看法和解释，解锁以前无法访问的脚/沉积物动力学。