Collaborative Research: Faunal Composition, Provinciality and Paleobiolgy of a Late Cretaceous Arctic Vertebrate Assemblage Revealed Through Cross-Latitudinal Comparisons

有7000万年历史的北极阿拉斯加普林斯克里克地层提供了化石证据，表明极地森林中生活着一系列令人惊讶的多样化的恐龙、鸟类、会飞的爬行动物和小型哺乳动物，极地森林的特点是温暖的夏季和极地冬季五到六个月的黑暗和降雪。耐受这些季节性剧烈和多变的条件，使这些动物特别适合测试与生理学、迁徙、身体大小变化、生态和分布有关的主要古生物学问题。该项目将通过新的北极标本收集和鉴定、温度测定和生长研究，并与生活在较温暖低纬度地区的动物的研究结果进行比较，来研究这些问题。该项目将汇集不同的科学家团队，他们将分享新的想法和方法，并为研究生和本科生的教育和培训做出贡献。结果将在科学场所传播，并通过博物馆展览和K-12报告公开展示。后者将包括访问阿拉斯加北部的农村学校，为服务不足的阿拉斯加原住民学生和教师提供机会，了解他们所在地区的化石，并与NSF赞助的研究人员互动。利用宏观和微观化石遗骸，这项研究将建立一个关于中生代极地组合的动物群组成的全面数据集，包括对北极特有的可能新物种的描述。统计技术将用于比较中高纬度地区的动物群组成，以了解北美的分布模式。对骨骼和牙齿的组织学分析将首次严格测试极地环境对恐龙和哺乳动物的生长和生理的影响。最后，一项使用生物标志物的新技术将被用来提供更准确的古温度估计，以了解极地动物经历的温度状况。

The 70-million year old Prince Creek Formation of Arctic Alaska provides fossil evidence that a surprisingly diverse array of dinosaurs, birds, flying reptiles and small mammals lived in polar forests characterized by warm summers and five- to six-months of darkness and snowfall during the polar winter. Enduring these seasonally intense and variable conditions makes these animals uniquely suited to test major paleobiological questions pertaining to physiology, migration, body size changes, ecology and distribution. This project will examine these questions through new Arctic specimen collections and identifications, temperature determinations and growth studies, and comparison to findings with animals living at warmer lower latitudes. This project will bring together a diverse team of scientists who will share new ideas and methodologies and contribute to the education and training of graduate and undergraduate students. Results will be disseminated in scientific venues and presented publicly through museum exhibitions and K-12 presentations. The latter will include visits to rural, northern Alaskan schools to provide underserved Alaska Native students and teachers with an opportunity to learn about the fossils in their area and interact with NSF-sponsored researchers. Using macro- and microfossil remains, this study will establish a comprehensive dataset on the faunal composition of a Mesozoic polar assemblage, including descriptions of probable new species unique to the Arctic. Statistical techniques will be used to compare the faunal compositions between mid- and high latitudes to understand North American distribution patterns. Histological analyses of bones and teeth will provide the first rigorous testing of the affects of polar environments on the growth and physiology of dinosaurs and mammals. Lastly, a novel technique using biomarkers will be used to provide more precise paleotemperature estimates to understand the temperature regime experienced by the polar fauna.