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

7000万年前的阿拉斯加北极普林斯克里克地层提供了化石证据，表明在极地森林中生活着种类繁多的恐龙、鸟类、飞行爬行动物和小型哺乳动物，其特征是夏季温暖，冬季有5到6个月的黑暗和降雪。忍受这些季节性的强烈和多变的条件，使这些动物非常适合测试有关生理学、迁徙、体型变化、生态和分布的重大古生物问题。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，以及与生活在较温暖的低纬度地区的动物的发现进行比较，来研究这些问题。这个项目将汇集一个多样化的科学家团队，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。研究结果将在科学场所传播，并通过博物馆展览和K-12讲座公开展示。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土著学生和教师提供一个了解他们所在地区化石的机会，并与nsf资助的研究人员互动。利用宏观和微观化石遗骸，本研究将建立一个关于中生代极地组合动物组成的综合数据集，包括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为极地环境对恐龙和哺乳动物的生长和生理的影响提供第一次严格的检验。最后，利用生物标志物的新技术将提供更精确的古温度估计，以了解极地动物群所经历的温度状态。

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.