Exceptionally well-preserved fossil plants from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Mongolia and China

该项目将记录在中国蒙古和内蒙古恐龙时代生活的种子植物。1亿至1.25亿年前在这些地区沉积的沉积物产生了许多保存完好的化石，这些化石捕捉到了亚洲开花植物兴起之初的生物多样性。在这段时间里，许多有种子的植物是开花植物的近亲，但后来由于不太清楚的原因灭绝了。记录这些灭绝的种子植物将使科学家们能够更全面地了解这个古老环境的生态和种子植物的进化，包括构成今天陆地生态系统基础的开花植物。研究人员将从多个野外地点发掘并描述以压缩方式保存的种子植物以及三维化石。该项目将培训本科生和研究生，包括在科学领域代表性不足的群体的成员，并支持早期职业研究人员的专业发展。研究人员将通过撰写一本面向广大读者的科普非小说类书籍，向公众宣传蒙古化石。他们的推广活动将以公众对恐龙的兴趣为基础，并将包括通过芝加哥植物园制作的材料和展览。项目人员将使用下一代科学标准，通过一个关于古生物学和地球科学的在线双语插图系列来吸引中学生。这个项目将有助于更深入地了解生命史上一个关键的生态转型期。研究将大大增加对侏罗纪和早白垩世亚洲种子植物多样性和这些物种的全球分布的现有知识。研究人员将发现大量的物种化石碎片，这将为重新组装整个植物和比较不同的发育阶段提供前所未有的机会。研究人员将使用扫描电子显微镜和高分辨率x射线显微断层扫描分析这些化石的形态和解剖结构。新出土和现有的化石标本有望产生科学上的新物种，以及对先前描述的物种的新见解。该项目的成果将包括提高对古代生态系统的理解，各大洲灭绝种子植物的历史生物地理学，以及现存和灭绝种子植物（包括开花植物）之间花粉和种子器官的同源性。该项目将创造新的化石收藏，并加强美国、俄罗斯、蒙古和中国科学家之间的国际研究合作。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project will document seed-bearing plants that lived during the age of dinosaurs in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, China. Sediments laid down 100-125 million years ago in these areas produce many exceptionally well-preserved fossils that capture the biodiversity of Asia at the very beginning of the rise of flowering plants. Many seed-bearing plants during this time were close relatives of flowering plants yet later became extinct for reasons that are not well understood. Documenting these extinct seed-bearing plants will allow scientists to more fully understand the ecology of this ancient environment and the evolution of seed plants, including flowering plants that form the foundation of terrestrial ecosystems today. Researchers will unearth and describe seed plants preserved as compressed as well as three-dimensional fossils from multiple field sites. The project will train undergraduate and graduate students, including members of groups that are under-represented in science, and support the professional development of an early-career researcher. Researchers will educate the public about the Mongolian fossils by authoring a book of popular science non-fiction intended for wide audiences. Their outreach activities will build on popular interest in dinosaurs and will include materials and exhibits produced through the Chicago Botanic Garden. Project personnel will use next-generation science standards to engage middle-school students via an online, bilingual illustrated series about paleontology and earth science. This project will contribute to a deeper understanding of a critical ecological transition period in the history of life. Research will add significantly to existing knowledge about seed plant diversity during the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous in Asia and the global distributions of these species. Researchers will uncover numerous fossil fragments of species, which will allow unprecedented opportunity to reassemble whole plants and compare different developmental stages. Researchers will analyze the morphology and anatomy of these fossils using scanning electron microscopy and high-resolution X-ray microtomography. Newly excavated and existing fossil specimens are expected to yield species new to science and as well as new insights about previously described species. Outcomes of this project will include improved understanding of ancient ecosystems, the historical biogeography of extinct seed plants across continents, and the homology of pollen- and seed-bearing organs among living and extinct seed plants, including flowering plants. The project will create new fossil collections and strengthen international research collaborations among US, Russian, Mongolian and Chinese scientists.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.