RAPID: Recovering at-risk Holocene fossils to test phylogenetic & ecological hypotheses for extinction in crocodiles (Crocodylus) & giant tortoises (Aldabrachelys) of Mada

RAPID：恢复处于危险中的全新世化石以测试系统发育

• 批准号: 1931213
• 负责人: Evon Hekkala
• 金额: $ 18.89万
• 依托单位: American Museum Natural History
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-06-01 至 2024-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1931213&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Recovering; risk; Holocene; fossils

AbstractIn 2014 cave divers from the Madagascar Karst Diving Project unexpectedly identified a treasure trove of Holocene and recent fossil material in two caves in Southwestern Madagascar. An NSF funded expedition led by researchers from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst and the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar further explored the submerged caves to document fine-scale environmental changes and their relationship to major extinction events on the island. This project provides an opportunity to recover and document a large number of specimens of extinct crocodiles and giant tortoises and to document how alteration of ecological processes may have led to recent patterns of extinction and decline among the megafaunal communities of Madagascar. The sampling and documentation of the fauna will be used in ongoing ancient DNA work to resolve the evolutionary relationships of extinct species and to identify drivers of extinction over a period of 5000 years. The research will specifically address hypotheses regarding the taxonomic and phylogenetic relationships between modern and recently extinct Madagascan crocodiles and giant tortoises. Additionally, these collections and associated stratigraphic data will allow us to identify the relationship between fine scale temporal dynamics of genomic diversity, diet and faunal change in these taxa and the arrival of humans in southwestern Madagascar during the pre-extinction period. Comparison of this intact depositional series with previous collections of these and other Holocene taxa across Madagascar will help explain changes in species composition, abundance, and genetic diversity within communities following the arrival of humans and during known climate shifts on the island. Societal impacts of the proposed work will include co-generation of knowledge by US and Malagasy researchers. Additional engagement is ensured through abundant opportunities for outreach and education via planned museum activities and public lectures. More broadly, this research promotes continued interdisciplinary research and interaction among academic researchers and local stakeholders from the U.S. and Madagascar.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.

来自马达加斯加喀斯特潜水项目的Abstractin 2014 Cave Divers意外地确定了马达加斯加西南部两个洞穴的全新世和最近的化石材料的宝库。由阿默斯特马萨诸塞大学和马达加斯加的安塔纳里沃大学的研究人员领导的NSF资助的探险队进一步探索了被淹没的洞穴，以记录细微的环境变化及其与岛上重大灭绝事件的关系。该项目提供了一个机会，可以恢复和记录大量灭绝的鳄鱼和巨型乌龟标本，并记录生态过程的变化如何导致马达加斯加巨型巨型社区的近期灭绝和衰落模式。动物区系的抽样和文献将用于正在进行的古老DNA工作中，以解决灭绝物种的进化关系，并在5000年内识别灭绝驱动因素。该研究将特别介绍现代和最近灭绝的马达加斯加鳄鱼与巨型乌龟之间的分类和系统发育关系的假设。此外，这些收集和相关的地层数据将使我们能够确定这些分类单元中基因组多样性，饮食和动物变化的精细时间动态与人类在前灭绝期间在马达加斯加西南部的到来之间的关系。比较这个完整的沉积系列与马达加斯加的这些全新世的先前集合将有助于解释人类到来以及已知的气候变化期间社区内物种组成，丰度和遗传多样性的变化。拟议工作的社会影响将包括我们和马达加斯加研究人员的知识共同生成。通过计划的博物馆活动和公开演讲，通过丰富的外展和教育机会确保了额外的参与。从更广泛的角度来看，这项研究促进了美国和马达加斯加的学术研究人员和当地利益相关者之间的跨学科研究和互动。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子的智力优点和更广泛影响的审查标准来评估值得通过评估来支持的。

项目成果

Description of the subfossil crocodylians from a new Late Pleistocene subfossil site (Tsaramody, Sambaina Basin) in central Madagascar

马达加斯加中部一个新的晚更新世亚化石遗址（Tsaramody，桑巴伊纳盆地）的鳄鱼亚化石的描述

• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: Malagasy nature
• 作者: Rakotozandry, R.;Ranivoharimanana, L.;Ranaivosoa, V.;Rasolofomanana, N.;Hekkala, E.;Samonds, K.E.
• 通讯作者: Samonds, K.E.