CSBR: Rescuing and Sharing a Unique and Irreplaceable Fossil Collection at the Duke Lemur Center

CSBR：拯救和分享杜克狐猴中心独特且不可替代的化石收藏

• 批准号: 2023087
• 负责人: Matthew Borths
• 金额: $ 44.27万
• 依托单位: Duke University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-07-01 至 2024-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2023087&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CSBR; Rescuing; Sharing; Unique; Irreplaceable

The Duke Lemur Center is responsible for two unique and irreplaceable collections: the largest living population of lemurs outside of their native Madagascar and a natural history collection that includes one of the most diverse primate fossil collections in the United States. The fossil collection – with specimens from the United States, Egypt, Madagascar, and Colombia – helps researchers use the tree of life to connect lemur research to other primates, including humans. Unfortunately, some of the most important fossils at the DLC, including some of the oldest lemur fossils and some of the oldest monkey fossils, are actively breaking down because unstable salt minerals were embedded in the specimens during fossilization. This project is a rescue mission to stabilize and preserve these fossils in physical and digital form. Highly trained fossil technicians will remove salt minerals from the most endangered specimens and store the revitalized fossils in new specimen cabinets that better control the temperature and humidity around the specimens. The team will also create 3D scans of the specimens using x-rays. The scans create a back-up record of the fossils in case they continue to deteriorate. The scans will be uploaded to MorphoSource, an online repository that allows educators, students, and researchers to examine fossils in 3D from any device with internet access. With a better-stabilized collection, the DLC fossil collection can open to the public for in-person and virtual tours, and online exhibits and curriculum guides will be created by the DLC education team using scans and 3D prints. The most unstable fossils in the collection come from Locality 41 in the Fayum Depression in Egypt. The site is one of the most fossil-dense terrestrial Paleogene localities in Africa. Along with primates like Catopithecus and Plesiopithecus, the site preserves giant hyraxes, rodents, bats, snakes, birds, and carnivores. The tennis-court sized fossil deposit in the Western Desert of Egypt was actively quarried in the 1980s through 2010s. The most fossil-rich sections were targeted by the excavation teams. This makes the collection at the DLC irreplaceable through additional fieldwork. This project partially supports a Fossil Preparator who will focus on the Egyptian collection as well as other unstable materials in the collection. It also partially supports a Digital Tomographer who will use the Duke microCT scanner to generate scans of the most at-risk specimens, and the DLC Data Manager who will work with the Tomographer to backup and upload scan data to MorphoSource. The data manager will lead the effort to add higher resolution specimen data to the DLC Specify database, which will integrate with iDigBio (idigbio.org) and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (gbif.org). The project also supports microCT scanner access and new specimen storage cabinets. The DLC education team will use these newly stable specimens to create curriculum-targeted tours and guides for North Carolina K-12 students and visitors to the DLC. Ultimately, exceedingly fragile fossil specimens will be available in-person and online to researchers, students, and the general public.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.

杜克狐猴中心负责两个独特的和不可替代的收藏品：最大的狐猴生活在他们的祖国马达加斯加以外的人口和自然历史收藏，其中包括在美国最多样化的灵长类动物化石收藏之一。化石收藏-来自美国，埃及，马达加斯加和哥伦比亚的标本-帮助研究人员使用生命树将狐猴研究与其他灵长类动物（包括人类）联系起来。不幸的是，DLC中一些最重要的化石，包括一些最古老的狐猴化石和一些最古老的猴子化石，正在积极分解，因为不稳定的盐矿物在石化过程中嵌入标本中。这个项目是一个救援使命，以稳定和保存这些化石的物理和数字形式。训练有素的化石技术人员将从最濒危的标本中去除盐矿物，并将复活的化石储存在新的标本柜中，以更好地控制标本周围的温度和湿度。该团队还将使用X射线创建标本的3D扫描。这些扫描为化石创建了一个备份记录，以防它们继续恶化。扫描结果将被上传到MorphoSource，这是一个在线存储库，允许教育工作者，学生和研究人员从任何可以访问互联网的设备上检查3D化石。有了更稳定的收藏，DLC化石收藏可以向公众开放，进行面对面和虚拟图尔斯参观，DLC教育团队将使用扫描和3D打印创建在线展览和课程指南。收藏中最不稳定的化石来自埃及法尤姆凹陷的41号地点。该遗址是非洲古近纪陆地化石最密集的地点之一。沿着的还有像猫猴和近古猿这样的灵长类动物，这里还保存着巨大的蹄兔、啮齿动物、蝙蝠、蛇、鸟类和食肉动物。埃及西部沙漠的网球场大小的化石存款在20世纪80年代至2010年代被积极开采。化石最丰富的部分是挖掘队的目标。这使得DLC的收藏品通过额外的实地考察变得不可替代。该项目部分支持一个化石鉴定员，他将专注于埃及收藏以及收藏中其他不稳定的材料。它还部分支持数字断层扫描仪，该扫描仪将使用杜克microCT扫描仪生成风险最高的标本的扫描，以及DLC数据管理器，该数据管理器将与断层扫描仪一起备份扫描数据并将其上传到MorphoSource。数据管理员将领导向DLC Specify数据库添加更高分辨率的标本数据的工作，该数据库将与iDigBio（idigbio.org）和全球生物多样性信息设施（gbif.org）整合。该项目还支持microCT扫描仪访问和新的标本存储柜。DLC教育团队将使用这些新稳定的标本，为北卡罗来纳州K-12学生和DLC游客创建针对性的图尔斯之旅和指南。最终，研究人员、学生和公众将可以亲自或通过网络获得极其脆弱的化石标本。该奖项反映了NSF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。