MCA PILOT PUI: ECOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITY IN PHANEROZOIC MARINE ANIMALS: THE FIRST STATISTICAL COMPARISON

动物王国的生态广度是惊人的，一些群体表现出广泛的策略，而另一些群体则很少。这种变化的原因引起了那些研究创新本质的人的极大兴趣。然而，缺乏衡量这种变化的客观方法阻碍了进展。该项目利用了一个新的生活习惯定量数据库，涵盖了所有已知的海洋动物属。该项目由两名处于职业生涯中期的教师合作，主要来自本科院校，该项目测试了四个假设，这些假设将首次对所有主要动物群体的生态多样性如何随时间变化进行统计描述。除了为研究生物历史提供新颖的统计和可视化方法外，研究结果还将通过提高对创新的限制和机会的认识来促进科学的进步。社会和教育方面的影响包括在研究经验、制作免费的博物馆学习模块和公开演讲方面支持不同的少数民族本科生。不同的动物进化枝（门和纲）在不同的进化枝之间、在不同的地质年代、以及在相似的适应策略上的趋同方面是如何发生生态变化的统计记录，可以转变对进化和生态机遇如何影响地球生命历史的调查。该项目整合了新的和现有的大数据平台以及最新的分析进展，建立了有史以来最大的海洋化石生态、体型和地层范围的开源数据库。PI和斯沃斯莫尔学院的统计学家之间的合作将提供新的统计和可视化方法，以允许下一代生态空间和形态空间的分析。Jurica-Suchy自然博物馆的公开演讲和教育模块的创建将提高公众对化石如何帮助回答紧迫的生态和进化问题的认识。对夏季REU和学期研究经验的支持将扩大STEM科学中代表性不足的少数民族的参与和指导。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。

The ecological breadth of the animal kingdom is remarkable, with some groups displaying a wide range of strategies whereas others pursue few. The causes of this variation are of great interest to those studying the nature of innovation. However, the lack of an objective way to measure this variation has hindered progress. This project leverages a new quantitative database of life habits that encompasses all known marine animal genera. A partnership between two mid-career faculty at predominantly undergraduate institutions, the project tests four hypotheses that will result in the first-ever statistical description of how ecological diversity across all major animal groups has changed through time. In addition to providing novel statistical and visualization methods for studying biological history, the results will promote the progress of science by advancing knowledge of the limits and opportunities for innovation. Societal and educational impacts include supporting diverse undergraduate students of underrepresented minorities in research experiences, production of free museum learning modules, and public presentations.Statistical documentation of how different animal clades (phyla and classes) have varied ecologically—among clades, through geological time, and in relation to convergence on similar adaptive strategies—can transform investigations into how evolutionary and ecological opportunities have impacted the history of life on Earth. This project integrates novel and existing big-data platforms and recent analytical advances to build the largest-ever, open-source database of fossil marine ecology, body sizes, and stratigraphic ranges. Collaboration between the PI and a statistician at Swarthmore College will provide new statistical and visualization methods to allow next-generation analyses of ecospaces and morphospaces. Public presentations and creation of educational modules for the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum will increase public awareness of how fossils can help answer pressing ecological and evolutionary questions. Support for summer REU and semester-long research experiences will expand participation and mentoring of underrepresented minorities in STEM science.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.