US-France Cooperative Research: Evolution of Early Seed Plants

该奖项将支持Jean博士与 Galtier和Brigitte Meyer-Berthaud博士，科学大学 法国蒙彼利埃，和查尔斯博士 贝克，密歇根大学，安阿伯和威廉斯坦博士， 纽约州立大学宾汉姆顿分校，以起源和 种子植物的早期进化 这两个研究小组 访问一些特别重要的大型收藏品， 已知的最早的种子植物，已灭绝的低 石炭纪种子蕨类植物科，Calamopityaceae，来自新西兰 美国的奥尔巴尼页岩，以及 法国的黑山 近年来，越来越明显的是， 早期种子植物的化石是正确推断 种子植物生殖 但是，要想成功， 对灾难动物的地质和地理观点， 必须开发其他早期种子植物遗骸。 这个奖项将 提供旅行支助，使调查员能够融入 他们的研究工作在几个领域，包括：i）详细 对独立描述的非常相似的材料进行系统分析 （二）共同努力改进方法 收集这些表格上的信息，包括 发展形态测定分析技术， 原生血管系统的同源性，iii）制定计划 建立一个关于早期种子植物的综合数据库仍然是合适的 一个广泛的研究问题，和四）系统发育 以化石为中心的种子植物起源分析 这群人早期成员的证据

This award will support collaborative research between Dr. Jean Galtier and Dr. Brigitte Meyer-Berthaud, Universite des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, Montpellier, France, and Dr. Charles Beck, University of Michigan, Ann Arber and Dr. William Stein, State University of New York-Binghamton, centering the origin and early evolution of seed plants. These two research groups have access to especially large and important collections of some of the earliest known seed plants, members of the extinct Lower Carboniferous seed fern family, Calamopityaceae, from the New Albany Shale of the United States, and the Lydiennes Formation of the Montagne Noire of France. In the recent years, it has become increasingly clear that input from fossil early seed plants is essential for correctly inferring seed plant phylogeny. However, to be successful more comprehensive geological and geographic perspectives on calamopityacean and other early seed plant remains must be developed. This award will provide travel support to allow the investigators to integrate their research efforts in several areas including: i) detailed systematic analysis of very similar material described independently by the two groups, ii) a concerted effort to improve the methods by which information on these forms is collected, including development of morphometric analytical techniques for assessing homology in the primary vascular system, iii) development of plans for a comprehensive database on early seed plant remains suitable for a wide range of research problems, and iv) a phylogenetic analysis of seed plant origins concentrating on the fossil evidence of this group's early members.