SGER: Development and Provision of Critical Triassic Marine Faunal Data to the Paleobiology Database: A Unique Opportunity Within a Limited Time Frame

摘要古生物数据库(PBDB)代表了古生物界众多个体之间的非凡合作，它们汇集了已有的显生目动物数据，用于大规模合成，以解决主要的古生物学问题。随着信息学方法的应用，古生物学数据库代表了最近古生物学研究中最新的倡议之一。然而，拥有为三叠纪收集有意义数据所需经验和知识的人很少，因此PBDB目前存在一个关键的三叠纪数据缺口。南加州大学三名资深博士生在2004年夏天汇聚在一起，他们都有三叠纪的经验，这为填补这一空白提供了一个独特的机会。通过SGER赠款为2004年夏季提供研究生研究助理资金，将使PBDB能够利用这一机会。这一填补三叠纪数据空白的努力将确保PBDB的及时开发和利用，这将对整个古生物界产生巨大的好处。此外，参与这个项目将为这些学生提供新的信息学方法的额外经验，这将使他们能够在未来的研究和教学中采用这种前沿方法。这不仅将有助于地球科学研究的总体方向，而且将通过他们作为专业地球科学家预期的未来教学活动来帮助一般科学。

ABSTRACT The Paleobiology Database (PBDB) represents a remarkable collaboration among numerous individuals in the paleontological community to assemble already-existing Phanerozoic data for large-scale syntheses to address major paleobiological problems. With its application of informatics approaches, the Paleobiology Database represents one of the most novel initiatives in recent paleobiological studies. However, individuals with the necessary experience and knowledge to assemble meaningful data for the Triassic are rare, so that the PBDB currently has a critical Triassic data gap. The convergence of three senior Ph.D. students at USC during the summer of 2004 who are experienced with the Triassic provides a unique opportunity to fill this gap. Provision of graduate research assistant funds for the summer of 2004 through a SGER grant will allow the PBDB to take advantage of this opportunity. This effort to fill the Triassic data gap will ensure the timely development and utilization of the PBDB, which will produce results of great benefit to the paleontological community at large. Furthermore, participation in this project will provide these students additional experience with new informatics approaches, which will allow them to adopt this forefront methodology in their future research and teaching. This will assist not only the overall direction of Earth science research, but of science in general through their anticipated future teaching activity as professional Earth scientists.