DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Inferring ecology in fossil terrestrial ecosystems

从吸血的吸血雀到吃浮游生物的海燕，鸟类是如何进化出惊人的生态多样性的，这仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。鸟类骨骼很少被保存在化石记录中;即使它们被保存下来，也很难推断出古代生态系统中灭绝物种的生活习性。在这个博士论文项目中，研究人员将通过比较现代鸟类的翅膀，腿和喙的形态来推断灭绝鸟类的饮食和栖息地偏好。这些推论将在选定的物种中进一步检验，方法是将形态学的预测与化石标本中保存的肠道内容物进行比较。最具多样性的鸟类化石组合是在中国1.25亿年前的沉积物中以及北美和德国5000万年前的沉积物中发现的。通过将这些古代沉积物中鸟类的生态特征套件与今天和最近（100万年前）在这些地方看到的套件进行比较，研究人员将更全面地了解环境变化如何通过多样化和灭绝过程促进全球鸟类多样性。生物多样性受到物种灭绝速度加快的威胁。这项研究的结果将把过去的环境变化与灭绝联系起来，为改善对未来灭绝率的预测提供有价值的历史信息。化石也是让学生和公众对科学感兴趣的最好方式之一。研究人员参加了芝加哥菲尔德自然历史博物馆的几个教育项目，带领化石收藏的“幕后”图尔斯参观，并为小学教师开发地质学和地球历史方面的专业培训项目。本科生和高中生将参与该项目的数据收集和分析。

How birds evolved their staggering ecological diversity, from vampire finches that drink blood to storm petrels that eat plankton, remains an unanswered question. Bird skeletons are infrequently preserved in the fossil record; when they are, it remains difficult to infer the habits of extinct species in ancient ecosystems. In this doctoral dissertation project, investigators will infer the diet and habitat preferences of extinct birds by comparing the morphology of their wings, legs, and beaks to that of modern birds. These inferences will be further tested in selected species by comparing the predictions made from morphology with the preserved gut contents of fossil specimens. The most diverse fossil bird assemblages are found in 125 million-year-old deposits in China and 50 million-year-old deposits in North America and Germany. By comparing the suite of ecological traits seen in birds from each of these ancient deposits with the suite seen in these localities today and in the recent past, (1 million years ago), the researchers will develop a more complete understanding of how environmental change has contributed to global bird diversity through the processes of diversification and extinction. Biodiversity is threatened by increasing rates of species' extinctions. Results from this study will link past environmental change with extinction, contributing valuable historical information to improve predictions of future extinction rates. Fossils are also one of the best ways to get students and the public interested in science. The investigators participate in several educational programs at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, leading 'behind the scenes' tours of fossil collections and developing professional training programs in geology and earth history for elementary school teachers. Undergraduate and high school students will participate in this project with data collection and analysis.