CSBR: Natural History: Big Data From Small Fossils: Curation and Digitization of Major Microvertebrate Paleontology Collections at The Florida Museum of Natural History

佛罗里达大学的佛罗里达自然历史博物馆（FLMNH）收藏了美国第三大的脊椎动物化石。这一集合为研究过去6500万年中发生在美国东部和加勒比海沿岸盆地的脊椎动物提供了基础。该项目将确保并改善馆藏材料的可及性，重点是小型哺乳动物、鸟类、爬行动物和两栖动物，这些传统上在博物馆化石收藏中研究不足。估计有6万个重要的脊椎动物化石标本的数据将用于科学研究、教育和公众宣传，包括数百个3D模型（使用微ct技术扫描）。该项目将为佛罗里达州早至晚中新世（500万至1800万年前）的许多未被研究的化石提供新的橱柜和改善储存条件，使这些材料可用于科学家研究加勒比海地区微型脊椎动物的进化和生态历史的加速研究。该项目将资助一名研究生、五名本科生助理和志愿者，他们都将接受博物馆方法和科学研究方面的指导。来自美国各地的K-12教师还将每年举办一次化石和古生物学专业发展会议，其中包括根据下一代科学标准（NGSS）和其他等效的州标准制定生物学和地球/环境科学课程计划。化石图片将被上传至在线数据库（www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/vertpaleo-search/）和iDigBio （www.idigbio.org）。化石标本的3D模型可用于化石识别密钥和3D打印，这些将通过MorphoSource （www.morphosource.org）公开提供。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。

The Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) at the University of Florida houses the third largest cataloged collection of vertebrate fossils in the United States. This collection provides a basis for study of vertebrates that occurred in the eastern United States and the circum-Caribbean Basin over the past 65 million years. This project will secure and improve accessibility of material in this collection, with an emphasis on small mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians that are traditionally understudied in museum fossil collections. Data on an estimated 60,000 significant vertebrate fossils specimens will be made available for scientific research, education, and public outreach, including several hundred 3D models (scanned using micro-CT technology).This project will provide new cabinetry and improve storage conditions for many unstudied fossils from the early-to-late Miocene (5-18 million years ago) of Florida, making this material available for accelerated research by scientists studying the evolutionary and ecological history of micro-vertebrates in the circum-Caribbean realm. The project will support a graduate student, five undergraduate assistants, and volunteers, all of whom will receive mentoring in museum methods and scientific research. K-12 teachers from around the US will also be hosted annually for professional development sessions on fossils and paleontology that will include the development of Biology and Earth/Environmental Science lesson plans aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and other equivalent state standards. Fossils images will be posted to an online database (www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/vertpaleo-search/) and iDigBio (www.idigbio.org). The 3D models of fossil specimens can be used in fossil identification keys as well as 3D-printing, which will be publicly available through MorphoSource (www.morphosource.org).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.