NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Biodiversity and a High-Resolution Recovery of Fossil Plant-Insect Associations Across the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary

这项行动资助了2020财年NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，使用生物收集的研究。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式使用生物收藏品。植物和食用它们的食草昆虫占所有描述物种的一半以上，它们之间的相互作用是食物网的基石。植物的化石记录有昆虫食草的痕迹，比如在叶子上咬出的洞，这些为了解古代森林以及它们如何随着时间的推移而变化提供了很好的证据来源。研究人员将测量6604万年前发生的白垩纪/古近纪（K/Pg）灭绝事件之前，期间和之后植物和昆虫的恢复情况。关于恐龙的灭绝和随后哺乳动物的崛起有许多研究，但植物和昆虫的恢复却知之甚少，这是本研究的重点。这个研究项目将提高研究员的策展技能，数据分析技能，出版记录，以及在公共宣传和指导的经验。该宣传活动将把公民与科拉尔布拉夫斯遗址化石的激动人心的故事联系起来，突出博物馆藏品在尖端科学研究中的重要性，强调博物馆在我们社区中的重要性，并让公众参与科学概念，以提高人们对与自然联系的认识。该研究将构成迄今为止K/Pg边界植物昆虫协会的最高分辨率地层分析，记录植物和昆虫生命的灭绝和恢复到灭绝后的第一个百万年。这项研究将利用丹佛自然科学博物馆（DMNS）的科拉尔布拉夫斯古植物学收藏，在伊恩米勒博士（DMNS古植物学馆长）和埃伦·科拉诺博士（怀俄明州大学）的指导下。通过分析Corral Bluffs研究地点植物昆虫协会的多样性和强度，该研究员将生成白垩纪末和古新世早期植物昆虫相互作用的最大数据集之一，以及从K/Pg边界收集的最高质量的植物昆虫协会数据集。这项研究的统计分析将包括建立连接植物物种的双向网络。该研究员将接受古植物学鉴定、分类学描述方面的培训，并将学习新的统计分析。 广泛预期的结果包括白垩纪期间更多样化和专业化的昆虫损害，灭绝后立即发生的昆虫损害很少，以及在接下来的100万年中植物和昆虫多样性的逐步增加。更广泛的影响将包括通过丹佛自然科学博物馆进行的公众宣传。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得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。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will use biological collections in innovative ways. Plants and the insect herbivores that consume them comprise over half of all described species and their interactions are a cornerstone of food webs. The fossil record of plants has the marks of insect herbivory, such as holes chewed into a leaf, and these provide an excellent source of evidence for understanding ancient forests and how they changed through time. The research fellow will measure the recovery of plants and insects before, during, and after the Cretaceous/Paleogene (K/Pg) extinction event, which occurred 66.04 million years ago. There are many studies on the extinction of the dinosaurs and the subsequent rise of mammals, but the recovery of plants and insects is poorly understood and is the focus of this study. This research project will enhance the fellow’s curatorial skills, data analytical skills, publication record, and experience in public outreach and mentoring. The outreach will connect citizens with exciting stories about fossils from the Corral Bluffs site, highlight the importance of museum collections in cutting-edge scientific research, emphasize the significance of museums in our communities, and engage the general public with scientific concepts to increase awareness of the connections with nature. The research will constitute the most highly-resolved stratigraphic analysis of plant‒insect associations across the K/Pg boundary to-date, documenting the extinction and recovery of plant and insect life into the first million years following the extinction. This research will utilize the Corral Bluffs Paleobotanical Collection at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS), under the guidance of Dr. Ian Miller (Curator of Paleobotany, DMNS) and Dr. Ellen Currano (University of Wyoming). By analyzing the diversity and intensity of plant‒insect associations at the Corral Bluffs study site, the fellow will generate one of the largest data sets of plant–insect interactions for the terminal Cretaceous and early Paleocene, and the highest quality plant‒insect associational dataset collected from across the K/Pg boundary. The statistical analyses for this research will include building bipartite networks linking plant species. The fellow will be trained on paleobotanical identification, taxonomic descriptions, and will learn new statistical analyses. Broadly anticipated results include more diverse and specialized insect damage during the Cretaceous, very little insect damage immediately after the extinction, and a step-wise increase of plant and insect diversity in the following one million years. Broader impacts will include public outreach through the Denver Museum of Nature & 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.