Collaborative Research: Integrative ecological perspectives on extinction processes - a multi-proxy case study of Hispaniolan subfossil and extant rodents

这个项目汇集了专门研究遗传学、解剖学和生态学的研究人员和教育工作者，以探索导致伊斯帕尼奥拉地方性啮齿动物最近灭绝的因素。西斯帕尼奥拉啮齿动物为研究岛屿灭绝事件的触发因素和时间线提供了一个例外的案例研究。生物多样性的丧失是一个全球性的问题，在过去的500年里，超过70%的哺乳动物灭绝发生在岛屿上。加勒比海是世界上物种损失最严重的地区。该项目产生的化石数据有可能有助于保护政策，因为它澄清了哪些因素对物种灭绝事件的影响最大，并将有助于理解其他岛屿上物种的消失。该项目将通过向包括加勒比和加勒比裔美国本科生在内的多个层次的青年科学家提供指导，并通过为K-12学生开发教学单元来促进教育。最后，一个已灭绝的西斯帕尼奥拉哺乳动物数据库将为公众提供更好的途径获取海地和美国的科学信息。该项目将使用形态计量学、稳定同位素生态学和古代DNA来(1)确定伊斯帕尼奥拉已灭绝的地方性啮齿动物之间的生态关系，(2)确定物种丧失的时间，(3)解决已灭绝类群之间的系统发育关系，以及(4)阐明灭绝的触发因素。研究小组将依靠之前从海地西南部蒂伯隆半岛三个古生物丰富的洞穴中收集的化石材料。生成的数据将使人们能够更细致地了解人类行为、气候和个体物种特征(例如，身体大小、栖息地、遗传多样性)在伊斯帕尼奥拉物种灭绝中所起的作用。保护生物学家可以利用产生的数据为旨在保护伊斯帕尼奥拉和更广泛的岛屿系统中剩余生物多样性的保护政策提供信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project brings together researchers and educators specializing in genetics, anatomy, and ecology to explore the factors that led to the recent extinction of endemic rodents on Hispaniola. Hispaniolan rodents provide an exceptional case study for examining the triggers and timeline of island extinction events. Biodiversity loss is a global concern, and over 70% of mammalian extinctions in the last 500 years have occurred on islands. The Caribbean has suffered the greatest species loss of any region in the world. Fossil data generated from this project have the potential to contribute to conservation policy by clarifying which factors most contributed to extinction events, and will be helpful for understanding the disappearance of species on other islands. This project will contribute to education by providing mentorship to young scientists at multiple levels, including Caribbean and Caribbean-American undergraduates and by developing teaching modules for K-12 students. Finally, a database of extinct Hispaniolan mammals will provide better public access to scientific information both in Haiti and the USA. This project will use morphometrics, stable isotope ecology, and ancient DNA to (1) identify the ecological relationships among Hispaniola’s extinct endemic rodents, (2) determine the timing of species loss, (3) resolve phylogenetic relationships among extinct taxa, and (4) clarify extinction triggers. The research team will rely on previously collected fossil material from three paleontologically-rich caves on the Tiburon Peninsula in southwestern Haiti. The data generated will allow a more nuanced understanding of the roles that human behavior, climate, and individual species characteristics (e.g., body size, habitat, genetic diversity) have played in extinctions on Hispaniola. The data generated can be leveraged by conservation biologists to inform conservation policy aimed at preserving the remaining biological diversity on Hispaniola and in island systems more generally.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.