MCA PILOT PUI: ECOLOGICAL OPPORTUNITY IN PHANEROZOIC MARINE ANIMALS: THE FIRST STATISTICAL COMPARISON

动物王国的生态广度是惊人的，一些群体表现出广泛的策略，而另一些群体追求的却很少。研究创新本质的人对这种变化的原因非常感兴趣。然而，缺乏衡量这种差异的客观方法阻碍了进展。该项目利用了一个新的生活习惯量化数据库，该数据库涵盖了所有已知的海洋动物属。该项目是两名职业生涯中期的教师在以本科为主的机构中的合作伙伴关系，该项目测试了四个假设，这将导致有史以来第一次对所有主要动物群体的生态多样性如何随着时间的变化进行统计描述。除了为研究生物史提供新的统计和可视化方法外，这些结果还将通过促进对创新极限和机会的了解来促进科学进步。社会和教育影响包括支持未被充分代表的少数民族的不同本科生的研究经验、制作免费的博物馆学习模块和公开展示。统计记录不同的动物支系(门和纲)如何在生态上--在不同的支系之间、在不同的地理时间内--以及与类似适应策略的趋同有关--可以改变对进化和生态机会如何影响地球生命历史的调查。该项目整合了新的和现有的大数据平台和最新的分析进展，以建立有史以来最大的、开放源代码的海洋生态化石、身体大小和地层范围数据库。PI与斯沃斯莫尔学院的一名统计学家之间的合作将提供新的统计和可视化方法，使下一代生态空间和形态空间分析成为可能。公开展示和为Jurica-Suchy自然博物馆创建教育模块将提高公众对化石如何帮助回答紧迫的生态和进化问题的认识。对夏季REU和为期一学期的研究经验的支持将扩大对STEM科学中未被充分代表的少数群体的参与和指导。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。

The ecological breadth of the animal kingdom is remarkable, with some groups displaying a wide range of strategies whereas others pursue few. The causes of this variation are of great interest to those studying the nature of innovation. However, the lack of an objective way to measure this variation has hindered progress. This project leverages a new quantitative database of life habits that encompasses all known marine animal genera. A partnership between two mid-career faculty at predominantly undergraduate institutions, the project tests four hypotheses that will result in the first-ever statistical description of how ecological diversity across all major animal groups has changed through time. In addition to providing novel statistical and visualization methods for studying biological history, the results will promote the progress of science by advancing knowledge of the limits and opportunities for innovation. Societal and educational impacts include supporting diverse undergraduate students of underrepresented minorities in research experiences, production of free museum learning modules, and public presentations.Statistical documentation of how different animal clades (phyla and classes) have varied ecologically—among clades, through geological time, and in relation to convergence on similar adaptive strategies—can transform investigations into how evolutionary and ecological opportunities have impacted the history of life on Earth. This project integrates novel and existing big-data platforms and recent analytical advances to build the largest-ever, open-source database of fossil marine ecology, body sizes, and stratigraphic ranges. Collaboration between the PI and a statistician at Swarthmore College will provide new statistical and visualization methods to allow next-generation analyses of ecospaces and morphospaces. Public presentations and creation of educational modules for the Jurica-Suchy Nature Museum will increase public awareness of how fossils can help answer pressing ecological and evolutionary questions. Support for summer REU and semester-long research experiences will expand participation and mentoring of underrepresented minorities in STEM 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.