| NSF Org: |
DBI Div Of Biological Infrastructure |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | May 25, 2016 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | May 25, 2016 |
| Award Number: | 1601891 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Reed Beaman
rsbeaman@nsf.gov (703)292-7163 DBI Div Of Biological Infrastructure BIO Direct For Biological Sciences |
| Start Date: | July 1, 2016 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2019 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $179,238.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $179,238.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
200 CENTRAL PARK W NEW YORK NY US 10024-5102 (212)769-5975 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
Central Park West at 79th Street New York NY US 10024-5192 |
| Primary Place of Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Digitization |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
Between 65 and 100 million years ago, during the time that dinosaurs walked the earth, a large, tropical seaway covered the central part of what is now North America. This seaway teemed with marine life. Snails and clams lived on the seafloor; ammonites, along with giant mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, sharks, and fish, swam about; at the same time early birds and pterosaurs floated on or flew above the seaway. What remains today is a prolific fossil record that has been collected by paleontologists for over 100 years. Notable fossils from this time period and region are on display at museums around the world. However, the vast bulk of fossils collected from this region are locked away in museum drawers. To provide scientists and the general public access to these fossils and their associated data, this project proposes to digitize invertebrate and vertebrate fossils from this time period and region, making information accessible through searchable electronic databases. Additionally, a variety of online resources illustrating and describing these fossils and mapping their distributions will be developed. A freely accessible online textbook of paleontology will be generated and a website and App will be developed to highlight the appearances, occurrences, and ages of constituent species, to help students and aspiring paleontologists identify and learn about these fossils. The project plans to generate a variety of curricular materials for K-12 education, including 3-D scans of fossils for free download and printed 3-D models for classroom use. Products of this project will also include workshops to engage science teachers and items to augment public programs and exhibits at participating institutions.
This work will greatly increase the scientific value of eight major U.S. museum collections of fossils. The museum collections contain large amounts of data useful for studying what causes marine species to migrate, go extinct, and evolve during a long period of greenhouse climate conditions similar to those our planet may soon experience. These data have relevance for evaluating how global change has and will continue to affect life on earth. An estimated 164,000 specimens collected from thousands of locations, in the region once occupied by the Western Interior Seaway, will be databased and georeferenced. Representatives from each of roughly 1,500 microfossil, invertebrate, and vertebrate species will be imaged. The digitized records will be made available online via individual museum databases, iDigBio, and iDigPaleo. The resultant data will enable scientists to answer questions about how different species interact and ecosystems change in the face of environmental shifts during a key time in the history of life. Moreover, the data will be ideal for use with an assortment of modern quantitative tools -including paleoecological niche modeling (PaleoENM) - and will help improve paleoclimate and paleoceanographic models. Finally, several undergraduate and graduate students will be trained. Results of the project will be published at the following url: www.digitalatlasofancientlife.org.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
During the Late Cretaceous (100-66 Mya), the epicontinental Western Interior Seaway (WIS) divided North America in two during an interval of greenhouse conditions that may serve as a proxy for Earth’s near-term future. The WIS supported diverse ecosystems including molluscs and vertebrates, resulting in a rich fossil record that has been heavily collected by paleontologists for over 100 years. While the fossils of the WIS are well known taxonomically and very well represented in museum collections, their geographic distribution and habitat are still poorly known. The goal of the Cretaceous World: TCN was to increase the scientific value of eight major U.S. museum collections of WIS fossils, including the AMNH. An estimated 85,000 AMNH specimens collected from hundreds of localities were databased and georeferenced using established protocols. One or more representative specimen(s) of selected species were imaged. Digitized records of specimens have been made available online via individual museum databases, iDigBio, and iDigPaleo. Thus, the TCN generated important data on the geographic and chronostratigraphic position of fossil marine molluscs. These data are ideal for use with an assortment of modern quantitative tools including paleoecological niche modeling (PaleoENM) emphasizing reconstructions of habitat and environment. In addition, as part of a collaborative effort, an online Cretaceous Atlas website is being added to the existing Digital Atlas of Ancient Life (DEAL) project to highlight the morphologies, stratigraphic occurrences, habitats, and geographic ranges of at least 800 WIS species, providing a new tool to help students and avocational paleontologists identify and learn about fossils. A variety of Common Core- and Next Generation Science Standard curricular materials are also being developed for K-12 education, including games for children, availability of 3-D scans of WIS fossils for free downloads, and workshops for grades 4-12 science teachers.
Last Modified: 08/21/2019
Modified by: Neil H Landman
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