Collaborative Research: Conference: Stratigraphic Paleobiology Field Conference

The Stratigraphic Paleobiology Field Conference is designed to train early Ph.D. students to understand how the formation of the stratigraphic record controls where fossils are most likely found. This knowledge is necessary for any biological interpretation of the fossil record, such as patterns of evolution, ecological change, mass extinctions, and biotic invasions. This knowledge is also interdisciplinary and not usually covered in most Ph.D. programs. It will allow students to address significant questions related to how life evolves in relation to environmental change, as well as questions about subdividing geologic time and geological correlation, approaches that are used extensively in the energy industry to investigate the origin and development of hydrocarbon-bearing basins on Earth. Participants will learn how to collect, analyze, and interpret stratigraphic and paleontologic data through field projects on rocks that represent ancient ecosystems on land and in the sea. They will measure and describe stratigraphic columns of sedimentary rocks. Participants will also conduct counts of fossils and learn how to analyze fossil count data in relationship to the stratigraphic columns using several statistical methods. They will discover how the distribution and preservation of fossils are controlled by the structure of the stratigraphic record. As a group, they will discuss how this understanding can be used to address research questions in paleoecology and evolution. Participants in the field conference will go on to hold research and teaching positions at universities, museums, and in the private sector, making them key actors in training future STEM leaders to address many of the most pressing problems facing society. 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.