CAREER: Quaternary paleontology of Jamaica: Colonization, extinction, and resilience in a biodiversity hotspot

Biodiversity loss is one of the biggest challenges facing humanity today, and how species respond to environmental changes is a crucial question. Fossils provide unparalleled insight into the long-term responses of species in changing environments and can be used to identify both vulnerable and resilient ecosystems. This project leverages the fossil record of Jamaica to characterize ancient biodiversity and quantify how it has been shaped by environmental changes before and after human colonization of the island. The research seeks to guide conservation strategies in an ecosystem that supports a diversity of wildlife and human populations. The project also increases access to paleontology by training students in paleontological research methods. Students will use their research experiences to develop K-12 lesson plans that meet the national educational standards in both the US and Jamaica. In collaboration with international partners, these lesson plans will be deployed in a series of STEM camps for children and their teachers. This research integrates existing museum collections and novel paleontological excavations with biogeographic theory and ecological modelling to quantify biodiversity through time, measured through the lenses of taxonomic and functional richness. Three primary research questions are addressed: (1) What is the pre-human baseline biodiversity? (2) Do abiotic processes (climate) and/or biotic processes (human colonization) trigger changes in community structure and/or functional trait diversity? (3) Do introduced species restore functional diversity lost through extinction? The interdisciplinary approach of this research will provide critical information on how taxonomic and functional diversity is impacted by environmental change, and is relevant to conservation, ecology, evolutionary biology, and paleontology. Furthermore, the educational component of this research seeks to build STEM research capacity and literacy by providing authentic, place-based experiences to project participants. The efficacy of these activities will be assessed through surveys that measure participant confidence and sense of belonging in STEM. 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.