MACEA · Micro-botanical Analyses at Cenozoic fossil localities from East Africa: new insights into the evolution of savannas in Africa from 50 million years
„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“
- Период
- 2016-05-01 → 2019-04-30
- Финансиране от ЕС
- 246 668 €
- Участници
- 2
- Схема
- MSCA-IF-GF
Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.
Накратко на български
Фитолитите в почвени проби от Източна Африка помагат за проследяване на развитието на тревните екосистеми през последните 50 милиона години. Анализът на тези микроскопични остатъци попълва прагините в познанията ни за еволюцията на африканските савани.
Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.
Резултати накратко
Micro-botanical Analyses at Cenozoic fossil localities from East Africa: new insights into the evolution of savannas in Africa from 50 million years
My main objectives during the two years I spent at the University of Washington were to test and analyze the phytolith productivity of >100 fossil soil and sediment samples collected at seven (at least) different East African localities dated from 50 Ma to nowadays using methods and approaches developed by Prof. Strömberg. Also, I aimed to go collecting part of these samples during one (at least) fieldwork season in Kenya. With the testing and analyzing of 336 samples from about 20 different East African localities using Prof. Strömberg's protocols, including 99 samples I myself collected in July 2016 in Kenya, my main goals are completely fulfilled. MACEA aimed to document the evolution of grass-dominated ecosystems in East Africa over the Cenozoic in a research context where very little was known about this story based on previous published paleoenvironmental proxies. Within MACEA, I studied the phytolith content of different fossil deposits from East Africa and compared it to a modern existing dataset I completed with new data. This latter step was preformed during the third year of the funding, while the fossil data production was mostly performed during the two first years hosted at the University of Washington.
Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз
Цел на проекта
Today, the savanna biome occupies ~50% of Africa’s land surface, and is associated with many mammal species specifically adapted to life in the savanna environment. The present project, MACEA, aims to document the appearance and expansion of savannas in Africa’s geologic past, and to evaluate their relationship with the evolution of modern mammals. Precisely, MACEA will assess savanna history in Africa via phytoliths, microscopic particles of amorphous hydrated silica produced in plant tissues and conserved in sediments post-mortem. A unique aspect of this study is that it will apply phytolith analyses for the first time to document paleoenvironments older than ~15 Ma in Africa, and to bring the great potential of phytoliths to bear on the question of savanna origins in Africa. The MACEA project consists of two phases: an outgoing phase at the University of Washington (Seattle, USA), and a return phase at CEREGE (Aix en Provence, France). Both labs will provide all needed equipment, training, and expertise. Upon its completion, MACEA will have created new modem and fossil phytolith datasets, new modern phytolith calibrations, as well as new paleovegetation reconstructions at the scale of tropical Africa. Publications resulting from this study will be of interest to paleobotanists, paleomammalogists, paleoclimatologists, and those concerned with conservation of modem biodiversity in Africa.
Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).
Участници
- UNIVERSITE D'AIX MARSEILLE · MarseilleКоординаторФранция
- UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · Seattle WaСъединени щати
Връзки
Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз