| NSF Org: |
DBI Division of Biological Infrastructure |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | July 27, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | July 27, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1802270 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Reed Beaman
rsbeaman@nsf.gov (703)292-7163 DBI Division of Biological Infrastructure BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
| Start Date: | August 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2023 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $165,490.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $165,490.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
150 MUNSON ST NEW HAVEN CT US 06511-3572 (203)785-4689 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
170 Whitney Ave New Haven CT US 06520-8118 |
| 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
Ferns and their relatives ("pteridophytes") arose approximately 420 million years ago and were the dominant plant groups for hundreds of millions of years afterwards. Today the pteridophytes are outnumbered by the diversity and abundance of other plant groups, such as those that bear flowers, but they remain diverse (with around 12,000 species), ecologically important, and are found throughout the world. This Thematic Collections Network (TCN) brings together 9 core institutions whose goal is to make digital images and data on the distribution and biology of 1.6 million fossil and modern ferns and their relatives available to researchers. This effort includes 39 US Museums and Herbaria that will provide on-line access of collections data to researchers worldwide who will be able to address pressing questions about the evolution, distribution, and biology of land plants. This project would train students and reach the public through teacher training opportunities, the development of curriculum and education boxes and through the production of informative science videos.
The Pteridological Collections Consortium TCN is an interdisciplinary initiative that will database, image, and disseminate information on an unprecedented number of extant and fossil pteridophyte specimens. The combining of neo- and paleobotanical collections data will produce an online resource via a Symbiota framework to enable research on the distribution, ecology, genetics, and deep-time evolution of an important group of vascular plants. Pteridophytes are important because they 1) are relatively diverse and have extensive global distributions, 2) are associated with evolutionary innovations that shaped adaptations to terrestrial ecosystems, 3) they are sensitive to local environmental conditions and play important roles in modern communities, and 4) they have an excellent fossil record for addressing deep-time questions. This award is made as part of the National Resource for Digitization of Biological Collections through the Advancing Digitization of Biological Collections program and all data resulting from this award will be available through the national resource (iDigBio.org).
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.
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.
This project is part of the Pteridological Collections Consortium (PCC): An integrative approach to pteridophyte diversity over the last 420 million years. The neo- and paleobotanical pteridophyte collections housed at the Yale University (YU), Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), University of Alaska Museum at University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF), and University of Oklahoma (UO) provide a source of under-utilized information that are useful for scientific research, conservation, and education, thus producing an unprecedented online digital resource that fills a gap in our knowledge of vascular plant distribution and evolution from roughly 420 million years ago to the present.
Under the guidance of the leading institution UC Berkely and as part of its contribution to the PCC project, Yale, BRIT, UAF, and UO have digitized more than 51,209 herbarium specimens and 19,803 fossil specimens. Currently, more than 73,105 herbarium specimen and 24,186 fossil images and data were shared on the internet through a Symbiota portal that is utilized by scientists, conservationists, educators, and the general public. The website is Pteridophyte Collections Consortium (PCC) portal (https://www.pteridoportal.org/portal/collections/). These data will be of immediate use to researchers who study evolution biology, ecology, taxonomy, biogeography, paleontology and climate change.
This project also had substantial training and education outcomes and other extensive impacts. Twenty-four high school and community college students and over 14 undergraduate and graduate students were involved in the project. They were introduced to conducting imaging, transcription of specimens, and museum collection curation and management and they learned about the relevance of natural history collections to science. We also hosted four WeDigBio events that were attended by 53 citizen science volunteers who transcribed data from herbarium specimen labels. Through the Pteridophyte Collections Consortium (PCC) portal and other venues, this project helps increase accessibility and usability of these pteridophyte specimens and their associated data to assist research, education and outreach activities all over the world.
Last Modified: 11/17/2023
Modified by: Shusheng Hu
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