{"653818":{"#nid":"653818","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Focus on Fossils: Paleobiologists to Unearth Ancient Megafauna in East Africa, Forecast How Humans and Climate Affect Wildlife","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/people\/jmcguire\u0022\u003EJenny McGuire\u003C\/a\u003E plans to use the late Cenozoic fossil record in Africa \u0026mdash; a span of 7.5 million years \u0026mdash; to study the long-term relationships between animals, their traits, and how they respond to changes in their environments. The goal is to use the data to forecast future changes and help inform conservation biology decisions for the continent.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMcGuire, an assistant professor with joint appointments in the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eas.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E and \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/biosciences.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/a\u003E at Georgia Tech, and her \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.mcguire.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESpatial Ecology \u0026amp; Paleontology Lab\u003C\/a\u003E are teaming up with an international cohort of researchers for the effort, which includes scientists from Texas A\u0026amp;M University, University of Cambridge, and the National Museums of Kenya. The work is jointly funded by the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/\u0022\u003ENational Science Foundation\u003C\/a\u003E (US NSF) and the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/nerc.ukri.org\/\u0022\u003ENational Environment Research Council\u003C\/a\u003E (NERC), part of UK Research \u0026amp; Innovation (UKRI), a new body which works in partnership with universities, research organizations, businesses, charities and government \u0026ldquo;to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMcGuire says the team hopes to learn more about which functional traits vertebrates (animals with backbones) have that closely relate to shifting factors at a given location like temperature, rain and other precipitation, and their natural environment \u0026mdash; and how those changes have occurred as environments and humans evolved.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Community-level trait calculations correlate with specific environmental conditions,\u0026rdquo; McGuire says. \u0026ldquo;For example, in places or times when there is less precipitation, mammal communities overall will have more robust, rugged, resistant teeth. And the ankle gear ratios of mammals living in open versus more enclosed habitats reflect this condition, since animals living in more open habitats typically need to run faster.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EMcGuire says Africa offers a crucial natural laboratory for these types of conservation paleobiological studies, noting a rich, well-sampled fossil record. The continent is also home to a diverse range of vertebrate ecosystems, including the most complete natural community of remaining terrestrial megafauna: large animals that include the \u0026ldquo;big five\u0026rdquo; of Africa \u0026mdash; elephants, giraffes, hippopotamuses, rhinoceroses, and large bovines like wildebeests, antelopes, and water buffaloes.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Critically, these megafauna are facing increasing pressures from global economic demands leading to habitat loss, as well as from changing climates,\u0026rdquo; McGuire shares.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eccb.tamu.edu\/people\/lawing-a-michelle\/\u0022\u003EMichelle Lawing\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/eccb.tamu.edu\/\u0022\u003ETexas A\u0026amp;M\u0026rsquo;s Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology\u003C\/a\u003E, is the lead institution principal investigator for the project, and McGuire is the collaborating institution\u0026rsquo;s principal investigator. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nationalgeographic.org\/article\/dr-fredrick-kyalo-manthi-paleontologist-national-museums-kenya\/\u0022\u003EFredrick Kyalo Manthi\u003C\/a\u003E, co-principal investigator, is director of Antiquities, Sites, and Monuments and a senior research scientist in the Department of Earth Sciences at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.museums.or.ke\/\u0022\u003ENational Museums of Kenya\u003C\/a\u003E in Nairobi.\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.zoo.cam.ac.uk\/directory\/dr-jason-head\u0022\u003EJason Head\u003C\/a\u003E, NERC principal investigator, is a professor in the Department of Zoology at the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.cam.ac.uk\/\u0022\u003EUniversity of Cambridge.\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResponding to changing climates and environments\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ERelated research into how communities have evolved over time, and how they\u0026rsquo;ve been impacted by terrain, animal migration, and climate change, has taken McGuire to Wyoming\u0026rsquo;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nps.gov\/bica\/learn\/nature\/natural-trap-cave.htm\u0022\u003ENatural Trap Cave\u003C\/a\u003E for five of the past seven summers. There, the so-called \u0026ldquo;pit\u0026rdquo; or sinkhole cave trapped animals for millennia, leaving only their bones and other fossils remaining to tell their stories to McGuire and fellow researchers about life there more than 35,000 years ago.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;What we\u0026rsquo;re really looking at is how communities shift across the landscape,\u0026rdquo; McGuire shared in an earlier \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/science-matters\/season-1-episode-2-can-lessons-fossils-guide-earths-future\u0022\u003Einterview\u003C\/a\u003E about the work. \u0026ldquo;So, if we have glaciers that are coming really far south in North America, how does that drive the distributions of species on the landscape and where they\u0026rsquo;re living, and whether or not there\u0026rsquo;s new communities or total remixing of communities, or if communities just shift in a uniform way?\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We\u0026rsquo;re really trying to understand how animals respond to changing climate and changing environments, so that we can get a better sense of how they\u0026rsquo;ll respond to increased warming and climate change that\u0026rsquo;s occurring today.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPositive trait to environment relationships \u0026mdash;\u0026nbsp;and a negative one\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen it comes to an example of a good trait-environment relationship involving animals, McGuire cites the role that elephants play in Africa \u0026mdash; something mastodons also did in North America before their extinction.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Elephants help maintain savanna habitats,\u0026rdquo; McGuire says, referring to the giants\u0026rsquo; relationships with Africa\u0026rsquo;s grassland regions. \u0026ldquo;They control trees along the perimeters of forests, preventing them from expanding into, and taking over, savanna habitats.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003ESimilarly, in ancient North American ecosystems, the loss of the mammoth, along with climate change, is thought to have resulted in the loss of the mammoth steppe ecosystem, \u0026ldquo;a no-analog, widespread Arctic shrubland that went extinct as a biome (a community of plants and animals) around the time of North American megafauna extinction,\u0026rdquo; McGuire says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EThe new project\u0026rsquo;s outreach efforts\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe US NSF and UK NERC funding for the project also includes student outreach and mentoring for early career academics. The project\u0026rsquo;s broader impact goals include measures to support inclusivity and diversity in science, high-impact training experiences for students and postdoctoral researchers, application of the researcher\u0026rsquo;s modeling framework for applied conservation, and meaningful engagement with the public.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;This international collaborative project will also help train both Kenyan and American (and) European students, thus establishing another generation of researchers,\u0026rdquo; National Museums of Kenya\u0026rsquo;s Fredrick Kyalo Manthi says.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;We plan to pair travel and research objectives with workshops so that workshop students get to directly participate in research, and serve as co-authors on projects as appropriate,\u0026rdquo; McGuire adds.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E***\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFunding: \u003C\/strong\u003ENSFDEB-NERC Award \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/awardsearch\/showAward?AWD_ID=2124770\u0026amp;HistoricalAwards=false\u0022\u003E#2124770\u003C\/a\u003E; NSF CAREER Award \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nsf.gov\/awardsearch\/showAward?AWD_ID=1655898\u0026amp;HistoricalAwards=false\u0022\u003E#1945013\u003C\/a\u003E; International Union of Biological Sciences: Conservation Paleobiology in Africa Program.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E***\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is a top 10 public research university developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute offers business, computing, design, engineering, liberal arts, and sciences degrees. Its nearly 44,000 students representing 50 states and 149 countries, study at the main campus in Atlanta, at campuses in France and China, and through distance and online learning. As a leading technological university, Georgia Tech is an engine of economic development for Georgia, the Southeast, and the nation, conducting more than $1 billion in research annually for government, industry, and society.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"International research spanning Georgia Tech, Texas A\u0026M, University of Cambridge, and the National Museums of Kenya seeks to understand how wildlife trait-environment relationships in East Africa have changed over time."}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EIn new research with the National Science Foundation and the National Environment Research Council, Jenny McGuire will study the fossil record in Africa to inform conservation biology decisions and forecast how humans and climate affect wildlife. The study will build a better understanding between the continent\u0026rsquo;s animals, physical traits developed over time, and their relationships and responses to environmental changes.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Jenny McGuire will study Africa\u0027s fossil record to inform conservation biology decisions and forecast how humans and climate affect wildlife \u2014 building a better understanding between animals, physical traits over time, response to environmental changes."}],"uid":"34434","created_gmt":"2021-12-17 18:29:15","changed_gmt":"2021-12-23 22:34:14","author":"Renay San Miguel","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-12-23T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2021-12-23T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"653925":{"id":"653925","type":"image","title":"Africa is home to a diverse range of vertebrate ecosystems, including the most complete natural community of remaining terrestrial megafauna. (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston)","body":null,"created":"1640282956","gmt_created":"2021-12-23 18:09:16","changed":"1640284155","gmt_changed":"2021-12-23 18:29:15","alt":"","file":{"fid":"248056","name":"elephants.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/elephants.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/elephants.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":591619,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/elephants.jpg?itok=TinyZYAd"}},"653922":{"id":"653922","type":"image","title":"Zebra gallop across grassland in eastern Africa. Ankle gear ratios of mammals that live in open savannas vary to those in more enclosed habitats, since animals in open areas typically need to run faster. (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston)","body":null,"created":"1640281825","gmt_created":"2021-12-23 17:50:25","changed":"1640281825","gmt_changed":"2021-12-23 17:50:25","alt":"","file":{"fid":"248053","name":"Crawshays zebra.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Crawshays%20zebra.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Crawshays%20zebra.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":710321,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Crawshays%20zebra.jpg?itok=ji1d-mFF"}},"632196":{"id":"632196","type":"image","title":"Assistant Professor Jenny McGuire, 2020 NSF CAREER Award Winner","body":null,"created":"1581089123","gmt_created":"2020-02-07 15:25:23","changed":"1581089307","gmt_changed":"2020-02-07 15:28:27","alt":"","file":{"fid":"240543","name":"jenny mcguire lab.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jenny%20mcguire%20lab.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/jenny%20mcguire%20lab.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":54287,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/jenny%20mcguire%20lab.jpg?itok=OznTTbsb"}},"653923":{"id":"653923","type":"image","title":"Zebra skull at a wildlife education center in eastern Africa. In places or times with less precipitation, mammal communities overall will have more robust, rugged, resistant teeth. (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston)","body":"\u003Cp\u003EZebra skull at a wildlife education center in eastern Africa. In places or times with less precipitation, mammal communities overall will have more robust, rugged, resistant teeth. (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston)\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","created":"1640282092","gmt_created":"2021-12-23 17:54:52","changed":"1694536539","gmt_changed":"2023-09-12 16:35:39","alt":"A photo of a zebra jaw fossil (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston)","file":{"fid":"248054","name":"Zebra teeth skull.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Zebra%20teeth%20skull.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Zebra%20teeth%20skull.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":456964,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Zebra%20teeth%20skull.jpg?itok=ea6YZbFq"}},"653924":{"id":"653924","type":"image","title":"A yellow baboon family joins a warthog to root for snacks in the soil. Along nutrient-poor savannas, fertile patches are attractive to hungry mammals. (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston)","body":null,"created":"1640282505","gmt_created":"2021-12-23 18:01:45","changed":"1640282769","gmt_changed":"2021-12-23 18:06:09","alt":"","file":{"fid":"248055","name":"baboon family warthog.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/baboon%20family%20warthog.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/baboon%20family%20warthog.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1028155,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/baboon%20family%20warthog.jpg?itok=PXnPH8DP"}},"653921":{"id":"653921","type":"image","title":"South Luangwa Valley giraffe, puku antelope, and Crawshay\u0027s zebra graze in Mfuwe, Zambia. (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston)","body":null,"created":"1640281079","gmt_created":"2021-12-23 17:37:59","changed":"1640281079","gmt_changed":"2021-12-23 17:37:59","alt":"","file":{"fid":"248052","name":"South Luangwa Valley giraffe - puku - Crawshays zebra .jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/South%20Luangwa%20Valley%20giraffe%20-%20puku%20-%20Crawshays%20zebra%20.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/South%20Luangwa%20Valley%20giraffe%20-%20puku%20-%20Crawshays%20zebra%20.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":805200,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/South%20Luangwa%20Valley%20giraffe%20-%20puku%20-%20Crawshays%20zebra%20.jpg?itok=3nrHZWiL"}},"653919":{"id":"653919","type":"image","title":"Jenny McGuire rappels into Natural Trap Cave in northern Wyoming. (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston)","body":null,"created":"1640279162","gmt_created":"2021-12-23 17:06:02","changed":"1640279162","gmt_changed":"2021-12-23 17:06:02","alt":"","file":{"fid":"248050","name":"Natural Trap Cave Wyoming Fossils Georgia Tech Research.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Natural%20Trap%20Cave%20Wyoming%20Fossils%20Georgia%20Tech%20Research.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Natural%20Trap%20Cave%20Wyoming%20Fossils%20Georgia%20Tech%20Research.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1319367,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Natural%20Trap%20Cave%20Wyoming%20Fossils%20Georgia%20Tech%20Research.jpg?itok=mm8TSRgM"}},"653920":{"id":"653920","type":"image","title":"This past summer, Jenny McGuire (right) and her Spatial Ecology \u0026 Paleontology Lab joined functional paleoecologist Julie Meachen of Des Moines University (second from left) and colleagues in studying Natural Trap Cave fossils. (Photo: Jess Hunt-Ralston)","body":null,"created":"1640279717","gmt_created":"2021-12-23 17:15:17","changed":"1640280904","gmt_changed":"2021-12-23 17:35:04","alt":"","file":{"fid":"248051","name":"Natural Trap Cave Wyoming Fossils Georgia Tech Research 2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Natural%20Trap%20Cave%20Wyoming%20Fossils%20Georgia%20Tech%20Research%202.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Natural%20Trap%20Cave%20Wyoming%20Fossils%20Georgia%20Tech%20Research%202.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":698732,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Natural%20Trap%20Cave%20Wyoming%20Fossils%20Georgia%20Tech%20Research%202.jpg?itok=Ysmt3TfH"}}},"media_ids":["653925","653922","632196","653923","653924","653921","653919","653920"],"related_links":[{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/science-matters\/season-1-episode-2-can-lessons-fossils-guide-earths-future","title":"ScienceMatters Season 1, Episode 2: Can Lessons from Fossils Guide Earth\u2019s Future?"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/survival-smallest-georgia-tech-researchers-uncover-unequal-effects-human-activity-mammals","title":"Survival of the Smallest: Georgia Tech Researchers Uncover Unequal Effects of Human Activity on Mammals"},{"url":"https:\/\/cos.gatech.edu\/news\/jenny-mcguire-lutz-warnke-receive-nsf-career-awards","title":"Jenny McGuire, Lutz Warnke Receive NSF CAREER Awards"},{"url":"https:\/\/rh.gatech.edu\/news\/638309\/fossil-pollen-record-suggests-vulnerability-mass-extinction-ahead","title":"Fossil Pollen Record Suggests Vulnerability to Mass Extinction Ahead"}],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"364801","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)"},{"id":"1275","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"135","name":"Research"},{"id":"154","name":"Environment"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"166882","name":"School of Biological Sciences"},{"id":"166926","name":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"},{"id":"168746","name":"Jenny McGuire"},{"id":"861","name":"Africa"},{"id":"189587","name":"megafauna"},{"id":"189588","name":"trait-environment relationships"},{"id":"189589","name":"Cenozoic"},{"id":"168745","name":"fossils"},{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter: \u003C\/strong\u003ERenay San Miguel\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCommunications Officer II\/Science Writer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n404-894-5209\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEditor and Media Contact: \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jess@cos.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EJess Hunt-Ralston\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["renay.san@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}