The myFOSSIL portal promotes an open-access approach to sharing data (here interpreted to include text, metadata, and structured data) and media (here interpreted to include graphics, audio, video, multimedia, and other derivatives). Therefore, myFOSSIL requires that content providers and collaborators agree to the following provisions:
1. All information currently in the public domain will remain in the public domain. Neither myFOSSIL nor its content providers will seek to assert any intellectual property right over any public domain materials that are made available through the myFOSSIL portal. Content providers who wish to dedicate media to the public domain may do so by declaring such media as being distributed under the Creative Commons License CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).
2. Content providers are required to adopt a Creative Commons license for information they serve through myFOSSIL. Except for public-domain or CC0 content, the default license is CC BY-NC 4.0 — Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Public License. This allows users to copy, redistribute, and adapt (transform / build upon) media and data, as long as attribution regarding the source of these data or media is maintained AND it is not used for commercial purposes. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ for a more detailed explanation of the CC BY-NC 4.0 license.
3. Content providers who request further restrictions on re-use of data or media may select to use the following Creative Commons license:
a. CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike), which includes both the NC
i. and SA constraints as defined above
ii. (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)
4. All data and/or media contributed to myFOSSIL, except data and media in the public domain, must include a field that clearly states the attribution statement to be provided. All contributed data and media must include a field that clearly designates whether the data or media are: Public Domain, CC BY-NC 4.0, or CC BY-NC-SA.
5. myFOSSIL will provide attribution information for all content that it serves. myFOSSIL will also indicate the Creative Commons license attached to each object.
6. Portal users wishing to re-use any content for purposes other than those allowed by the associated Creative Commons license must get permission to do so from the copyright holder.
In February, I attended, along with long-time member Al Govin, the North American Paleontological Convention (NAPC), in Gainesville, Florida. This opportunity was initiated through a new program, THE FOSSIL PROJECT. With guaranteed funding for four years, the goal of the project is to join together professional paleontologists, natural history museums, and amateur or avocational paleontologists, such as us. As the NAPC convention wound down, the participants in the FOSSIL project commenced meetings to meet and discuss ways to make this program work. We had organized workshops on various topics, such as involvement of citizen scientists with museum collections, how to best maximize communications between the professional and amateur communities, and the future of digital advances on the hobby. There were many other topics and after the round table discussions we reviewed the results as a total group, with everyone attending understanding the objectives needed to reach the goal of that particular topic.
Breakout groups at the FOSSIL kickoff meeting. Photo by Jeff Gage
We all stayed in the same hotel, so after-hours consisted of meeting each other and networking for future communications. There are a few clubs, in various parts of the US, that now have some Florida fossils which I sent to them. In turn, we will get some fossils from their local area, which I plan on putting into next year’s auction.
How often, when on a vacation trip, have we wished we knew of a fossil location to hunt while there. This new, developing network will help us have the contacts in those places to help us do this. Want to visit a natural history museum? We just may have the acquired the right contact person to help show you around. We may also get some interesting speakers for our meetings as many of these club members, and professionals, from other parts of the country visit our area. So, the direct benefit to our club is a bonus from this project and should continue to get stronger.
While at the convention, I was able to procure a number of publications which are not readily available, on paleontology. Many are now out of print. These will be going into our club library, as soon as David Sheehey, (the club librarian) can curate them into the library.
Another project that is happening right now, with a direct interest to us, is the iDigBio project. This ambitious project is trying to put entire collections on the internet, using the cloud as the repository. You will then be able to see the collections hiding behind the scene, in the basements, and out of view of the general public. You can learn more at www.idigbio.org
We learned a lot about other fossil organizations, which were attending from all over the US. I hope to present some of their unique and creative ideas to our club. In the meantime, you can learn more about the fossil project at: www.myfossil.org.
I will do my best to keep you informed of continuing developments with the FOSSIL PROJECT and how it affects our club. In the meantime, check out these websites and see how interesting things are getting!
Reflections from the North American Paleontological Convention
by Lee Cone, Friends of the Aurora Fossil Museum
Lee Cone at the FOSSIL Kickoff meeting. Photo by Jeff Gage.
Last year the Friends of the AFM was contacted by the Florida Museum of Natural History about taking part in a national program called The FOSSIL Project. Carol presented the introductory letter to the Friends Board, and the board agreed to look into the program. As Friends President, I revisited this idea in October, and after talking to the project coordinator I felt as though it truly was a worthwhile venture to attend. This developmental program was hosted by the University of Florida and held in conjunction with the North American Paleontological Convention (NAPC), a once in four year international event, which drew presenters from 28 countries and featured in excess of 350 individual presentations over the week-long event. Getting there turned out to be quite a timing problem, since the southeast was hit by snow and ice the day before my plane departed. With the flight cancelled, improvised new plans called for an 8 hour “road trip”, and fortunately I-95 was traffic free and road conditions were no problem. I cannot say enough about the organization of the University of Florida’s paleontology staff at every level. The hotel arrangements, field trips, banquets, time schedule for presenters, and work sessions were carried out with amazing fluidity, punctuality, and attention to detail.
At our introductory meeting, we were informed that there were 60 organized amateur groups in the U.S., and that half were represented at the symposium spanning America from Aurora, NC to the state of Washington. As amateur paleontologists, all of the representatives of the fossil clubs, support groups, and museum societies felt honored to be able to be a part of the professional side of research presentations. We had the opportunity to format our own schedule of presentations, where professional paleontologists discussed their research abstracts in conference rooms filled with both amateur and professional paleontologists. Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were simultaneously intimidating, intellectually stimulating, reflecting, and educationally exciting. For those three days I felt as though I was back in graduate school feasting on cutting edge research and knowledge from every conceivable point of the paleontology spectrum. It was eye opening for me as an amateur collector. I had no idea how much information could be gained, beyond the bones themselves, about paleo-: ecosystems, climate, evolution, species interactions, and isotope technology.
I also became acutely aware of the importance of the entire fossil site, which, understandably, may actually be more important than the specimens themselves to the professional. Herein lies one of the ravines which separate the professionals from the amateurs. It was revealed at the convention that 70-80% of all specimens in museums were collected by amateurs, thereby linking the importance of the amateur to the professional paleontologist. By counterpoint, though, I also realize how much knowledge can conceivably be kept from the paleontologist, because a complete investigation of a site was not made available to the professional. The FOSSIL Project serves as a starting point toward linking amateurs and professionals in a working network that will generate better research data for the future.
The other comment that really surprised me, made by the professionals, was that they envied the amateurs for their opportunity to be out in the field. Over and over many stated that they rarely had the chance to get out in the field, and that their lives were spent analyzing the collected data by others. Since symposium talks were given in 5 separate rooms throughout the day, I was only able to hear 20% of the total volume of presentations, but even at that small percentage, I really became aware of the importance of the small details to the professionals. These details are commonly overlooked and unnoticed by amateur collectors, as their thoughts are focused totally on the specimen.
By networking through The FOSSIL Project it may be possible in the future to collect and share valuable data with professionals for their research. By expanding the dissemination of information both digitally and electronically, researchers are not limited to regional information filtering into museums and universities, but rather would have access to a much broader scope of information. By networking the various clubs, societies, and support groups, there will exist a connection that could be beneficial in areas of public outreach, club linked activities, digital sharing of collections and identification, fossil fairs, and engaging the knowledge that support of each other ultimately unites and strengthens the entire FOSSIL Project network from amateurs through the professional paleontologist.
It is important that the Friends of the Aurora Fossil Museum remain an integral part of this endeavor and further support The FOSSIL Project. Clearly the role of every amateur fossil organization varies throughout the country, but the architects of The FOSSIL Project hold a view that each organization will see benefits from the whole, and that FOSSIL will be driven by the needs of those that are involved. We all share a passion for fossils, and that passion is the same whether you are an amateur or a professional, or whether you are from Aurora, NC or the state of Washington.
This issue, we spotlight Jorge Velez-Juarbe, Curator of Marine Mammals at the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History http://www.nhm.org/site/research-collections. He is also a postdoctoral researcher at the Cooper Center at Cal State University Fullerton http://www.jdcoopercenter.org/. Born in Puerto Rico, Jorge was included on a 2014 list compiled by Qué Pasa magazine and LatinAmericanScience.org of 30 promising scientists under 40. Jorge was part of the international team that discovered a graveyard of whales off the coast of Chile in the Atacama Desert. His research focuses on the evolution and diversification of sirenians (otherwise known as the group that includes seacows, manatees and dugongs). You can read one of Jorge’s articles at PLoS ONE.
I read that you decided to become a paleontologist at age 8. Can you describe how that happened?
When I was about 8 I received a Panini sticker book titled “Dinosaurs.” However, it wasn’t only about dinosaurs, but also had stickers of extinct organisms throughout all geologic time. It also had some stickers about the people who collect and study the fossils. But most of the ones portraying paleontologists looked boring to me; they were all old white-haired Caucasian males, with white lab coats. The lack of diversity and lab coats was a turnoff. The one stamp that grabbed my attention was one of a geologist finding dinosaurs eggs in the Gobi Desert; it was then that I knew I wanted to be like that guy. I guess what motivated me was the sense of adventure and discovery, and I do a lot of fieldwork which involves those two things, and it may be a way of getting younger generations interested in paleontology as well.
By the way, many years later I realized that the illustration in the sticker book was based on a real photo of Roy Chapman Andrews who in the early 1900’s led scientific expeditions to Mongolia. Interestingly, he was also interested and published several scientific papers about marine mammals, which happens to be my area of expertise.
Given that the goal of FOSSIL is to link amateur groups with professionals, what are your thoughts about the role of amateurs in the science?
Amateurs can and are known to have made important, long lasting contributions to paleontology; hence they play an important role in what we do. For example, they can be our eyes in the field, since they sometimes get to spend more time out looking for fossils than us scientists.
I recently discovered your blog. Can you tell me a little about your motivations for writing a blog?
I started my blog (Caribbean Paleobiology: http://caribbeanpaleobiology.blogspot.com) in 2008 mainly because I wanted people to learn about paleontology in Puerto Rico and about fossil seacows. Over time, I’ve broadened the scope a little bit and it has become a very important learning tool for me. I feel now, six years later, that I can explain and write about discoveries and what I do as a scientist more clearly than I did when I started it.
Of the fossils you have discovered, do you have a favorite?
Oh yes, I have many fossils that are my favorites. As I write this, my two, most favorite, are a fossil dugong skull that I found In Puerto Rico in 2005, and fossil pygmy sperm whale that I found in 2013 in Panama. A detailed description of the fossil dugong from PR will be published at the beginning of 2015; to me that specimen is the most beautiful fossil seacow skull I’ve ever laid eyes upon (and I’ve seen a lot). As for the Panamanian pygmy sperm whale, I am currently working on a detailed description of the specimen. An important point to make is that, even though I found the specimens, these are now part of museum collections—the seacow at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History; the other at the Florida Museum of Natural History. That way they are properly taken care of and other researchers can eventually go and study them.
What research question currently excites you the most?
Right now it will be the one related to my current NSF postdoctoral fellowship. The Eastern Pacific region was once home to a variety of large herbivorous marine mammal communities that sometimes included up to three or more different species, whereas today there are none (Steller’s seacow was a relict of this ancient diversity, but was driven to extinction in the 1700’s). These ancient faunas included seacows, desmostylians (which were large hippo-like elephant relatives), and aquatic sloths. Because there is no modern analog to these communities, the main question I have, is what was their ecology like? So, over the next several years, I’ll be looking at fossils of these different groups in order to try to answer that and other questions.
