Project Grant 2347773

This Project Grant award, with a total funding amount of $281,310.00, was provided by the National Science Foundation's Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) to the Smithsonian Institution. The project aims to understand the relationship between surface productivity and ecological structure in marine benthos, or bottom-dwelling organisms, across the modern Isthmus of Panama. Key research activities include evaluating how productivity affects the energetic and trophic structure of marine benthic communities, using this knowledge to examine the fossil record of Caribbean benthic ecosystems, and relating ecosystem changes to the well-documented Caribbean extinction event around 2 million years ago. The project leverages the Smithsonian's extensive collections and applies new technologies, such as high-throughput imaging and automated morphometric methods, to analyze size-frequency distributions and energetics. The research objectives are expected to be completed by August 31, 2027.