Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Earth Sciences awarded $300,000 to Harvard College under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) on July 1, 2026, for a three-year project investigating the relationship between body size and locomotor ecology in temnospondyls—extinct amphibian relatives that dominated freshwater ecosystems for over 200 million years. The research integrates paleontological data, comparative anatomy of modern salamanders (living descendants of temnospondyls), and biomechanical computer simulations to quantify how anatomical factors and limb performance influenced ecological success and evolutionary persistence across changing environmental conditions. Key deliverables include quantitative assessments of locomotor performance across extinct taxa, analyses of how body size constrained ecological innovation throughout evolutionary history, and a novel interpretive framework for understanding locomotor efficacy during land-water transitions in vertebrate evolution.

The project will generate scientific insights into macroevolutionary mechanisms—specifically how mechanical and physical constraints shape the persistence or extinction of different body plans—with direct applications to understanding modern amphibian ecology and conservation. The research team will also deliver educational outreach products through programming at the Harvard Museum of Natural History during National Fossil Day, targeting families and schools to improve public science literacy. The award completion date is June 30, 2029.