NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2015

本行动资助美国国家科学基金会2015年度生物学博士后研究奖学金，利用生物馆藏进行研究。该奖学金支持一项研究和培训计划，使研究员能够以高度创新的方式采用生物收集的变革性方法来应对生物学方面的重大挑战。这项奖学金的研究计划的标题是“通过DNA分析阐明黄莺的种群历史和迁徙模式”。这项奖学金的主办机构是加州大学洛杉矶分校，赞助科学家是托马斯·史密斯博士。该研究使用尖端的DNA测序技术来阐明黄莺的迁徙模式，并测量种群规模和结构随时间的变化。了解遗传多样性在空间和时间上的分布有助于解释动物的运动和进化能力，这两者都是物种保护的重要考虑因素。该研究利用了基因组测序提供的丰富信息和广泛的生物收集所提供的深度。黄莺的数量下降，可能是由于栖息地的破碎和破坏。利用从加州大学洛杉矶分校热带研究中心收集的大量羽毛中提取的DNA，可以测量迁徙连通性，尽管这对预测局部干扰的更广泛影响很重要，但使用传统的非遗传方法很难测量。此外，利用洛杉矶县自然历史博物馆和加州大学伯克利分校脊椎动物博物馆的标本，正在测量种群结构和遗传多样性随时间的变化，从而可以直接测量栖息地破坏和发展的进化后果，并为保护决策提供信息。培训目标包括获得新兴基因组技术的新技能，以及使用收集的样本来增加现有种群取样无法获得的时间深度。教育外展包括对本科生研究人员的培训，以及通过奥杜邦学会和类似团体进行的公众外展。最后，该项目本身具有深远的保护意义。了解遗传多样性的分布以及它是如何随着栖息地的丧失和破碎化而变化的，有助于为管理计划提供信息，例如保护进化上重要谱系的栖息地，或保护孤立种群之间的野生动物走廊。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow to take transformative approaches to grand challenges in biology that employ biological collections in highly innovative ways. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Rachael Bay is "Elucidating population history and migration patterns of yellow warblers through DNA analysis." The host institution for this fellowship is the University of California Los Angeles, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Thomas Smith. The fellowship research uses cutting-edge DNA sequencing technology to elucidate migration patterns of the yellow warbler and measure changes in population size and structure over time. Understanding the distribution of genetic diversity across space and time helps explain animal movement and evolutionary capacity, both important considerations in species conservation. The research capitalizes on the wealth of information available through genomic sequencing and the depth provided by extensive biological collections. The yellow warbler has experienced population declines, likely due to habitat fragmentation and destruction. Using DNA extracted from an extensive feather collection housed at the Center for Tropical Research at UCLA permits measurement of migratory connectivity which, although important for predicting the broader impacts of local disturbance, is difficult to measure using traditional non-genetic methods. In addition, using museum specimens from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California at Berkeley, changes in population structure and genetic diversity over time are being measured, allowing direct measurement of the evolutionary consequences of habitat destruction and development and informaing conservation decisions.Training goals include gaining new skills in emerging genomic techniques and the use of collections samples to add a temporal depth not available through sampling existing populations. Educational outreach involves training for undergraduate researchers as well public outreach through the Audubon Society and similar groups. Finally, the project itself has far-reaching conservation implications. Understanding the distribution of genetic diversity and how it has changed along with habitat loss and fragmentation helps inform management plans, for example by conserving habitat for evolutionarily important lineages or preserving wildlife corridors between isolated populations.