NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2017: Ecology and biomechanics of insect-plant interactions in wind

这是NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，根据扩大生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与计划。这位名叫尼古拉斯·伯内特的研究员正在进行研究并接受培训，以增加生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。这位研究员正在接受加州大学戴维斯分校的斯泰西·库姆斯的指导。该研究员的研究调查了风如何影响植物和昆虫之间的相互作用。风对于许多栖息地中的植物来说是常见的，并且许多昆虫经受这些植物在风中的运动，包括作为植物的重要授粉者的昆虫或破坏农作物的害虫。然而，人们对风中植物的运动如何影响昆虫知之甚少。相反，人们对昆虫如何影响植物在风中的运动知之甚少。这位研究员正在实验室和自然界进行实验，以测量昆虫的行为，生态和飞行性能如何受到风中植物运动的影响，以及昆虫如何通过以植物为食来影响植物在风中的运动。了解风中植物-昆虫相互作用的这些方面可以帮助科学家预测植物和昆虫如何受到风的影响，包括未来风暴强度或频率的变化。该研究员正在通过以下实验方法评估风对植物-昆虫相互作用的影响：（1）测量农业上重要的传粉者如何在风力作用下移动的天然植物冠层中飞行，（2）测量植物在风中的运动如何受到食草动物的影响，授粉和果实发育，以及（3）测量风中移动的植物冠层如何影响飞行捕食者检测，跟踪和捕获飞行猎物（食草动物）的能力。该研究员正在接受跨学科的培训，学习系统借鉴了物理学，工程学，生态学和昆虫学的概念。为了增加生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与，该研究员正在与加州大学戴维斯分校的本科生研究项目合作，并正在招募代表性不足的群体的学生参加研究。此外，该研究员正在组织和主办技术讲习班，向来自生物学代表性不足群体的学生教授跨学科技能。这些实践经验建立了学生的信心，并有利于他们的生物学学习。最后，该研究员正在一次全国会议上为来自代表性不足群体的博士后研究人员实施同行指导制度，以改善这些研究人员作为生物学家的专业和情感体验，从而提高来自生物学代表性不足群体的科学家的留用率。

This is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology, under the program Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellow, Nicholas Burnett, is conducting research and receiving training that is increasing the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The fellow is being mentored by Stacey Combes at the University of California-Davis. The fellow's research investigates how wind can affect the interactions between plants and insects. Wind is a common occurrence for plants in many habitats, and many insects are subjected to the movements of those plants in wind, including insect that are important pollinators of plants or pests that destroy agricultural crops. However, little is known about how plant motion in wind affects insects. Conversely, little is known about how insects can affect plant motion in wind. The fellow is conducting experiments in laboratories and in nature to measure how insect behavior, ecology, and flight performance are affected by plant motion in wind, and how insects, by feeding on plants, can affect plant motion in wind. Understanding these aspects of plant-insect interactions in wind can help scientists predict how both plants and insects will be affected by wind, including future changes in the intensity or frequency of wind storms.The fellow is evaluating the effects of wind on plant-insect interactions with the following experimental approaches: (1) measuring how an agriculturally important pollinator flies in natural plant canopies that are moving under the force of wind, (2) measuring how plant movement in wind is affected by herbivory, pollination, and fruit development, and (3) measuring how a moving plant canopy in wind affects the ability of a flying predator to detect, track, and capture flying prey (herbivores). The fellow is receiving interdisciplinary training in a study system that draws on concepts from physics, engineering, ecology, and entomology. To increase participation of under-represented groups in biology, the fellow is working with established undergraduate research programs at the University of California-Davis, and is recruiting students from under-represented groups to take part in the research. Additionally, the fellow is organizing and hosting technical workshops to teach interdisciplinary skills to students from under-represented groups in biology. These hands-on experiences build the confidence of the students and benefit their study of biology. Lastly, the fellow is implementing a peer mentoring system for postdoctoral researchers from under-represented groups at a national conference to improve those researchers' professional and emotional experiences as biologists, thereby improving the retention of scientists from under-represented groups in biology.