LTREB RENEWAL: Reconciling Innovation and Adaptation During Ongoing Range Expansion

在植物和动物中，过去和现在的形式和功能是跨越时间和空间联系在一起的。这一基本原则是地球上生命得以延续的基础。它也影响了当代的改编。然而，尽管这一原则很重要，但科学家们对动物当前的适应是如何受到过去的功能、随机事件或当前需求的影响知之甚少。这项研究通过研究一种常见的鸟类——家雀，直接解决了这个问题。在过去的一个世纪里，家雀成功地占领了北美的大部分地区。由于它们持续的殖民化，现在可以在广泛的栖息地找到家雀。它们进化出了多样而精确的喙形，使它们能够在新的环境中茁壮成长。利用跨越不同栖息地和历史的长期研究人群的独特网络，研究人员将追踪产生这种多样性的发育机制的起源。这项工作的主要好处是，它使我们能够破译一个物种的历史是如何形成的，并预测其当前的适应性和未来的生存。鸟类入侵的高度可见性有助于确保公众继续参与这项研究。此外，研究人员将利用已建立的当地媒体联系，并与一系列部落、农村和自然主义团体合作，吸引公众的关注。为了继续进化，保持当前的适应性特征不能阻止相同特征的创新。虽然这样一个系统必须到位，以使特征进化，但其组织原则在很大程度上是未知的。在这个项目中，研究人员专注于一个自然系统，在那里可以直接观察到过去是如何影响新适应的发展的。随着家雀种群在北美的扩张，它们创建了一个最近建立的种群网络，每个种群在新环境中建立的时间不同。这些种群允许研究人员同时观察复杂的喙结构是如何在不同的栖息地进化的。具体来说，通过探索已知调节喙发育的转录和生长因子的模式，研究人员可以深入了解过去如何影响适应性进化。在转录和生长因子中观察到的模式之间的对比，为了解过去和现在功能形式的历史连续性背后的机制提供了至关重要的见解。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In plants and animals, past and present forms and functions are linked across time and space. This fundamental principle underlies the continuity of life on Earth. It also shapes contemporary adaptations. Yet, despite the importance of this principle, scientists know little about how current adaptations in animals are shaped by past functions, random events or current necessities. This research addresses this question directly, by studying a common bird species, the House Finch. Over the last century, House Finches have successfully colonized much of North America. As a result of their ongoing colonization, House Finches are now found in a wide range of habitats. They have evolved diverse, yet precise, beak shapes that enable them to thrive in new environments. Capitalizing on a unique network of long-term study populations that span diverse habitats and histories, the researchers will trace the origin of developmental mechanisms that produce such versatility. The key benefit of this work is that it allows us to decipher how a species history shapes and predicts its current adaptability and future survival. The highly visible nature of bird invasions helps ensure continuing public participation in this research. In addition, the researchers will take advantage of well-established local media contacts, and collaborations with a range of tribal, rural, and naturalist groups to engage public audiences. For evolution to proceed, maintaining currently adaptive traits must not prevent innovation in the same traits. Although such a system must be in place for traits to evolve, its organizational principles are largely unknown. In this project, the researchers focus on a natural system where it is possible to directly observe how the past influences the development of new adaptations. As House Finch populations have expanded across North America, they have created a network of recently established populations that differ in the amount of time each population has been established in a new environment. These populations allow the researchers to simultaneously observe how complex beak architecture evolves to different habitats as it happens. Specifically, by exploring patterns in transcription and growth factors known to regulate beak development, the researchers can gain insight into how the past influences adaptive evolution. The contrast between the patterns observed in transcription and growth factors provides crucial insight into the mechanisms behind historical continuity of past and present functional forms.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.