Evolution of integrated behavior (US-India collaboration)

该奖项被指定为全球风险基金奖，由NSF国际科学与工程办公室共同资助。一个物种抵御环境突变的能力受到内部和外部因素的限制。在这个项目中，来自美国和印度的研究人员以斑马鱼为模型，联合起来确定种群行为快速变化的具体机制。这是一个综合项目，因为研究团队将对野生印度鱼类进行生态和基因组调查，然后将鱼类运送到美国的实验室进行感官能力的详细测试。此外，还将开发新的统计方法来预测遗传、生理和生态机制对斑马鱼适应突变能力的影响。结果预计将产生洞察基因组，生理和栖息地的限制的相对重要性。预测污染和气候变化对关键生物生存影响的统计和软件工具将通过互联网广泛传播给其他研究人员。这项研究还将增加对斑马鱼行为和生态学的基本知识，斑马鱼是生物医学研究中常用的模式生物。该合作团队包括一名三年级教师，他将使用互联网视频会议在本研究的基础上为课堂练习添加国际内容。

This award is designated as a Global Venture Fund Award and is being co-funded by NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering. A species' ability to withstand sudden changes in the environment is limited by internal and external factors. In this project, researchers from the US and India, using zebrafish as a model, join forces to identify the specific mechanisms by which populations undergo rapid shifts in behavior. This in an integrated project as the research team will conduct an ecological and genomic survey of Indian fish in the wild, and then transport fish to laboratories in the US for detailed tests of sensory ability. In addition, new statistical methods will be developed to predict the impact of genetic, physiological, and ecological mechanisms on the ability of zebrafish to adapt to sudden change. The results are expected to yield insight into the relative importance of genomic, physiological, and habitat constraints. Statistical and software tools to predict the impact of pollution and climate change on the survival of key organisms will be disseminated broadly to other researchers via the internet. The research will also increase basic knowledge on the behavior and ecology of zebrafish, a model organism used commonly in biomedical research. The collaborative team includes a third-grade teacher who will use internet videoconferencing to add an international component to classroom exercises based on this research.