Collaborative Research: Physiological and Genetic Correlates of Reproductive Success in High- versus Low-Quality Weddell seals

在任何种群中，一些个体的表现都比其他个体更好。这些个体可能活得更长，或者产生更多的后代。南极洲埃里伯斯湾的韦德尔海豹提供了一个无与伦比的机会来研究动物的生理、行为和基因构成如何有助于终生繁殖成功，因为它们一直是长期种群监测研究的对象，而且在繁殖季节很容易接触到它们。这个项目将区分雌性韦德尔海豹和雌性威德尔海豹在能量分配、繁殖时机和潜水能力方面的关键差异。对于每一组雌性，将分析哺乳期间的生理和行为，以评估投资是否影响她们下一年生育的可能性。整个基因组将在不同群体之间进行比较，以确定控制长寿哺乳动物繁殖成功和种群稳定的潜在基因。这一合作项目将为三个参与机构的几名本科生和研究生提供研究机会和培训。结果将通过演讲和同行评议的出版物广泛传播，并通过广泛的公共外展合作，通过博物馆规划、课程调整的科学课程和教学培训向学生传播。在任何野生动物种群中，繁殖率和动物适应能力都存在显著的异质性。并不是所有的个体对种群的贡献都是一样的；一些个体比其他个体能够产生更多的后代，因此被认为具有更高的质量。这项研究旨在区分哪些生理机制(能量动态、有氧能力和生育能力)和潜在的遗传因素使一些威德尔海豹雌性海豹年复一年地特别成功地繁殖幼崽，而另一些雌性威德尔海豹产生的幼崽远远少于种群平均水平。在这个项目中，组织能量学方法将通过跟踪哺乳成本、仲夏觅食成功率和怀孕率、越冬觅食模式和下一年的活产来确定高素质和低素质雌性之间在如何平衡当前和未来繁殖成功方面的关键差异。对个体生理状态(身体成分、内分泌、排卵和怀孕时间)的重复采样将与全基因组测序研究配对。这项研究的第二部分使用基因组到表型组的方法，以更好地理解高质量和低质量雌性之间的遗传差异如何直接对应于转录、翻译和最终表型方面的功能差异。这一组成部分将有助于对韦德尔海豹基因组的功能分析和注释。结合起来，该项目将在区分塑料(生理、行为)和固定(遗传)因素在复杂的、多方面的特征中扮演的角色方面取得进展，例如长寿野生哺乳动物的健康状况。该项目与既定的计划合作，实施广泛的教育和外展活动，确保向教育工作者、学生和公众广泛传播。它将为粉色故宫博物院的海洋哺乳动物展览做出贡献，一名PolarTREC科学教育工作者将参加南极洲的实地工作。该奖项由GEO-OPP-南极生物和生态系统计划、生物-IOS-生理机制和生物力学计划以及既定的激励竞争研究计划(EPSCoR)共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Within any population, some individuals perform better than others. These individuals may survive longer or produce more offspring. Weddell seals in Erebus Bay, Antarctica, provide an unparalleled opportunity to investigate how an animal's physiology, behavior, and genetic make-up contribute to lifetime reproductive success because they have been the subject of a long-term population monitoring study and are easily accessible during their reproductive season. This project will distinguish key differences in energy allocation, reproductive timing, and dive capacities between female Weddell seals with a history of frequently producing pups ("high-quality" group), versus females that have produced pups only infrequently ("low-quality" group). For each group of females, physiology and behavior during the nursing period will be analyzed to assess whether investments influence their probability of reproducing the following year. Whole genomes will be compared between groups to identify underlying genes that govern reproductive success and population stability in a long-lived mammal. This collaborative project will provide research opportunities and training to several undergraduate and graduate students at the three participating institutions. Results will be broadly disseminated through presentations and peer-reviewed publications, and to students via an extensive public outreach collaboration with museum programming, curriculum-aligned science lessons, and pedagogy training.Within any wild animal population there is substantial heterogeneity in reproductive rates and animal fitness. Not all individuals contribute to the population equally; some are able to produce more offspring than others and thus are considered to be of higher quality. This study aims to distinguish which physiological mechanisms (energy dynamics, aerobic capacity, and fertility) and underlying genetic factors make some Weddell seal females particularly successful at producing pups year after year, while others produce far fewer pups than the population average. In this project, an Organismal Energetics approach will identify key differences between high- and low-quality females in how they balance current and future reproductive success by tracking lactation costs, midsummer foraging success and pregnancy rates, and overwinter foraging patterns and live births the next year. Repeated sampling of individuals' physiological status (body composition, endocrinology, ovulation and pregnancy timing), will be paired with a whole-genome sequencing study. The second component of this study uses a Genome to Phenome approach to better understand how genetic differences between high- and low-quality females directly correspond to functional differences in transcription, translation, and ultimately phenotype. This component will contribute to the functional analysis and annotation of the Weddell seal genome. In combination, this project will make strides towards distinguishing the roles that plastic (physiological, behavioral) and fixed (genetic) factors play in complex, multifaceted traits such as fitness in a long-lived wild mammal. The project partners with established programs to implement extensive educational and outreach activities that will ensure wide dissemination to educators, students, and the public. It will contribute to a marine mammal exhibit at the Pink Palace Museum, and a PolarTREC science educator will participate in field work in Antarctica. This award is co-funded by the GEO-OPP-Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems Program, BIO-IOS-Physiological Mechanisms and Biomechanics Program, and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.