Collaborative Research: IRES Track I: Stronger Together: Exploring How Communal Care Reduces Individual Costs During Challenging Years

合作研究：IRES 第一轨：共同更强：探索公共护理如何在充满挑战的年份降低个人成本

• 批准号: 1854182
• 负责人: Carolyn Bauer
• 金额: $ 13.66万
• 依托单位: Adelphi University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-08-01 至 2021-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1854182&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; IRES; Track; Stronger

This IRES award provides 6 undergraduate and 9 graduate students from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Adelphi University (N.Y.) with international research experience in Chile. Students will engage in 12 months of collaboration with researchers from four academic institutions in Santiago, Chile. The scientific aim of the work is to identify physiological mechanisms whereby communal care of offspring can enhance reproductive success under harsh ecological conditions in the degu (Octodon degus), a social rodent found only in Chile. The students will design their own experiments and contribute to a field study to determine how communal care mitigates the physiological costs of low food availability on breeding females and their young. Students will use modern statistical methods to analyze a long-term dataset on degu social living, stress physiology, and reproductive success. Student-led research will lead to progress in our understanding of how the environment can shape the consequences of communal care of young and thus, will have broad application to conservation biology and human health. The program builds on an ongoing IRES program in Chile and features an unique "generational" advising structure that promotes collaborations within and between current and previous IRES cohorts. An important broader impact of the program is to promote international collaboration, STEM education for middle and high school students, and public outreach about the health benefits of community engagement in child care. In preparation for their international experiences, IRES students will write summaries about the way charismatic social animals live. These writings will become part of educational activities developed by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga STEM Education and Health and Human Performance graduate students. Educational activities on communal care and healthy lifestyles will be tested with middle and high school students participating in three University of Tennessee at Chattanooga outreach programs (GEAR UP, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math & Science). Activities will be made available online to the general public. Co-PI Bauer will write posts for several social media platforms about how the stress of parenting can be mitigated through family help, societal assistance, and cultural support. The scientific objective of this IRES is to determine how ecology shapes the reproductive consequences of communal breeding, a social strategy in which multiple mothers nurse offspring communally. The overarching experiment is a manipulative field study to determine how low food abundance influences the endocrine and oxidative stress of communally breeding Octodon degus, a social rodent endemic to Chile. Students will conduct independent projects within the framework of this study and will also analyze a long-term dataset. This program supports 5-6 students per year (2 undergrad, 3-4 graduate; 15 individuals over a three-year period). Students will engage in year-long collaborations with one or more of the PIs? four collaborators at four academic institutions in Santiago, Chile. Students interested in studying how social interactions impact stress physiology will collaborate with an expert on social networks and former IRES student at the Universit? de Sherbrooke, Canada. Prior to IRES, international collaborators will provide feedback on project designs and grant proposals. IRES will last 8-10 weeks (June-August) for undergraduate students and 18-20 weeks (June-October) for graduate students. Post-IRES, international collaborators will provide feedback on analyses, presentations, and manuscripts, thereby increasing the likelihood of student productivity and success. Program outcomes, student perceptions of the program and science, and student progression in STEM will be assessed annually during and up to 3 years beyond the proposed program.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.

这个IRES奖提供了6名本科生和9名研究生从田纳西大学查塔努加和阿德尔菲大学（纽约）。在智利的国际研究经验。学生将与智利圣地亚哥四个学术机构的研究人员进行为期12个月的合作。这项工作的科学目的是确定在恶劣的生态条件下，共同照顾后代可以提高德古（degu）繁殖成功率的生理机制，德古是一种只在智利发现的社会啮齿动物。学生们将设计自己的实验，并有助于实地研究，以确定社区护理如何减轻繁殖雌性及其后代的低食物供应的生理成本。学生将使用现代统计方法来分析德古社会生活，压力生理学和生殖成功的长期数据集。以学生为主导的研究将导致我们对环境如何塑造年轻人社区护理后果的理解取得进展，从而将广泛应用于保护生物学和人类健康。 该计划以智利正在进行的IRES计划为基础，具有独特的“代际”咨询结构，可促进当前和以前的IRES群体内部和之间的合作。 该计划的一个重要的更广泛的影响是促进国际合作，初中和高中学生的STEM教育，以及社区参与儿童保育的健康益处的公众宣传。为了准备他们的国际经验，IRES学生将撰写有关魅力社会动物生活方式的摘要。这些著作将成为田纳西大学查塔努加STEM教育和健康与人类表现研究生开发的教育活动的一部分。关于社区护理和健康生活方式的教育活动将在参加田纳西大学查塔努加三个外展方案（装备、向上、向上数学科学）的中学生中进行测试。活动将在网上向公众公布。Co-PI Bauer将为几个社交媒体平台撰写文章，介绍如何通过家庭帮助，社会援助和文化支持来减轻育儿压力。这个IRES的科学目标是确定生态学如何塑造公共繁殖的生殖后果，这是一种多个母亲共同养育后代的社会策略。首要的实验是一个操纵性的实地研究，以确定如何低食物丰富的影响内分泌和氧化应激的共同繁殖，社会啮齿动物特有的智利。学生将在本研究的框架内进行独立项目，并将分析长期数据集。该计划每年支持5-6名学生（2名本科生，3-4名研究生;三年内15名学生）。学生将与一个或多个PI进行为期一年的合作？智利圣地亚哥四个学术机构的四名合作者。有兴趣研究社会互动如何影响压力生理学的学生将与社交网络专家和前IRES学生在大学合作？加拿大多伦多在IRES之前，国际合作者将提供对项目设计和赠款提案的反馈。IRES将持续8-10周（6月至8月）为本科生和18-20周（6月至10月）为研究生。IRES后，国际合作者将提供分析，演示文稿和手稿的反馈，从而提高学生的生产力和成功的可能性。计划成果、学生对计划和科学的看法以及学生在STEM方面的进步将在拟议计划期间和之后的3年内每年进行评估。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。