NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: Genetic analysis of elk scat for diversity and diet

这项行动资助了2019财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究金支持研究员的一项研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。 这位研究员是Yurok部落的成员，他将扩大正在进行的研究，将土著和西方科学方法结合起来，保护野生动物。 研究员、洪堡州立大学、加州的尤罗克部落、华盛顿的斯波坎部落和红杉国家公园之间的密切合作将成为促进各种管理类型研究的典范。 该研究员将侧重于传统生态知识和对来自尤罗克祖先土地和斯波坎保留地的麋鹿粪便样本进行遗传分析，以确定个体和饮食。 该研究员还将在两个部落社区以及全国会议和洪堡州立大学开展外联活动。 该项目和外联活动将通过突出土著科学和提供机会来激励和吸引所有年龄段的人参与科学，为部落社区服务。 这项研究将通过提供一个综合科学方法的例子，以及对这些麋鹿种群的遗传多样性和饮食的科学文献做出贡献，为更广泛的社会服务。与麋鹿相关的Yurok传统生态知识将通过对Yurok附属社区成员的访谈分析与本研究的Yurok部分相结合。 成功的斯波坎麋鹿管理计划将为尤罗克提供潜在的管理策略，与周围的土地相比，尤罗克的麋鹿数量有限。 个体的基因分型将通过扩增专为麋鹿设计的11个多态性微卫星标记和计算同一性概率来进行。 将收集并分析植物样本，以创建DNA序列参考文库，用于比较粪便样本中的饮食项目。 饮食将通过元条形码和鸟枪测序分析确定，随后在国家生物技术信息中心提供的基本局部比对搜索工具中进行序列匹配。 培训活动将包括麋鹿个体识别和饮食的湿实验室技术，以及参加生物信息学研讨会。 扩大参与活动将包括接触部落人民，从青年到大学水平，并与洪堡州立大学不同背景的学生接触。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。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2019, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The fellow, a Yurok tribal member, will expand ongoing research in the integration of Indigenous and Western science approaches to wildlife conservation. Strong collaborations between the fellow, Humboldt State University, the Yurok Tribe of California, the Spokane Tribe of Washington, and Redwood National Park will serve as a model for facilitating research under various management types. The fellow will focus on Traditional Ecological Knowledge and a genetic analysis of elk fecal samples from Yurok ancestral lands and the Spokane reservation to identify individuals and diet. The fellow will also conduct outreach activities in both tribal communities, as well as, at national conferences and Humboldt State University. The project and outreach activities will serve tribal communities by highlighting Indigenous science and providing opportunities to inspire and engage people of all ages in science. The research will serve the broader society by providing an example of an integrated scientific approach, as well as contributing to the scientific literature on genetic diversity and diet of these elk populations.Yurok Traditional Ecological Knowledge as related to elk will be integrated with the Yurok portion of this study through the analysis of interviews with Yurok-affiliated community members. The successful Spokane elk management program will inform potential management strategies for Yurok, where the elk population is limited as compared to surrounding lands. Genotyping of individuals will be conducted through the amplification of 11 polymorphic microsatellite markers specifically designed for elk and the calculation of Probability of Identity. Plant samples will be collected and analyzed to create a reference library of DNA sequences with which to compare diet items from the fecal samples. Diet will be determined via metabarcoding and shotgun sequencing analyses, with subsequent sequence matching in the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool available through the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Training activities will include wet lab techniques for elk individual identification and diet, as well as attendance at bioinformatics workshops. Broadening participation activities will include outreach to tribal peoples, from youth to college level, and engagement with students from various backgrounds at Humboldt State University.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.