NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: The role of male-male competition in driving weapon diversification and speciation

这一行动为NSF 2018财年生物学博士后研究奖学金-使用生物收藏进行研究-提供资金。该奖学金支持将以创新方式利用生物收藏的研究员的研究和培训。该奖学金的研究部分调查夸张的动物武器的演变。这种武器的例子包括鹿的分枝鹿角，螃蟹的大爪子，以及甲虫的细长的角。在极端情况下，这些武器可以构成一个人身体质量的一半(例如，招潮蟹的爪子)，可以是一个人身体长度的两倍多(例如，小丑甲虫的前腿)。此外，这些武器的大小和形状在密切相关的物种之间可能会有很大差异。这位研究员将具体调查推动这种武器变异的因素。研究动物武器的进化可以提供以下方面的见解：1)武器和防御结构之间的军备竞赛，2)植物多样性在推动动物多样性方面的重要性，以及3)促进新的形态结构的其他因素。与这一奖学金相关的更广泛的影响包括本科生指导、加强和扩大博物馆藏品的数字化以及为公众制作科学研究视频。该研究员将使用来自博物馆标本的数据，结合系统发育比较方法，调查雄性竞争在多大程度上促进叶足昆虫(昆虫纲：半翅目：金龟科)的表型多样化和物种形成。具体地说，该研究员将测试多种武器多样化假设，并确定男性与男性之间的竞争对物种形成和净多样化的影响程度。由于男性-男性竞争在多样性中的作用在很大程度上被忽视了，这项研究将有助于澄清，通过差异获得配偶的选择是否通常促进表型多样化和物种形成，或者这种模式是否特定于女性的选择。这项研究也将有助于博物馆数字化的努力，本科生研究人员的指导，以及研究员的专业发展。这一奖项反映了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。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2018, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will utilize biological collections in innovative ways. The research component of this fellowship investigates the evolution of exaggerated animal weapons. Examples of such weapons include the branching antlers of deer, the enlarged claws of crabs, and the elongated horns of beetles. At their extremes, these weapons can compose up to half of an individual's body mass (e.g., claws in fiddler crabs) and can be more than twice an individual's body length (e.g., front legs in harlequin beetles). Moreover, these weapons can dramatically differ in their size and shape among closely related species. The fellow will specifically investigate the factors that promote this weapon variation. Investigating the evolution of animal weapons can provide insights into: 1) arms-races between weapons and defensive structures, 2) the importance of plant diversity in driving animal diversity, and 3) other factors that promote new morphological structures. The broader impacts associated with this fellowship include undergraduate mentoring, enhancing and expanding the digitization of museum collections, and the production of scientific research videos for the public. The fellow will use data from museum specimens in combination with phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate the degree to which male-male competition promotes phenotypic diversification and speciation in leaf-footed bugs (Insecta: Hemiptera: Coreidae). Specifically, the fellow will test multiple weapon diversification hypotheses and determine the extent to which male-male competition influences speciation and net diversification. Because the role of male-male competition in diversification has been largely neglected, this research will help clarify whether selection via differential access to mates generally promotes phenotypic diversification and speciation or whether such patterns are specific to female choice. This research will also contribute to museum digitization efforts, mentoring of undergraduate researchers, and the fellow's professional development.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.