NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: Population genomics of elevational range limits in Andean birds

本行动资助NSF 2019年度生物学博士后研究奖学金，利用生物馆藏进行研究。该奖学金支持研究和培训将以创新的方式利用生物收集的研究员。所有的物种都生活在一个有限的地理范围内。由于与其他物种的竞争阻止了进一步的扩张，或者由于它们无法适应新的环境，或者由于同一物种的个体太少而无法有效地繁殖，因此可以在没有明显物理障碍的情况下形成范围限制。许多热带生物的海拔范围很窄，这意味着它们只在连续的山坡上出现很短的垂直距离。这使得许多物种可以在一个小区域内共存，这也是热带地区有如此多物种的部分原因。然而，我们对是什么决定了热带地区的海拔范围知之甚少。这名研究员将利用大量安第斯山脉鸟类博物馆藏品的DNA序列数据，了解进化和生态过程在形成范围限制中的作用。通过了解这些过程如何相互作用，我们可以更好地预测物种将如何应对人类引起的环境变化。这对生物多样性保护和人类健康有着广泛的影响，因为濒危物种和新疾病正在经历一个变暖的世界。该研究员将通过比较海拔较窄（海拔1500米）或较宽（海拔3000米）的热带鸣禽物种遗传变异的空间分布，评估关于物种范围限制的其他假设。利用秘鲁安第斯山脉现存生物标本的密集地理采样，他将从8个系统发育独立谱系的整个海拔范围内生成全基因组DNA序列数据。每个谱系都将包含海拔专家和海拔通才物种。他将首先利用这些数据来确定决定安第斯山脉鸟类海拔范围的进化和生态过程。将观察到的模式与模拟验证的预测相比较，他将评估有效种群规模减少、生物相互作用和不适应种群迁移对平衡范围极限形成的相对贡献。然后，他将测试血红蛋白的功能变异是否是海拔范围扩大的先决条件，并描述适应性变异是否经历了硬或软选择性扫描。在博士后研究期间，他将接受博物馆策展和生物多样性信息学、高级统计基因组学和功能遗传学方面的培训。这项研究将在新墨西哥大学（University of New Mexico）进行，这是一所少数族裔占多数的R1机构，该研究员将在一个培训项目中担任导师，该项目针对的是对研究事业感兴趣的少数族裔学生。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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 2019, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will utilize biological collections in innovative ways. All species occur within a limited area known as their geographic range. Range limits can form without an obvious physical barrier because competition with other species prevents further expansion, because they are unable to adapt to a new environment, or because there are too few individuals of the same species to reproduce effectively. Many tropical organisms have narrow elevational ranges, meaning they occur only for a short vertical distance on continuous mountain slopes. This allows many species to coexist in a small area, and is part of why the tropics have so many species. However, we know relatively little about what determines elevational ranges in the tropics. The fellow will use DNA sequence data from extensive museum collections of Andean birds to understand the role of evolutionary and ecological processes in forming range limits. By understanding how these processes interact, we can better predict how species will respond to human induced environmental change. This has broad implications for biodiversity conservation and human health as endangered species and new diseases experience a warming world. The fellow will evaluate alternate hypotheses for species range limits by comparing the spatial distribution of genetic variation of tropical songbird species that have either narrow (1500 m) or broad (3000 m) elevational ranges. Using dense geographic sampling in extant biological collections from the Peruvian Andes, he will generate genome-wide DNA sequence data from across the full elevational ranges of 8 phylogenetically independent lineages. Each lineage will contain both elevational specialist and elevational generalist species. He will first use these data to identify the evolutionary and ecological processes that determine elevational ranges in Andean birds. Comparing observed patterns with predictions validated by simulations, he will evaluate the relative contribution of decreasing effective population size, biotic interactions, and migration from maladapted populations to the formation of equilibrium range limits. He will then test whether functional variation in hemoglobin is a prerequisite for elevational range expansion, and characterize whether adaptive variants have undergone hard or soft selective sweeps. During his postdoctoral research, the fellow will undergo training in museum curation and biodiversity informatics, advanced statistical genomics, and functional genetics. The research will be based at University of New Mexico, a majority-minority R1 institution, where the fellow will serve as a mentor in a training program for underrepresented students interested in research careers.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.