NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Going back in time: using museum collections to reconstruct the history of a host shift in an invasive insect

这项行动资助了2020财年NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，使用生物收集的研究。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式利用生物收藏。昆虫和它们所吃的植物之间的相互作用会影响生物多样性，而引入非本地物种为了解这些引入的昆虫如何适应新食物来源的最早阶段提供了一个独特的窗口。这项研究利用博物馆收藏的大量历史数据，重建了入侵昆虫如何在100年的时间里适应本地宿主植物。通过整合实地考察，实验室工作和来自历史和当前样本的基因组数据，该研究员将深入了解入侵物种如何随着时间的推移和在不同的环境中适应。更好地了解入侵物种如何改变以适应新的环境对于理解进化以及制定农业害虫管理策略至关重要。这项研究还将为研究员提供培训，以使用和促进被低估的博物馆藏品，指导来自实地研究中代表性不足的群体的个人，并创建一个网站，供公众参与害虫识别。该研究员将调查形态，行为和遗传变化，伴随着适应一个本地松树在入侵松叶蜂Diprion similis。1914年，D. similis迅速转移到本地白松，白松。为了重建这一宿主转移的历史，这位研究员将联合收割机结合博物馆收藏的大量D。来自3个国际机构的相似样本以及当代人群的样本。首先，该研究员将使用博物馆标本和相关的宿主数据来评估整个入侵历史中本土和引进范围的形态和行为变化。第二，研究员将评估这些形态和行为的变化是否是适应性的，通过重新访问历史收集地点，并使用实地调查和实验室测定相结合，以衡量主机的偏好和主机性能。最后，该项目旨在使用现代和历史样本的全基因组重测序数据来揭示北美入侵的人口统计学历史。该项目旨在解决几个长期存在的问题，即入侵物种的宿主专业化和快速适应，同时满足几个职业培训目标。这位研究员将成为与D合作的专家。similis，以及开发基因组技术和资源，使这种新的研究系统在一个独立的研究位置的使用。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为是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的支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will utilize biological collections in innovative ways. Interactions between insects and the plants they eat impacts biodiversity, and the introduction of a non-native species provides a unique window into the earliest stages of how these introduced insects adapt to a new food source. This research uses a wealth of historical data in museum collections to reconstruct how an invasive insect pest adapted to a native host plant over a 100-year period. By integrating fieldwork, laboratory work, and genomic data from historical and current samples, the fellow will gain insight into how invasive species adapt over time and in different environments. Better knowledge of how invasive species change to fit their new surroundings is vital for understanding evolution, as well as developing strategies for agricultural pest management. This research will also provide training for the fellow to use and contribute to undervalued museum collections, mentor individuals from underrepresented groups in field research, and create a website for public engagement in pest identification. The fellow will investigate the morphological, behavioral, and genetic changes that accompanied adaptation to a native pine in the invasive pine sawfly Diprion similis. First introduced to North America in 1914, D. similis rapidly shifted to native White Pine, Pinus strobus. To reconstruct the history of this host shift, the fellow will combine extensive museum collections of D. similis from 3 international institutions together with sampling from contemporary populations. First, the fellow will use museum specimens and associated host data to assess morphological and behavioral change across both the native and introduced ranges over the entire history of the invasion. Second, the fellow will evaluate whether these morphological and behavioral changes are adaptive by revisiting historical collection sites and using a combination of field surveys and laboratory assays to measure host preference and host performance. Finally, the project aims to use whole-genome resequencing data from both modern and historical samples to uncover the demographic history of the North American invasion. Together, this project aims to address several longstanding questions about host specialization and rapid adaptation in invasive species, while meeting several career training goals. The fellow will become an expert in working with D. similis, as well as develop genomic skills and resources to enable use of this novel study system in an independent research position. The broader impacts of the project include student mentoring and public engagement.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.