NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Elucidating the relationship between host divergence and gut microbiome divergence in Parulid warblers

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This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, 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. Living organisms are hosts to a diversity of microscopic creatures. While some of these microbes can be harmful to their host, others can be beneficial, for example by breaking down complex sugars that their host can digest. In animals, microbes are highly concentrated in the digestive tract (or gut) where they perform specialized functions. Previous research has shown that different animal species harbor unique sets of gut microbes but the role gut microbes play in the evolution of new species is not well known. This research will investigate the relationship between bird species formation and the composition of microbial communities in their guts. The fellow will design and implement educational activities integrating concepts from bird biology, microbiology and genetics that will foster the inclusion of middle school, high school, and college students underrepresented in Biology.This project will use wood warblers as a study system to investigate the role of symbiotic gut microbes in the origin and maintenance of biodiversity. To address this, the fellow will sequence gut microbiomes of warblers at several sites in North America, including across two naturally-occurring hybrid zones. Interspecific hybridization may result in disruption of the gut microbiome contributing to reproductive isolation, which is necessary for the maintenance of species boundaries. By taking advantage of overlapping range distributions and natural admixture, this project will distinguish between the influence of the environment and host genetics in structuring the gut microbiome and test the hypothesis that gut microbiome divergence contributes to host reproductive isolation. This study will advance understanding of gut microbiome diversity in wild bird populations, where data are especially lacking. The fellow will develop and lead an educational activity on bird biology for middle school students from underprivileged communities in the Higher Achievement program. The fellow will also establish a DNA Day chapter at the host institution and organize an annual outreach program to be implemented in regional high schools with high rates of Hispanic student enrollment. Finally, the fellow will mentor an undergraduate and local high school student from an underrepresented background on an independent research project related to the study via the EnvironMentors program at the host institution.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.