NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Bridging genomics, physiology, and behavioral ecology to uncover mechanisms driving incipient speciation in an island bird

这一行动为NSF 2020财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。将行为和生理学研究与基因组数据相结合，这项研究将加强对在孤立栖息地出现的新物种的了解。该项目的重点是一群只在南太平洋所罗门群岛发现的鸟类--君主捕蝇者。在群岛的较小岛屿上，之前的研究揭示了栗色祖先所有黑色(黑色)颜色的反复进化。在发生这种情况的大多数种群中，所有的鸟类现在都是黑色的，只与其他黑色的个体交配，从而产生了一个新的物种。不同岛屿之间颜色差异的原因尚不清楚。为了确定黑色的进化背后的原因，这位研究员将研究一个岛上种群，在这个种群中，黑色和栗色的鸟类仍然存在，并相互交配。这将为推动新特征的进化和物种起源的过程提供洞察力。了解行为、生理和遗传如何相互作用来影响物种进化，将有助于欣赏和保护世界上非凡的生物多样性。为了扩大该项目的影响，将为高中生设计一个关于物种进化的案例研究。了解视觉信号如何以及为什么在物种形成初期发生变化，对于辨别种群分化的驱动因素至关重要。在一个对两种不同的视觉信号--黑色和栗色--具有多态的种群中，这个项目测试了三种可供选择的假说，解释了帝王支系中黑色素的重复进化。由于黑素皮质素系统的多效性作用，以及与睾酮和/或攻击性的关联，黑色素病可能处于间接选择之下。或者，与同类产品的互动和竞争可能会推动对黑暗主义的社会选择。最后，黑化病可能是通过小种群的遗传漂移和最小的负多效性而产生的。测试这些假设的预测涉及三个目标：(1)通过挂载实验确定羽毛颜色对攻击行为的影响；(2)使用全基因组重测序数据表征调节黑化的进化过程和潜在的遗传结构；以及(3)测量黑色素、栗色和羽毛操纵的鸟类中的α-黑素细胞刺激素和睾酮。这位研究员将受益于将全基因组分析与表型、行为和生理反应相结合的深入经验。此外，这项研究将出现在一个旨在教育高中生有关物种形成、趋同进化和科学过程的案例研究中。该奖项反映了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 2020, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Combining studies of behavior and physiology with genomic data, the research will enhance understanding about new species arising in isolated habitats. The project focuses on a group of birds, Monarcha flycatchers, found only in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. On the smaller islands of the archipelago, previous research uncovered repeated evolution of all black (melanic) coloration from chestnut colored ancestors. In most populations where this occurred, all birds are now melanic and mate only with other melanic individuals, resulting in a new species. The reasons for color differences across islands are unknown. To determine what is underlying the evolution of black coloration, the fellow will study an island population in which both melanic and chestnut colored birds still exist and mate with each other. This will provide insight into processes that drive evolution of novel traits and the origin of species. Knowing how behavior, physiology, and genetics interact to influence species evolution will facilitate appreciation and preservation of the world’s remarkable biodiversity. To broaden the impact of the project, a case study will be designed for high school students about how species evolve. Understanding how and why visual signals change in the context of incipient speciation is crucial to discerning drivers of population divergence. In a population polymorphic for two distinct visual signals – melanic and chestnut coloration – this project tests three alternative hypotheses explaining repeated evolution of melanism in the Monarcha clade. Melanism may be under indirect selection due to pleiotropic effects of the melanocortin system, and associations with testosterone and/or aggression. Alternatively, interaction and competition with conspecifics may drive social selection for melanism. Finally, melanism may arise through genetic drift via small populations and minimal negative pleiotropy. Testing predictions of these hypotheses involves three aims: (1) determine effects of plumage color on aggressive behavior through mount presentation experiments; (2) characterize the evolutionary processes mediating and genetic architecture underlying melanism using whole-genome resequencing data; and (3) measure alpha-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone and testosterone in melanic, chestnut, and plumage-manipulated birds. The fellow will benefit from in-depth experience integrating whole-genome analyses with phenotypic, behavioral, and physiological responses. In addition, this study will be featured in a case study designed to educate high school students about speciation, convergent evolution, and the scientific process.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.