NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Diet and defense: characterizing the relationship between poison frogs and their tropical ant prey

2021 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金：饮食与防御：描述毒蛙与其热带蚂蚁猎物之间的关系

• 批准号: 2109400
• 负责人: Katherine Fiocca
• 金额: $ 13.8万
• 依托单位: Fiocca, Katherine
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-03-01 至 2024-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2109400&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2021, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The research project will focus on the relationship between tropical poison frogs and their toxic ant prey through both field-based and lab-based experiments. Poison frogs feed on toxic insects to obtain their chemical defense, consuming only a small subset of ants when compared to all those available, but little is known about how and why these specific choices are made. As tropical habitats disappear due to human modification and the changing environment, insects will continue to decline. The project will test poison frogs prey choice to determine the specificity of their diet, and the severity of the extinction threat they may face if their ant prey disappears due to the current global insect loss. The Fellow will also focus on broadening the participation of historically underrepresented groups in Biology by collaborating with local schools to provide tools to conduct frog research, as well as mentoring, collaborating with, and supporting undergraduate students and postdoctoral researchers at the host institution. To understand the specificity of poison frog prey selection and possible behavioral drivers, the Fellow will combine field sampling in South America and laboratory experiments at the host institution and will ask if prey toxicity or morphology drives frog prey selection. Chemical profiles from wild-caught poison frogs and ant prey will be characterized using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, and frog stomach contents will be dissected and identified using DNA barcoding. Community ants will be collected to compare diet selection to overall ant availability, and morphology of ants will be quantified using size and coloration measurements. Frog colonies at the host institution will be employed to test behavioral drivers of prey selection, including size and toxicity, and measuring foraging response. The Fellow will participate in broadening the representation of historically underrepresented students in Biology by 1) partnering with local students to bring independent frog research into the K-12 classroom, 2) mentoring and providing academic resources to undergraduate students with intersectional identities, and 3) recruiting and collaborating with postdoctoral scholars at the host institution. The Fellow will also pursue training in current pedagogical techniques with a focus on inclusive teaching methods and developing course materials 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.

这一行动资助了NSF 2021财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究金支持一项针对该研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究项目将通过现场和实验室实验，重点研究热带毒蛙和它们的有毒蚂蚁猎物之间的关系。毒蛙以有毒昆虫为食来获得它们的化学防御，与所有可用的蚂蚁相比，它们只吃了一小部分蚂蚁，但人们对这些特定选择是如何做出的以及为什么做出的知之甚少。随着热带栖息地因人类改造和环境变化而消失，昆虫将继续减少。该项目将测试毒蛙的猎物选择，以确定它们饮食的特殊性，以及如果它们的蚂蚁猎物由于当前全球昆虫的损失而消失，它们可能面临的灭绝威胁的严重性。这位研究员还将专注于扩大历史上代表性不足的群体在生物学领域的参与，方法是与当地学校合作，提供工具进行青蛙研究，以及指导、合作和支持主办机构的本科生和博士后研究人员。为了了解毒蛙猎物选择的特殊性和可能的行为驱动因素，该研究员将结合南美的现场采样和宿主机构的实验室实验，询问猎物的毒性或形态是否会驱动青蛙猎物的选择。野生捕获的毒蛙和蚂蚁猎物的化学特征将使用气相色谱和质谱仪进行表征，青蛙胃内容物将使用DNA条形码进行解剖和鉴定。将收集蚂蚁群落，以比较蚂蚁的饮食选择和总体蚂蚁可获得性，并将使用大小和颜色测量来量化蚂蚁的形态。寄宿机构的青蛙群体将被用来测试猎物选择的行为驱动因素，包括大小和毒性，并测量觅食反应。该研究员将通过1)与当地学生合作，将独立的青蛙研究带入K-12课堂，2)指导并向具有跨学科身份的本科生提供学术资源，以及3)在主办机构招募博士后学者并与之合作，参与扩大历史上代表性不足的学生在生物学领域的代表性。这位研究员还将继续进行当前教学技术方面的培训，重点是包容性教学方法和在主办机构开发课程材料。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。