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

这项行动资助了2021财年的NSF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。该研究金支持研究员的一项研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究项目将通过实地和实验室实验，重点研究热带毒蛙与其有毒蚂蚁猎物之间的关系。毒蛙以有毒昆虫为食以获得它们的化学防御，与所有可用的蚂蚁相比，它们只吃一小部分蚂蚁，但人们对这些特定选择的方式和原因知之甚少。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异性，以及如果它们的蚂蚁猎物因当前全球昆虫损失而消失，它们可能面临的灭绝威胁的严重性。该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的参与，通过与当地学校合作，提供工具进行青蛙研究，以及指导，合作，并支持本科生和博士后研究人员在主办机构。为了了解毒蛙猎物选择的特异性和可能的行为驱动因素，研究员将结合联合收割机在南美洲的实地采样和主办机构的实验室实验，并询问猎物毒性或形态驱动青蛙猎物选择。将使用气相色谱法和质谱法对野外捕获的毒蛙和蚂蚁猎物的化学特征进行表征，并将使用DNA条形码对青蛙胃内容物进行解剖和鉴定。将收集社区蚂蚁以比较饮食选择与整体蚂蚁可用性，并使用大小和颜色测量来量化蚂蚁的形态。主办机构的青蛙群落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。该研究员将参与扩大历史上代表性不足的学生在生物学的代表性，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）指导和提供学术资源，以本科生交叉身份，和3）招聘和合作与博士后学者在主办机构。该研究员还将继续在当前的教学技术培训，重点是包容性的教学方法和开发课程材料在东道机构。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已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 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.