NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: The mechanisms and evolution of decision-making under conflict: scaling up from molecules to individuals and populations

该行动资助了NSF 2021财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，即研究基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。这个项目试图回答一个基本的生物学问题：父母如何决定为后代提供多少照顾？父母可以竭尽全力提供照顾，但父母总是面临着对他们时间的竞争要求。例如，父母必须决定投入多少时间来照顾后代，而不是保护他们的巢穴免受入侵者或追求新伴侣。使用刺鱼，父亲是唯一的照顾者，这项研究探讨了父母如何决定何时照顾，法院配偶，或捍卫自己的领土-这些决定对父母将基因传递给下一代的能力至关重要。这项研究将有助于揭示父母做出这些决定时大脑中发生的事情，并最终帮助我们理解为什么有些人比其他人更擅长决策。该项目还将为本科生提供研究机会，并将研究成果纳入当地博物馆的外展活动，特别侧重于扩大未被充分代表的群体对科学的参与。（Gasterosteus aculeatus），研究机制和进化的父母决定照顾，求偶，和领土防御。首先，实验方法将揭示个体内部、个体之间和群体之间的行为决策过程。第二，分子技术将揭示父母在相互竞争的需求中所采用的最接近的神经、分子和激素机制。比较个体内部和个体之间以及群体之间的决策，将有助于深入了解父母照顾的生态和进化后果。研究这些近似机制将揭示大脑如何处理相互冲突的需求，并提供对机械约束的深入了解。总之，研究结果将有助于解释如何在竞争机会之间做出重要决定以增加适应性，以及更一般地说，行为模式如何从基因组，环境和表型之间的相互作用中出现。该项目将为行为基因组学研究员提供宝贵的培训。此外，成果将通过会议和外联活动，以及通过为初中和高中学生开发教育材料而广泛传播。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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 2021, 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. This project seeks to answer a fundamental biological question: how do parents decide how much care to provide to their offspring? Parents can go to incredible lengths to provide care, yet parents are constantly faced with competing demands on their time. For example, parents must decide how much time to invest in caring for offspring versus defending their nest from intruders or courting new mates. Using stickleback fish, where fathers are the sole care providers, this research explores how parents make decisions over when to care, court mates, or defend their territories - decisions that are profoundly important to a parent’s ability to pass on their genes to the next generation. This research will help uncover what happens in the parental brain when these decisions are made and, ultimately, help us understand why some individuals are better at decision-making than others. This project will also provide research opportunities for undergraduates and results will be incorporated into outreach activities at local museums, with a particular focus on broadening the participation of underrepresented groups in science.This project uses an emerging model system for studying behavioral genomics, the three spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), to study the mechanisms and evolution of parental decisions over care, courtship, and territory defense. First, experimental methods will reveal the behavioral decision-making process within individuals, across individuals, and among populations. Second, molecular techniques will uncover the proximate neural, molecular, and hormonal mechanisms by which parents juggle competing demands. Comparing decision-making within and among individuals, as well as across populations will provide insight into the ecological and evolutionary consequences of parental care. Studying the proximate mechanisms will uncover how the brain manages conflicting demands, as well as provide insight into the mechanistic constraints. Together, results will help explain how vital decisions between competing opportunities to increase fitness are made, and more generally, how patterns of behavior emerge from interactions between genomes, environments, and phenotypes. This project will provide valuable training to the Fellow in behavioral genomics. Additionally, results will be broadly disseminated through conferences and outreach activities, and through the development of educational materials for middle and high school students.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.