NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Constraints as a bridge between phenotypic micro- and macroevolution

该行动资助2021财年NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，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。该奖学金支持将以创新方式为《生活规则》领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。进化生物学的一个主要目标是将选择和适应的微观进化研究与进化的宏观进化模式联系起来。虽然我们现在了解了微进化对性状表达的许多不同类型和影响，但我们仍然不明白微进化如何能告诉我们在宏观进化尺度上观察到的进化速度。因此，该研究员试图通过测量与可测量的环境营养物质相关的化石特征来建立特征进化限制的模型，作为将微观进化和宏观进化观点联系起来的手段。该项目代表了一种以生物学现实的方式将不同的进化观点和数据联系起来的新方法，并将大大拓宽我们对“生命规则”如何跨时间尺度影响形态进化的理解。该研究员还将通过在主办机构、附属州立大学和当地部落开展的外展和培训项目，扩大STEM活动的参与范围。在单一框架内弥合性状微进化和宏观进化的不同观点，需要将微观进化研究的表型景观（景观中的峰值对应于更高的适应度值）与宏观进化时间尺度上的适应峰值的运动联系起来。实现这一目标的一种方法是结合环境对性状表达的限制，这可以在现在的种群和化石记录中进行测量。该研究员将创建一个新的性状进化模型，在约束变化期间纳入微观进化参数，以弥合表型微观和宏观进化之间的差距。这将通过使用一个独特的约束系统（钙化软体动物）来完成，其中环境对表型的约束在生理水平上得到了很好的理解，并且在整个化石记录中很容易测量。该研究员将接受培训，开发和应用新的贝叶斯特征进化时间切片模型，该模型将约束解除和执行期间的微观进化信息纳入其中。该研究员还将在多个层面创造拓展机会，包括学员参与和以软件为重点的学术研讨会。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，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. A major goal of evolutionary biology is to connect microevolutionary studies of selection and adaptation to macroevolutionary patterns of evolution. While we now understand many of the different types and effects of microevolutionary influences on trait expression, we still do not understand how microevolution can inform us about the rates of evolution observed at macroevolutionary scales. The Fellow therefore seeks to model constraints on trait evolution by measuring the fossil traits associated with measurable environmental nutrients as a means to link microevolutionary and macroevolutionary perspectives. The project represents a new way to link disparate evolutionary perspectives and data in a biologically realistic manner and will substantially broaden our understanding of how the ‘Rules of Life’ act across temporal scales to shape morphological evolution. The Fellow will also broaden participation in STEM activities through outreach and training programs at the host institution, an affiliated state college, and with local tribes.Bridging the divergent perspectives of trait microevolution and macroevolution in a single framework requires linking phenotypic landscapes of microevolutionary studies (where peaks in the landscape correspond to higher fitness values) to the movements of adaptive peaks over macroevolutionary time scales. One way this can be accomplished is by incorporating environmental constraints on trait expression which can be measured in present day populations and in the fossil record. The Fellow will create a new model of trait evolution that incorporates microevolutionary parameters during periods of constraint change to bridge the gap between phenotypic micro- and macroevolution. This will be done by using a uniquely constrained system (calcifying molluscs) for which environmental constraints on phenotype are well-understood at the physiological level and are easily measured throughout the fossil record. The Fellow will be trained in developing and applying a new Bayesian time-slice model of trait evolution that incorporates microevolutionary information during periods of constraint release and enforcement. The Fellow will also create outreach opportunities at multiple levels that include trainee participation and software-focused academic workshops.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.