NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: The morphological drivers and effects of long-distance bird migration

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。长距离迁徙是自然界中最壮观的行为之一，但对于动物来说，进行这种迁徙的代价是昂贵的。动物迁徙的原因是众所周知的，但进行这种迁徙所需的形态变化（形式和功能）却鲜为人知。这项研究旨在了解长距离迁徙如何影响迁徙物种的形态，并将进一步了解迁徙的起源。该研究员将整合大量的遗传，形态和分布数据在一个不同的鸟类群体，以回答这些问题内和跨物种。为了增加在主办机构更广泛的参与，研究员将指导本科生，组织社区活动的博士后研究人员，并在当地K-12学校组织推广活动。以前对鸟类迁徙的研究揭示了季节性和栖息地等外在因素作为迁徙驱动因素的重要性，但鸟类的内在属性，如它们的形态，也可能对迁徙生活方式的易感性至关重要，并且在很大程度上尚未探索。该项目将汇编1 300种亚鸟纲雀形目鸟类的形态数据，并将这些数据与系统发育和分布数据联合收割机结合起来，以检验关键形态特征与季节性迁徙的得失之间的联系。然后，研究员将调查四种鸟类的形态和迁徙行为的范围变化，这些鸟类既包含迁徙种群，也包含常住种群，以测试形态特征的地理变化是否与种群水平上迁徙行为的差异相对应。这项研究将促进我们对迁移的影响和驱动因素的理解，这是一种在生命之树中无处不在的行为。该项目将涉及在一个以西班牙裔为主的服务机构对本科生研究人员进行实地方法和尖端分子技术的广泛培训，以及指导本科生的研究项目。该研究员将利用有关鸟类迁徙的课程和活动在K-12学校开展外展活动。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并且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, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Long-distance migration is one of the most spectacular behaviors in the natural world, but is costly for the animals that undertake it. The reasons why animals migrate are well known, but the changes in morphology (form and function) required to undertake that migration are less well known. This research aims to understand how long-distance migration affects the morphology of migratory species, and will further the understanding of the origins of migration. The Fellow will integrate large sets of genetic, morphological, and distributional data in a diverse group of birds to answer these questions both within and across species. To increase broader participation at the host institution the Fellow will mentor undergraduate students, organize community events for postdoctoral researchers, and organize outreach events at local K-12 schools.The factors that predispose species or populations to migratory behavior remain poorly understood. Previous research on avian migration has revealed the importance of extrinsic factors like seasonality and habitat as drivers of migration, but intrinsic attributes of birds such as their morphologies are also likely critical for predisposition to migratory lifestyles and remain largely unexplored. This project will compile morphological data from 1,300 species of suboscine passerine birds and combine these with phylogenetic and distribution data to test for associations between key morphological features and the gain and loss of seasonal migration. The Fellow will then investigate range-wide variation in morphology and migratory behavior in four species of birds that contain both migratory and resident populations to test whether geographical variation in morphological traits corresponds with differences in migratory behavior at the population level. This study will advance our understanding of the effects and drivers of migration, a behavior ubiquitous across the tree of life. This project will involve extensive training of undergraduate researchers at a predominantly Hispanic-serving institution in both field methods and cutting-edge molecular techniques, as well as mentoring undergraduate student research projects. The fellow will conduct outreach at K-12 schools using lessons and activities about bird migration.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.