EAGER: Testing for genes associated with migratory behavior in a peripatetic species

EAGER：测试与逍遥物种迁徙行为相关的基因

• 批准号: 2129600
• 负责人: Kristina Ramstad
• 金额: $ 19.99万
• 依托单位: University of South Carolina at Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2129600&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Testing; genes; associated; migratory

Significant ecological changes are expected over the next century, including substantial increases in sea level, annual precipitation, daily temperature, spread of invasive species, and urbanization. To survive these changes, species will be required to either adapt to new conditions or move (disperse) to suitable habitats. Many species are unable to disperse due to geographic, physiological or social constraints, while other species disperse broadly and often. Peripatetic species are migrant in that they are based in various locations for relatively short periods of time. It is frequently assumed that these highly mobile species will weather large-scale habitat disturbance via dispersal. This assumption, however, has rarely been tested and there is little known of the genetic basis of migration in peripatetic species, which is key to determining the likelihood of dispersal and colonization of new habitats. This research will shed light on the evolutionary responses of a peripatetic species to the drastic environmental changes expected over the next century. At the same time, it will improve our understanding of evolution and behavior of wading birds generally and provide the information needed to properly focus conservation management efforts. This project also will support the development of a bioinformatics course and the training of a postdoctoral fellow.This study uses the threatened American wood stork (Mycteria americana) as a model species to study the evolution of migratory behavior in peripatetic species. A complete and annotated reference genome will be built for wood storks. Whole genome resequencing and genome-wide association analysis will be used to test for genes under positive selection between resident and migrant storks nesting throughout the US southeast and Cuba. The project will test if variation at migration candidate genes is correlated with recent colonization of stork nesting sites and allow for surveys of variation at these genes in wading birds broadly. The study will reveal the evolutionary origins and genetic architecture of migratory phenotypes in wood storks with broad implications for the evolution of behavior.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.

预计下个世纪将发生重大的生态变化，包括海平面、年降水量、日温度、入侵物种的扩散和城市化的大幅增加。为了在这些变化中生存下来，物种要么适应新的环境，要么迁移（分散）到合适的栖息地。许多物种由于地理、生理或社会的限制而无法分散，而其他物种则广泛而频繁地分散。游移物种是迁徙的，因为它们在不同的地方停留相对较短的时间。人们通常认为，这些高度移动的物种将通过扩散来抵御大规模的栖息地干扰。然而，这一假设很少得到检验，而且人们对迁徙物种的遗传基础知之甚少，而遗传基础是确定新栖息地扩散和定居可能性的关键。这项研究将揭示流浪物种对下个世纪剧烈环境变化的进化反应。同时，它将提高我们对涉禽进化和行为的理解，并提供适当集中保护管理工作所需的信息。该项目还将支持生物信息学课程的发展和博士后的培养。本研究以濒临灭绝的美洲木鹳（Mycteria americana）为模式物种，研究了迁徙物种的迁徙行为进化。建立一个完整的、带注释的木鹳参考基因组。全基因组重测序和全基因组关联分析将用于测试在美国东南部和古巴筑巢的候鸟和候鸟之间进行正选择的基因。该项目将测试候鸟迁徙基因的变异是否与近期鹳筑巢地的殖民化有关，并允许对涉禽中这些基因的变异进行广泛的调查。该研究将揭示木鹳迁徙表型的进化起源和遗传结构，对行为进化具有广泛的意义。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。