NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: How Overwintering Life-Stage Affects Vulnerability to Winter Warming in Butterflies

这一行动为NSF 2022财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。气候变化正在深刻地改变着地球上的环境，虽然以前的研究主要集中在温暖季节的影响上，但一些最戏剧性的变化是在冬季气候。因此，为了了解气候变化对生物体的影响，研究依赖温度的过程将如何改变以应对冬季气温上升也是至关重要的。在昆虫中，能量使用率由温度决定，在冬季，这些影响对于决定生存和冬季后的投资至关重要。越冬后的能量投入是由越冬生活期决定的，幼虫投资于生长，成虫投资于生殖，蛹投资于两者。因此，这项研究的目的是确定昆虫越冬的生活期如何影响其对冬季变暖导致的能量枯竭的脆弱性。该研究员还将通过传播研究结果，向包括国际讲习班在内的不同受众和公众提供外联服务。虽然人们开始了解冬季变化对生物的影响的重要性，但对关键的生活史特征如何影响不同物种的易感性却知之甚少。本研究旨在通过将实验室实验与生态生理模型相结合，建立一个基于越冬生活期的预测冬季能量流失脆弱性的通用框架。首先，将测量9种蝴蝶的能量使用率，这些蝴蝶作为成虫、幼虫或幼虫越冬。然后，通过测量寒冷、温和和温暖的冬季条件下的生殖输出，将冬季能源使用与实验室中的生殖联系起来。然后，将在生态生理模型中使用每个物种的能源使用率和相关的生殖产出，以预测气候变化在几种可能的情景下和跨地理范围的能量和生殖后果。这将有助于确定特别容易受到冬季变化影响的物种和种群。PI将获得学习新的实验和建模方案的机会。最后，这个项目旨在开发一个建模研讨会，既教授将生理数据缩放到景观所需的方法，又通过不同机构的学生之间的互动促进国际合作。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势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 2022, 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. Climate change is profoundly altering environments across the planet, and while previous research has focused on the impacts of warm seasons, some of the most dramatic changes are in winter climate. To understand the impacts of changing climate on organisms, it is therefore critical to study how temperature-dependent processes will be altered in response to increasing winter temperatures as well. In insects, energy use rates are determined by temperature, and during winter these effects are vital in determining survival and post-winter investment. Post-winter energetic investment is determined by the overwintering life stage with larvae investing in growth, adults into reproduction, and pupae into both. This research therefore aims to identify how an insect's overwintering life stage impacts its vulnerability to energy depletion caused by warming winters. The Fellow will also provide outreach to diverse audiences that include an international workshop and the general public through the dissemination of the study’s findings. While the importance of the impacts of changing winters on organisms is starting to be understood, there is little understanding of how key life history characteristics impact the susceptibility of different species. This research aims to establish a generalizable framework that predicts vulnerability to winter energy drain based on overwintering life stage by pairing laboratory experiments with ecophysiological models. First, energy use rates will be measured in nine species of butterflies that overwinter as adults, larvae, or pupae. Then winter energy use will be linked to reproduction in the laboratory by measuring reproductive output after cold, mild, and warm winter conditions. Energy use rates and associated reproductive outputs for each species will then be used in an ecophysiological model to predict the energetic and reproductive consequences of climate change under several possible scenarios and across geographic ranges. This will allow for the identification of species and populations that will be especially vulnerable to changing winters. The PI will gain opportunities to learn new experimentation and modeling protocols. Finally, this project aims to develop a modeling workshop that will both teach methods required for scaling physiological data to landscapes and foster international collaboration through the interaction of students at different institutions.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.