NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2022: Functional morphology and performance of filter feeding giants

该行动资助了美国国家科学基金会2022财年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对生活规则领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。地球上一些最大的生物（鲸鱼和鲨鱼）是滤食性动物。有趣的是，体型巨大的滤食性动物已经进化了很多次。本研究旨在探讨须鲸和姥鲨口腔过滤器的功能性能。这两个谱系都使用由矿化角蛋白组成的鬃毛状过滤器从水中捕获小型猎物。须鲸和姥鲨为理解体型和觅食策略之间的关系提供了宝贵的测试案例。这项工作将为生态学上重要的濒危动物的生理学提供新的见解。这项工作代表了一种综合的方法，利用工程学、物理学和生物学来确定巨型猪鬃滤食性动物使用的过滤机制。该项目将通过执行分层调查来调查过滤器的性能，从详细的解剖描述开始。根据过滤器的解剖结构，研究员将进行调查，以确定过滤器周围的流动以及过滤器的机制和性能。这将为生物启发设计的努力提供关键信息，这些努力有可能导致工业过滤系统的重大进展。此外，这些测试将阐明为什么有史以来最大的脊椎动物是滤食性动物，并将深入了解它们作为生态系统工程师的角色。综上所述，这些拟议的研究将为大规模滤食动物的趋同进化提供关键见解。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 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. Some of the largest creatures on the planet (whales and sharks) are filter feeders. Interestingly, filter feeders with enormous body sizes have evolved numerous times. This research seeks to explore the functional performance of oral filters in baleen whales and basking sharks. Both lineages filter using bristle-like filters composed of mineralized keratin to capture small prey items from the water. Baleen whales and basking sharks provide invaluable test cases for understanding the relationships between body size and foraging strategy. This work will provide new insights into the physiology of ecologically important and endangered animals.The work represents an integrative approach using engineering, physics, and biology to identify the filtration mechanisms used by giant bristle-filter feeders. The project will investigate the filter performance by performing a hierarchical investigation, beginning with detailed anatomical descriptions. Based on the filter anatomy, the fellow will perform investigations to identify the flow around the filter and the mechanisms and performance of the filter. This will provide critical information for bio-inspired designed efforts which have the potential to lead to major advances in industrial filtration systems. Furthermore, these tests will clarify why the biggest vertebrates to have ever lived are filter feeders and will provide insight into their role as ecosystem engineers. Taken together, these proposed studies will deliver key insights into the convergent evolution of massive filter feeders.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.