Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology: The Coevolution of Climate Change Responses in Grasses

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。气候变化给许多生物带来了实质性的问题，特别是那些静止不动的生物，如果它们目前的栖息地变得不合适，就不容易移动（例如，植物）。为了生存，这些生物必须能够承受新的条件（例如，通过进化新的特征），或者在条件合适的新地区定居（例如，通过种子传播）。不幸的是，我们对这两种潜在的生存策略是如何相互作用的知之甚少。特别是，目前尚不清楚对一种策略的历史投资是否限制了另一种策略的能力（例如，具有广泛环境耐受性但种子传播能力差的植物）。植物在所有陆地食物网的基础上占有重要地位，是迄今为止社会最重要的农产品。然而，与动物相比，它们通常受到的保护关注较少。更好地了解植物如何应对气候变化对于准确预测其潜在后果以及如何指导资源来减轻这些后果是必要的。为了更好地了解这两种反应，该项目使用了melicgrass部落（7属，158种），该部落占据了不同的栖息地，并具有广泛的种子传播策略。研究人员将首先对该部落进行全面的系统发育重建，然后评估其组成分类群的扩散能力和环境生态位。传播能力将根据若干已知影响传播结果的种子和植物的定量性状进行评估。将采用综合文献、地理空间数据和生长实验的综合方法对基本生态位和实现生态位进行分类。利用系统发育比较方法，该项目将测试扩散能力是否与环境生态位进化的速度、实现的生态位宽度或适应新条件的能力（基本生态位宽度）相关。在这项研究过程中，研究员将通过先进的系统发育和生态生理学方法的培训来扩大他的技术专长。该研究员还将招募和指导一群不同的学生参与该项目，学习研究技能，并最终追求半独立的项目，有可能成为第一作者的出版物。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. Climate change poses substantial problems for many organisms, particularly those which are stationary and cannot easily move if their current habitat become unsuitable (e.g., plants). To survive, these organisms must be able to withstand new conditions (e.g., by evolving new traits) or colonize new areas where conditions are suitable (e.g., via seed dispersal). Unfortunately, very little is known about how these two potential survival strategies interact. In particular, it is unclear whether historical investment in one strategy limits capacity for the other (e.g., plants with wide environmental tolerances but poor seed dispersal capacity). Plants occupy a critical position at the base of all terrestrial food webs and are by far societies' most important agricultural products. Nevertheless, they often receive less conservation attention than animals. A better understanding of how plants respond to climate change is necessary to accurately predict its potential consequences, and how to direct resources to mitigate them.To develop a better understanding of these two responses, the project uses the melicgrass tribe (7 genera, 158 species), which occupies diverse habitats and possesses a wide range of seed dispersal strategies. The fellow will first produce a comprehensive phylogenetic reconstruction for the tribe, and then evaluate the dispersal capability and environmental niche of its constituent taxa. Dispersal capability will be evaluated on the basis of several quantitative seed and plant traits known to influence dispersal outcomes. A combined approach synthesizing published literature, geospatial data, and growth experiments will be used to classify both fundamental and realized environmental niche. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, the project will then test whether dispersal ability correlates with the rate of environmental niche evolution, realized niche breadth, or ability to acclimate to new conditions (fundamental niche breadth). During the course of this research the fellow will broaden his technical expertise through training in advanced phylogenetic and ecophysiological methods. The fellow will also recruit and mentor a diverse group of students to participate in the project, learn research skills, and eventually pursue semi-independent projects, with potential for first-author publications.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.