BRC-BIO: Investigating Color and Pattern Diversity in Painted Turtles

BRC-BIO：研究锦龟的颜色和图案多样性

• 批准号: 2233233
• 负责人: Elizabeth Reinke
• 金额: $ 47.25万
• 依托单位: Northeastern Illinois University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-09-01 至 2026-08-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2233233&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: BRC; BIO; Investigating; Color; Pattern

This research explores the function of variation in shell color and pattern in painted turtles. The work involves experiments and field work focused on understanding the antioxidant function of pigments in turtle tissues. In doing so, the work will explore how antioxidants impact survival, and the natural variation in shell colors and patterns. Understanding the antioxidant function and survival impacts of pigments is essential for making predictions about how turtles may respond to environmental change. This research will also provide students at a Hispanic-serving institution in Chicago the opportunity to conduct field work and research. Students will be trained in science communication and will co-author research papers. Students will also be able to participate in a paid internship with a software company who will develop an open-source platform for extracting color and pattern data from images. Understanding biological diversity requires both identifying the mechanisms and functions that underlie it, and understanding the fitness consequences of variation. Animal coloration and patterning are great traits with which to study functions and consequences of variation because these highly visible phenotypes can impact every aspect of an individual’s life. Painted turtles are so named because of their yellow skin stripes and their bright orange ventral shells. Despite their name and widespread range, little is known about their color or patterns. This research addresses these gaps in knowledge in three ways. First, by identifying the function of shell coloration (Objective 1). Second, by assessing how shell coloration impacts fitness (Objective 2). Third, by characterizing the variation in the shell patterns (Objective 3). Objective 1 will be investigated by manipulating the pigment content of turtle eggs in the nest and assessing the impact on antioxidant capacity. The researchers hypothesize that the carotenoids that are responsible for the bright orange shell color have a role in mitigating oxidative stress during recovery from overwintering. This hypothesis and the associated methods are built on previous work and pilot data. Objective 2 will be investigated by taking advantage of a natural experiment, by comparing both the population-level survival trajectories and the individual-level survival of two populations of painted turtles with similar pigment concentrations but different colorations. Lastly, Objective 3 will be studied by assessing intra-clutch, intrapopulation, and interpopulation variance in shell pattern using geometric morphometrics and neural networks. This latter objective will be done in collaboration with a software firm that can provide training and internships to students.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.

本研究探讨彩龟壳色与纹型变异的功能。这项工作涉及实验和实地工作，重点是了解海龟组织中色素的抗氧化功能。在这样做的过程中，这项工作将探索抗氧化剂如何影响生存，以及贝壳颜色和图案的自然变化。了解色素的抗氧化功能和生存影响对于预测海龟如何应对环境变化至关重要。这项研究还将为学生提供在芝加哥的西班牙裔服务机构进行实地考察和研究的机会。学生将接受科学传播方面的培训，并将共同撰写研究论文。学生还可以参加一家软件公司的带薪实习，该公司将开发一个开源平台，用于从图像中提取颜色和图案数据。了解生物多样性需要确定其背后的机制和功能，并了解变异的适应性后果。动物的颜色和图案是研究功能和变异后果的重要特征，因为这些高度可见的表型可以影响个体生活的各个方面。彩绘龟之所以如此命名是因为它们的黄色皮肤条纹和明亮的橙子腹壳。尽管它们的名字和广泛的范围，很少有人知道他们的颜色或模式。这项研究以三种方式解决了这些知识差距。首先，通过识别壳着色的功能（目标1）。第二，通过评估壳着色如何影响健身（目标2）。第三，通过表征壳模式的变化（目标3）。目的1将通过操纵海龟蛋在巢中的色素含量和评估对抗氧化能力的影响进行研究。研究人员假设，负责明亮的橙子壳颜色的类胡萝卜素在越冬恢复期间具有减轻氧化应激的作用。这一假设和相关的方法是建立在以前的工作和试点数据。目的2将利用自然实验的优势，通过比较两个种群的种群水平的生存轨迹和个体水平的生存具有相似的色素浓度，但不同的颜色的彩绘龟。最后，目标3将通过使用几何形态测量学和神经网络评估壳模式中的窝内、种群内和种群间方差来研究。后一个目标将与一家可以为学生提供培训和实习机会的软件公司合作完成。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。