NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Skeletal and behavioral underpinnings of extreme locomotor diversity in snakes

这一行动资助了NSF 2023财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大了生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。该研究金支持一项针对该研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。这项研究将有助于更好地理解具有简单身体规划的动物(蛇)如何进化出多种策略，以克服在不同环境中移动的挑战。这项研究对生态和保护有影响，因为动物的移动方式会影响到扩展到新栖息地或应对不断变化的栖息地的能力。此外，这一成果将有助于开发受生物启发的蛇形机器人，这种机器人将能够在轮式和四肢机器人无法到达的地形上执行任务。该研究员还将通过一个科学学会创建一个新的长期导师计划，以促进职业发展和专业网络，从而促进早期职业科学家对生物学的参与。这位研究员将专注于在分类和功能多样化的蛇亚科Natricinae中运动行为和相关形态的进化。首先，该研究员将使用微CT扫描、3D几何形态计量学和系统发育比较方法来研究脊椎形态的演变。然后，这位研究员将使用比较生物力学的方法来研究物种内和物种之间在一种具有挑战性的底物沙子上的运动行为和表现的差异，沙子存在于世界各地的许多栖息地类型中。最后，这位研究员将整合这两个数据集(脊椎形态和运动生物力学)，以检验轴向骨骼的种间差异是否预示着运动模式的选择或给定模式内的运动学差异，从而对功能进化提供更全面的理解。该奖学金的培训目标和扩大参与活动包括：1)学习使用3D形态数据的软件和分析技术；2)建立研究运动生物力学的强大量化技能，其中将包括处理和分析视频数据的先进计算方法；以及3)为专业社会的研究生和博士后研究员开发同行指导计划。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 2023, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The research will help to better understand how animals with a simple body plan (snakes) can evolve numerous strategies to overcome the challenges of moving through different environments. The research has implications for ecology and conservation, since how an animal moves can influence the ability to expand into new habitats or to cope with a changing one. Additionally, the results will contribute to the development of bioinspired snake-like robots that will be able to carry out tasks in terrains inaccessible to wheeled and limbed robots. The fellow will also contribute to the participation of early-career scientists in biology by creating a new long-term mentorship program through a scientific society to promote career development and professional networks. The fellow will focus on the evolution of locomotor behavior and relevant morphology in a taxonomically and functionally diverse snake subfamily, the Natricinae. First, the fellow will investigate the evolution of vertebral morphology using µCT scans, 3D geometric morphometrics, and phylogenetic comparative methods. Then, the fellow will use a comparative biomechanics approach to study within- and among-species variation in locomotor behavior and performance on a challenging substrate, sand, which exists in numerous habitat types worldwide. Finally, the fellow will integrate these two datasets (vertebral morphology and locomotor biomechanics) to examine whether interspecific differences in the axial skeleton predict choice of locomotor mode or kinematic differences within a given mode, providing a more integrative understanding of functional evolution. Training goals and broadening participation activities for the fellowship include: 1) learning software and analytical techniques for working with 3D morphological data; 2) building a strong quantitative skillset for studying locomotor biomechanics, which will include advanced computational methods for processing and analyzing video data; and 3) developing a peer mentoring program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in a professional society.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.