NSF PRFB FY 2023: The evolutionary drivers of iridescence

这项行动资助了2023财年的NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金，综合研究调查了基因组，环境和表型之间的生命管理相互作用的规则。该研究金支持研究员的研究和培训，以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。彩虹色已经吸引了人类数百年的注意力，但它在动物中的作用仍然是未知的。这项研究的目的是通过了解这种动物的颜色是如何作为一种反捕食者的防御来解决一些神秘的问题。为此，该研究员将使用多种方法，包括拍摄鸟类和蝴蝶之间的捕食者-猎物战斗，改变蝴蝶发育时的温度，以及研究彩虹色的进化历史。这项研究将增加我们对自然界最有趣的特征之一的过去和未来的理解。这些美丽的动物为公众教育提供了极好的机会。他将利用鸟类与蝴蝶实验的视频，在史密森尼博物馆举办展览，将游客的体验与科学事实联系起来。为了阐明蝴蝶彩虹色的进化作用和模式，该项目将探索三个目标：第一章这位研究员将通过视频记录食虫鸟类和实验改造的闪蝶之间的相互作用，以确定彩虹色是否通过警告来阻止捕食者的攻击捕食者难以捕捉，或使蝴蝶难以捕捉作为一个视觉错觉的结果。2)使用不同的温度制度对大闪蝶，该研究员将测试彩虹色的发育可塑性，以确定可变环境如何影响成年蝴蝶的彩虹色质量。3)使用比较系统发育方法和遗传学模型，研究员将调查彩虹色是否局限于某些谱系，局限于世界上的某些地区，或集中在食虫鸟类多样性较高的地区。这项工作将导致一个预测模型的系统发育和地理分布的彩虹色性状，以及如何这可能会改变响应不断变化的气候。此外，该项目的多组成部分性质将为史密森热带研究所的学生和研究人员提供许多培训和合著机会。该研究员计划在主办机构提供R木工课程，除了策划一个博物馆展览，以最大限度地扩大科学推广。这个奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得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的支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023, 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. Iridescence has captured the human mind for hundreds of years, yet its role in animals is still mostly unknown. This research aims to resolve some of the mystery of this animal coloring by understanding how it works as an anti-predator defense. To do so, the fellow will use a combination of approaches, including filming predator-prey battles between birds and butterflies, altering the temperature while butterflies develop, and studying the evolutionary history of iridescence. This research will add to our understanding of the past and future of one of the natural world’s most interesting traits. These beautiful animals provide an excellent opportunity for public education. Using videos from the bird-butterfly experiments, the fellow will create an exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum to connect the visitor experience with scientific facts.To elucidate the evolutionary role and pattern of iridescence in butterflies, the project will explore three aims: 1) The fellow will video record interactions between insectivorous birds and experimentally modified Morpho butterflies to determine whether iridescence dissuades predator attack by warning predators of the difficulty of capture, or makes butterflies difficult to capture as a result of a visual illusion. 2) Using different temperature regimes on Morpho pupae, the fellow will test the developmental plasticity of iridescence to determine how variable environments affect iridescence quality in adult butterflies. 3) Using a comparative phylogenetic approach and phylogenetically-informed models, the fellow will investigate whether iridescence is constrained to certain lineages, constrained to certain regions in the world, or concentrated in areas with higher insectivorous bird diversity. This work will lead to a predictive model of the phylogenetic and biogeographic distribution of the iridescence trait and how this might shift in response to a changing climate. Additionally, the multi-component nature of this project will provide many training and co-authorship opportunities for students and researchers at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute based on their area of interest. The fellow plans to offer an R carpentry course at the host institution, in addition to curating a museum exhibit to maximize scientific outreach.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.