NSF PRFB FY 2023: The evolutionary drivers of iridescence

该行动资助了美国国家科学基金会2023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。数百年来，彩虹色一直吸引着人类的注意力，但它在动物身上的作用却鲜为人知。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开这种动物颜色的一些谜团。为了做到这一点，他将使用多种方法，包括拍摄鸟类和蝴蝶之间的捕食者-猎物战斗，在蝴蝶发育过程中改变温度，以及研究彩虹色的进化史。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绝佳的机会。利用鸟蝴蝶实验的视频，这位研究员将在史密森尼博物馆举办一个展览，将游客的体验与科学事实联系起来。为了阐明彩虹色在蝴蝶中的进化作用和模式，该项目将探索三个目标：1)研究员将通过视频记录食虫鸟类和实验修饰的大闪蝶之间的相互作用，以确定彩虹色是通过警告捕食者捕获困难来阻止捕食者的攻击，还是由于视觉错觉而使蝴蝶难以捕获。2)利用不同温度条件下的蝶蛹，测试虹彩的发育可塑性，以确定不同环境对成年蝴蝶虹彩质量的影响。3)使用比较系统发育方法和系统发育信息模型，研究虹彩是否局限于某些谱系，局限于世界上的某些地区，或者集中于食虫鸟类多样性较高的地区。这项工作将导致彩虹特征的系统发育和生物地理分布的预测模型，以及这种特征如何随着气候变化而变化。此外，该项目的多组分性质将为史密森尼热带研究所的学生和研究人员提供许多基于他们感兴趣的领域的培训和合作机会。他计划在主办机构开设R木工课程，并策划一个博物馆展览，以最大限度地扩大科学宣传。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 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.