NSF PRFB FY 2023: The evolutionary drivers of iridescence

这一行动为NSF 2023财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了支配基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。数百年来，虹彩已经俘获了人类的大脑，但它在动物中的作用仍然大多不为人知。这项研究旨在通过了解这种动物的颜色是如何作为一种反捕食者防御的方式来解开一些谜团。为了做到这一点，这位研究员将使用一系列方法，包括拍摄鸟类和蝴蝶之间的捕食者和猎物之间的战斗，改变蝴蝶发育过程中的温度，以及研究彩虹的进化史。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了解。这些美丽的动物为公共教育提供了绝佳的机会。利用鸟类-蝴蝶实验的视频，这位研究员将在史密森博物馆制作一个展览，将参观者的体验与科学事实联系起来。为了阐明彩虹在蝴蝶中的进化作用和模式，该项目将探索三个目标：1)该研究员将记录食虫鸟类和实验性改良的Morpho蝴蝶之间的互动，以确定虹彩是通过警告捕食者很难捕获来阻止捕食者攻击，还是由于视觉错觉而使蝴蝶难以捕获。2)利用不同的温度条件对桑蝶幼虫进行虹彩发育可塑性的测试，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，该研究员将调查虹彩是否仅限于某些谱系，局限于世界上某些地区，或集中在食虫鸟类多样性较高的地区。这项工作将导致建立彩虹特征的系统发育和生物地理分布的预测模型，以及这种分布可能如何随着气候变化而变化。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作机会，这些机会基于他们感兴趣的领域。这位研究员计划在主办机构提供R木工课程，此外还将策划一个博物馆展览，以最大限度地扩大科学活动。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, 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.