NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Pollinator Thermal Performance and Limitation in an Early-Blooming Crop

这项行动资助了2023财年的NSF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。该研究金支持研究员的一项研究和培训计划，该计划将增加在生物学领域代表性不足的群体的参与。美国中西部的苹果生产受到缺乏授粉者的限制。苹果可能特别容易受到传粉者的限制，因为它们在早春开花，有时候蜜蜂会飞得太冷。在气候变化的情况下，早春的天气状况可能会变得越来越不稳定，可能会加剧传粉媒介有限的问题。该项目旨在确定传粉者的热性能在多大程度上与传粉者限制有关。它将确定哪些群体参与苹果授粉（蜜蜂，熊蜂，独居蜂等）。在不稳定的天气条件下表现最好。这项研究将有助于确保中西部苹果作物在气候变化中的安全，并能够指导缓解策略，如增加蜜蜂放养密度或保护野生蜜蜂。研究员将向美国中西部的养蜂人和种植者传播这项工作，并将开展旨在提高神经分歧个体在生物学研究中的参与和保留的活动。该研究员将首先确定果园微气候和开花时间是否会影响传粉者的访问，预测具有温暖微气候和晚开花品种的苹果园将经历更多的传粉者访问。接下来，研究员将通过仅在选定的温度下使花朵可用于授粉来实验性地诱导传粉者限制，预测在较高温度下可用的花朵将不太受传粉者限制。该研究员还将直接研究传粉者的热生理学，将蜜蜂在实验室测定中的表现与它们在野外活动的温度相匹配。总的来说，研究员将寻求确定在何种程度上授粉限制在这种早开花作物可以解释授粉热性能。除了这些研究活动，研究员将准备通过开发和教授一个模块的可持续粮食系统在高层次的本科生物学课程的学术生涯。该研究员还将开发旨在支持生物学神经多样性的项目，包括为研究生和博士后研究人员建立导师网络。该奖项反映了NSF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, 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. Apple production in the Midwestern US is limited by a lack of pollinators. Apples may be particularly susceptible to pollinator limitation because they bloom in the early spring, when it may sometimes be too cold for bees to fly. Under climate change, weather conditions are likely to become increasingly unstable during the early spring, possibly exacerbating the problem of pollinator limitation. This project aims to determine the extent to which pollinator thermal performance is linked to pollinator limitation. It will determine which of the groups involved in apple pollination (honey bees, bumble bees, solitary bees, etc.) is the best at performing under unstable weather conditions. This research will help to ensure the security of the Midwestern apple crop in the face of a changing climate, and will be able to direct mitigation strategies such as increasing honey bee stocking densities or conserving wild bees. The Fellow will disseminate this work to beekeepers and growers around the Midwestern US, and will also undertake activities aimed at increasing the participation and retention of neurodivergent individuals in biological research. The Fellow will first determine whether orchard microclimate and timing of bloom influence pollinator visitation, predicting that apple orchards with warmer microclimates and later-blooming varieties will experience more pollinator visitation. Next, the Fellow will experimentally induce pollinator limitation by making flowers available for pollination only at select temperatures, predicting that the flowers available at higher temperatures will be less pollinator-limited. The Fellow will also look directly at pollinator thermal physiology, matching bee performance in a lab-based assay with the temperatures at which they are active in the field. Overall, the Fellow will seek to determine the extent to which pollinator limitation in this early-blooming crop can be explained by pollinator thermal performance. In addition to these research activities, the Fellow will prepare for an academic career by developing and teaching a module on sustainable food systems in an upper-level undergraduate biology course. The Fellow will also develop programs aimed at supporting neurodiversity in biology, including a mentorship network for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.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.