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

美国国家科学基金会生物学博士后奖学金：早花作物的传粉媒介热性能和限制

• 批准号: 2305941
• 负责人: Nicole DesJardins
• 金额: $ 24万
• 依托单位: DesJardins, Nicole S
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2026-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2305941&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; Pollinator

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.

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。由于缺乏传粉者，美国中西部的苹果生产受到限制。苹果可能特别容易受到传粉者的限制，因为它们在初春开花，有时天气太冷，蜜蜂不能飞。在气候变化下，天气条件在早春期间可能变得越来越不稳定，可能会加剧传粉者限制的问题。该项目旨在确定传粉者的热性能与传粉者的限制有关的程度。它将确定参与苹果授粉的群体(蜜蜂、大黄蜂、独居蜂等)。最擅长在不稳定的天气条件下表演。这项研究将有助于确保中西部苹果作物在面对不断变化的气候时的安全，并将能够指导缓解策略，如增加蜜蜂的饲养密度或保护野生蜜蜂。该研究员将向美国中西部的养蜂人和种植者传播这项工作，并将开展旨在增加神经分歧个人在生物研究中的参与度和留存率的活动。这位研究员将首先确定果园小气候和开花时间是否会影响传粉者造访，预测小气候较温暖和开花品种较晚的苹果园将经历更多传粉者造访。接下来，这位研究员将通过实验来诱导传粉者限制，只在选定的温度下才能授粉，预测在更高温度下可用的花将不那么受传粉者的限制。这位研究员还将直接观察传粉者的热生理学，将蜜蜂在实验室测试中的表现与它们在野外活动的温度进行匹配。总体而言，这位研究员将寻求确定在多大程度上可以用传粉者的热表现来解释这种早花作物中传粉者的限制。除了这些研究活动外，该研究员还将通过在高等本科生物学课程中开发和教授可持续食品系统模块来为学术生涯做准备。该研究员还将开发旨在支持生物学中神经多样性的项目，包括研究生和博士后研究人员的导师网络。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。