MCA: Identifying the genomic mechanisms mediating rapid responses to environmental change in a widespread songbird

快速变化的环境条件正在导致栖息地分布、繁殖时间和动物调节体温的特征发生巨大变化。在这种情况下，一个特别重要的特征是体型。体型较小的动物被认为比体型较大的动物更能散热。因此，预计许多生物将因迅速上升的气温而缩小。各种动物都有体型缩小的记录，但这些反应背后的遗传机制还没有得到很好的理解，这些信息对于预测生物如何应对气候变化至关重要。这项研究将使用现代基因组技术来研究生物体如何应对不断上升的温度，并为PI提供现代基因组技术的基本培训，这将大大提高她指导博士后和各个阶段学生的能力，并丰富她的研究生和本科课程的质量。这项研究还将支持一个关于气候变化的为期一天的活动的发展，该活动将在北达科他州部落大学向初高中美国原住民学生展示。了解生物体对不断变化的环境条件作出反应的机制是进化生物学的一个中心目标，在气候变化的情况下，这一目标变得越来越紧迫。虽然进化适应有望帮助减轻气温迅速上升的影响，但它们随时间变化的程度以及与种群动态的关系尚不清楚。为了解决这些重要的知识空白，一组独特的家雀标本将被用于：1)确定与气候变量和体型相关的基因组区域，2)确定在这些基因组区域中历史和当代收集的标本之间的差异程度，以及3)评估基因组脆弱性预测种群丰度变化的程度。这项研究将为快速响应气候变化的基因组机制和人口水平过程的后果提供新的见解，这将对预测全球变暖的长期结果至关重要。本项目由综合生态生理学项目和促进竞争研究的既定项目（EPSCoR）共同资助。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。

Rapidly changing environmental conditions are inducing dramatic shifts in habitat distributions, the timing of breeding, and traits that allow animals to regulate their body temperature. One trait expected to be particularly important in this context is body size. Smaller animals are expected to be better able to dissipate heat than larger animals. Consequently, many organisms are expected to shrink in response to rapidly rising temperatures. Declining body size has been documented in diverse animals, but the genetic mechanisms that underlie these responses are not well understood and this information will be critical for predicting how organisms will respond to climate change. This research will use modern genomic techniques to study how organisms are responding to rising temperatures and provide essential training in modern genomic techniques for the PI that will greatly enhance her ability to mentor post-docs and students at all stages and enrich the quality of her graduate and undergraduate courses. This research will also support the development of a daylong activity about climate change to be presented to middle and high school Native American students at tribal colleges in North Dakota.Understanding the mechanisms that allow organisms to respond to changing environmental conditions is a central goal of evolutionary biology and is becoming increasingly urgent in the face of climate change. Although evolutionary adaptations are expected to help mitigate the effects of rapidly rising temperatures, the degree to which they are changing over time and related to population dynamics is not well understood. To address these important gaps in knowledge, a unique set of house sparrow specimens collected at sites throughout the U.S. approximately 60 years apart will be used to: 1) identify genomic regions associated with climate variables and body size, 2) determine the degree of divergence between historically and contemporarily collected specimens in these same genomic regions, and 3) assess the extent to which genomic vulnerability predicts changes in population abundance. This research will provide novel insight into the genomic mechanisms that underlie rapid responses to climate change and the consequences for population level processes, which will be essential for predicting the long-term outcomes of global warming.This project is jointly funded by Integrative Ecological Physiology Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.