CAREER: Investigating Fitness Trade-offs In A Southern Ocean Predator, The Leopard Seal

职业：研究南大洋掠食者豹海豹的健康权衡

• 批准号: 2338980
• 负责人: Sarah Kienle
• 金额: $ 84.86万
• 依托单位: Baylor University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-03-01 至 2029-02-28
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2338980&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Investigating; Fitness; Trade; offs

Part 1: Non-technical summary Trait differences between males and females are widespread across the animal kingdom. Because these traits often lead to trade-offs that affect reproductive success and survival, understanding them is a fundamental question in biology. Leopard seals are large predators in the Southern Ocean and an extreme example of female-biased dimorphism in mammals, where females are the larger than males. Yet, the effects of these size differences are unknown. This project will investigate the causes and consequences of female-biased dimorphism in leopard seals and will generate new data on the life history, reproductive physiology, and breeding biology of this important and enigmatic polar predator. This information is critical for understanding leopard seals' past, present, and future—from how the species evolved to predicting their resilience in an era of unprecedented environmental change. The project also has a strong education component. It aims to increase the participation of people from historically excluded groups in polar biology by training, mentoring, and supporting two postdocs, two grad students, and 25+ undergraduates. It will also engage students and the public in scientific research through outreach activities at local, national, and international scales.Part 2: Technical summaryTrait differences can lead to important trade-offs that affect biological processes at multiple scales, from intraspecific differences in fitness to species-level life history strategies. Leopard seals exhibit an extreme form of female-biased size dimorphism. However, for solitary, wide-ranging polar species like leopard seals, it is difficult to study their life history and reproductive biology. As a result, it is unknown how leopard seals' size dimorphism relates to other aspects of their biology. The goal of this project is to examine fitness trade-offs associated with female-biased dimorphism in leopard seals. Specifically, this study will (1) assess differences in male and female morphology and life history, (2) compare reproductive physiology between males and females, (3) investigate their breeding behavior and reproductive activities, and (4) conduct a cross-clade synthesis of female-biased dimorphism in mammals. The team will analyze existing specimens from biological collections and conduct field efforts to generate novel, complementary data. This information is critical for understanding how leopard seals evolved to survive and persist in the Southern Ocean. The research aligns with NSF's Strategic Vision for Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research and supports ongoing efforts to create and utilize open polar research software, as well as data and sample reuse in polar research. This work relies on strong collaborations across academia, non-profits, and government institutions worldwide, and the results will be broadly shared with global audiences. This project also aims to increase the participation and retention of people from historically excluded groups in polar research. Specifically, the goals are to (1) recruit and train a diverse, inclusive, and supportive research team, (2) lead a research-intensive undergrad course (SEAL Lab), and (3) provide grad students and postdocs with hands-on leadership and mentoring experiences. The project will engage students and the public in polar research, as students will conduct research in museum, field, and lab-based settings.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.

第1部分：非技术性总结雄性和雌性之间的性状差异在动物王国中广泛存在。由于这些特征往往会导致影响繁殖成功和生存的权衡，因此了解它们是生物学中的一个基本问题。海豹是南大洋的大型食肉动物，也是哺乳动物中雌性偏见二型性的一个极端例子，雌性比雄性大。然而，这些大小差异的影响是未知的。该项目将调查雌性偏见的原因和后果的二型斑海豹，并将产生新的数据的生活史，生殖生理学和繁殖生物学的重要和神秘的极地捕食者。这些信息对于了解豹海豹的过去，现在和未来至关重要-从物种如何进化到预测它们在前所未有的环境变化时代的恢复力。该项目也有很强的教育内容。它旨在通过培训，指导和支持两名博士后，两名研究生和25名以上本科生来增加历史上被排斥群体的人参与极地生物学。它还将通过在地方，国家和国际scales.Part 2：Technical summaryTrait差异外展活动，学生和公众参与科学研究，可以导致重要的权衡，影响生物过程在多个尺度上，从种内差异健身物种水平的生活史策略。豹海豹表现出极端形式的雌性偏见大小二型性。然而，对于像海豹这样独居、分布广泛的极地物种，很难研究它们的生活史和生殖生物学。因此，人们不知道海豹的大小二型性与其生物学的其他方面有何关系。这个项目的目标是研究与雌性偏见的二型性在豹海豹的健身权衡。具体而言，本研究将（1）评估雄性和雌性形态学和生活史的差异，（2）比较雄性和雌性之间的生殖生理学，（3）调查它们的繁殖行为和生殖活动，（4）进行哺乳动物雌性偏向二型性的交叉进化枝合成。该团队将分析现有的生物标本，并进行实地工作，以产生新的补充数据。这些信息对于了解海豹如何进化以在南大洋生存和生存至关重要。该研究符合NSF在南极和南大洋研究投资的战略愿景，并支持正在进行的创建和利用开放极地研究软件的努力，以及极地研究中的数据和样本重用。这项工作依赖于全球学术界、非营利组织和政府机构的密切合作，其成果将与全球受众广泛分享。该项目还旨在增加历史上被排斥群体的人参与和保留极地研究。具体来说，目标是（1）招募和培养一个多元化，包容性和支持性的研究团队，（2）领导研究密集型本科课程（海豹实验室），（3）为研究生和博士后提供实践领导和指导经验。该项目将吸引学生和公众参与极地研究，因为学生将在博物馆，野外和实验室环境中进行研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。