NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2009

这一行动为NSF 2009财年少数民族博士后研究奖学金提供了资金。该奖学金支持在东道主实验室为该研究员制定的研究和培训计划，该研究员还提出了扩大生物学参与度的计划。加布里埃尔·里维拉的这项研究和培训计划的标题是《生活在缓慢和快速流动的水生栖息地的半水生淡水龟的形态分化的演变》。这项研究是在艾奥瓦州立大学迪恩·亚当斯博士的赞助下进行的。生活在广泛环境中的物种经常表现出与特定生态参数的差异相关的不同形态。水流的速度已被证明影响广泛的水生生物的形态。虽然产生这些模式的进化过程已经在几种完全水生生物(例如鱼类)中进行了研究，但进化如何在半水栖脊椎动物中产生这些模式在很大程度上仍未得到研究。利用陆地和水生栖息地使淡水海龟成为解决此类问题的一个极好的系统。北美淡水龟是由两个不同的地理谱系组成的：居住在大西洋流域的和居住在海湾流域的。这两个谱系的海龟生活在广泛的慢流和快速流动环境中，到目前为止，已在所研究的一个谱系(海湾)中发现了与不同流速相关的形态差异。该项目正在确定(1)遗传和环境因素在产生慢流和快速流动环境之间观察到的形态差异方面的作用，以及(2)水流的差异是否在两个地理谱系中产生相同的形态差异。这项研究为形态多样性如何通过进化适应不同的环境而产生提供了进一步的理解。培训计划包括通过结合检查形态变异模式的分析程序、量化组织形状的数学技术和统计方法来发展新的技能。此外，该项目为本科生提供了实验室和实地研究机会，并增加了未被充分代表的群体对科学的参与。

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2009. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Gabriel Rivera is "The evolution of morphological divergence in semi-aquatic freshwater turtles inhabiting slow and fast-flowing aquatic habitats." This research is being conducted at Iowa State University under the sponsorship of Dr. Dean Adams.Species that inhabit a wide range of environments frequently display divergent morphologies that correlate with differences in specific ecological parameters. The velocity of water flow has been shown to influence morphology in a broad range of aquatic organisms. While the evolutionary processes that have produced these patterns have been examined for several species of fully aquatic organisms (e.g., fishes), how evolution produces these patterns in semi-aquatic vertebrates remains largely unexamined. The use of terrestrial and aquatic habitats makes freshwater turtles an excellent system for addressing such questions. The North American freshwater turtle Pseudemys concinna is composed of two distinct geographic lineages; those inhabiting Atlantic drainages and those inhabiting Gulf drainages. Turtles in both lineages inhabit a wide range of slow and fast-flowing environments, and differences in morphology that correlate with different flow velocities have been identified in the one lineage (Gulf) studied to date. This project is determining (1) the contribution of genetic and environmental factors in producing the morphological differences observed between slow and fast-flowing environments, and (2) whether differences in water flow produce the same morphological differences in both geographic lineages. This research provides additional understanding of how morphological diversity can result from evolutionary adaptations to different environments. Training plans include developing new skills by combining analytical procedures for examining patterns of morphological variation, mathematical techniques for quantifying organismal shape, and statistical methods. Additionally, this project provides laboratory and field research opportunities for undergraduates and increases the participation of underrepresented groups in science.