Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology for FY 2009

本行动资助NSF 2009年度博士后研究奖学金。该奖学金支持一项名为“蛇模仿进化中颜色图案多态性的作用：一种统计系统地理学方法”的研究和培训计划。这项研究的主办机构是加州大学伯克利分校，赞助科学家是吉姆·麦奎尔。模仿在植物和动物中都很常见，在生物体中发现了许多明显的模式匹配案例。然而，在模仿系统中，无害物种（模仿者）通过类似有毒物种（模型）来阻止捕食者，许多物种矛盾地具有共存的模仿和非模仿的颜色模式（多态性）。由于这种变异支配着模型、模仿者和捕食者之间的相互作用，因此确定多态性在这些系统中的作用对于理解模仿者是如何在长时间内维持或丢失的至关重要。本研究使用计算密集的遗传方法来测试提出的假设，以解释稳定和广泛的多态性在一种模拟蛇种，索诺拉半环。该奖学金的培训目标包括发展计算生物学的高级技能，包括统计学、分子系统发育学和生物信息学的方法。科学影响是增加了对模仿系统及其进化意义的理解。进化历史可能对模拟类型的动态和分布有很大的影响，但很少被研究。该奖学金更广泛的影响包括广泛的指导和推广活动，与加州大学的科学与数学倡议和CalTeach项目合作，促进代表性不足的群体参与科学。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2009. The fellowship supports a research and training plan entitled "The role of color pattern polymorphism in the evolution of snake mimicry: a statistical phylogeographic approach" for Alison Davis. The host institution for this research the University of California - Berkeley and the sponsoring scientist is Jim McGuire.Mimicry is common in both plants and animals, with many cases of conspicuous pattern-matching found among organisms. However, in mimicry systems where harmless species (mimics) discourage predators by resembling toxic species (models), many species paradoxically have coexisting mimetic and non-mimetic color patterns (polymorphism). Because such variation governs the interactions between models, mimics, and predators, identifying the role of polymorphism in these systems is essential to understanding how mimicry is maintained or lost over long periods of time. This research uses a computationally intensive genetic approach to test hypotheses proposed to explain stable and widespread polymorphism in a mimetic snake species, Sonora semiannulata. The training objectives of the fellowship include developing advanced skills in computational biology, including methods in statistics, molecular phylogenetics, and bioinformatics. The scientific impact is to increase understanding of mimicry systems and their evolutionary significance. The evolutionary history likely has a large, but rarely investigated, influence on the dynamics and distribution of mimetic types. The fellowship's broader impacts include extensive mentoring and outreach activities, working with the University of California's Science and Math Initiative and CalTeach programs to promote the participation of underrepresented groups in the sciences.