NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY2010

这一行动为2010财年的NSF博士后研究奖学金提供资金。该奖学金支持Ian Wang的一项研究和培训计划，题为“环境相关形态和遗传变异的景观遗传建模”。这项研究的主办机构是哈佛大学，赞助科学家是乔纳森·洛索斯。 迄今为止，绝大多数景观遗传学研究都集中在种群遗传结构与地理距离之间的关系上，而没有考虑环境变异的潜在影响。 结构方程模型（SEM）利用一系列回归和模型拟合分析来检验关于多个变量之间关系的假设，为研究地理距离、生态差异和遗传结构之间的关联提供了一个逻辑框架。 这项研究利用了计算密集的SEM分析和从五个主要的DNA，GIS和博物馆记录数据库中获得的数据来测试12种Anolis蜥蜴的遗传结构模式是否与种群间的地理距离或生态差异有关。 这种方法的实施大大扩展了景观遗传学的范围，使研究人员能够在生物多样性研究中研究相应的问题，包括种内遗传结构是否与地理距离或生态差异相关，以及哪些生态轴与这些物种中的每一个的遗传分化相关。 培训目标包括获得进化生态学的专业知识，以及建模和分析生态特征以及生物与环境之间的相互作用。 更广泛的影响包括为博物馆展览提供材料，包括计划在哈佛自然历史博物馆举办的阿诺利斯蜥蜴展览，以及让代表性不足的本科生参与这项研究的几个不同组成部分。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2010. The fellowship supports a research and training plan entitled "Landscape genetic modeling of environmentally associated morphological and genetic variation" for Ian Wang. The host institution for this research is Harvard University, and the sponsoring scientist is Jonathan Losos. To date, the vast majority of landscape genetics research has focused on the relationship between population genetic structure and geographic distance, without considering the potential effects of environmental variation. Structural equation modeling (SEM), which utilizes a series of regression and model-fitting analyses to test hypotheses about the relationships between multiple variables, provides a logical framework for examining associations between geographic distance, ecological differences, and genetic structure. This research utilizes a computationally intensive SEM analysis and data acquired from five major DNA, GIS, and museum record databases to test whether patterns of genetic structure in 12 species of Anolis lizards are associated with between-population geographic distance or ecological differences. The implementation of this method substantially expands the scope of landscape genetics, allowing researchers to examine consequential questions in the study of biological diversification, including whether intra-specific genetic structure is correlated with geographic distance or ecological differences, and which ecological axes are associated with genetic differentiation in each of these species. Training goals include gaining expertise in evolutionary ecology and in modeling and analyzing ecological traits and the interactions between organisms and their environments. Broader impacts include contributing materials to museum displays, including a planned exhibit on Anolis lizards at the Harvard Museum of Natural History, and involving underrepresented undergraduate students in several of the diverse components of this research.