NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2011

本行动资助2011年度美国国家科学基金会生物学博士后研究奖学金，扩大参与。该奖学金支持奖学金获得者在主办实验室的研究和培训计划，该奖学金获得者还提出了扩大生物学参与的计划。这项奖学金的研究和培训计划的标题是“鸟类视觉生理和觅食行为的个体差异”。该奖学金的主办机构是普渡大学，赞助科学家是Esteban Fernandez-Juricic博士。研究计划集中于鸟类视觉生理个体差异与觅食行为之间的关系。觅食涉及到寻找食物和监视捕食者之间的权衡。先前的研究发现，鸟类视网膜特征的变化与饮食和栖息地有关。然而，尽管种内变异是理解视觉系统进化的关键，但人们对同一物种个体之间的视网膜变异知之甚少。本研究量化了鸟类视网膜生理个体差异的程度和性质，并直接测试了关于个体光感受器分布如何与个体觅食行为和技能差异相关的假设。这些发现明确地将觅食的生理和行为联系起来，并对视觉生态学、觅食理论和动物行为学等领域有广泛的益处。训练目标包括学习鸟类视觉生理学和行为生态学的技术。更广泛的影响包括通过主办机构指导本科生？他还访问了当地学校，通过动手活动向年轻学生介绍行为生态学。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2011, Broadening Participation. 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 Amanda Ensminger is "Individual variation in visual physiology and foraging behavior of birds." The host institution for this fellowship is Purdue University and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Esteban Fernandez-Juricic.The research plan centers on the relationship between individual variation in visual physiology and foraging behavior in birds. Foraging involves a trade-off between searching for food and watching for predators. Previous research has found that variation in retinal characteristics among bird species is related to both diet and habitat. However, little is known about retinal variation among individuals within a species, even though intraspecific variation is key to understanding the evolution of visual systems. This research quantifies the degree and nature of individual variation in retinal physiology in birds and directly tests hypotheses about how individual photoreceptor distribution is related to differences among individuals in their foraging behavior and skills. The findings explicitly link physiology and behavior in the context of foraging and benefit broadly the fields of visual ecology, foraging theory, and animal behavior.Training objectives include learning techniques in avian visual physiology and behavioral ecology. Broader impacts include mentoring undergraduates through the host institution?s chapter of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science and visiting local schools to introduce young students to behavioral ecology through hands-on activities.