NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2012

随机生态移民历史对进化多样性的影响生物多样性的决定因素是进化生物学的核心问题。虽然人们认识到，进化的多样化和灭绝过程，加上生态移民，有助于生物群落的多样性，但这些过程如何相互作用以形成多样性的性质尚不清楚。这些复杂的相互作用需要理论和详细的实验研究。本研究探讨了移民历史如何影响进化的多样化过程。在实验室中进行的细菌实验性适应性辐射的大规模微观实验将测试移民历史的因素如何影响多样化的速度和程度。发展一个综合模型的进化社区组装纳入移民的影响，并应用分析工具，从物理学和应用数学，将使参数组合的识别显着有助于多样化的动态，培训目标包括学习和应用建模方法，从物理学和应用数学，如随机微分方程和分支过程，来解决复杂的生物现象。 了解产生和消除社区多样性的力量对于保护和恢复原生生境至关重要。 更广泛的影响包括积极指导和建议本科生和K-12教育推广。

Impacts of stochastic ecological immigration history on evolutionary diversificationThe determinants of biodiversity are of central interest to evolutionary biology. While it is understood that the processes of evolutionary diversification and extinction, coupled with ecological immigration, contribute to diversity in biological communities, the nature of how these processes interact to shape diversity is not clear. These complex interactions require both theoretical and detailed experimental investigations. This research investigates how immigration history impacts the evolutionary diversification process. Large-scale microcosm experiments in a bacterial experimental adaptive radiation in the laboratory will test how elements of immigration history influence the rate and extent of diversification. The development a synthetic model of evolutionary community assembly incorporating effects of immigration and applying analytical tools from physics and applied mathematics, will enable the identification of parameter combinations significantly contribute to the dynamics of diversification.Training objectives include learning and applying modeling approaches from physics and applied mathematics, such as stochastic differential equations and branching processes, to address the complex biological phenomena. Understanding the forces that generate and eliminate diversity in communities is of critical importance for the conservation and restoration of native habitats. Broader impacts include actively mentoring and advising undergraduate students and K-12 educational outreach.