NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2018

该行动为2018财年美国国家科学基金会生物学博士后研究奖学金提供资金，扩大生物学中代表性不足群体的参与。该奖学金支持研究员的一项研究和培训计划，该计划将增加生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。研究员将描述北方象海豹幼崽的导航和潜水能力。出生三个月后，这些小动物开始了它们的第一次迁徙，在没有父母指导的情况下学习导航和觅食。尽管这些海豹的独立迁徙距离是哺乳动物中最远的，但我们不知道它们是如何在看似毫无特色的海洋中找到自己的路或回家的路的。在未来的100年里，预计北太平洋的海面温度会上升，初级生产力会下降。这些变化预计会影响到北方象海豹，因为它们的关键觅食栖息地向北移动了1000公里，并且在水柱中更深。因此，确定海象的导航和潜水能力是否从母亲遗传给女儿是很重要的，如果是的话，这将如何限制它们预测气候变化的适应能力。该研究员将与来自加州大学圣克鲁斯分校的赞助科学家丹尼尔·科斯塔博士合作，分析现有的和新收集的海象妈妈和它们的雌性幼崽的跟踪和潜水数据。利用一种新的模拟模型，研究员将预测气候变化对自上而下的生态系统控制的捕食者的影响。通过这些方式，研究员将接受尖端生物学和计算技术的培训，并将获得科学传播方面的专业发展机会。动物导航是一个有趣的领域，为教授学生行为学、生态学和进化等关键概念提供了理想的基础。通过将结果融入高中生物学习模块，研究员将获得宝贵的教学技能。研究结果也将在A？与州立公园PORTS远程学习项目合作的新州立公园研究站点。最后，该研究员将为本科生和研究生提供实践研究经验，重点是扩大代表性不足的少数民族的参与。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2018, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The Fellow will characterize the navigation and diving abilities of northern elephant seal pups. Three months after birth these young animals begin their first migration, learning to navigate and forage without any parental instruction. Despite exhibiting the farthest independent migration of any mammal, it is unknown how these seals find their way, or their way home, in a seemingly featureless ocean. In the next 100 years, increases in sea surface temperature and decreases in primary productivity are expected in the North Pacific Ocean. These changes are expected to affect northern elephant seals by shifting their critical foraging habitat northward by 1,000km and deeper in the water column. Thus, it is important to determine whether elephant seal navigation and diving are genetically passed on from mother to daughter and if so, how that might limit their adaptive capacities to predicted climate change. The Fellow will work with sponsoring scientist Dr. Daniel Costa from the University of California Santa Cruz to analyze existing and newly-collected tracking and diving data from mother elephant seals and their female pups. Using a novel simulation model, the Fellow will predict the impacts of climate change on a predator with top-down ecosystem control. In these ways, the Fellow will be trained in cutting-edge biologging and computational techniques and will obtain professional development opportunities in science communication. Animal navigation is an intriguing field that provides an ideal basis for teaching students key concepts in behavior, ecology, and evolution. By incorporating results into high school biology learning modules, the Fellow will gain valuable teaching skills. Research findings will also be communicated with docents and visitors at the A?o Nuevo State Park research site in collaboration with the State Park PORTS distance learning program. Finally, the Fellow will provide hands-on research experience to undergraduate and graduate students, with an emphasis on broadening the participation of underrepresented minorities.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.