Collaborative Research: IRES Track I: Stronger Together: Exploring How Communal Care Reduces Individual Costs During Challenging Years

该IRES奖项提供来自田纳西大学查塔努加分校和阿德尔菲大学(纽约)的6名本科生和9名研究生。在智利有国际研究经验。学生们将与来自智利圣地亚哥四个学术机构的研究人员进行为期12个月的合作。这项工作的科学目的是确定共同照顾后代的生理机制，从而在恶劣的生态条件下，在只在智利发现的群居啮齿类动物Decu(Ocdon Des Us)中提高繁殖成功。学生们将设计自己的实验，并参与一项实地研究，以确定公共护理如何减轻繁育雌性动物及其幼崽因食物供应不足而产生的生理成本。学生将使用现代统计学方法分析关于德古社会生活、压力生理和生殖成功的长期数据集。学生主导的研究将有助于我们理解环境如何塑造共同照料幼崽的后果，从而在保护生物学和人类健康方面有广泛的应用。该计划建立在智利正在进行的IRES计划的基础上，并以独特的“世代”建议结构为特色，促进当前和以前的IRES队列内部和之间的合作。该计划的一个重要的更广泛的影响是促进国际合作，为初中生和高中生提供STEM教育，并就社区参与儿童保育的健康好处进行公众宣传。在为他们的国际体验做准备时，IRES的学生将写关于有魅力的社会动物生活方式的总结。这些著作将成为田纳西大学查塔努加STEM教育与健康与人类表现研究生教育活动的一部分。关于社区关怀和健康生活方式的教育活动将在参加田纳西大学查塔努加分校三个外展项目的初中生和高中生中进行测试(Gear Up，Upend Bound，Upend Bound Math&Amp；Science)。活动将在网上向公众开放。共同的Pi Bauer将为几个社交媒体平台撰写帖子，介绍如何通过家庭帮助、社会帮助和文化支持来缓解育儿压力。IRES的科学目标是确定生态如何塑造集体繁殖的生殖后果，这是一种由多个母亲共同哺育后代的社会战略。最重要的实验是一项操纵性的实地研究，目的是确定低食物丰度如何影响集体繁殖的八齿鼠的内分泌和氧化应激，八齿鼠是智利特有的一种社会啮齿动物。学生将在这项研究的框架内进行独立的项目，并将分析长期数据集。该计划每年资助5-6名学生(2名本科生，3-4名研究生；三年内15名学生)。学生将与一个或多个PI进行为期一年的协作吗？智利圣地亚哥四个学术机构的四名合作者。对研究社交互动如何影响压力生理学感兴趣的学生将与社交网络专家和前IRES学生合作？德·舍布鲁克，加拿大。在IRES之前，国际合作者将就项目设计和赠款建议提供反馈。本科生IRES将持续8-10周(6-8月)，研究生将持续18-20周(6-10月)。IRES毕业后，国际合作者将对分析、演示和手稿提供反馈，从而提高学生生产率和成功的可能性。计划结果、学生对计划和科学的看法以及学生在STEM中的进步将在拟议计划期间和之后的3年内每年进行评估。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This IRES award provides 6 undergraduate and 9 graduate students from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Adelphi University (N.Y.) with international research experience in Chile. Students will engage in 12 months of collaboration with researchers from four academic institutions in Santiago, Chile. The scientific aim of the work is to identify physiological mechanisms whereby communal care of offspring can enhance reproductive success under harsh ecological conditions in the degu (Octodon degus), a social rodent found only in Chile. The students will design their own experiments and contribute to a field study to determine how communal care mitigates the physiological costs of low food availability on breeding females and their young. Students will use modern statistical methods to analyze a long-term dataset on degu social living, stress physiology, and reproductive success. Student-led research will lead to progress in our understanding of how the environment can shape the consequences of communal care of young and thus, will have broad application to conservation biology and human health. The program builds on an ongoing IRES program in Chile and features an unique "generational" advising structure that promotes collaborations within and between current and previous IRES cohorts. An important broader impact of the program is to promote international collaboration, STEM education for middle and high school students, and public outreach about the health benefits of community engagement in child care. In preparation for their international experiences, IRES students will write summaries about the way charismatic social animals live. These writings will become part of educational activities developed by University of Tennessee at Chattanooga STEM Education and Health and Human Performance graduate students. Educational activities on communal care and healthy lifestyles will be tested with middle and high school students participating in three University of Tennessee at Chattanooga outreach programs (GEAR UP, Upward Bound, Upward Bound Math & Science). Activities will be made available online to the general public. Co-PI Bauer will write posts for several social media platforms about how the stress of parenting can be mitigated through family help, societal assistance, and cultural support. The scientific objective of this IRES is to determine how ecology shapes the reproductive consequences of communal breeding, a social strategy in which multiple mothers nurse offspring communally. The overarching experiment is a manipulative field study to determine how low food abundance influences the endocrine and oxidative stress of communally breeding Octodon degus, a social rodent endemic to Chile. Students will conduct independent projects within the framework of this study and will also analyze a long-term dataset. This program supports 5-6 students per year (2 undergrad, 3-4 graduate; 15 individuals over a three-year period). Students will engage in year-long collaborations with one or more of the PIs? four collaborators at four academic institutions in Santiago, Chile. Students interested in studying how social interactions impact stress physiology will collaborate with an expert on social networks and former IRES student at the Universit? de Sherbrooke, Canada. Prior to IRES, international collaborators will provide feedback on project designs and grant proposals. IRES will last 8-10 weeks (June-August) for undergraduate students and 18-20 weeks (June-October) for graduate students. Post-IRES, international collaborators will provide feedback on analyses, presentations, and manuscripts, thereby increasing the likelihood of student productivity and success. Program outcomes, student perceptions of the program and science, and student progression in STEM will be assessed annually during and up to 3 years beyond the proposed program.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.