NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: Genetic analysis of elk scat for diversity and diet

这一行动为NSF 2019财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供资金，扩大了生物学领域代表性不足群体的参与。该奖学金支持一项针对该研究员的研究和培训计划，该计划将增加生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。这位研究员是尤罗克部落的一名成员，他将扩大正在进行的将本土和西方科学方法整合起来保护野生动物的研究。该研究员、洪堡州立大学、加利福尼亚州尤罗克部落、华盛顿斯波坎部落和红木国家公园之间的密切合作将成为促进各种管理类型下的研究的典范。这位研究员将专注于传统生态知识和对尤罗克祖传土地和斯波坎保留地的麋鹿粪便样本的遗传分析，以确定个体和饮食。该研究员还将在两个部落社区以及全国会议和洪堡州立大学开展外联活动。该项目和外联活动将通过突出土著科学并提供机会激励所有年龄段的人参与科学，从而服务于部落社区。这项研究将服务于更广泛的社会，提供一个综合科学方法的范例，并为这些麋鹿种群的遗传多样性和饮食方面的科学文献做出贡献。通过对Yurok附属社区成员的访谈分析，与Elk相关的Yurok传统生态知识将被整合到本研究的Yurok部分。成功的Spokane麋鹿管理计划将为Yurok提供潜在的管理战略，与周围土地相比，Yurok的麋鹿数量有限。个体的基因分型将通过扩增专为麋鹿设计的11个多态微卫星标记和计算身份概率来进行。将收集和分析植物样本，以创建一个DNA序列参考库，与粪便样本中的饮食项目进行比较。饮食将通过元编码和鸟枪测序分析来确定，随后的序列匹配将在国家生物技术信息中心提供的基本局部比对搜索工具中进行。培训活动将包括麋鹿个体识别和饮食的湿实验室技术，以及参加生物信息学研讨会。扩大参与活动将包括接触部落人民，从年轻人到大学水平，以及与洪堡州立大学不同背景的学生接触。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 action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2019, 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, a Yurok tribal member, will expand ongoing research in the integration of Indigenous and Western science approaches to wildlife conservation. Strong collaborations between the fellow, Humboldt State University, the Yurok Tribe of California, the Spokane Tribe of Washington, and Redwood National Park will serve as a model for facilitating research under various management types. The fellow will focus on Traditional Ecological Knowledge and a genetic analysis of elk fecal samples from Yurok ancestral lands and the Spokane reservation to identify individuals and diet. The fellow will also conduct outreach activities in both tribal communities, as well as, at national conferences and Humboldt State University. The project and outreach activities will serve tribal communities by highlighting Indigenous science and providing opportunities to inspire and engage people of all ages in science. The research will serve the broader society by providing an example of an integrated scientific approach, as well as contributing to the scientific literature on genetic diversity and diet of these elk populations.Yurok Traditional Ecological Knowledge as related to elk will be integrated with the Yurok portion of this study through the analysis of interviews with Yurok-affiliated community members. The successful Spokane elk management program will inform potential management strategies for Yurok, where the elk population is limited as compared to surrounding lands. Genotyping of individuals will be conducted through the amplification of 11 polymorphic microsatellite markers specifically designed for elk and the calculation of Probability of Identity. Plant samples will be collected and analyzed to create a reference library of DNA sequences with which to compare diet items from the fecal samples. Diet will be determined via metabarcoding and shotgun sequencing analyses, with subsequent sequence matching in the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool available through the National Center for Biotechnology Information. Training activities will include wet lab techniques for elk individual identification and diet, as well as attendance at bioinformatics workshops. Broadening participation activities will include outreach to tribal peoples, from youth to college level, and engagement with students from various backgrounds at Humboldt State University.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.