NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: Connecting Genomic and hormonal mechanisms to ecologically relevant behaviors

该行动为2019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。本研究探讨了当这些行为的潜在机制被预测为不同时，男性和女性如何表现出表面上相似的行为。该项目研究了领土侵略的激素和基因组基础，这是一种在动物王国中广泛存在的行为，对繁殖成功至关重要。对雄性动物的研究表明，像睾酮这样的激素，以及大脑中表达的基因，控制着攻击性。然而，对于许多物种的雌性来说，攻击性也很重要，尤其是在争夺有限的筑巢空间的鸟类中。一个悬而未决的问题是，男性和女性的攻击性是由相似还是不同的机制控制的。本研究将调查多个鸟类家族，以研究雄性和雌性之间的攻击差异，以及激素，基因表达和基因组进化。在远亲群体中，相似表型的独立起源是自然选择的有力证据，但行为趋同的近因却鲜为人知。这项研究评估了一种重复进化行为的机制趋同：洞穴筑巢。雄性和雌性洞巢鸟都在竞争筑巢地点，这为评估雄性和雌性之间机械相似性的性质和程度提供了机会。这项工作将在整个系统发育中广泛取样基因组，以量化与腔巢进化相关的积极选择。通过对有和没有洞巢的多对物种的激素和神经基因表达的比较，将评估洞巢表型的趋同选择是否预测了不同家庭中雄性/雌性的攻击差异。这项工作验证了一个新兴的假设，即基因序列变异、神经基因表达和激素水平独立作用，带来趋同的行为表型。该项目更广泛的影响旨在吸引和留住那些从高中过渡到大学的代表性不足的学生。他将与印第安纳大学（Indiana University）附近的高中教师合作，设计有关洞穴筑巢繁殖阶段的学习模块，并让学生参与互动“电子鸟屋”（eBirdhouses）的实践研究，收集野生鸟类的环境和行为数据。该项目为学生提供批判性思维、数据分析和公开演讲技能方面的培训，这些技能对于在STEM领域取得成功至关重要。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 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. This research investigates how males and females display outwardly similar behaviors when the underlying mechanisms for these behaviors are predicted to be different. The project examines the hormonal and genomic basis of territorial aggression a behavior that is widespread across the animal kingdom and critical for reproductive success. Studies of male animals reveal that hormones like testosterone, as well as genes expressed in the brain, regulate aggression. However, aggression is also important for females of many species, especially in birds that compete for limited nesting space. An open question is whether male and female aggression are controlled by similar or different mechanisms. This research will survey multiple bird families to examine differences in aggression between males and females, as well as hormones, gene expression, and genome evolution. The independent origin of similar phenotypes across distantly-related groups is compelling evidence for natural selection, but the proximate bases of behavioral convergence are poorly understood. This research evaluates the mechanistic convergence underlying a repeatedly evolved behavior: cavity-nesting. Both male and female cavity-nesters compete for nest sites, providing an opportunity to assess the nature and degree of mechanistic parallelism between males and females. This work will broadly sample genomes across a phylogeny to quantify positive selection associated with the evolution of cavity nesting. A comparison of hormonal and neural gene expression for multiple species pairs with and without cavity nesting will assess whether convergent selection on the cavity-nesting phenotype predicts male/female differences in aggression across families. This work tests an emergent hypothesis that gene sequence variation, neural gene expression, and hormone levels act independently to bring about convergent behavioral phenotypes. The project's broader impacts are designed to engage and retain students from underrepresented groups as they transition from high school to college. The fellow will pair with high school teachers near Indiana University to design learning modules on the reproductive stages of cavity-nesting, and engage students in hands-on research with interactive 'eBirdhouses' to collect environmental and behavioral data from wild birds. This project provides training for students in critical thinking, data analysis, and public speaking skills essential to success in STEM fields.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.