NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Bridging genomics, physiology, and behavioral ecology to uncover mechanisms driving incipient speciation in an island bird

该行动资助了NSF 2020财年生物学博士后研究奖学金，研究基因组，环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则的综合研究。该奖学金支持将以创新方式对生活规则领域作出贡献的研究员的研究和培训。将行为和生理学研究与基因组数据相结合，该研究将增强对孤立栖息地中新物种产生的理解。该项目关注的是一种只在南太平洋所罗门群岛发现的鸟类，即帝王鹟。在该群岛的较小岛屿上，先前的研究发现，从栗色祖先那里反复进化出全黑（黑色）的颜色。在发生这种情况的大多数种群中，所有的鸟类现在都是黑色的，只与其他黑色的个体交配，从而产生一个新物种。岛屿之间颜色差异的原因尚不清楚。为了确定黑色进化背后的原因，他将研究一个岛屿种群，在这个种群中，黑色和栗色的鸟仍然存在，并相互交配。这将为推动新特征进化和物种起源的过程提供洞见。了解行为、生理和遗传如何相互作用影响物种进化，将有助于欣赏和保护世界上非凡的生物多样性。为了扩大这个项目的影响，将为高中生设计一个关于物种如何进化的案例研究。了解在早期物种形成的背景下视觉信号是如何以及为什么变化的，对于辨别种群分化的驱动因素至关重要。在两种不同的视觉信号——黑色和栗色——的种群多态性中，该项目测试了三种不同的假设，解释了黑化现象在君主进化支系中的反复进化。由于黑素皮质素系统的多效性作用，以及与睾酮和/或攻击性有关，黑化可能是在间接选择下发生的。另一种可能是，与同种生物的相互作用和竞争可能会导致黑化的社会选择。最后，黑化可能通过小群体和最小负多效性的遗传漂变而产生。验证这些假设的预测包括三个目的：(1)通过mount presentation实验确定羽毛颜色对攻击行为的影响；(2)利用全基因组重测序数据表征黑化的进化过程和遗传结构；(3)测量黑色、栗色和羽毛操纵的鸟类的α -黑色素细胞刺激激素和睾丸激素。该研究员将受益于将全基因组分析与表型，行为和生理反应相结合的深入经验。此外，本研究将以个案研究为特色，旨在教育高中生有关物种形成、趋同进化和科学过程的知识。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 2020, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Combining studies of behavior and physiology with genomic data, the research will enhance understanding about new species arising in isolated habitats. The project focuses on a group of birds, Monarcha flycatchers, found only in the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific. On the smaller islands of the archipelago, previous research uncovered repeated evolution of all black (melanic) coloration from chestnut colored ancestors. In most populations where this occurred, all birds are now melanic and mate only with other melanic individuals, resulting in a new species. The reasons for color differences across islands are unknown. To determine what is underlying the evolution of black coloration, the fellow will study an island population in which both melanic and chestnut colored birds still exist and mate with each other. This will provide insight into processes that drive evolution of novel traits and the origin of species. Knowing how behavior, physiology, and genetics interact to influence species evolution will facilitate appreciation and preservation of the world’s remarkable biodiversity. To broaden the impact of the project, a case study will be designed for high school students about how species evolve. Understanding how and why visual signals change in the context of incipient speciation is crucial to discerning drivers of population divergence. In a population polymorphic for two distinct visual signals – melanic and chestnut coloration – this project tests three alternative hypotheses explaining repeated evolution of melanism in the Monarcha clade. Melanism may be under indirect selection due to pleiotropic effects of the melanocortin system, and associations with testosterone and/or aggression. Alternatively, interaction and competition with conspecifics may drive social selection for melanism. Finally, melanism may arise through genetic drift via small populations and minimal negative pleiotropy. Testing predictions of these hypotheses involves three aims: (1) determine effects of plumage color on aggressive behavior through mount presentation experiments; (2) characterize the evolutionary processes mediating and genetic architecture underlying melanism using whole-genome resequencing data; and (3) measure alpha-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone and testosterone in melanic, chestnut, and plumage-manipulated birds. The fellow will benefit from in-depth experience integrating whole-genome analyses with phenotypic, behavioral, and physiological responses. In addition, this study will be featured in a case study designed to educate high school students about speciation, convergent evolution, and the scientific process.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.