NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Evolution of eastern gray squirrels in urban environments

这一行动为NSF 2021财年生物学博士后研究奖学金提供了资金，综合研究调查了支配基因组、环境和表型之间相互作用的生命规则。该奖学金支持研究员的研究和培训，这些研究员将以创新的方式为生活规则领域做出贡献。这项研究阐述了城市化和相关的景观变化如何改变城市野生动物的进化模式。科学家们最近指出，有必要将社会文化特征纳入自然景观之外，如霉菌投诉、进入杂货店和非法倾倒垃圾。这些特征以尚未被发现的方式促成了非适应性的城市野生动物模式，并将提供关于如何改造我们的城市以更好地支持野生动物和人类的重要信息。此外，城市野生动物预计将遇到与周围非城市地区不同的适应性选择压力。了解表型如何随着城市环境的变化而变化，以及哪些基因构成了这些变化的基础，可以为快速进化和城市生态进化动力学提供经验证据，这两个领域都处于相对早期的发展阶段。通过了解这些变化的程度以及它们在基因组中的位置，科学家们可以建立一个更好的模型，来研究城市化如何塑造野生动物的进化。该研究员将对来自不同背景的K-12学生进行外联，以增强他们对野生动物在城市环境中作用的理解。为了评估非适应性进化，该项目将收集圣路易斯大都市区东部灰松鼠(Sciurus Carolinensis)的DNA，并使用DNA测序技术扩增数千个单核苷酸多态性(SNPs)。这些SNPs将用于景观遗传学建模，以检测景观中的障碍和走廊。为了评估适应性进化，该项目将收集圣路易斯大都会地区和周围非城市森林中卡罗林沙棘的形态数据。这些形态轨迹将与全基因组序列相结合，进行全基因组关联研究，并检测可能在城市人口中被选择的基因。这项工作将考察环境管理决策对野生动物的影响，同时向当地学生传授进化生物学、哺乳动物学和实地研究。该项目的结果将影响城市规划，并为经常被旨在将人与自然联系起来的计划忽视的居民提供更大的野生动物获取机会。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 2021, 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. This research addresses how urbanization and associated landscape changes alter the evolutionary patterns of urban wildlife. Scientists have recently pointed to the need to incorporate socio-cultural features beyond the physical landscape, such as mold complaints, access to grocery stores, and illegal trash dumping. These features contribute to non-adaptive urban wildlife patterns in ways that have yet to be uncovered and which will provide vital information on how to transform our cities to better support both wildlife and humans. Additionally, urban wildlife are expected to encounter adaptive selection pressures that differ from the surrounding non-urban area. Understanding how phenotypes change in response to the urban environment, and which genes underlie those changes, can provide empirical evidence for rapid evolution and urban eco-evolutionary dynamics, two fields which are in the relatively early stages of development. By understanding the extent of these changes and where in the genome they occur, scientists can build a better model for how urbanization shapes the evolution of wildlife. The Fellow will conduct outreach to K-12 students from diverse backgrounds to enhance their understanding of the role of wildlife in urban environments.To assess nonadaptive evolution, this project will collect DNA from Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) in the St. Louis metropolitan area and use DNA sequencing to amplify thousands of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs). These SNPs will be used for landscape genetics modeling to detect barriers and corridors in the landscape. To assess adaptive evolution, this project will collect morphological data from S. carolinensis in the St. Louis metro area and in the surrounding non-urban forests. These morphological trails will be combined with whole genome sequences to conduct a Genome Wide Association Study and detect genes that may be under selection in the urban population. This work will examine the impacts of environmental management decisions on wildlife while teaching local students about evolutionary biology, mammalogy, and field research. The results of this project will influence city planning and provide greater equity of access to wildlife for residents who are often overlooked by programs meant to connect people with nature.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.