NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Constraints as a bridge between phenotypic micro- and macroevolution

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。进化生物学的一个主要目标是将选择和适应的微观进化研究与进化的宏观进化模式联系起来。虽然我们现在了解了许多不同类型的微观进化对性状表达的影响，但我们仍然不知道微观进化如何告知我们在宏观进化尺度上观察到的进化速度。因此，这位研究员试图通过测量与可测量的环境营养物质相关的化石特征来模拟特征进化的制约因素，以此作为连接微观进化和宏观进化观点的一种手段。该项目代表了一种以生物现实的方式将不同的进化观点和数据联系在一起的新方法，并将极大地拓宽我们对“生命规则”如何跨越时间尺度影响形态进化的理解。该研究员还将通过在主办机构、附属州立大学和地方部落开展的外联和培训计划，扩大对STEM活动的参与。在一个框架内弥合性状微观进化和宏观进化的不同观点，需要将微观进化研究的表型景观(景观中的峰值对应于较高的适应值)与宏观进化时间尺度上适应峰值的移动联系起来。实现这一点的一种方法是将环境对性状表达的限制纳入其中，这可以在今天的种群和化石记录中进行测量。这位研究员将创建一个新的特征进化模型，在约束变化期间结合微观进化参数，以弥合表型微观进化和宏观进化之间的差距。这将通过使用一个独特的限制系统(钙化软体动物)来完成，对于这种系统，对表型的环境限制在生理水平上是很好理解的，并且很容易在整个化石记录中进行测量。这位研究员将接受培训，开发和应用一种新的贝叶斯时间片特征进化模型，该模型结合了约束解除和执行期间的微进化信息。该研究员还将在多个层面上创造外展机会，包括学员参与和专注于软件的学术工作。这一奖项反映了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. A major goal of evolutionary biology is to connect microevolutionary studies of selection and adaptation to macroevolutionary patterns of evolution. While we now understand many of the different types and effects of microevolutionary influences on trait expression, we still do not understand how microevolution can inform us about the rates of evolution observed at macroevolutionary scales. The Fellow therefore seeks to model constraints on trait evolution by measuring the fossil traits associated with measurable environmental nutrients as a means to link microevolutionary and macroevolutionary perspectives. The project represents a new way to link disparate evolutionary perspectives and data in a biologically realistic manner and will substantially broaden our understanding of how the ‘Rules of Life’ act across temporal scales to shape morphological evolution. The Fellow will also broaden participation in STEM activities through outreach and training programs at the host institution, an affiliated state college, and with local tribes.Bridging the divergent perspectives of trait microevolution and macroevolution in a single framework requires linking phenotypic landscapes of microevolutionary studies (where peaks in the landscape correspond to higher fitness values) to the movements of adaptive peaks over macroevolutionary time scales. One way this can be accomplished is by incorporating environmental constraints on trait expression which can be measured in present day populations and in the fossil record. The Fellow will create a new model of trait evolution that incorporates microevolutionary parameters during periods of constraint change to bridge the gap between phenotypic micro- and macroevolution. This will be done by using a uniquely constrained system (calcifying molluscs) for which environmental constraints on phenotype are well-understood at the physiological level and are easily measured throughout the fossil record. The Fellow will be trained in developing and applying a new Bayesian time-slice model of trait evolution that incorporates microevolutionary information during periods of constraint release and enforcement. The Fellow will also create outreach opportunities at multiple levels that include trainee participation and software-focused academic workshops.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.