NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2009

Mark Melissa M, Stony Brook NY

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2009 and is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Melissa Mark is "Using physiological responses to stress to evaluate the impact of environmental degradation on survivial and reproduction in Neotropical breeding birds." This research will be conducted at University of California Berkeley under the sponsorship of Dr. Dustin Rubenstein. Environmental stress in degraded habitats can reduce survival and reproduction in birds living in agroforestry systems such as shade coffee. This occurs because high stress levels reduce physiological defenses against disease and parasites. Environmental stressors in degraded habitats include changes in microhabitat, unpredictable food availability, and higher depredation. This study is examining how physiology, behavior, and human caused changes to the landscape interact to affect the long term survival of birds in agroforestry landscapes. The project is exploring the impact of these stressors, and that of a recently introduced biotic stressor, brood parasitism by the striped cuckoo (Tapera naevia) on survival and reproduction in the rufous-and-white wren (Thryothorus rufalbus). This brood parasite lays its eggs in the nest of a host bird and the cuckoo chick subsequently kills all host chicks. Specifically, this project is evaluating differences in stress levels of rufous-and-white wrens that raise their own chicks or cuckoo chicks in shade coffee and intact forests. The training goals include new laboratory and field techniques in immunology and molecular genetics to investigate the mechanisms and processes that produce population patterns. These skills will aid the Fellow in future plans of working on the conservation of biodiversity in modified landscapes in developing countries. Additionally, the Fellow will serve as a mentor and role model to underrepresented students by offering training and professional development, with an emphasis on collaboration with Latin American countries.