NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2015 (PRFB)

Kemp Melissa E, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2015, Broadening Participation. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow and a plan to broaden participation of groups under-represented in science. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Melissa Kemp is "Evaluating the impact of environmental change the diversity and distribution of Anolis lizards in Puerto Rico using paleontological data." The host institution for this fellowship is Harvard University and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Jonathan Losos. The research uses Anolis lizards to investigate the role environmental change plays in shaping diversity and species distributions through time and by location. Anoles are used in this study as many aspects of their ecology and behavior are well-studied; and this genus of lizards contains many species that show both adaptive radiation (diversifying into new forms as their environment changes) and convergent evolution (similarities appearing under different conditions). These properties and their global prevalence make them ideal study organisms for this study to determine how well they have persisted and diversified in response to past changes in environments. By integrating paleontological data with historical and present-day ecological data, this research seeks to identify ecological factors that correlate with the presence/absence of species and evaluate range shifts, extinction, and environmental change over the past 20,000 years. Expected scientific contributions include the augmentation of the Caribbean fossil record with new excavations and models of how species ranges may be impacted by future global phenomena. Training goals include developing expertise in species distribution modeling, Geographic Information Systems, and ecological surveying. The research provides an opportunity to develop long-term research collaborations with Latin American scientists; train and mentor high school and undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in the U.S. and Puerto Rico; and develop bilingual educational material to introduce underserved K-12 students in the U.S. and Puerto Rico to evolutionary biology. In order to achieve these goals, the Fellow is partnering with educators in the Boston area as well as in Puerto Rico. Public outreach includes publication of a spatiotemporal map to illustrate the diversity and distribution of Puerto Rican anoles over time.