NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2016

Gehman Alyssa-Lois M, Athens GA

Investigators

Abstract

Postdoctoral Fellow: Alyssa-Lois Madden Gehman Proposal Number: 1611651 This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2016, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow to take transformative approaches to grand challenges in biology that employ biological collections in highly innovative ways. The title of the research plan for this fellowship to Alyssa-Lois Madden Gehman is "Past and present effects of multiple stressors on host-parasite interactions." The host institution for this fellowship is the University of British Columbia and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Christopher Harley. This project uses museum collections to address how environmental change fundamentally alters species interactions over several decades. Specifically, the Fellow is evaluating the effect of changing temperature and ocean acidification conditions on host-parasite interactions, using mussel-cyanobacteria interactions as a model system. Shell boring parasites, such as endolithic cyanobacteria, are unique in that they leave traces of their infection in preserved host shells. Mussels can be infected by shell boring parasites, and analysis of shell chemistry can estimate the ocean conditions at the time the mussels were alive. To accomplish the research goals, the Fellow is identifying endolithic cyanobacterial species and ichnospecies (a way of identifying the cyanobacteria parasite based on shell boring pattern), and measuring endolithic cyanobacterial growth and host defense using museum specimens from the Beaty Biodiversity Museum and the California Academy of Sciences. The Fellow is also conducting field sampling and experiments to confirm correlative patterns from collections. In terms of training goals, the Fellow is gaining expertise in 1) paleontological methods of ichnospecies identification, 2) genetic techniques for identifying extant species, 3) stable isotope analysis, 4) biomechanical measurements and 5) conducting ocean acidification experiments. The Fellow is also integrating research with an outreach program that encourages community environmental awareness, leadership, diversity, self-confidence, and knowledge of the outdoors. To support this mission, the outreach program includes collaboration with a student-led outdoor education program associated with the public high schools in Seattle, WA. The Fellow is engaging students in hands-on field ecology, including the development of a coastal field trip during which the students aid with the field components of the Fellow's research. An additional aspect of the outreach program includes communicating with local, national and international media, both through traditional radio and newspaper reporting and through more modern avenues such as blogs and podcasts.