NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2017: An Empirical Approach to Understanding Extinction by Direct Incorporation of Fossil and Sub-fossil Morphological and Molecular Data

Buckner Janet C, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

This is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology, under the program Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The fellow, Janet Buckner, is conducting research and receiving training that is increasing the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The fellow is being mentored by two sponsoring scientists at two host institutions: Tracy Heath (Iowa State University) and Courtney Hofman (University of Oklahoma). The goal of the fellow's research is to reveal the relationships among the nearly 180 species of living waterfowl (ducks, geese and swans) by sequencing and comparing their DNA. Human-waterfowl interactions (i.e., hunting, domestication) have garnered much interest in the conservation of these species and their habitats, which provide important ecosystem services. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of waterfowl biology and their role in wetland ecosystems would aid the conservation and management efforts of biologists and lay people. Additionally, their diverse behaviors, physical characteristics, and global distribution make waterfowl a promising model group for understanding animal evolution. The fellow is working to improve methods for estimating the rate of origination and extinction in this bird group by including fossil DNA in the genetic comparison. Such improved methods have the potential to improve the overall understanding of how evolution occurs over time and to identify particularly vulnerable species by directly measuring recent rates of extinction. Finally, the fellow is building online platforms dedicated to mentoring, promotion and inclusion of underrepresented students and professionals in the biological sciences. This initiative is vital to science and society because it allows for the recognition and fostering of promising biologists from minority groups that might otherwise be overlooked due to a lack of opportunity, support and/or information. This research is extending the statistical framework of recent phylogenetic methods to produce improved estimates of extinction rates from molecular phylogenies. The fellow is (1) producing the most robust, taxonomically complete phylogeny of waterfowl using morphological and molecular data in a total-evidence dating approach; (2) extracting DNA from up to 30 species of recently extinct waterfowl available from museum collections, and (3) restructuring the fossilized birth-death model developed by sponsoring scientist Heath, to deal with newly incorporated fossil molecular sequence data. The fellow is being trained in the development of phylogenetic methods and statistical models under Bayesian inference and in the most recent ancient DNA sequencing protocols and technologies. The fellow is also actively engaged in outreach programs at the host institutions (e.g. SACNAS), particularly engaging undergraduate students in the research and networking initiatives described above.