NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2019: The role of male-male competition in driving weapon diversification and speciation

Emberts Zachary T, Gainesville FL

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2018, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will utilize biological collections in innovative ways. The research component of this fellowship investigates the evolution of exaggerated animal weapons. Examples of such weapons include the branching antlers of deer, the enlarged claws of crabs, and the elongated horns of beetles. At their extremes, these weapons can compose up to half of an individual's body mass (e.g., claws in fiddler crabs) and can be more than twice an individual's body length (e.g., front legs in harlequin beetles). Moreover, these weapons can dramatically differ in their size and shape among closely related species. The fellow will specifically investigate the factors that promote this weapon variation. Investigating the evolution of animal weapons can provide insights into: 1) arms-races between weapons and defensive structures, 2) the importance of plant diversity in driving animal diversity, and 3) other factors that promote new morphological structures. The broader impacts associated with this fellowship include undergraduate mentoring, enhancing and expanding the digitization of museum collections, and the production of scientific research videos for the public. The fellow will use data from museum specimens in combination with phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate the degree to which male-male competition promotes phenotypic diversification and speciation in leaf-footed bugs (Insecta: Hemiptera: Coreidae). Specifically, the fellow will test multiple weapon diversification hypotheses and determine the extent to which male-male competition influences speciation and net diversification. Because the role of male-male competition in diversification has been largely neglected, this research will help clarify whether selection via differential access to mates generally promotes phenotypic diversification and speciation or whether such patterns are specific to female choice. This research will also contribute to museum digitization efforts, mentoring of undergraduate researchers, and the fellow's professional development. 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.