NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020

Halloway Abdel, Chicago IL

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The goal of their project is to determine the ecological and environmental contexts which lead to the evolution and persistence of mutualisms. Mutualisms, interactions in which each species benefits (e.g., pollination), are quite prevalent throughout the natural world especially among plant species and play a significant role in many ecological systems. One key mutualism is that between mycorrhizal fungi and plants. In this mutualism, individual plants trade sugars and other carbon compounds for nitrogen, phosphorous, and other minerals from the fungus. The availability of resources (environment) and competition from other individuals (ecology) should influence whether or not a plant is better off trading their resources and engaging in the mutualism. The fellow will experimentally and mathematically explore how environmental and ecological conditions determine the evolution of the plant-fungal mutualism. This work will not only explain the evolution of mutualism but also give greater predictive power as to how ecosystems will change with increased nitrogen deposition. The Fellow will run a greenhouse experiment in which two varieties of peas, one that can and one that cannot form mutualisms, are grown with each other along gradients of nitrogen concentration and competitor density. In conjunction, they will develop and analyze an evolutionary game theoretic model of plant-fungal mutualism. Evolutionary game theory can aid in explaining this mutualism’s evolution as it frames the trade between plant and fungus as a strategy to obtain resources and the evolution as the exclusion of non-mutualist strategies. This work will empirically test the predictions of evolutionary game theory, thereby integrating theory and experiment. The fellow will learn techniques to run a greenhouse experiment, develop their statistical repertoire, and hone their mathematical skills. Beyond scientific work, the fellow will also work to increase participation of groups underrepresented in ecology, particularly those with disabilities. Firstly, they will directly mentor graduate and undergraduate students with disabilities by including them in the research. Secondly, they will develop digital and interactive media on game theory and ecological processes. Lastly, they will host graduate workshops on evolutionary game theory and mathematical modelling and undergraduate activities where students dissect a topic in ecology and evolution, analyze it mathematically, and create a game from it. 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.