Symposium SICB 2021 An Evolutionary Tail: EvoDevo, structure, and function of post-anal appendages.

Regents Of The University Of Idaho, Moscow ID

Investigators

Abstract

Non-Technical Abstract Many animal species have tails, which are remarkably diverse in shape and function. They can be short, long, thick, thin, feathered, hairy, bald, spiked, or even absent. Tails can serve many functions, including propulsion, communication, flagging or rattling, balancing, and grasping. However, although tails are important to animal function and evolution, compared to limbs, tails are vastly understudied. Relatively little is known about their development, morphological diversity, or mechanical function. This award supports a cross-disciplinary symposium that will bring together scientists and engineers who study a wide variety of tail and tail-related topics in animals and robots. It will facilitate and enhance exchange of knowledge and expertise. The outcomes of this symposium will be a collaborative workshop that will identify critical unanswered questions concerning the biology of tails and a roadmap for addressing these challenges through future research. The symposium highlights early-career researchers and members of groups under-represented in the sciences. In partnership with Howard University and the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Broadening Participation Committee, participants in the symposium will host an outreach event to provide a networking experience for students from Howard University and potentially other Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the Washington, D.C. area. Technical Abstract Although diverse and common among animals, tails are vastly understudied structures, even though the importance of a functional post-anal appendage is recognized in many robotic designs. Understanding how tails develop and function contributes insight to potential evolutionary significance of the appendage. This symposium brings together investigators from multiple disciplines with research interests in this area who have worked relatively independently, from distinct perspectives. They will share findings on the diversity of development, form, and functions of tails - in animals and robots – and seek general principles that have driven the success of this appendage. The symposium will facilitate cross-disciplinary research discussions among fields including developmental biology, engineering, physics, and behavioral biology. In addition, an organized luncheon will further facilitate the active exchange of ideas, concepts, and approaches among diverse researchers who employ different model systems. The symposium emphasizes early-career researchers and groups under-represented in STEM, and provides opportunities for mentoring, sharing of ideas and concepts, and development of new collaborations. The outcomes of the symposium will be a forward-looking review article that will delineate the current state of tail research and identify the unanswered questions with potential to be addressed by interdisciplinary collaborations. This review article will introduce the compilation of this symposium’s papers in Integrative and Comparative Biology. Finally, the grant will help support an outreach event centered on Minority Serving Institutions in the region of Washington, D.C. 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.