NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: The morphological drivers and effects of long-distance bird migration

Johnson, Oscar, Baton Rouge LA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2021, Broadening Participation of Groups Under-represented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Long-distance migration is one of the most spectacular behaviors in the natural world, but is costly for the animals that undertake it. The reasons why animals migrate are well known, but the changes in morphology (form and function) required to undertake that migration are less well known. This research aims to understand how long-distance migration affects the morphology of migratory species, and will further the understanding of the origins of migration. The Fellow will integrate large sets of genetic, morphological, and distributional data in a diverse group of birds to answer these questions both within and across species. To increase broader participation at the host institution the Fellow will mentor undergraduate students, organize community events for postdoctoral researchers, and organize outreach events at local K-12 schools. The factors that predispose species or populations to migratory behavior remain poorly understood. Previous research on avian migration has revealed the importance of extrinsic factors like seasonality and habitat as drivers of migration, but intrinsic attributes of birds such as their morphologies are also likely critical for predisposition to migratory lifestyles and remain largely unexplored. This project will compile morphological data from 1,300 species of suboscine passerine birds and combine these with phylogenetic and distribution data to test for associations between key morphological features and the gain and loss of seasonal migration. The Fellow will then investigate range-wide variation in morphology and migratory behavior in four species of birds that contain both migratory and resident populations to test whether geographical variation in morphological traits corresponds with differences in migratory behavior at the population level. This study will advance our understanding of the effects and drivers of migration, a behavior ubiquitous across the tree of life. This project will involve extensive training of undergraduate researchers at a predominantly Hispanic-serving institution in both field methods and cutting-edge molecular techniques, as well as mentoring undergraduate student research projects. The fellow will conduct outreach at K-12 schools using lessons and activities about bird migration. 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.