NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Integrating genetic-morphologic concepts of diversity in ecological and environmental context

Trubovitz, Sarah, Reno NV

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2021, Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes. The fellowship supports research and training of the Fellow that will contribute to the area of Rules of Life in innovative ways. Currently, we have a limited understanding of how diversity is expressed in one of the largest and most critical ecosystems on the planet: marine plankton. This makes it difficult to predict the impacts of climate change and imminent diversity loss on key ecosystem functions that society relies on such as primary production and food web interactions between organisms. In order to understand plankton diversity and its importance, this project will investigate how diversity is expressed in an abundant group of marine protists, the polycystine radiolarians. Research will center on the systematic integration of genetic, morphologic, and ecologic information to improve our knowledge of different scales of radiolarian diversity and its environmental context. To achieve broader participation, the Fellow will mentor undergraduate students at the host institution, and engage the public in locally relevant marine science through outreach programs at the Wrigley Marine Science Center. Recent surveys of molecular diversity have revealed over an order of magnitude more radiolarian species than morphology-based studies. Poor harmonization between molecular and morphological taxonomy has made it impossible to pinpoint the reasons for this discrepancy, demanding a reevaluation of classic species concepts and molecular methods. To address this, the Fellow will investigate relationships and differences between genetic and morphological concepts of diversity. Radiolarian samples will be collected from multiple depths at Station ALOHA (Hawaii) and classified based on skeletal morphology as well as sequencing analysis of the V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene. Patterns of genetic variation paired with observations of physical specimens and their ecological niche information will be used to determine how genetic diversity is expressed both morphologically and ecologically. Environmental and biological metadata available for Station ALOHA will be used to interpret the function of hierarchical levels of radiolarian diversity in environmental context. Research products will include new radiolarian genetic barcodes, which will improve the accuracy of ongoing efforts to monitor global plankton diversity dynamics in a changing climate. The Fellow will undergo training in live plankton sampling and molecular analytical methods, as well as gain vital experience in academic mentoring and outreach. 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.