NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Constraints as a bridge between phenotypic micro- and macroevolution

Linscott, Thomas Mason, Moscow ID

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. A major goal of evolutionary biology is to connect microevolutionary studies of selection and adaptation to macroevolutionary patterns of evolution. While we now understand many of the different types and effects of microevolutionary influences on trait expression, we still do not understand how microevolution can inform us about the rates of evolution observed at macroevolutionary scales. The Fellow therefore seeks to model constraints on trait evolution by measuring the fossil traits associated with measurable environmental nutrients as a means to link microevolutionary and macroevolutionary perspectives. The project represents a new way to link disparate evolutionary perspectives and data in a biologically realistic manner and will substantially broaden our understanding of how the ‘Rules of Life’ act across temporal scales to shape morphological evolution. The Fellow will also broaden participation in STEM activities through outreach and training programs at the host institution, an affiliated state college, and with local tribes. Bridging the divergent perspectives of trait microevolution and macroevolution in a single framework requires linking phenotypic landscapes of microevolutionary studies (where peaks in the landscape correspond to higher fitness values) to the movements of adaptive peaks over macroevolutionary time scales. One way this can be accomplished is by incorporating environmental constraints on trait expression which can be measured in present day populations and in the fossil record. The Fellow will create a new model of trait evolution that incorporates microevolutionary parameters during periods of constraint change to bridge the gap between phenotypic micro- and macroevolution. This will be done by using a uniquely constrained system (calcifying molluscs) for which environmental constraints on phenotype are well-understood at the physiological level and are easily measured throughout the fossil record. The Fellow will be trained in developing and applying a new Bayesian time-slice model of trait evolution that incorporates microevolutionary information during periods of constraint release and enforcement. The Fellow will also create outreach opportunities at multiple levels that include trainee participation and software-focused academic workshops. 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.