NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Linking Mammalian Omnivore Ecological Traits to Biogeography and Morphology

Reuter, Dana Marie, Eugene OR

Investigators

Abstract

Fellow's name: Dana Reuter Proposal number: 2209402 Research title: NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Linking Mammalian Omnivore Ecological Traits to Biogeography and Morphology Sponsoring scientist(s) and host institution(s): Dr. Robert Guralnick, Florida Museum of Natural History; Dr. A. Michelle Lawing, Texas A&M University. 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. One of the main goals of ecology is to understand the rules that underly how species respond to environmental change, and specifically whole community response to resource shifts. A large proportion of mammals are omnivores (that is, they eat both plant and animal-based foods), but we do not know linkage between omnivorous dietary traits, key physical traits such as jaw shape, and the environment. This lack of knowledge also prevents paleontologists from reconstructing omnivorous diets in the fossil record, ultimately limiting more complete understanding of long-term processes underlying biological innovation. This project aims to better understand linkages between omnivorous diets and jaw and dental shape and how diet and shape are structured across communities and landscapes. The results of this project will help inform future estimates of how mammals and communities will respond to environmental changes. This project has two main objectives: 1) Characterize omnivore biogeography by assessing species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and functional diversity in mammalian omnivores on the North American landscape; 2) Determine morphological adaptations tied to consuming different food materials in omnivorous mammals. These objectives will be accomplished by first developing a new database of North American mammalian diets that focuses on omnivore diet variation and the metadata of the primary data sources. The PI will use the newly developed diet database, species range maps, vegetation indexes, and previously published mammalian phylogenetic trees to test whether omnivore diet type and body mass limits omnivores to certain habitats or regions. Additionally, the PI will collect 3D scans of mammalian jaws and use machine learning approaches to test whether jaw morphology and dental topology vary in predictable ways among omnivores with differing diets. The fellow will receive training in bioinformatics and database development, phylogenetic comparative methods, and ecomorphological data collection techniques. The fellow will also mentor undergraduate students using biological collections and engage the broader public in biological inquiry through involvement in K-12 classrooms and outreach events and videos at Natural History Museums. 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.