NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: How short-term plastic responses produce long-term evolutionary change

St John, Michelle E, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2022, 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. Understanding mechanisms that allow organisms to adapt to new environments is a key question in evolutionary biology. While genetic mechanisms have traditionally been viewed as a primary mechanism of adaptation, increasing evidence suggests behavioral changes may also be important. Genetic mechanisms of adaptation tend to be clearer (e.g., new mutations); however, we still lack a strong understanding of mechanisms allowing shifts in behavior to facilitate evolutionary processes. Ultimately, this project will reveal mechanisms connecting short-term behavioral changes to long-term evolutionary processes and produce new predictions about when and how behavior may drive adaptation. In addition to these research goals, the project also aims to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in the field of evolutionary biology by providing learners with access to mastery experiences such as performing scientific research with museum specimens and using the scientific method for problem-solving. Plasticity’s impact on evolutionary processes is still highly debated in evolutionary biology which lacks a strong understanding of mechanisms connecting short-term plastic changes to long-term evolutionary change. The Behavior First Hypothesis predicts that mechanisms responsible for producing plastic behavioral responses should be similar to those producing behavioral diversity on an evolutionary scale. This project aims to test this prediction by investigating molecular and neural mechanisms underlying behavioral plasticity in the pupfish system. The pupfish system contains a novel fish scale-eating specialist—an excellent organism for investigating how behavioral flexibility can lead to diversification—along with several non-specialist species. This research will quantify neural activity, integration, and gene expression in the brains of specialist and non-specialist pupfishes with the end goal of providing fundamental insights not only into behavior’s role in evolutionary processes, but also into how the nervous system responds to novelty, mechanisms of plasticity, and adaptation to new ecological niches. The Fellow will benefit from training in neuroscience and transcriptomics while conducting studies at the host institution. This research will also aid in recruitment and retention of women and historically underrepresented groups in evolutionary biology by providing mentorship to current students, including undergraduates in ongoing research, and by partnering with local museums to provide science mastery experiences to the public. 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.