Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology: The Coevolution of Climate Change Responses in Grasses

Brightly, William H, Seattle WA

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. Climate change poses substantial problems for many organisms, particularly those which are stationary and cannot easily move if their current habitat become unsuitable (e.g., plants). To survive, these organisms must be able to withstand new conditions (e.g., by evolving new traits) or colonize new areas where conditions are suitable (e.g., via seed dispersal). Unfortunately, very little is known about how these two potential survival strategies interact. In particular, it is unclear whether historical investment in one strategy limits capacity for the other (e.g., plants with wide environmental tolerances but poor seed dispersal capacity). Plants occupy a critical position at the base of all terrestrial food webs and are by far societies' most important agricultural products. Nevertheless, they often receive less conservation attention than animals. A better understanding of how plants respond to climate change is necessary to accurately predict its potential consequences, and how to direct resources to mitigate them. To develop a better understanding of these two responses, the project uses the melicgrass tribe (7 genera, 158 species), which occupies diverse habitats and possesses a wide range of seed dispersal strategies. The fellow will first produce a comprehensive phylogenetic reconstruction for the tribe, and then evaluate the dispersal capability and environmental niche of its constituent taxa. Dispersal capability will be evaluated on the basis of several quantitative seed and plant traits known to influence dispersal outcomes. A combined approach synthesizing published literature, geospatial data, and growth experiments will be used to classify both fundamental and realized environmental niche. Using phylogenetic comparative methods, the project will then test whether dispersal ability correlates with the rate of environmental niche evolution, realized niche breadth, or ability to acclimate to new conditions (fundamental niche breadth). During the course of this research the fellow will broaden his technical expertise through training in advanced phylogenetic and ecophysiological methods. The fellow will also recruit and mentor a diverse group of students to participate in the project, learn research skills, and eventually pursue semi-independent projects, with potential for first-author publications. 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.