NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2022: Examining molecular mechanisms of migratory behavior

Phillips, Katrina, Orlando FL

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. Many animals migrate long distances across the land, sea, or sky. These migrations are usually seasonal and relate to finding food or mates. Despite our familiarity with migratory species like caribou, whales, and birds, we know very little about how these animals know when and where to migrate. This knowledge gap limits our ability to predict how climate change and changing habitats will impact migratory species. The objective of this research is to investigate whether patterns in an animal’s genetic code relate to its migratory behavior and uses sea turtles as a study system. The fellow will connect with local middle school and high school students to broaden participation in science by collaboratively developing lesson plans that meet science standards with activities that are exciting and engaging. A clearer understanding of the mechanisms of migration will shed light on the ability of migratory species to adapt to rapid environmental change. This research integrates the disciplines of genomics, foraging ecology, stable isotope analysis, and satellite telemetry to examine the molecular mechanisms of migratory behavior. The fellow will gather and catalogue existing tissue samples from loggerhead sea turtles with known migratory patterns in the North Atlantic as identified by collaborators via previous satellite telemetry and stable isotope studies. From these samples, the fellow will prepare whole genome resequencing libraries and bioinformatics pipelines to examine genomic variation associated with migratory phenotypes. By aligning reads to a high-quality reference genome, this research will identify candidate genes correlated with any outliers detected. This research will evaluate whether variation in the genome is associated with the timing and destination of migration along with environmental variables at migratory sites. Finally, the fellow will use a comparative genomics framework to study the genes associated with migratory phenotype across marine, freshwater, and terrestrial turtle species to examine the evolutionary history of long-distance migration. The fellow will gain training in cutting-edge genomic methods and bioinformatics that offer great potential for answering long-standing questions related to migratory behavior across taxa. 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.