NSF PRFB FY 2023: Investigating environmental and genomic regulation of molt in birds

Dougherty, Paul, Laramie WY

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023, 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. This research will focus on molt, the annual process by which birds lose their old feathers and replace them with new ones. Molt is an essential event in the bird’s annual cycle because feathers wear down over time. To meet the high metabolic demands of feather growth, bird populations have evolved to molt at times and in locations with abundant resources. If, for whatever reason, birds are unable to access sufficient resources during the molting period, they will grow poor quality feathers and have an elevated risk of mortality in the following year. Unfortunately, bird populations may soon face mismatches between periods of feather growth and resource availability as climate change alters patterns of precipitation. In this study, the researcher will assess the extent to which ongoing changes in precipitation challenge bird populations during molt. By describing individual variation and flexibility in molting behavior and the potential for molting behavior to evolve in response to changing conditions, the researcher will help update current climate change risk assessments for bird species in western North America and improve conservation strategies. Additionally, this project will generate outreach materials communicating the importance of studying molt to community scientists across the country and provide research opportunities for undergraduate students, thereby broadening participation in the scientific and birding communities. The researcher will first describe intraspecific variation in molting behavior in a wide-ranging passerine species, the Lazuli Bunting (Passerina amoena), by examining occurrence records and deploying miniature tracking devices. He will then take individuals from populations with the most divergent molting locations and phenologies into captivity and expose them to different environmental cues that could trigger molt. Following the onset of molting behavior in each captive individual, the researcher will then generate transcriptomic sequences to identify loci associated with molting behavior. By determining the environmental and genomic mechanisms that regulate molt in different populations, the researcher will be able to understand plasticity in molting behavior and the evolutionary potential for populations to shift molting behavior. In all stages of this research, there will be many opportunities to involve undergraduate researchers from underrepresented groups. 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.