NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Pollinator Thermal Performance and Limitation in an Early-Blooming Crop

美国国家科学基金会生物学博士后奖学金：早花作物的传粉媒介热性能和限制

• 批准号: 2305941
• 负责人: Nicole DesJardins
• 金额: $ 24万
• 依托单位: DesJardins, Nicole S
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-10-01 至 2026-09-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2305941&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; Pollinator

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2023, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. Apple production in the Midwestern US is limited by a lack of pollinators. Apples may be particularly susceptible to pollinator limitation because they bloom in the early spring, when it may sometimes be too cold for bees to fly. Under climate change, weather conditions are likely to become increasingly unstable during the early spring, possibly exacerbating the problem of pollinator limitation. This project aims to determine the extent to which pollinator thermal performance is linked to pollinator limitation. It will determine which of the groups involved in apple pollination (honey bees, bumble bees, solitary bees, etc.) is the best at performing under unstable weather conditions. This research will help to ensure the security of the Midwestern apple crop in the face of a changing climate, and will be able to direct mitigation strategies such as increasing honey bee stocking densities or conserving wild bees. The Fellow will disseminate this work to beekeepers and growers around the Midwestern US, and will also undertake activities aimed at increasing the participation and retention of neurodivergent individuals in biological research. The Fellow will first determine whether orchard microclimate and timing of bloom influence pollinator visitation, predicting that apple orchards with warmer microclimates and later-blooming varieties will experience more pollinator visitation. Next, the Fellow will experimentally induce pollinator limitation by making flowers available for pollination only at select temperatures, predicting that the flowers available at higher temperatures will be less pollinator-limited. The Fellow will also look directly at pollinator thermal physiology, matching bee performance in a lab-based assay with the temperatures at which they are active in the field. Overall, the Fellow will seek to determine the extent to which pollinator limitation in this early-blooming crop can be explained by pollinator thermal performance. In addition to these research activities, the Fellow will prepare for an academic career by developing and teaching a module on sustainable food systems in an upper-level undergraduate biology course. The Fellow will also develop programs aimed at supporting neurodiversity in biology, including a mentorship network for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers.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.

该行动为2023财年的生物学生物学研究金提供了一项NSF博士后研究奖学金，扩大了在生物学中代表不足的群体的参与。奖学金支持该研究员的研究和培训计划，这将增加生物学中代表性不足的群体的参与。美国中西部的苹果生产受到缺乏授粉媒介的限制。苹果可能特别容易受到授粉的限制，因为它们在早春开花，有时可能太冷了，蜜蜂无法飞行。在气候变化下，天气状况可能在早春越来越不稳定，可能会加剧授粉媒介限制的问题。该项目旨在确定授粉媒介热性能与传粉媒介限制有关的程度。它将确定苹果授粉（蜜蜂，大黄蜂，孤独的蜜蜂等）中涉及哪些群体是在不稳定的天气条件下表现最好的。这项研究将有助于确保面对气候变化的中西部苹果作物的安全性，并能够指导缓解策略，例如增加蜂蜜啤酒储备密度或保护野生蜜蜂。该研究员将把这项工作传播给中西部我们周围的养蜂人和种植者，还将开展旨在增加神经化个人参与和保留生物学研究的活动。该研究员将首先确定果园的微气候和布鲁姆的时机是否会影响传粉媒介的探视，并预测苹果果园具有温暖的微气候和更高的盛开品种，会经历更多的授粉媒介探访。接下来，该研究员将仅在某些温度下才能使花朵可用于授粉，从而在实验中诱导授粉媒介的限制，预测在较高温度下可用的花朵将被限制在较低的温度下。该研究员还将直接研究授粉媒介的热生理学，在基于实验室的测定中与其在现场活跃的温度相匹配。总体而言，该研究员将寻求确定在这种早期播种作物中的授粉媒介限制的程度，可以通过传粉媒介的热性能来解释。除了这些研究活动外，研究员还将通过在高级本科生物学课程中开发和教授有关可持续食品系统的模块来为学术生涯做准备。该研究员还将制定旨在支持生物学神经多样性的计划，包括针对研究生和博士后研究人员的指导网络。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并且认为值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响评估标准通过评估来获得支持。