NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Convergent evolution of morphological integration in Indonesian shrews

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will use biological collections in innovative ways. To answer the question “why are there so many species?”, biologists have developed an interest in 1) how closely related species living in a community share resources, 2) how shape and size reflects how a species moves and eats, and 3) whether species in different places that use similar resources evolve similar body plans.

The fellow will use 3D images of shrew skeletons from different Indonesian islands to test for differences in the feeding behavior and locomotion of species that live together in diverse communities, revealing how species compete for, or share resources. The research will then test for physical similarities between shrews that live on different islands but use similar resources, revealing whether these animals have evolved in a repeated and predictable way to survive in similar habitats.

The research will provide insight on how natural selection and community interactions form the rich diversity found in the world’s tropical forests. To broaden the impact of the work, students from underrepresented groups will be mentored in research and an episode about the project will be produced for the Brain Scoop YouTube channel.

Although many biological radiations are famous for their exceptional phenotypic and functional diversity, some “non-adaptive” radiations, such as Old-World shrews, have rapidly diversified to form equally rich communities of remarkably similar-looking species. The research will evaluate the impact of competition in community dynamics by testing for functional differences in species-rich shrew communities across three islands in Indonesia’s Malay Archipelago.

Using microCT scans of museum collections in a comparative framework the fellow will test for functional differences in syntopic species, convergent evolution of putative morphotypes between islands, and evolutionary covariance between discrete skeletal elements. Results will either support the role of competition in community assembly by highlighting functional differences in syntopic species, or, suggest that function, as it relates to diet and locomotion, does not play a substantial role in the formation and maintenance of these communities.

This research will generate large amounts of open-access morphological data, develop best practices in 3D data dissemination, and engender collaboration with researchers in Indonesia. Two Chicago State University students from STEM underrepresented groups will be trained in phylogenetic and morphological comparative methods, and a team from the Field Museum will record a “Brain Scoop” episode focused on this research that will be accessible to a worldwide audience.

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.