IntBIO: Disentangling the genetic, biomechanical, and deep-time factors underlying mammalian skeletal diversity

Understanding the relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors involved in the evolution of life (commonly framed as “nature versus nurture”) is paramount to determining how biodiversity is maintained at different scales in space and time. This project examines the role of nature versus nurture in shaping skeletons and their characteristics, such as evolutionary innovations in locomotion and eating.

This multi-faceted project incorporates student research teams assembled from a broad spectrum of educational backgrounds and aims to provide opportunities for students with financial need, those from community colleges, and those from underrepresented backgrounds. A mentoring-research cooperative network composed of faculty, educational program directors, and postdoctoral, doctoral, and undergraduate researchers will provide training at all participant levels.

Research findings will be shared broadly through an educator short course and accessible online educational materials.

Among the greatest challenges and opportunities for biology in the 21st century is the integration of knowledge from dispersed scientific disciplines into a generalized framework. This project focuses on the intersection of genetic heritability, biomechanics, and deep-time evolutionary patterns to disentangle the relative contributions of each factor in allowing carnivorans (dogs, cats, bears, and relatives) to become the most widespread and diverse mammalian predators in post-dinosaur Earth.

To gain insights into the genetic underpinnings of skeletal diversity and variation, the team will use a mouse model to construct a heritability map of phenotypic variation and covariation. This model then will be applied to carnivoran species to test hypotheses that explain skeletal variation in this group. Deep-time patterns over the past 55 million years will then be analyzed in conjunction with long-term patterns of environmental changes such as thermal maxima and ice ages.

The expected outcome is an integrated framework to explain the generation and evolution of skeletal variability in a group of diverse and adaptable animals.

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.