IRES: Integrating biological, geospatial, and math modeling to understand how a changing climate impacts animal social systems

This IRES project provides undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and other institutions with the opportunity to gain international research experience in Chile. A unique aspect of this program is that it supports collaborations among students with backgrounds in biology, geology, and math. In collaboration with non-NSF funded investigators at four universities in Chile, Biology and Geology students are investigating how the environment affects the behavior and reproduction of the degu (Octodon degus), a rodent found only in Chile.

Math students use data shared by Biology and Geology students to model the effects of environmental conditions on degu social behavior and reproduction. These projects are essential to understand how animals respond to changes in climatic conditions. The program benefits both students and local communities in numerous ways.

Students learn how to write grant proposals and learn some Spanish language skills. Meetings with international mentors and U.S.-based investigators prior to IRES prepare students for 6-25 week-long projects in Chile. Some projects are remote, allowing students with limited ability to travel to participate.

This IRES serves a broad constituency in the U.S. IRES students contribute to a remote seminar series on animal behavior and participate in educational activities for K-12 students. The project supports a STEM camp for underprivileged high school students (20 students) from the greater Chattanooga, TN area.

Such activities enhance the training of a diversity of students. They also build bridges from secondary school to university. IRES students present their work to researchers and members of the local community in Chile.

These activities build international cooperation and understanding as well as enhance the international networks of IRES students.

In this program, 30 U.S. students (10 undergrad, 20 graduate) are collaborating with non-NSF funded investigators at four Chilean institutions (Universidad de Chile, P. Universidad Católica de Chile, Universidad de los Andes, Universidad Mayor) to determine how environmentally mediated changes in social organization and social structure influence the reproductive success of the degu (Octodon degus), a social rodent found within a wide geographical range in Chile.

The project supports field-based projects in which Biology and Geology students use a combination of behavioral (e.g., live-trapping, telemetry, data-loggers) and geospatial (e.g., GPS, spatial mapping) methods to collect data. Specific project designs test alternate hypotheses within an overarching conceptual framework that has emerged from a nearly two-decade study of degus in Chile.

Data generated by Biology and Geology students are used by Math students to generate predictive models for the effects of environmental change on animal societies. These models generate ideas for additional field-based projects led by Biology and Geology students. The program supports lab-based projects to estimate the impact of the environment on mating strategies and reproductive success.

These and other activities supported by this program are designed to develop the professional skills and cultural understanding of students, increasing the likelihood for successful future projects and their capacity to compete and collaborate in the international research arena. Each cohort of students is engaged in research, educational, and cultural activities for up to two years.

Prior to their IRES field-based travel and research, students participate in animal and research training, grant proposal development, and Spanish language courses. Pre-trip meetings with U.S. and international mentors facilitate the development of successful and productive projects. During their international experience, students develop behavioral, geospatial, and math modeling skills, giving them a broad research toolkit.

Collaborations with Chilean counterparts and non-NSF funded collaborators from Colombia and the U.S. are meant to enhance their international network of peers and potential collaborators. After the IRES field work, the program supports student-led publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at regional and national meetings. An important aim of the program is to broaden the impacts of the project by promoting international research and STEM education in the greater Chattanooga, TN area.

To this end, IRES students are participating in a remote seminar series with an international audience of behavioral ecologists. The project also supports a year-long STEM training program for under-privileged high school students participating in outreach programs supported by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. In this program, students develop scientific and critical thinking skills.

The program culminates in a week-long STEM camp during which students learn data collection, geospatial analysis, and math modeling skills like those used by IRES students in Chile.

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.