NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology: Skeletal and behavioral underpinnings of extreme locomotor diversity in snakes

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. The research will help to better understand how animals with a simple body plan (snakes) can evolve numerous strategies to overcome the challenges of moving through different environments. The research has implications for ecology and conservation, since how an animal moves can influence the ability to expand into new habitats or to cope with a changing one. Additionally, the results will contribute to the development of bioinspired snake-like robots that will be able to carry out tasks in terrains inaccessible to wheeled and limbed robots. The fellow will also contribute to the participation of early-career scientists in biology by creating a new long-term mentorship program through a scientific society to promote career development and professional networks. The fellow will focus on the evolution of locomotor behavior and relevant morphology in a taxonomically and functionally diverse snake subfamily, the Natricinae. First, the fellow will investigate the evolution of vertebral morphology using µCT scans, 3D geometric morphometrics, and phylogenetic comparative methods. Then, the fellow will use a comparative biomechanics approach to study within- and among-species variation in locomotor behavior and performance on a challenging substrate, sand, which exists in numerous habitat types worldwide. Finally, the fellow will integrate these two datasets (vertebral morphology and locomotor biomechanics) to examine whether interspecific differences in the axial skeleton predict choice of locomotor mode or kinematic differences within a given mode, providing a more integrative understanding of functional evolution. Training goals and broadening participation activities for the fellowship include: 1) learning software and analytical techniques for working with 3D morphological data; 2) building a strong quantitative skillset for studying locomotor biomechanics, which will include advanced computational methods for processing and analyzing video data; and 3) developing a peer mentoring program for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in a professional society. 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.