MCA: Identifying the genomic mechanisms mediating rapid responses to environmental change in a widespread songbird

Rapidly changing environmental conditions are inducing dramatic shifts in habitat distributions, the timing of breeding, and traits that allow animals to regulate their body temperature. One trait expected to be particularly important in this context is body size. Smaller animals are expected to be better able to dissipate heat than larger animals. Consequently, many organisms are expected to shrink in response to rapidly rising temperatures. Declining body size has been documented in diverse animals, but the genetic mechanisms that underlie these responses are not well understood and this information will be critical for predicting how organisms will respond to climate change. This research will use modern genomic techniques to study how organisms are responding to rising temperatures and provide essential training in modern genomic techniques for the PI that will greatly enhance her ability to mentor post-docs and students at all stages and enrich the quality of her graduate and undergraduate courses. This research will also support the development of a daylong activity about climate change to be presented to middle and high school Native American students at tribal colleges in North Dakota. Understanding the mechanisms that allow organisms to respond to changing environmental conditions is a central goal of evolutionary biology and is becoming increasingly urgent in the face of climate change. Although evolutionary adaptations are expected to help mitigate the effects of rapidly rising temperatures, the degree to which they are changing over time and related to population dynamics is not well understood. To address these important gaps in knowledge, a unique set of house sparrow specimens collected at sites throughout the U.S. approximately 60 years apart will be used to: 1) identify genomic regions associated with climate variables and body size, 2) determine the degree of divergence between historically and contemporarily collected specimens in these same genomic regions, and 3) assess the extent to which genomic vulnerability predicts changes in population abundance. This research will provide novel insight into the genomic mechanisms that underlie rapid responses to climate change and the consequences for population level processes, which will be essential for predicting the long-term outcomes of global warming. This project is jointly funded by Integrative Ecological Physiology Program and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR). 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.