Collaborative Research: The Albatross Re-Collection Project for a century of genomic change in the tropics

Over a century ago, the Research Vessel Albatross collected fishes from the Philippines, now stored at the Smithsonian Institution. The archive provides the potential for rare insights into how fish have evolved in response to fishing, habitat loss, and other challenges. The research will compare historical and modern fish and will focus on blue sprat, a small coastal species important for food. The research findings can help understand adaptation across many species facing similar challenges. The project will also support paid research internships for students with limited access to careers in science. The project will host workshops to build international exchange with the Philippines. Finally, this research can inform fisheries by identifying fishing zones and where seafood was caught. This project will help to understand the architecture and genomic origins of rapid adaptation, in part by testing the hypothesis that local adaptation provides the raw material for rapid evolution through time. Species objectives include to 1) assemble and annotate high-quality genomes to understand genetic architecture in blue sprat (Spratelloides delicatulus); 2) resequence the genomes of ~1000 individuals across at least five sites in historical and modern eras to identify loci targeted by spatially divergent or temporal selection, and 3) measure morphology and growth to test for the functional importance of genomic variation. The project will focus on historical (1907-1909) samples held by the Smithsonian Institution and modern samples collected in collaboration with Silliman University. The ethanol preservation by the R/V Albatross is a unique scientific accident that provides excellent DNA preservation over the last century. 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.