{"dp_type": "Project", "free_text": "Evolutionary Adaptation"}
[{"awards": "2535120 Ballard, Grant; 2535122 Bowie, Rauri; 2535124 Varsani, Arvind; 2535121 Cimino, Megan", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 -60,-163 -60,-146 -60,-129 -60,-112 -60,-95 -60,-78 -60,-61 -60,-44 -60,-27 -60,-10 -60,-10 -61.8,-10 -63.6,-10 -65.4,-10 -67.2,-10 -69,-10 -70.8,-10 -72.6,-10 -74.4,-10 -76.2,-10 -78,-27 -78,-44 -78,-61 -78,-78 -78,-95 -78,-112 -78,-129 -78,-146 -78,-163 -78,180 -78,175.5 -78,171 -78,166.5 -78,162 -78,157.5 -78,153 -78,148.5 -78,144 -78,139.5 -78,135 -78,135 -76.2,135 -74.4,135 -72.6,135 -70.8,135 -69,135 -67.2,135 -65.4,135 -63.6,135 -61.8,135 -60,139.5 -60,144 -60,148.5 -60,153 -60,157.5 -60,162 -60,166.5 -60,171 -60,175.5 -60,-180 -60))", "dataset_titles": null, "datasets": null, "date_created": "Wed, 09 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "Non-technical abstract \r\n\r\nAd\u00e9lie penguins are an early indicator of change in Antarctica. One study population in the Ross Sea is stable or growing, while another near the Antarctic Peninsula is declining quickly, even though both face a warming climate. This project asks a question that matters for conservation and for our broader understanding of how species adapt to environmental change: what allows some penguin populations to cope while others do not? Researchers will follow penguins from the two regions through the parts of their lives that are hardest to observe. Small tracking tags placed on young penguins just before they leave their colonies will reveal where they travel on their first trips to sea and how many survive. Recording devices retrieved from adult penguins will show where and when they molt their feathers and how deep and how often they dive for food through the winter. Blood samples will map how penguins from the two regions are related ancestrally and whether the populations mix regularly. Together these measurements show how each population feeds, travels, and survives, and whether differences in behavior help explain why the two are heading in opposite directions, informing how Antarctic wildlife is understood and protected as the region changes. The tracking and recording devices collect temperature and other ocean data from a remote region during the season when it is most difficult to study, adding to the information available for understanding and managing the Southern Ocean. The project also trains the next generation of polar scientists, supporting a doctoral student and a field apprentice, and it continues long-term monitoring that reaches back decades. Education and public outreach will include \"Live From the Penguins\" video calls and updates on penguin colony and breeding behavior through the PenguinScience.com website and social media.\r\n\r\n\r\nTechnical abstract\r\n\r\nAd\u00e9lie penguins are a key Antarctic mesopredator and a useful model for studying the limits of biological adaptation under rapid environmental change. This two-year project unites two of the longest-running United States Ad\u00e9lie penguin research programs (a stable-to-increasing population in the Ross Sea and a declining population near Palmer Station on the western Antarctic Peninsula) as a natural experiment in adaptive capacity. The work centers on three traits measurable from one intensive field season combined with existing biologging and multi-decadal monitoring data. Satellite-linked transmitters deployed on fledglings before colony departure in both regions will quantify juvenile dispersal routes, habitat use, and at-sea survival. Archival geolocating dive recorders recovered from adults will characterize molt timing and location (sea ice versus land). The same instruments yield year-long dive, light, and temperature profiles, allowing foraging performance and environmental thresholds to be compared across contrasting breeding and wintering regions. A genetic component addresses population structure: whether mitochondrial lineages sort by colony, how genetically contained the Ross Sea population is, and how prevalent the Ross Sea lineage is in the under-sampled Palmer region. Together these provide a framework against which trait differences can be interpreted. A second field season supports instrument retrieval and continued long-term monitoring. The project trains one doctoral student and one field apprentice and extends datasets that reach back decades in both regions.\r\n\r\nThis award reflects NSF\u0027\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": 135.0, "geometry": "POINT(-117.5 -69)", "instruments": "EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e RADIO; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS; EARTH REMOTE SENSING INSTRUMENTS \u003e PASSIVE REMOTE SENSING \u003e POSITIONING/NAVIGATION \u003e GPS \u003e GPS RECEIVERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e RECORDERS/LOGGERS \u003e GLS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e BINOCULAR; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e CAMERAS; IN SITU/LABORATORY INSTRUMENTS \u003e PHOTON/OPTICAL DETECTORS \u003e VISUAL OBSERVATIONS", "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Survival Rates; Population Dynamics; FIELD SURVEYS; FIELD INVESTIGATION; UNCREWED AERIAL VEHICLES; Evolutionary Adaptation; Post-Breeding Periods; Antarctica; PELAGIC; SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS; Migratory Rates/Routes; RADIO TRANSMITTERS; UAV; Use/Feeding Habitats", "locations": "Antarctica", "north": -60.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Ballard, Grant; Schmidt, Annie; Lescroel, Amelie; Cimino, Megan; Varsani, Arvind", "platforms": "AIR-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e UNCREWED AERIAL VEHICLES; AIR-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e UNCREWED AERIAL VEHICLES \u003e UAV; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD INVESTIGATION; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e FIELD SURVEYS; LAND-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e FIELD SITES \u003e RADIO TRANSMITTERS", "repositories": null, "science_programs": null, "south": -78.0, "title": "Collaborative Research: Beyond the Black-and-White: Uncovering Hidden Keys to Success in Adelie Penguins", "uid": "p0010584", "west": -10.0}, {"awards": "1645087 Catchen, Julian", "bounds_geometry": null, "dataset_titles": "Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly and Circadian Gene Repertoire of the Patagonia Blennie Eleginops maclovinus\u2014The Closest Ancestral Proxy of Antarctic Cryonotothenioids; Evaluating Illumina-, Nanopore-, and PacBio-based genome assembly strategies with the bald notothen, Trematomus borchgrevinki; Genomics of Secondarily Temperate Adaptation in the Only Non-Antarctic Icefish", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200331", "doi": "10.5061/dryad.ghx3ffbs3", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "Dryad", "science_program": null, "title": "Evaluating Illumina-, Nanopore-, and PacBio-based genome assembly strategies with the bald notothen, Trematomus borchgrevinki", "url": "https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.ghx3ffbs3"}, {"dataset_uid": "200381", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI", "science_program": null, "title": "Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly and Circadian Gene Repertoire of the Patagonia Blennie Eleginops maclovinus\u2014The Closest Ancestral Proxy of Antarctic Cryonotothenioids", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA917608"}, {"dataset_uid": "200380", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI", "science_program": null, "title": "Genomics of Secondarily Temperate Adaptation in the Only Non-Antarctic Icefish", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA857989"}, {"dataset_uid": "200330", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI ", "science_program": null, "title": "Evaluating Illumina-, Nanopore-, and PacBio-based genome assembly strategies with the bald notothen, Trematomus borchgrevinki", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA861284"}], "date_created": "Mon, 10 Oct 2022 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "As plate tectonics pushed Antarctica into a polar position, by ~34 million years ago, the continent and its surrounding Southern Ocean (SO) became geographically and thermally isolated by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Terrestrial and marine glaciation followed, resulting in extinctions as well as the survival and radiation of unique flora and fauna. The notothenioid fish survived and arose from a common ancestral stock into tax with 120 species that dominates today?s SO fish fauna. The Notothenioids evolved adaptive traits including novel antifreeze proteins for survival in extreme cold, but also suffered seemingly adverse trait loss including red blood cells in the icefish family, and the ability to mount cellular responses to mitigate heat stress ? otherwise ubiquitous across all life. This project aims to understand how the notothenoid genomes have changed and contributed to their evolution in the cold. The project will sequence, analyze and compare the genomes of two strategic pairs of notothenioid fishes representing both red-blooded and white-blooded species. Each pair will consist of one Antarctic species and one that has readapted to the temperate waters of S. America or New Zealand. The project will also compare the Antarctic species genomes to a genome of the closet non-Antarctic relative representing the temperate notothenioid ancestor. The work aims to uncover the mechanisms that enabled the adaptive evolution of this ecologically vital group of fish in the freezing Southern Ocean, and shed light on their adaptability to a warming world. The finished genomes will be made available to promote and advance Antarctic research and the project will host a symposium of Polar researchers to discuss the cutting edge developments regarding of genomic adaptations in the polar region. Despite subzero, icy conditions that are perilous to teleost fish, the fish fauna of the isolated Southern Ocean (SO) surrounding Antarctica is remarkably bountiful. A single teleost group ? the notothenioid fishes ? dominate the fauna, comprising over 120 species that arose from a common ancestor. When Antarctica became isolated and SO temperatures began to plunge in early Oligocene, the prior temperate fishes became extinct. The ancestor of Antarctic notothenioids overcame forbidding polar conditions and, absent niche competition, it diversified and filled the SO. How did notothenioids adapt to freezing environmental selection pressures and achieve such extraordinary success? And having specialized to life in chronic cold for 30 myr, can they evolve in pace with today?s warming climate to stay viable? Past studies of Antarctic notothenioid evolutionary adaptation have discovered various remarkable traits including the key, life-saving antifreeze proteins. But life specialized to cold also led to paradoxical trait changes such as the loss of the otherwise universal heat shock response, and of the O2-transporting hemoglobin and red blood cells in the icefish family. A few species interestingly regained abilities to live in temperate waters following the escape of their ancestor out of the freezing SO. This proposed project is the first major effort to advance the field from single trait studies to understanding the full spectrum of genomic and genetic responses to climatic and environmental change during notothenioid evolution, and to evaluate their adaptability to continuing climate change. To this end, the project will sequence the genomes of four key species that embody genomic responses to different thermal selection regimes during notothenioids? evolutionary history, and by comparative analyses of genomic structure, architecture and content, deduce the responding changes. Specifically, the project will (i) obtain whole genome assemblies of the red-blooded T. borchgrevinki and the S. American icefish C. esox; (ii) using the finished genomes from (i) as template, obtain assemblies of the New Zealand notothenioid N. angustata, and the white-blooded icefish C. gunnari, representing a long (11 myr) and recent (1 myr) secondarily temperate evolutionary history respectively. Genes that are under selection in the temperate environment but not in the Antarctic environment can be inferred to be directly necessary for that environment ? and the reverse is also true for genes under selection in the Antarctic but not in the temperate environment. Further, genes important for survival in temperate waters will show parallel selection between N. angustata and C. esox despite the fact that the two fish left the Antarctic at far separated time points. Finally, gene families that expanded due to strong selection within the cold Antarctic should show a degradation of duplicates in the temperate environment. The project will test these hypotheses using a number of techniques to compare the content and form of genes, the structure of the chromosomes containing those genes, and through the identification of key characters, such as selfish genetic elements, introns, and structural variants.", "east": null, "geometry": null, "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Genome Assembly; FISH; McMurdo Sound; Icefish; SHIPS; Notothenioid; Puerto Natales, Chile", "locations": "McMurdo Sound; Puerto Natales, Chile", "north": null, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Catchen, Julian; Cheng, Chi-Hing", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e SHIPS", "repo": "Dryad", "repositories": "Dryad; NCBI; NCBI ", "science_programs": null, "south": null, "title": "Evolutionary Genomic Responses in Antarctic Notothenioid Fishes", "uid": "p0010384", "west": null}, {"awards": "1850988 Teets, Nicholas", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-64.366767 -62.68104,-63.9917036 -62.68104,-63.6166402 -62.68104,-63.2415768 -62.68104,-62.8665134 -62.68104,-62.49145 -62.68104,-62.1163866 -62.68104,-61.7413232 -62.68104,-61.3662598 -62.68104,-60.9911964 -62.68104,-60.616133 -62.68104,-60.616133 -62.9537037,-60.616133 -63.2263674,-60.616133 -63.4990311,-60.616133 -63.7716948,-60.616133 -64.0443585,-60.616133 -64.3170222,-60.616133 -64.5896859,-60.616133 -64.8623496,-60.616133 -65.1350133,-60.616133 -65.407677,-60.9911964 -65.407677,-61.3662598 -65.407677,-61.7413232 -65.407677,-62.1163866 -65.407677,-62.49145 -65.407677,-62.8665134 -65.407677,-63.2415768 -65.407677,-63.6166402 -65.407677,-63.9917036 -65.407677,-64.366767 -65.407677,-64.366767 -65.1350133,-64.366767 -64.8623496,-64.366767 -64.5896859,-64.366767 -64.3170222,-64.366767 -64.0443585,-64.366767 -63.7716948,-64.366767 -63.4990311,-64.366767 -63.2263674,-64.366767 -62.9537037,-64.366767 -62.68104))", "dataset_titles": "Belgica antarctica collection sites - Summer 2023/2024 field season; Cold and dehydration tolerance of Belgica antarctica from three distinct geographic locations; Cross-tolerance in Belgica antarctica near Palmer Peninsula; Data from Edgington, H., Pavinato, V.A.C., Spacht, D., Gantz, J.D., Convey, P., Lee, R.E., Denlinger, D.L., Michel, A., 2023. Genetic history, structure and gene flow among populations of Belgica antarctica, the only free-living insect in the western Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Science 36, 100945.; Data from microplastics exposure in Belgica antarctica; Fine\u2011scale variation in microhabitat conditions influences physiology and metabolism in an Antarctic insect; Information on 2023 collection sites for Belgica antarctica; LMG2002 Expedtition Data; Long-term recovery from freezing in Belgica antarctica; Multiple stress tolerance in the Antarctic midge; Simulated winter warming negatively impacts survival of Antarcticas only endemic insect; Stress tolerance in Belgica antarctica and Eretmoptera murphyi; Temporal and spatial variation in stress tolerance in Belgica antarctica populations from distinct islands", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "200222", "doi": "10.7284/908802", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "R2R", "science_program": null, "title": "LMG2002 Expedtition Data", "url": "https://www.rvdata.us/search/cruise/LMG2002"}, {"dataset_uid": "200438", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI", "science_program": null, "title": "Data from Edgington, H., Pavinato, V.A.C., Spacht, D., Gantz, J.D., Convey, P., Lee, R.E., Denlinger, D.L., Michel, A., 2023. Genetic history, structure and gene flow among populations of Belgica antarctica, the only free-living insect in the western Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Science 36, 100945.", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA565153/"}, {"dataset_uid": "601864", "doi": "10.15784/601864", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Cryosphere", "people": "Teets, Nicholas; Kawarasaki, Yuta", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Cold and dehydration tolerance of Belgica antarctica from three distinct geographic locations", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601864"}, {"dataset_uid": "601865", "doi": "10.15784/601865", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Cryosphere; Seasonality", "people": "Denlinger, David; McCabe, Eleanor; Teets, Nicholas; Devlin, Jack; Spacht, Drew; Gantz, Josiah D.; Lee, Richard", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Fine\u2011scale variation in microhabitat conditions influences physiology and metabolism in an Antarctic insect", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601865"}, {"dataset_uid": "601866", "doi": "10.15784/601866", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Cryosphere", "people": "Teets, Nicholas; Devlin, Jack", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Data from microplastics exposure in Belgica antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601866"}, {"dataset_uid": "200425", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Simulated winter warming negatively impacts survival of Antarcticas only endemic insect", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601694"}, {"dataset_uid": "601867", "doi": "10.15784/601867", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Cryosphere", "people": "Teets, Nicholas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Multiple stress tolerance in the Antarctic midge", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601867"}, {"dataset_uid": "200437", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Stress tolerance in Belgica antarctica and Eretmoptera murphyi", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601874"}, {"dataset_uid": "601698", "doi": "10.15784/601698", "keywords": "Antarctica; Belgica Antarctica; Palmer Station", "people": "Devlin, Jack; Sousa Lima, Cleverson; Lecheta, Melise; Teets, Nicholas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Long-term recovery from freezing in Belgica antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601698"}, {"dataset_uid": "601871", "doi": "10.15784/601871", "keywords": "Antarctica; Belgica Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Michel, Andrew; Teets, Nicholas; Hayward, Scott; Devlin, Jack; Gantz, Josiah D.; Pavinato, Vitor; Kawarasaki, Yuta; Aquilino, Monica; Sousa Lima, Cleverson", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Stress tolerance in Belgica antarctica and Eretmoptera murphyi", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601871"}, {"dataset_uid": "601872", "doi": "10.15784/601872", "keywords": "Antarctica; Belgica Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Colinet, Herve; Hayward, Scott; Michel, Andrew; Sousa Lima, Cleverson; Teets, Nicholas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Cross-tolerance in Belgica antarctica near Palmer Peninsula", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601872"}, {"dataset_uid": "601687", "doi": "10.15784/601687", "keywords": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Belgica Antarctica; Biota; Sample Location", "people": "Pavinato, Vitor; Sousa Lima, Cleverson; Devlin, Jack; Kawarasaki, Yuta; Gantz, Joseph; Peter, Convey; Michel, Andrew; Teets, Nicholas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Information on 2023 collection sites for Belgica antarctica", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601687"}, {"dataset_uid": "601873", "doi": "10.15784/601873", "keywords": "Antarctica; Belgica Antarctica; Cryosphere; Population Genetics", "people": "Sousa Lima, Cleverson; Hayward, Scott; Michel, Andrew; Teets, Nicholas", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Temporal and spatial variation in stress tolerance in Belgica antarctica populations from distinct islands", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601873"}, {"dataset_uid": "601875", "doi": "10.15784/601875", "keywords": "Antarctica; Cryosphere", "people": "Michel, Andrew; Hayward, Scott; Teets, Nicholas; Sousa Lima, Cleverson", "repository": "USAP-DC", "science_program": null, "title": "Belgica antarctica collection sites - Summer 2023/2024 field season", "url": "https://www.usap-dc.org/view/dataset/601875"}], "date_created": "Fri, 25 Jun 2021 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The cold, dry terrestrial environments of Antarctica are inhospitable for insects, and only three midge species make Antarctica home. Of these, Belgica antarctica is the only species found exclusively in Antarctica, and it has been a resident of Antarctica since the continent split from South America ~30 million years ago. Thus, this species is an excellent system to model the biological history of Antarctica throughout its repeated glaciation events and shifts in climate. This insect is also a classic example of extreme adaptation, and much previous work has focused on identifying the genetic and physiological mechanisms that allow this species to survive where no other insect is capable. However, it has been difficult to pinpoint the unique evolutionary adaptations that are required to survive in Antarctica due to a lack of information from closely related Antarctic and sub-Antarctic species. This project will compare adaptations, genome sequences, and population characteristics of four midge species that span an environmental gradient from sub-Antarctic to Antarctic habitats. In addition to B. antarctica, these species include two species that are strictly sub-Antarctic and a third that is native to the sub-Antarctic but has invaded parts of Antarctica. The researchers, comprised of scientists from the US, UK, Chile, and France, will sample insects from across their geographic range and measure their ability to tolerate environmental stressors (i.e., cold and desiccation), quantify molecular responses to stress, and compare the makeup of the genome and patterns of genetic diversity. This research will contribute to a greater understanding of adaptation to extremes, to an understanding of biodiversity on the planet and to understanding and predicting changes accompanying environmental change. The project will train two graduate students and two postdoctoral researchers, and a K-12 educator will be a member of the field team and will assist with fieldwork and facilitate outreach with schools in the US. The project includes partnership activities with several STEM education organizations to deliver educational content to K-12 and secondary students. This is a project that is jointly funded by the National Science Foundation\u0027s Directorate of Geosciences (NSF/GEO) and the National Environment Research Council (NERC) of the United Kingdom (UK) via the NSF/GEO-NERC Lead Agency Agreement. This Agreement allows a single joint US/UK proposal to be submitted and peer-reviewed by the Agency whose investigator has the largest proportion of the budget. Each Agency funds the proportion of the budget and the investigators associated with its own country. UK participation in this project includes deploying scientists as part of the field team, supporting field and sampling logistics at remote Antarctic sites, and genome sequencing, annotation, and analyses. This project focuses on the key physiological adaptations and molecular processes that allow a select few insect species to survive in Antarctica. The focal species are all wingless with limited dispersal capacity, suggesting there is also significant potential to locally adapt to variable environmental conditions across the range of these species. The central hypothesis is that similar molecular mechanisms drive both population-level adaptation to local environmental conditions and macroevolutionary changes across species living in different environments. The specific aims of the project are to 1) Characterize conserved and species-specific adaptations to extreme environments through comparative physiology and transcriptomics, 2) Compare the genome sequences of these species to identify genetic signatures of extreme adaption, and 3) Investigate patterns of diversification and local adaptation across each species? range using population genomics. The project establishes an international collaboration of researchers from the US, UK, Chile, and France with shared interests and complementary expertise in the biology, genomics, and conservation of Antarctic arthropods. The Broader Impacts of the project include training students and partnering with the Living Arts and Science Center to design and implement educational content for K-12 students. This award reflects NSF\u0027s statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation\u0027s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.", "east": -60.616133, "geometry": "POINT(-62.49145 -64.0443585)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Antarctic Peninsula; Livingston Island; Antarctica; USAP-DC; AMD; R/V LMG; USA/NSF; ARTHROPODS; Amd/Us; Anvers Island", "locations": "Antarctica; Antarctic Peninsula; Anvers Island; Livingston Island", "north": -62.68104, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Teets, Nicholas; Michel, Andrew", "platforms": "WATER-BASED PLATFORMS \u003e VESSELS \u003e SURFACE \u003e R/V LMG", "repo": "R2R", "repositories": "NCBI; R2R; USAP-DC", "science_programs": null, "south": -65.407677, "title": "NSFGEO-NERC: Mechanisms of Adaptation to Terrestrial Antarctica through Comparative Physiology and Genomics of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Insects", "uid": "p0010203", "west": -64.366767}, {"awards": "1040945 Place, Sean; 1447291 Place, Sean; 1040957 Sarmiento, Jorge", "bounds_geometry": "POLYGON((-180 90,-144 90,-108 90,-72 90,-36 90,0 90,36 90,72 90,108 90,144 90,180 90,180 72,180 54,180 36,180 18,180 0,180 -18,180 -36,180 -54,180 -72,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -72,-180 -54,-180 -36,-180 -18,-180 0,-180 18,-180 36,-180 54,-180 72,-180 90))", "dataset_titles": "Does the strength of the carbonate pump change with ocean stratification and acidification and how? Project data; NCBI GenBank RNA sequences, Pagothenia borchgrevinki; NCBI GenBank RNA sequences, Trematomus bernacchii; NCBI GenBank RNA sequences, Trematomus newnesi; NCBI links to BioProjects of total RNA isolated from Trematomus bernacchii gill tissues acclimated to elevated temperature and pCO2, July 2015", "datasets": [{"dataset_uid": "000163", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "NCBI GenBank RNA sequences, Trematomus bernacchii", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA289753"}, {"dataset_uid": "000165", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "NCBI GenBank RNA sequences, Trematomus newnesi", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA294787"}, {"dataset_uid": "000184", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "NCBI GenBank RNA sequences, Trematomus bernacchii", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA289753"}, {"dataset_uid": "000186", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "NCBI GenBank RNA sequences, Trematomus newnesi", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA294787"}, {"dataset_uid": "000185", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "NCBI GenBank RNA sequences, Pagothenia borchgrevinki", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA294774"}, {"dataset_uid": "000166", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "BCO-DMO", "science_program": null, "title": "NCBI links to BioProjects of total RNA isolated from Trematomus bernacchii gill tissues acclimated to elevated temperature and pCO2, July 2015", "url": "http://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/665853"}, {"dataset_uid": "000219", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "BCO-DMO", "science_program": null, "title": "Does the strength of the carbonate pump change with ocean stratification and acidification and how? Project data", "url": "http://www.bco-dmo.org/project/521216"}, {"dataset_uid": "000164", "doi": "", "keywords": null, "people": null, "repository": "NCBI GenBank", "science_program": null, "title": "NCBI GenBank RNA sequences, Pagothenia borchgrevinki", "url": "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/bioproject/PRJNA294774"}], "date_created": "Mon, 12 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT", "description": "The proposed research will investigate the interacting and potentially synergistic influence of two oceanographic features - ocean acidification and the projected rise in mean sea surface temperature - on the performance of Notothenioids, the dominant fish of the Antarctic marine ecosystem. Understanding the joint effects of acidification and temperature rise on these fish is a vital component of predicting the resilience of coastal marine ecosystems. Notothenioids have repeatedly displayed a narrow window of physiological tolerances when subjected to abiotic stresses. Given that evolutionary adaptation may have led to finely-tuned traits with narrow physiological limits in these organisms, this system provides a unique opportunity to examine physiological trade-offs associated with acclimation to the multi-stressor environment expected from future atmospheric CO2 projections. Understanding these trade-offs will provide valuable insight into the capacity species have for responses to climate change via phenotypic plasticity. As an extension to functional measurements, this study will use evolutionary approaches to map variation in physiological responses onto the phylogeny of these fishes and the genetic diversity within species. These approaches offer insight into the historical constraints and future potential for evolutionary optimization. The research will significantly expand the genomic resources available to polar researchers and will support the training of graduate students and a post doc at an EPSCoR institution. Research outcomes will be incorporated into classroom curriculum.", "east": 180.0, "geometry": "POINT(0 -89.999)", "instruments": null, "is_usap_dc": true, "keywords": "Not provided", "locations": null, "north": 90.0, "nsf_funding_programs": "Antarctic Integrated System Science; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems; Antarctic Organisms and Ecosystems", "paleo_time": null, "persons": "Place, Sean; Sarmiento, Jorge; Dudycha, Jeffry; Kwon, Eun-Young", "platforms": "Not provided", "repo": "NCBI GenBank", "repositories": "BCO-DMO; NCBI GenBank", "science_programs": null, "south": -90.0, "title": "Ocean Acidification Category 1: Identifying Adaptive Responses of Polar Fishes in a Vulnerable Ecosystem", "uid": "p0000006", "west": -180.0}]
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| Project Title/Abstract/Map | NSF Award(s) | Date Created | PIs / Scientists | Dataset Links and Repositories | Abstract | Bounds Geometry | Geometry | Selected | Visible | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Collaborative Research: Beyond the Black-and-White: Uncovering Hidden Keys to Success in Adelie Penguins
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2535120 2535122 2535124 2535121 |
2026-09-09 | Ballard, Grant; Schmidt, Annie; Lescroel, Amelie; Cimino, Megan; Varsani, Arvind | No dataset link provided | Non-technical abstract Adélie penguins are an early indicator of change in Antarctica. One study population in the Ross Sea is stable or growing, while another near the Antarctic Peninsula is declining quickly, even though both face a warming climate. This project asks a question that matters for conservation and for our broader understanding of how species adapt to environmental change: what allows some penguin populations to cope while others do not? Researchers will follow penguins from the two regions through the parts of their lives that are hardest to observe. Small tracking tags placed on young penguins just before they leave their colonies will reveal where they travel on their first trips to sea and how many survive. Recording devices retrieved from adult penguins will show where and when they molt their feathers and how deep and how often they dive for food through the winter. Blood samples will map how penguins from the two regions are related ancestrally and whether the populations mix regularly. Together these measurements show how each population feeds, travels, and survives, and whether differences in behavior help explain why the two are heading in opposite directions, informing how Antarctic wildlife is understood and protected as the region changes. The tracking and recording devices collect temperature and other ocean data from a remote region during the season when it is most difficult to study, adding to the information available for understanding and managing the Southern Ocean. The project also trains the next generation of polar scientists, supporting a doctoral student and a field apprentice, and it continues long-term monitoring that reaches back decades. Education and public outreach will include "Live From the Penguins" video calls and updates on penguin colony and breeding behavior through the PenguinScience.com website and social media. Technical abstract Adélie penguins are a key Antarctic mesopredator and a useful model for studying the limits of biological adaptation under rapid environmental change. This two-year project unites two of the longest-running United States Adélie penguin research programs (a stable-to-increasing population in the Ross Sea and a declining population near Palmer Station on the western Antarctic Peninsula) as a natural experiment in adaptive capacity. The work centers on three traits measurable from one intensive field season combined with existing biologging and multi-decadal monitoring data. Satellite-linked transmitters deployed on fledglings before colony departure in both regions will quantify juvenile dispersal routes, habitat use, and at-sea survival. Archival geolocating dive recorders recovered from adults will characterize molt timing and location (sea ice versus land). The same instruments yield year-long dive, light, and temperature profiles, allowing foraging performance and environmental thresholds to be compared across contrasting breeding and wintering regions. A genetic component addresses population structure: whether mitochondrial lineages sort by colony, how genetically contained the Ross Sea population is, and how prevalent the Ross Sea lineage is in the under-sampled Palmer region. Together these provide a framework against which trait differences can be interpreted. A second field season supports instrument retrieval and continued long-term monitoring. The project trains one doctoral student and one field apprentice and extends datasets that reach back decades in both regions. 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. | POLYGON((-180 -60,-163 -60,-146 -60,-129 -60,-112 -60,-95 -60,-78 -60,-61 -60,-44 -60,-27 -60,-10 -60,-10 -61.8,-10 -63.6,-10 -65.4,-10 -67.2,-10 -69,-10 -70.8,-10 -72.6,-10 -74.4,-10 -76.2,-10 -78,-27 -78,-44 -78,-61 -78,-78 -78,-95 -78,-112 -78,-129 -78,-146 -78,-163 -78,180 -78,175.5 -78,171 -78,166.5 -78,162 -78,157.5 -78,153 -78,148.5 -78,144 -78,139.5 -78,135 -78,135 -76.2,135 -74.4,135 -72.6,135 -70.8,135 -69,135 -67.2,135 -65.4,135 -63.6,135 -61.8,135 -60,139.5 -60,144 -60,148.5 -60,153 -60,157.5 -60,162 -60,166.5 -60,171 -60,175.5 -60,-180 -60)) | POINT(-117.5 -69) | false | false | |
|
Evolutionary Genomic Responses in Antarctic Notothenioid Fishes
|
1645087 |
2022-10-10 | Catchen, Julian; Cheng, Chi-Hing | As plate tectonics pushed Antarctica into a polar position, by ~34 million years ago, the continent and its surrounding Southern Ocean (SO) became geographically and thermally isolated by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Terrestrial and marine glaciation followed, resulting in extinctions as well as the survival and radiation of unique flora and fauna. The notothenioid fish survived and arose from a common ancestral stock into tax with 120 species that dominates today?s SO fish fauna. The Notothenioids evolved adaptive traits including novel antifreeze proteins for survival in extreme cold, but also suffered seemingly adverse trait loss including red blood cells in the icefish family, and the ability to mount cellular responses to mitigate heat stress ? otherwise ubiquitous across all life. This project aims to understand how the notothenoid genomes have changed and contributed to their evolution in the cold. The project will sequence, analyze and compare the genomes of two strategic pairs of notothenioid fishes representing both red-blooded and white-blooded species. Each pair will consist of one Antarctic species and one that has readapted to the temperate waters of S. America or New Zealand. The project will also compare the Antarctic species genomes to a genome of the closet non-Antarctic relative representing the temperate notothenioid ancestor. The work aims to uncover the mechanisms that enabled the adaptive evolution of this ecologically vital group of fish in the freezing Southern Ocean, and shed light on their adaptability to a warming world. The finished genomes will be made available to promote and advance Antarctic research and the project will host a symposium of Polar researchers to discuss the cutting edge developments regarding of genomic adaptations in the polar region. Despite subzero, icy conditions that are perilous to teleost fish, the fish fauna of the isolated Southern Ocean (SO) surrounding Antarctica is remarkably bountiful. A single teleost group ? the notothenioid fishes ? dominate the fauna, comprising over 120 species that arose from a common ancestor. When Antarctica became isolated and SO temperatures began to plunge in early Oligocene, the prior temperate fishes became extinct. The ancestor of Antarctic notothenioids overcame forbidding polar conditions and, absent niche competition, it diversified and filled the SO. How did notothenioids adapt to freezing environmental selection pressures and achieve such extraordinary success? And having specialized to life in chronic cold for 30 myr, can they evolve in pace with today?s warming climate to stay viable? Past studies of Antarctic notothenioid evolutionary adaptation have discovered various remarkable traits including the key, life-saving antifreeze proteins. But life specialized to cold also led to paradoxical trait changes such as the loss of the otherwise universal heat shock response, and of the O2-transporting hemoglobin and red blood cells in the icefish family. A few species interestingly regained abilities to live in temperate waters following the escape of their ancestor out of the freezing SO. This proposed project is the first major effort to advance the field from single trait studies to understanding the full spectrum of genomic and genetic responses to climatic and environmental change during notothenioid evolution, and to evaluate their adaptability to continuing climate change. To this end, the project will sequence the genomes of four key species that embody genomic responses to different thermal selection regimes during notothenioids? evolutionary history, and by comparative analyses of genomic structure, architecture and content, deduce the responding changes. Specifically, the project will (i) obtain whole genome assemblies of the red-blooded T. borchgrevinki and the S. American icefish C. esox; (ii) using the finished genomes from (i) as template, obtain assemblies of the New Zealand notothenioid N. angustata, and the white-blooded icefish C. gunnari, representing a long (11 myr) and recent (1 myr) secondarily temperate evolutionary history respectively. Genes that are under selection in the temperate environment but not in the Antarctic environment can be inferred to be directly necessary for that environment ? and the reverse is also true for genes under selection in the Antarctic but not in the temperate environment. Further, genes important for survival in temperate waters will show parallel selection between N. angustata and C. esox despite the fact that the two fish left the Antarctic at far separated time points. Finally, gene families that expanded due to strong selection within the cold Antarctic should show a degradation of duplicates in the temperate environment. The project will test these hypotheses using a number of techniques to compare the content and form of genes, the structure of the chromosomes containing those genes, and through the identification of key characters, such as selfish genetic elements, introns, and structural variants. | None | None | false | false | ||
|
NSFGEO-NERC: Mechanisms of Adaptation to Terrestrial Antarctica through Comparative Physiology and Genomics of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic Insects
|
1850988 |
2021-06-25 | Teets, Nicholas; Michel, Andrew | The cold, dry terrestrial environments of Antarctica are inhospitable for insects, and only three midge species make Antarctica home. Of these, Belgica antarctica is the only species found exclusively in Antarctica, and it has been a resident of Antarctica since the continent split from South America ~30 million years ago. Thus, this species is an excellent system to model the biological history of Antarctica throughout its repeated glaciation events and shifts in climate. This insect is also a classic example of extreme adaptation, and much previous work has focused on identifying the genetic and physiological mechanisms that allow this species to survive where no other insect is capable. However, it has been difficult to pinpoint the unique evolutionary adaptations that are required to survive in Antarctica due to a lack of information from closely related Antarctic and sub-Antarctic species. This project will compare adaptations, genome sequences, and population characteristics of four midge species that span an environmental gradient from sub-Antarctic to Antarctic habitats. In addition to B. antarctica, these species include two species that are strictly sub-Antarctic and a third that is native to the sub-Antarctic but has invaded parts of Antarctica. The researchers, comprised of scientists from the US, UK, Chile, and France, will sample insects from across their geographic range and measure their ability to tolerate environmental stressors (i.e., cold and desiccation), quantify molecular responses to stress, and compare the makeup of the genome and patterns of genetic diversity. This research will contribute to a greater understanding of adaptation to extremes, to an understanding of biodiversity on the planet and to understanding and predicting changes accompanying environmental change. The project will train two graduate students and two postdoctoral researchers, and a K-12 educator will be a member of the field team and will assist with fieldwork and facilitate outreach with schools in the US. The project includes partnership activities with several STEM education organizations to deliver educational content to K-12 and secondary students. This is a project that is jointly funded by the National Science Foundation's Directorate of Geosciences (NSF/GEO) and the National Environment Research Council (NERC) of the United Kingdom (UK) via the NSF/GEO-NERC Lead Agency Agreement. This Agreement allows a single joint US/UK proposal to be submitted and peer-reviewed by the Agency whose investigator has the largest proportion of the budget. Each Agency funds the proportion of the budget and the investigators associated with its own country. UK participation in this project includes deploying scientists as part of the field team, supporting field and sampling logistics at remote Antarctic sites, and genome sequencing, annotation, and analyses. This project focuses on the key physiological adaptations and molecular processes that allow a select few insect species to survive in Antarctica. The focal species are all wingless with limited dispersal capacity, suggesting there is also significant potential to locally adapt to variable environmental conditions across the range of these species. The central hypothesis is that similar molecular mechanisms drive both population-level adaptation to local environmental conditions and macroevolutionary changes across species living in different environments. The specific aims of the project are to 1) Characterize conserved and species-specific adaptations to extreme environments through comparative physiology and transcriptomics, 2) Compare the genome sequences of these species to identify genetic signatures of extreme adaption, and 3) Investigate patterns of diversification and local adaptation across each species? range using population genomics. The project establishes an international collaboration of researchers from the US, UK, Chile, and France with shared interests and complementary expertise in the biology, genomics, and conservation of Antarctic arthropods. The Broader Impacts of the project include training students and partnering with the Living Arts and Science Center to design and implement educational content for K-12 students. 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. | POLYGON((-64.366767 -62.68104,-63.9917036 -62.68104,-63.6166402 -62.68104,-63.2415768 -62.68104,-62.8665134 -62.68104,-62.49145 -62.68104,-62.1163866 -62.68104,-61.7413232 -62.68104,-61.3662598 -62.68104,-60.9911964 -62.68104,-60.616133 -62.68104,-60.616133 -62.9537037,-60.616133 -63.2263674,-60.616133 -63.4990311,-60.616133 -63.7716948,-60.616133 -64.0443585,-60.616133 -64.3170222,-60.616133 -64.5896859,-60.616133 -64.8623496,-60.616133 -65.1350133,-60.616133 -65.407677,-60.9911964 -65.407677,-61.3662598 -65.407677,-61.7413232 -65.407677,-62.1163866 -65.407677,-62.49145 -65.407677,-62.8665134 -65.407677,-63.2415768 -65.407677,-63.6166402 -65.407677,-63.9917036 -65.407677,-64.366767 -65.407677,-64.366767 -65.1350133,-64.366767 -64.8623496,-64.366767 -64.5896859,-64.366767 -64.3170222,-64.366767 -64.0443585,-64.366767 -63.7716948,-64.366767 -63.4990311,-64.366767 -63.2263674,-64.366767 -62.9537037,-64.366767 -62.68104)) | POINT(-62.49145 -64.0443585) | false | false | ||
|
Ocean Acidification Category 1: Identifying Adaptive Responses of Polar Fishes in a Vulnerable Ecosystem
|
1040945 1447291 1040957 |
2015-01-12 | Place, Sean; Sarmiento, Jorge; Dudycha, Jeffry; Kwon, Eun-Young | The proposed research will investigate the interacting and potentially synergistic influence of two oceanographic features - ocean acidification and the projected rise in mean sea surface temperature - on the performance of Notothenioids, the dominant fish of the Antarctic marine ecosystem. Understanding the joint effects of acidification and temperature rise on these fish is a vital component of predicting the resilience of coastal marine ecosystems. Notothenioids have repeatedly displayed a narrow window of physiological tolerances when subjected to abiotic stresses. Given that evolutionary adaptation may have led to finely-tuned traits with narrow physiological limits in these organisms, this system provides a unique opportunity to examine physiological trade-offs associated with acclimation to the multi-stressor environment expected from future atmospheric CO2 projections. Understanding these trade-offs will provide valuable insight into the capacity species have for responses to climate change via phenotypic plasticity. As an extension to functional measurements, this study will use evolutionary approaches to map variation in physiological responses onto the phylogeny of these fishes and the genetic diversity within species. These approaches offer insight into the historical constraints and future potential for evolutionary optimization. The research will significantly expand the genomic resources available to polar researchers and will support the training of graduate students and a post doc at an EPSCoR institution. Research outcomes will be incorporated into classroom curriculum. | POLYGON((-180 90,-144 90,-108 90,-72 90,-36 90,0 90,36 90,72 90,108 90,144 90,180 90,180 72,180 54,180 36,180 18,180 0,180 -18,180 -36,180 -54,180 -72,180 -90,144 -90,108 -90,72 -90,36 -90,0 -90,-36 -90,-72 -90,-108 -90,-144 -90,-180 -90,-180 -72,-180 -54,-180 -36,-180 -18,-180 0,-180 18,-180 36,-180 54,-180 72,-180 90)) | POINT(0 -89.999) | false | false |

