This $399,999 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Environmental Biology will support research into traits as predictors of adaptive diversification along the Brazilian Dry Diagonal. The grant funds a collaborative proposal between researchers in the United States and Brazil to synthesize information from species' traits, communities, and genetics to understand the evolution of biodiversity in this unique region of Brazil.
The research team will employ machine learning, community phylogenetics, genomics, and other approaches to examine how traits like body size or behaviors allow organisms to succeed in novel dry habitats. They will also study how traits are filtered across environmental gradients and the genetic adaptations that enable organisms to inhabit more arid areas. By linking patterns in traits, communities, and genes, the project aims to provide a comprehensive portrait of the origins and evolution of biodiversity in the Brazilian Dry Diagonal. This work furthers the National Science Foundation's Biological Sciences program goal of increasing scientific knowledge of major problems confronting nations like habitat loss and climate change impacts on biodiversity. The University of Texas at Austin serves as the awardee institution.
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