Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The University of Texas at Arlington received a $908,895 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation's Division of Environmental Biology under the Biological Sciences program (CFDA 47.074) to conduct fundamental research on convergent evolution in waterfowl species. Award execution commenced May 15, 2026, with completion scheduled for April 30, 2031. The research deliverables include comparative evolutionary analyses combining morphological measurements, genetic data, and environmental condition assessments to determine how dietary adaptations drive skeletal evolution and influence species diversification. The project will employ statistical comparative methods to examine whether dietary shifts enable ecological expansion and speciation or increase specialization vulnerability to extinction.

The grant supports research outputs including scientific analyses of convergent skeletal features in waterfowl species that independently evolved similar feeding strategies (filter feeding, underwater diving, and grazing), peer-reviewed publications documenting patterns in phenotypic and genomic adaptation, and datasets characterizing the relationship between feeding ecology and skeletal morphology across evolutionary timescales. Additionally, the award provides educational value through tailored college student training utilizing museum collections to demonstrate how institutional specimens support contemporary biological research and biotechnology applications. The project is performed at the University of Texas at Arlington's Arlington, Texas facility through the Office of Research Administration.