NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biology combine research and training components to prepare young scientists for careers in biology and require a plan to broaden participation of groups under-represented in science and engineering. The fellowships advance NSF efforts to diversify the STEM workforce now and in the future. This fellowship to Victoria Garcia supports research on how cooperative behavior affects aging in birds and how wild populations experience aging. The fellowship provides training in advanced quantitative methods, population genetics, and evolutionary biology. The host institutions are Old Dominion University, Cornell University, and Archbold Biological Station in Central Florida. The sponsoring scientists are Dr. Eric Walters, Dr. John Fitzpatrick, Dr. Walter Koenig, and Dr. Reed Bowman. The plan to broaden participation of groups under-represented in science includes teaching and mentoring undergraduate and graduate students at ODU, where almost half the students are from backgrounds underrepresented in science. Additionally, the Fellow is developing an outreach activity module related to her research that will be available to local high schools, many of which have predominantly underrepresented student populations.
Senescence, a decline in physiological functioning with age, can lead to reduced survival and reproduction. The existence of senescence has now been documented in wild populations, but few studies have delved into the causes, consequences, and evolutionary theory of senescence, as this study does. Sociality is thought to be a major driver in determining patterns of aging because it is associated with factors that directly affect senescence such as age at onset of reproduction, mortality rates, density, and habitat saturation. This research uses long-term data to examine previously untested aspects of aging including how sociality affects both actuarial (survival) and reproductive senescence in 3 species of cooperative breeders (Red-cockaded Woodpeckers [Picoides borealis], Acorn Woodpeckers [Melanerpes formicivorus], and Florida Scrub-Jays [Aphelocoma coerulescens]).
