NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships in Biology combine research and training components to prepare young scientists for careers in emerging areas where biology intersects with other scientific disciplines, in this case with control theory, a branch of mathematics and engineering. The Fellows are expected to lead the nation's scientific workforce of the future. This fellowship to Luis Zaman supports research and training on theoretical aspects of evolution and seeks to answer the question: Does complex ecology lead to simple evolution? The host institution is the University of Washington, and the sponsoring scientists are Drs. Ben Kerr and Eric Klavins. Training goals include the use and development of theoretical tools inspired by control theory to predict evolution within, and of, ecological networks. Educational and public outreach includes museums, the Society for the Advancement of Chicano and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) chapter at the University of Washington, and `Science Pubs,` a program in which scientists engage in casual scientific conversations with the public.
Innovative laboratory and field studies have transformed evolutionary biology into a discipline in which evolutionary hypotheses can be tested experimentally in real time. However, because of the stochastic nature of evolution, accurate predictions are elusive. To make matters worse, evolution in nature occurs within complex interaction networks (Darwin`s `tangled bank`). Theoreticians have made substantial progress incorporating complexity - especially ecological complexity - into models of evolution and coevolution. On the other hand, experimental biologists often eliminate as much complexity as possible in hopes of isolating the effects of their manipulations. This research bridges the gap between empirical and theoretical evolution by studying the effects of ecological complexity on evolutionary predictability. Predictions being made through modeling are being tested and refined though experimental evolution with bacteria-phage communities.
