This collaborative IRES project is co-funding by OISE (Office of International Science and Engineering) and GEO/OCE (Division of Ocean Sciences).
Part 1, Nontechnical Description: In the Philippines International Research Experience for Students project (Ph-IRES), 15 U.S. undergraduates will spend eight weeks at Silliman University (SU) conducting independent research with Filipino mentors. Projects will explore marine fishes and the human activities affecting their evolution. Research will include: (1) genetic barcoding to document fish diversity; (2) life history studies to examine how fishing pressure influences how fish grow and reproduce; (3) genetic studies to see how fish populations connect with one another, and; (4) study of how microplastics pollution may affect reef fishes. Students will be involved in an immersive international research experience that emphasizes collaboration among cultures and contributes to development of a diverse, globally-engaged workforce with world-class skills. Through this training program, we will enhance U.S. leadership in research, and strengthen economic competitiveness through training the next generation of international research leaders. Society relies upon marine resources for food security, and the proposed research will contribute to our ability to sustainably harvest fish by helping us understand how our activities affect their evolution.
Part 2, Technical Description: Undergraduate students will conduct research in modern ecological and evolutionary science to test for the evolution of exploited marine fishes in the epicenter of marine biodiversity. Ph-IRES will build upon the existing, successful international summer REU program organized by the "NSF-PIRE-1743711- Centennial Genetic and Species Transformations in the Epicenter of Marine Biodiversity" collaboration, which is focused on short-term molecular evolution of marine fishes by adding capacity for five nationally recruited students/year whose research projects focus on documenting present-day genetic diversity and the impacts of human activities on fisheries species. Students will work with Filipino mentors at SU to explore research questions in four focus areas: (1) DNA barcoding of marine fishes will be used to document and compare long-term evolutionary relationships, species and genetic diversity in a region with the greatest marine biodiversity and relatively few scientific studies; (2) Marine fish life history projects will gather data on growth rate, age of reproductive maturity or sex change, and parental investment in offspring to make comparisons between areas with different levels of fishing pressure; (3) Research projects on population connectivity will use genetic data to test for genetic structure; (4) Projects in marine pollution and microplastics will directly examine these contemporary anthropogenic threats to marine fishes in the Philippines. In addition to the scientific focus areas, the educational goals of Ph-IRES are to (1) help students integrate into international STEM culture, (2) promote disciplinary practices and knowledge, and (3) increase participation and retention of students in STEM fields. Students will gain authentic experience in developing, planning, conducting, analyzing and disseminating the results of an independent overseas research project. Ph-IRES will also provide cultural training, a computational skills workshop, funding for membership in a professional society and a capstone cohort trip to the National Diversity in STEM conference where participants can network, take advantage of professional development activities, and present their research. The proposed work will add to existing knowledge of the effects of undergraduate research experiences, and will in particular contribute quantitative and qualitative data on students working with international, non-Western mentors in an overseas setting. Additionally, the partnership of the Ph-IRES and PIRE REU programs will allow us to contrast the effects of differing mentorship strategies between the programs.
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.
