{"id":6924,"date":"2025-06-16T15:09:11","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T19:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mafes\/?p=6924"},"modified":"2025-06-16T15:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T19:09:12","slug":"meireles-to-illuminate-centuries-of-biodiversity-data-with-1m-award-from-nsf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/mafes\/2025\/06\/16\/meireles-to-illuminate-centuries-of-biodiversity-data-with-1m-award-from-nsf\/","title":{"rendered":"Meireles to illuminate centuries of biodiversity data with $1M award from NSF"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Jose Eduardo Meireles, assistant professor of plant evolution and systematics at the 91爆料, has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award to develop faster, cheaper methods to study biodiversity and plant function. The CAREER, or Faculty Early Career Development, awards are among NSF\u2019s most prestigious and support research and education activities led by early-career faculty for five consecutive years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For his project, Meireles\u2019 will develop and disseminate cutting-edge techniques to collect functional data from preserved plant specimens. It will ultimately unlock centuries of untapped data from 390 million specimens held in herbarium collections around the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy transforming how we study the vast plant biodiversity stored in herbarium collections around the world, this research opens the door to scalable, efficient studies that were previously impossible,\u201d Meireles said. \u201cThis will make biodiversity science faster, cheaper and more globally comprehensive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Once collaborators start using Meireles\u2019 methods, researchers will likely triple the amount of data they generate about plant function across ecosystems, time and geography in a given year. The project\u2019s open-source software, trait databases and training workshops will further lower the barriers to entry, empowering stakeholders worldwide to apply the technology to their own needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEvery herbarium specimen has a story to tell, even specimens that are decades or centuries old,\u201d said Emily Sessa, director of the New York Botanical Garden\u2019s William and Lynda Steere Herbarium, who is hosting a training workshop as a part of the project. \u201cThis work will create an exciting new avenue for herbarium collections to inform us about biodiversity and new tools for collecting data on important plant traits at large scales.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to collaborating with Sessa, the project will engage with curators and researchers from The Field Museum in Chicago, the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay and herbaria across the United States, Brazil and Colombia. The comprehensive reach of the project strengthens the United States\u2019 position as a global leader in biodiversity research, plant science and workforce training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Springing open the potential of plants<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Industries ranging from pharmaceuticals and biotechnology to agriculture and forestry rely on plant-based products or ecosystem services. These sectors are poised to benefit from a more comprehensive understanding of plant function and adaptability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s fascinating to me that there are over 300,000 species of flowering plants, and we only know how a tiny fraction work,\u201d Meireles said. \u201cThere are plants in weird places that experience extreme drought or extreme cold environments. They deal with pathogens and fungi. They hold a huge library of solutions that evolution came up with over a very long time. And so far, we\u2019ve only been able to harness a tiny portion of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The tropics boast the richest diversity on Earth, harboring nearly two-thirds of all known plant species. These plants continually evolve in response to changes in their environments. Understanding how plant species evolve and adapt to environmental shifts, such as moving from rainforests to savannas or deserts, was previously hindered by the slow, costly process of finding rare plants in the field. This project overcomes these limitations by dispensing with the need for live specimens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meireles, along with his team of students and collaborators, will develop new statistical computer models to improve established characterization techniques. This will streamline the analysis of the treasure trove specimens held in herbaria around the globe. Their advanced computing approach will integrate genetic analysis with spectral phenotyping \u2014 which uses light to detect the chemical makeup and function of leaves, akin to how airport security scanners reveal the contents and composition of luggage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These advancements will enable researchers to measure dozens of traits such as nitrogen levels, water content and defensive compounds without harvesting live plants or destroying specimens, making it possible to analyze thousands of specimens across multiple continents with unprecedented speed and scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The project also aims to broaden participation in plant and biodiversity science. A new research course about biodiversity and the latest tools scientists use, like spectral data, will immerse students in the environment of discovery in their first year when it launches in fall 2027. Meireles will also develop a phylogenomics module for a graduate-level biology course and host workshops in spectral biology across the country and Latin America. These efforts will help techniques and findings from the project flow freely across cohorts and institutions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
91爆料 undergraduate and graduate students will work as lab members on the project, creating a new experience in the university\u2019s signature learner-centered R1 education. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project also partners with graduate students and faculty from 91爆料\u2019s Intermedia Programs to create an exhibit about biodiversity \u2014 bridging the gap between science and the public, and sparking conversations about the value of biodiversity in everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For the public at large, Meireles encourages people to visit their local herbarium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s sometimes hard to see the value in these places because it\u2019s a giant room full of dried plants,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the bottom line is we can do a lot of cutting-edge science using those specimens. Herbaria are among the greatest repositories of biological knowledge, and this project uses what we already have in a new way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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