Award: OCE-1459815

It takes a single sperm to fertilize an egg, and because sperm are thousands of times smaller than eggs, males and females fundamentally differ in their initial investments in offspring. Because of this, an individual male could fertilize the eggs of many different females, but perhaps more likely, few or no females. On the other hand, a female's eggs could be fertlized by just a single male, or many males. For animals, the distribution of fertilization success is called its mating system. Mating systems affect far more than an individual's mating success. They affect how parents are expected to care for offspring, how offspring compete with each for food and other resources, and ecologically and evolutionarily important patterns of variation among offspring. For many decades, marine scientists assumed that patterns of fertilization were essentially random, and little attention was devoted to chatarizing how, or if, they varied wihtin and among species. Now, with the advent of modern genomic approaches, we can efficiently characterize mating systems at the level of individual males and females, and across different times, places, and species. Using these state-of-the art genomic and informatic approaches, this project documented mating system variation and its effects on patterns of reproductionin a group of abundant marine snails that are important predators and that shape communtieis on rocky shores throughout much of the northern hemisphere. By integrating insights from population and behavioral ecology, genomics, and reproductive biology, this project genetrated novel insights into the impacts of mating system variation on the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of marine systems. The project showed that mating systems vary consistently within and among species of this group of snails, and that this variation has major effects on on how males and females invest in offspring, how "fit" offspring are, and how -- over the longer term -- mating systems may be related to the evolution of new species. The results have important implications for resource management by advancing our understanding of how processes such as climate change, habitat fragmentation, and harvesting will influence population dynamics, speciation, and ecosystem function. Through partnerships with established programs at UC Davis and other insitutions, including (1) a UC Davis-Howard University program that supports research internships at UC Davis for Howard undergraduates every year; (2) new programs at Bodega Marine Lab (CAMEOS and ISOpods) to develop self-contained marine science modules in the classroom; (3) training of K-12 educators through the Sacramento Area Science Project; (4) a newly funded NSF grant at UC Davis to produce a new, statewide ?Modeling scientific practice in high school biology? curriculum; (5) military veteran placements through the UNCW Office of Transitional programs; and (6) the UNCW eTEAL (Experiencing Transformative Education through Applied Learning) program, emphasizing undergraduate research in molecular ecology, this project trained numerous under-represented students, scientists, and teachers in modern ecology and genetics, and their applications to pressing challenges in marine resource management. The project interfaced with multiple educational and resource management programs through partnerships with science educators at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, NOAA marine sanctuaries and outreach programs, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the California Ocean Sciences Trust, and the California Ocean Protection Council. Last Modified: 04/24/2022 Submitted by: Richard K Grosberg