Dissertation Research: Effects of Territory Quality and Resource Distribution on Movement and Space Use of Meadow Voles

论文研究：地域质量和资源分布对草甸田鼠运动和空间利用的影响

• 批准号: 9700900
• 负责人: Nancy Solomon
• 金额: $ 0.57万
• 依托单位: Miami University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1997
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1997-06-01 至 2000-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9700900&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Effects; Territory; Quality

9700900 Solomon Both individuals and populations should be strongly influenced by habitat quality. In turn, habitat quality can be influenced by many factors, such as the abundance and distribution of food, cover, and the presence of potential mates or competitors. Individuals within a population usually do not utilized all available habitat. The portion of habitat that individuals use on a daily basis is referred to as their home range and if this space is defended, it is referred to as their territory. The objective of this study is to determine the influence of territory quality and resource distribution on movement and space use of meadow voles. Female meadow voles are territorial during the breeding season and occupy relatively small ranges. Male meadow voles are non-territorial throughout the year and occupy ranges several times larger than female ranges. It has been hypothesized that female territoriality should be more pronounced in high-quality habitat relative to low-quality habitat and should be more evident when resources are clumped rather than evenly distributed. We will test these hypotheses by examining patterns of overlap among female territories; low levels of overlap indicate territoriality whereas high levels indicate non-territorial behavior. If overlap is lower in high-quality habitat than in low-quality habitat and lower on clumped than evenly distributed resources these hypotheses will be supported. Offspring born on high-quality territories are more likely to remain in the natal area than offspring born on low-quality territories. Additionally, offspring that leave high-quality territories should be older than offspring that leave low-quality territories. We will test these hypotheses by examining the proportion of offspring that remain in the natal area as adults and the ages of individuals that leave the natal area. Understanding how meadow voles respond to territory quality and resource distribution is important since these animals can alter pla nt communities thus influencing ecological succession, are an important prey species for many predators, and are known to be an important agricultural pest. Determining how meadow voles respond to habitat quality and resource distribution could therefore lead to a better understanding of ecological succession, how predator assemblages respond to resource and prey abundance and distribution, and help design new agricultural practices that can help reduce vole damage.

9700900所罗门个人和种群都应强烈影响栖息地质量。 反过来，栖息地的质量可能会受到许多因素的影响，例如食物的丰富度和分布，覆盖以及潜在配偶或竞争对手的存在。 种群中的个体通常不会利用所有可用的栖息地。 个体每天使用的栖息地部分被称为它们的家域，如果这个空间被保卫，它被称为它们的领土。 本研究的目的是确定领土质量和资源分布对草原田鼠的运动和空间利用的影响。 雌性草原田鼠在繁殖季节是领地性的，占据的范围相对较小。 雄性草原田鼠一年四季都没有领地，占据的范围比雌性大好几倍。 据推测，女性的领土应该是更明显的高质量的栖息地相对于低质量的栖息地，应该更明显的资源聚集，而不是均匀分布。 我们将通过研究女性领地之间的重叠模式来检验这些假设;低水平的重叠表明领地性，而高水平的重叠表明非领地行为。 如果重叠是低质量的高质量的栖息地比低质量的栖息地和低集群比均匀分布的资源，这些假设将得到支持。 出生在高质量领土上的后代比出生在低质量领土上的后代更有可能留在纳塔尔地。 此外，离开高质量领土的后代应该比离开低质量领土的后代年龄大。 我们将检验这些假设的比例，留在纳塔尔地区的成年人和年龄的个人离开纳塔尔地区。 了解草地田鼠如何对领土质量和资源分布做出反应是很重要的，因为这些动物可以改变植物群落，从而影响生态演替，是许多捕食者的重要猎物物种，并且已知是重要的农业害虫。 因此，确定草地田鼠如何应对栖息地质量和资源分布，可以更好地了解生态演替，捕食者组合如何应对资源和猎物的丰度和分布，并帮助设计新的农业实践，可以帮助减少田鼠的损害。