Dissertation Research: Linking Individual Behavior to Population Processes at the Landscape Level

自然和人为改变的景观是栖息地类型的马赛克。一个个体在这种镶嵌体内找到高质量栖息地的成功与否，将影响它的生存和整个种群的动态。这项研究通过对东部彩龟的研究，考察了风景中个体行为和种群动态之间的相互作用。研究人员询问池塘的质量、大小和位置以及中间栖息地的类型如何影响海龟在池塘之间的移动。测量生长率和生殖产出将评估迁徙对个体的影响。然后将确定这些迁移对每个池塘和整个景观的人口过程(出生、死亡、移民和迁出率)的影响。当前土地利用做法的后果之一是栖息地碎片化的增加。适合支持野生动物的栖息地正在变得越来越小，彼此之间的距离也越来越远。为了进行适当的管理，需要关于物种如何对嵌在不利景观中的小型、孤立的栖息地做出反应和应对的信息。这项研究是对景观层面上的个人行为进行的最详细的检验之一。这将为整合行为和种群动态的重要性提供具体证据。

Landscapes, both natural and human-altered, are a mosaic of habitat types. The success of an individual in finding high quality habitat within this mosaic will affect both its survival and the dynamics of whole populations. This investigation examines the interaction between individual behavior and population dynamics across a landscape by studying the eastern painted turtle. The researchers ask how pond quality, size, and location and the types of intervening habitat influence the movement of turtles between ponds. Measuring growth rates and reproductive output will assess the impact of movement on individuals. The effects of these movements on population processes (birth, death, immigration, and emigration rates) for each pond and across the landscape will then be determined. One of the consequences of current land use practices is an increase in the fragmentation of habitat. Habitat areas suitable for supporting wildlife are becoming smaller and more distant from each other. Information on how species react to and cope with small, isolated habitats embedded in unfavorable landscapes is needed in order to conduct proper management. This research is one of the most detailed examinations into individual behavior at the landscape level yet to be conducted. It will provide concrete evidence for the importance of integrating behavior and population dynamics.