Dissertation Research: Landscape Ecology of Snowshoe Hares

本研究测试了生境异质性对雪鞋兔种群动态的影响，雪鞋兔是包括加拿大猞猁在内的许多针叶林食肉动物的重要猎物。流行的假说呼吁栖息地异质性和由此产生的源-库动态来解释其南部范围（毗邻的美国）缺乏种群周期。兽医超声和无线电遥测将估计不同林分结构类型的出生、生存、迁移和迁出率。这些估计将检验异质景观中种群动态的假设。计算机模型将测试景观配置对不同生命速率的相对重要性的影响。一项实验将测试商业前疏林（森林生境中一种常见的造林扰动）所造成的野兔丰度变化。这项研究将检验解释为什么某些动物种群会或不会从高密度到低密度循环的理论，这是生态学的一个核心问题。他们还将告知联邦、州和私人管理的森林栖息地，那里的雪鞋种群规模和加拿大猞猁种群生存能力令人担忧，并为本科生科学家提供研究培训。

This study tests for effects of habitat heterogeneity in population dynamics of snowshoe hares, critical prey for many coniferous forest carnivores, including Canada lynx. Prevalent hypotheses appeal to habitat heterogeneity and resulting source-sink dynamics to explain the lack of hare population cycles in their southern range (the contiguous U.S.A.). Veterinary ultrasound and radio-telemetry will estimate birth, survival, immigration and emigration rates in different forest stand structure types. These estimates will test hypotheses of population dynamics in heterogeneous landscapes. Computer models will test for influences of landscape configuration on the relative importance of different vital rates. An experiment will test for changes in hare abundance resulting from pre-commercial thinning, a common silvicultural perturbation in forest habitats. This study will test theories that explain why certain animal populations do or do not cycle from high to low density, a central question in ecology. They will also inform federal, state, and private management of forested habitats where snowshoe hare population size, and Canada lynx population viability, are of concern and provide research training for undergraduate student-scientists.