LTREB: Long Term Studies of African Lions

在接下来的五年里，这项正在进行的关于塞伦盖蒂狮子种群的研究将监测塞伦盖蒂国家公园和坦桑尼亚恩戈罗火山口狮子的活动模式和人口统计表现。通过继续这一长期监测，LTREB项目将提供有关大规模疫苗接种计划有效性的重要数据，该计划旨在保护野生食肉动物免受犬瘟热病毒(CDV)和犬细小病毒的感染。该项目还将阐明一旦再次爆发，影响CDV毒力和严重程度的生态因素。这些数据将用于测试重建塞伦盖蒂生态系统的一系列模型。狮子项目提供了关于塞伦盖蒂地区任何单一物种的最详细的数据，在狮子对生态扰动的反应方面特别有价值，例如预测降雨量逐年变化的增加。该项目还将进行一些详细的研究，以澄清狮子的生态。首先，将详细研究狮子和鬣狗之间的关系，以确定这两个物种如何共存，尽管它们的生态需求相似。其次，将收集关于狮子的猎物偏好作为猎物密度函数的新数据。第三，将进行一项简单的大规模栖息地改造实验(通过一系列受控的草地火灾)，以改变塞伦盖蒂平原的承载能力。第四，将尝试进行遗传易位实验，以减轻孤立的小恩戈罗狮种群的近亲繁殖程度。该项目有几个更广泛的影响。首先，多宿主病原体是最严重的公共卫生问题，因为它们可以感染人类。如果一个有效的家犬疫苗接种计划能够防止疾病在塞伦盖蒂野生食肉动物中的传播，这将为世界各地的类似计划提供一个模式。也许更根本的是，塞伦盖蒂狮子研究提供了一个引人注目的例子，说明了生态变化的影响，无论是在传染病方面还是在极端天气条件下。

Over the next five years, this ongoing study of Serengeti lion populations will monitor the ranging patterns and demographic performance of lions in the Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. By continuing this long-term monitoring, the LTREB project will provide essential data on the effectiveness of a large-scale vaccination program that has been designed to protect wild carnivores from canine distemper virus (CDV) and canine parvovirus. The project will also clarify the ecological factors that influence the virulence and severity of CDV should another outbreak take place. The data will be used to test a series of models that reconstruct the Serengeti ecosystem. The lion project provides the most detailed data on any single species in the Serengeti, and it is particularly valuable in terms of the lions' response to ecological perturbations such as the predicted increase in year-to-year variability in rainfall. The project will also conduct a number of detailed studies to clarify the lions' ecology. First, relationships between lions and hyenas will be studied in detail to determine how these two species co-exist despite their similar ecological requirements. Second, new data will be collected on the lions' prey preferences as a function of prey density. Third, a simple experiment in large-scale habitat modification (through a series of controlled grassfires) will be undertaken to alter the carrying capacity of the Serengeti plains. Fourth, a genetic translocation experiment will be attempted so as to alleviate the degree of close inbreeding in the small, isolated Ngorongoro lion population. The project has several broader impacts. First, multi-host pathogens are the most serious public health problem since they can infect humans. If an effective vaccination program in domestic dogs can prevent the spread of disease in the wild carnivores of the Serengeti, this will provide a model for similar programs around the world. More fundamental, perhaps, the Serengeti lion study provides a high-profile example of the impacts ofecological change, whether in terms of infectious disease or from extreme weatherconditions.