International Research Fellowship Program: Ecology of the Long-Wattled Umbrellabird and Other Avian Frugivores in the Ecuadorian Choco

040213 Karubian国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行三到二十四个月的研究。 该计划的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，并使用独特或互补的设施，专业知识和国外的实验条件。该奖项将支持约旦Karubian博士与博士大卫罗莫在厄瓜多尔基多的弗朗西斯科科大学工作了21个月的研究奖学金。 乔科生物地理区位于哥伦比亚西部和厄瓜多尔西北部，面积达10万平方公里，是世界上最不为人所知、生物多样性最丰富的地区之一。在乔科进行的调查显示，植物、爬行动物、两栖动物、鸟类和蝴蝶的特有性程度非常高（Dodson和Gentry，1991年; Dinnerstein，1995年; Galeano等人，1998年; Stattersfield，1998年）。然而，在该区进行的额外研究很少，使其成为科学研究的明确全球优先事项。更令人感到紧迫的是，乔科栖息地正在以令人眩晕的速度消失，厄瓜多尔的森林只剩下不到4%（Sierra 1999）。这个项目的重点是厄瓜多尔乔科地区大型食果鸟类的生态、行为和保护，特别强调长肉垂的垂颈鸟（Cephalopterus penduliger）。该项目的一个方面涉及栖息地质量，水果生产和食果鸟类的多样性和丰富性之间的关系。为了更好地了解这种复杂的关系，栖息地结构和质量在200多个单独的点进行测量，水果产量每两周进行量化，并通过标准化的点计数定期对食果鸟类进行采样。这些数据为厄瓜多尔乔科提供了社区一级生态的基线数据，对基础生物学和保护工作具有重要意义。该项目的第二个组成部分侧重于长肉垂鸟，这是乔科特有的一种濒危和鲜为人知的鸟类。特别关注物种的生态，社会行为和保护。在植物学上，无线电遥测被用来评估该物种作为从原始森林到次生林的大种子传播者的作用，以及这种传播在森林再生中的作用。社会关系和相互作用进行监测，以测试极端第二性征的进化和合作行为的适应意义的假设。这些数据，然后结合栖息地的要求，觅食行为，和家庭的范围，以评估主要的威胁和易于处理的解决方案，为保护这个和其他濒危物种。

040213KarubianThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-one-month research fellowship by Dr. Jordan Karubian to work with Dr. David Romo at Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Quito, Ecuador. A portion of this project will be supported by the Biocomplexity in the Environment (BE) program.The Choco Biogeographical Region, which spans 100,000 km2 of humid forest in western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador, is one of the least known and most biologically diverse areas in the world. Surveys in the Choco have revealed exceptional levels of endemism in plants, reptiles, amphibians, birds and butterflies (Dodson and Gentry 1991, Dinnerstein 1995, Galeano et al. 1998, Stattersfield 1998). However, little additional research has been done in the zone, making it a clear global priority for scientific research. Adding to the sense of urgency, Choco habitat is being lost at dizzying rates, with less than four percent of Ecuador's forests remaining (Sierra 1999).This project focuses on the ecology, behavior, and conservation of large, fruit-eating birds in the Ecuadorian Choco, with a special emphasis on the long-wattled umbrellabird (Cephalopterus penduliger). One aspect of the project concerns the relationship between habitat quality, fruit production, and the diversity and abundance of fruit-eating birds. To better understand this complex relationship, habitat structure and quality is measured at over 200 separate points, fruit production is quantified bi-weekly, and fruit-eating birds are regularly sampled via standardized point counts. These data provide baseline data community-level ecology for the Ecuadorian Choco, with important benefits for basic biology and conservation efforts. The second component of the project focuses on the long-wattled umbrellabird, an endangered and little-known species of bird endemic to the Choco. Special attention is paid to the species' ecology, social behavior, and conservation. Ecologically, radio telemetry is used to assess the species' role as a disperser of large seeds from primary to secondary forest and the role this dispersal plays in forest regeneration. Social relationships and interactions are monitored to test hypotheses about evolution of extreme secondary sexual characters and the adaptive significance of cooperative behavior. These data are then combined with habitat requirements, foraging behavior, and home range to assess principal threats and tractable solutions for conservation of this and other endangered species.