RUI: Diversity and Dynamics of Forest Butterflies in Ghana's Indigenous Sacred Groves and Forest Reserves

这个项目将记录世界上最独特、最危险和最未被研究的地区之一--加纳的热带森林--遗留下来的森林‘岛屿’的蝴蝶生物多样性。该项目强调对森林保护区和可替代的圣树林进行调查和保护。圣树林是被土著人民保护了数百年的孤立林区，是连绵不断的森林的活生生记忆的一部分。主要目标是：1)调查森林碎片化如何影响依赖其他物种生存的社区，并确定哪些因素促进了它们的生存而不是灭绝；2)缩小西非独特的森林生态系统目前普遍存在的知识差距。蝴蝶是评估退化景观中自然群落状况的优秀模型，因为它们对环境变化表现出广泛的相对敏感性，作为主要消费者(草食动物)和食物与生态系统密切相关，并且很容易收集和识别。与该项目有关的主要实地活动将在三年内进行，包括使用诱饵诱捕器和网收集对九个森林地点进行常规和系统的调查，对另外至少六个独特的森林地点进行密集的现场调查，测量每个地点的森林特征(如大小和树冠覆盖率)，有目的地收集毛虫及其对食用植物的依赖，以收集关于物种生物学和自然历史的迫切需要但基本上不存在的信息。该项目将1)极大地扩大我们对西非森林生物多样性的了解，2)测试超出这一特定系统的广泛的生态和生物地理假设，3)在全球网络上建立加纳蝴蝶动物群的数据和图像丰富的图书馆，4)向当地社区和保护机构迅速提供物种清单和总结结果，以促进以科学为基础的保护计划，5)帮助巩固东道国的永久参考文献和博物馆藏品，以及6)为未来分子生物学、生态学、进化论和系统学的研究建立一个参考框架。该项目强调教育、培训、能力建设和文化交流。这是一项国际合作，包括为美国和加纳的学生和科学家提供海外研究和职业机会，并涉及来自美国、英国、比利时和越南的合作专家，以及美国(罗斯-胡尔曼理工学院和卡内基自然历史博物馆)和加纳(加纳林业研究所、夸梅-恩克鲁马科技大学、加纳野生动物部和自然保护研究中心)的多个机构和工作人员。

AbstractDEB 0417367BossartThis project will document the butterfly biodiversity of relict forest'islands' from one of the most biologically unique, critically imperiled,and understudied regions in the world; the tropical forests of Ghana. Theproject emphasizes survey and conservation of forest reserves andirreplaceable sacred groves. Sacred groves are isolated forest areas thathave been protected for hundreds of years by indigenous peoples and thatwere within living memory part of continuous forest. Major goals are to1) investigate how forest fragmentation impacts communities offorest-dependent species and to identify what factors promote theirpersistence versus extinction, and 2) narrow the pervasive knowledge gapthat currently exists for the unique forest ecosystems of West Africa. Butterflies are excellent models for evaluating the status of naturalcommunities in degraded landscapes because they show a wide diversity ofrelative sensitivities to environmental change, are tightly linked toecological systems as both primary consumers (herbivores) and food items,and are easily collected and identified. Primary field activitiesassociated with the project will occur over three years and includeregular and systematic survey of nine forest sites using baited traps andnet collections, intensive spot surveys of at least six additional uniqueforest sites, measurement of forest characteristics at each site (e.g.,size and canopy cover), and purposeful collection of caterpillars andtheir food plant dependencies to amass much needed, but largelynonexistent, information on species' biology and natural histories. Theproject will 1) greatly expand our understanding of forest biodiversity intropical West Africa, 2) test broad ecological and biogeographichypotheses that have relevance beyond this particular system, 3) establisha data and image-rich library of the Ghanaian butterfly fauna on the worldwide web, 4) make species checklists and summary findings rapidlyavailable to local communities and conservation agencies to facilitatescience-based conservation plans, 5) help solidify permanent reference andmuseum collections in the host country, and 6) generate a referenceframework for future research in molecular biology, ecology, evolution,and systematics.The project emphasizes education, training, capacity building, andcultural exchange. It is an international collaboration that includesoverseas research and professional opportunities for U.S. and Ghanaianstudents and scientists, and involves cooperating specialists from theU.S., Britain, Belgium, and Vietnam, and multiple institutions and staffin the U.S. (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and Carnegie Museum ofNatural History) and Ghana (Forestry Research Institute of Ghana,Kwame-Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana WildlifeDivision, and Nature Conservation Research Centre).This award is co-funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering.