Collaborative Research: Interactions Among Keystone Species: Effects of Termites and Ungulates on Biodiversity in East African Savannas.

智力价值：物种在其原生栖息地的功能并不都是平等的：一些物种对生态群落有深远的影响，它们的消失可能导致群落的崩溃和当地和区域生物多样性的急剧减少。因此，了解物种相互作用的重要性及其对群落的影响是生态学家和保护生物学家的中心目标，也是本研究的中心目标。总体目标是研究白蚁和大型脊椎动物之间的相互作用，以支持东非稀树草原的生物多样性，并了解这些群体如何影响其他物种的分布、多样性和丰度。这样的理解是至关重要的，因为这些栖息地正在失去，破碎，并通过农业利用而改变。白蚁已被确定为关键物种，对整个生态系统的功能至关重要。在东非，白蚁丘是当地常见的景观。白蚁通过筑丘活动，增加土壤养分，从而可能影响生活在这些土丘附近的植物和昆虫的多样性。脊椎动物也被认为在热带草原栖息地的生态中扮演着重要的角色。然而，白蚁与食草动物之间的相互作用及其对群落的影响很少被研究。这项工作将为白蚁和脊椎动物之间的相互作用提供新的数据，为东非大部分地区的植物和动物群落提供栖息地和资源。这些数据对于理解产生和维持栖息地异质性和物种多样性的力量以及管理稀树草原生态系统至关重要。更广泛的影响：该项目每年将资助1名全职博士后研究员、1名兼职博士后研究员、2名研究生（肯尼亚1人，美国1人）、3名全职技术人员（肯尼亚2人，美国1人）和2名兼职现场助理。该项目还将通过加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的肯尼亚荒野项目每年教授至少20名学生。每年将与Laikipia野生动物论坛举行会议，讨论该项目的成果，该论坛包括科学家、当地牧场经理和传统的马赛牧民。研究结果将分发给肯尼亚国际昆虫生理学和生态学中心、肯尼亚国家博物馆和内罗毕大学的科学家。该项目对人力资源开发、在东非各科学机构之间以及在科学和非专业社区之间建立桥梁以及在这种机会很少的地理区域进行教育作出了重大贡献。

Intellectual Merit: Species do not all function equally in their native habitats: some species have profound effects on ecological communities and their elimination could cause a collapse of the community and a sharp reduction of local and regional biological diversity. Understanding the importance of species' interactions and their impact on communities is thus a central goal of ecologists and conservation biologists, and is the central aim of this work. The overarching goal is to examine the interactions between termites and large vertebrates in supporting the biological diversity of East African savannas, and to understand how these groups affect the distribution, diversity and abundance of other species. Such an understanding is of paramount importance as these habitats are lost, fragmented, and modified through agricultural use. Termites have been identified as key species, crucial to the functioning of entire ecosystems. In East Africa, termite mounds are a common feature of the landscape. Through their mound building activities, termites enhance soil nutrients and thus may be affect the diversity of the plants and insects that live in close proximity to these mounds. Vertebrates have also been implicated as playing a large role in the ecology of savanna habitats. However, the interactions between termites and herbivores and their effects on communities have rarely been examined. This work will provide novel data on the interactions between termites and vertebrates in providing habitat and resources that structure plant and animal communities across much of East Africa. These data are critical to understanding the forces that generate and maintain habitat heterogeneity and species diversity and to managing savanna ecosystems. Broader Impacts: The project will support one full-time Post-doctoral Researcher, one part-time Post-doctoral Researcher, two graduate students (one in Kenya, one in the U.S.), three full-time technicians (two in Kenya, one in the US), and two part-time field assistants each year. The project will also be used for teaching at least 20 students per year through UC Santa Barbara's Kenya Wildlands Program. Yearly meetings will be held with the Laikipia Wildlife Forum, which includes scientists, local ranch managers and traditional Maasai pastoralists, to discuss the results of the project. The results will be disseminated to scientists in Kenya at the International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology, the National Museums of Kenya and the University of Nairobi. The project represents a significant contribution to human resource development, bridge-building among scientific institutions and among the scientific and lay communities of East Africa, and education in a geographical region where such opportunities are rare.