International Research Fellowship Program: Interactive effects of Mammalian Herbivores on Semi-Agrid Grassland Ecosystems

国际研究奖学金计划：哺乳动物草食动物对半农业草原生态系统的交互影响

• 批准号: 0653296
• 负责人: Ana Davidson
• 金额: $ 15.77万
• 依托单位: Davidson Ana D
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-09-01 至 2009-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0653296&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: International; Research; Fellowship; Program; Interactive

0653296DavidsonThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine 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-four-month research fellowship by Dr. Ana D. Davidson to work with Dr. Gerardo Ceballos at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico.Grasslands are among the most imperiled ecosystems in the world due to agricultural intensification, desertification, and the loss of native species. In order to manage and conserve these systems in the face of multiple, and often conflicting interests, there is a critical need to understand the primary mechanisms that drive grassland ecosystem dynamics and biodiversity. Megaherbivores and small burrowing herbivores are known to play key roles in the structure and function of grasslands worldwide. Although domestic livestock have replaced native megaherbivores throughout much of the world, surprisingly little is known about their interactive effects with native wildlife and the consequent effects on grassland systems. The primary objective of this research will be to determine the independent and interactive effects of domestic megaherbivores (cattle) and small herbivores (prairie dogs) on semi-arid grassland ecosystems in the Janos region of northern Chihuahua, Mexico. This research will manipulate cattle and prairie dogs simultaneously using a controlled, long-term, replicated experiment. This multidisciplinary research will evaluate the impacts of cattle and prairie dogs on soils, plants, and animals, using a 2x2 factorial design. This region supports the largest remaining colony of black-tailed prairie dogs in the world, and provides a rare opportunity to conduct large-scale manipulative research in the context of a largely intact grassland ecosystem that retains a high diversity of threatened and endangered species. This postdoctoral fellowship will be part of a long-term project conducted by a team of researchers from the United States and Mexico. The PI's role will be to design, implement, and lead this research and develop a long-term collaboration with the host in order to follow the effects of this important research over time. The research will advance our knowledge of ecology by assessing the interactive effects of key herbivores on grassland ecosystem structure and function. The role of herbivory in the desertification of semi-arid grasslands remains one of the most important questions in ecology and conservation worldwide. This research is expected to have global implications given the common co-occurrence of domestic megaherbivores and small herbivores in grasslands worldwide. This project will directly benefit the US/Mexico borderland region by promoting: 1) international collaboration among scientists and managers; 2) education and outreach to local communities; and 3) preservation of the region's grassland ecosystem by providing needed information on the functioning of semi-arid grasslands to management and conservation agencies.

[653296]戴维森国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够到国外进行9至24个月的研究。该计划的奖励为联合研究提供了机会，并利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Ana D. Davidson博士在墨西哥国立自治大学（UNAM）与Gerardo Ceballos博士一起开展为期24个月的研究。由于农业集约化、荒漠化和本地物种的丧失，草原是世界上最危险的生态系统之一。为了管理和保护这些系统，面对多重利益，而且往往是相互冲突的利益，迫切需要了解驱动草原生态系统动态和生物多样性的主要机制。大型食草动物和小型穴居食草动物在全球草原的结构和功能中发挥着关键作用。尽管在世界大部分地区，家畜已经取代了本土的大型食草动物，但令人惊讶的是，人们对它们与本土野生动物的相互作用以及由此对草地系统的影响知之甚少。本研究的主要目的是确定国内大型食草动物（牛）和小型食草动物（草原犬鼠）对墨西哥奇瓦瓦州北部亚诺斯地区半干旱草原生态系统的独立和相互作用。这项研究将同时对牛和土拨鼠进行控制，长期重复实验。这项多学科研究将评估牛和草原土拨鼠对土壤、植物和动物的影响，采用2x2因子设计。该地区拥有世界上现存最大的黑尾草原土拨鼠群落，并为在一个基本完整的草原生态系统中进行大规模的操纵性研究提供了难得的机会，该生态系统保留了高度多样性的受威胁和濒危物种。该博士后奖学金将成为一个由美国和墨西哥研究人员组成的长期项目的一部分。PI的角色将是设计、实施和领导这项研究，并与东道国建立长期合作关系，以便随着时间的推移跟踪这项重要研究的影响。该研究将通过评估主要食草动物对草地生态系统结构和功能的相互作用来促进生态学知识的发展。草食植物在半干旱草原沙漠化过程中的作用一直是国内外生态学和自然保护研究的热点问题之一。鉴于国内大型食草动物和小型食草动物在世界范围内普遍共存，本研究有望具有全球意义。该项目将通过促进：1)科学家和管理人员之间的国际合作，直接惠及美国/墨西哥边境地区；2)对当地社区的教育和推广；3)通过向管理和保护机构提供有关半干旱草原功能的必要信息，保护该地区的草地生态系统。