Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2007

本行动资助2007年度NSF少数民族博士后研究奖学金。该奖学金的目标是增加博士后水平的少数民族科学家的参与，并为他们在美国科学领域的科学领导职位做好准备。为了实现这一目标，该奖学金为最近的博士获得者提供了最高质量的博士后培训和研究机会。预计通过这些研究金支持的研究员将在培训未来劳动力方面发挥重要作用。这项研究和培训计划的题目是“肯尼亚南部微观尺度上的畜牧业、牛群流动模式和生态动态”。本研究探讨了热带稀树草原牧区牧民牛群流动与动态生态过程之间的关系。它的理论基础是非平衡牧场生态学，并应用状态和过渡模型来表征生态变异性，并检验微观尺度上的畜牧流动和放牧模式是生态条件短期波动的函数的假设。本文的研究源于文献在精细时空尺度上对畜牧业流动和生态变异的研究不足。赞助科学家是威斯康星大学麦迪逊分校的马修·d·特纳。该培训计划承诺提供实施和分析生态指标，特别是土壤和植被属性的实践现场和实验室经验。此外，培训将涉及寻找新的和创新的方法，将这些数据与土著牧民知识和从全球定位系统（GPS）单位获得的牛的流动模式联系起来。与肯尼亚的科学家和土著牧民合作，为研究牧民、牲畜和牧场环境之间复杂的相互作用提供了机会。

This action funds an NSF Minority Postdoctoral Research Fellowship for FY 2007. The goal of the fellowship is to increase the participation of minority scientists at the postdoctoral level and to prepare them for positions of scientific leadership in US science. To attain this goal, the fellowship provides opportunities for postdoctoral training and research of the highest quality to recent doctoral recipients. It is expected that Fellows supported through these fellowships will play important roles in training of the future workforce.The research and training plan is entitled "Pastoralism, cattle mobility patterns, and ecological dynamics at the micro-scale in southern Kenya." This research examines the relationship between cattle mobility of pastoralists and dynamic ecological processes in savanna rangelands. It is theoretically grounded in non-equilibrium rangeland ecology and the application of state and transition models to characterize ecological variability and test the hypothesis that pastoral livestock mobility and grazing patterns at the micro-scale are a function of short-term fluctuations in ecological conditions. This study stems from deficiencies within the literature on pastoral livestock mobility and ecological variability at fine scales of space and time. The sponsoring scientist is Matthew D. Turner at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The training plan promises to provide practical field and laboratory experience in conducting and analyzing ecological indicators, especially soil and vegetation attributes. Additionally, training will involve finding new and innovative ways of linking these data with indigenous pastoral knowledge and cattle mobility patterns derived from global positioning system (GPS) units. Collaborations with scientists and indigenous pastoralists in Kenya provide an opportunity to study the complex interactions between pastoralists, livestock, and rangeland environments.