Dissertation Research: Comparing habitat vs. nutrition limits of abundance in an avian herbivore

鸟类繁殖地选择的研究主要集中在不同空间尺度上的植物类型和景观结构的粗略特征。 一个更广泛的方法是纳入其他因素（例如，丰富的资源，如食物），这可能会影响在一个特定的网站的存在和丰富的一个给定的鸟类物种。 然而，对可能限制鸟类种群的其他因素的比较很少。 这项研究将测试和比较三个潜在的因素限制了夏威夷黑水鸡，一种濒危的沼泽鸟类的丰度：（1）当地的栖息地结构和景观特征，（2）能源含量和能源丰富的食用植物，（3）和营养成分的食用植物。 黑水鸡丰度将使用一套统计模型进行预测，这些模型将进行比较，以确定丰度的最佳预测关系。 限制物种分布和丰富度的因素是生态学的核心问题，对大多数物种（包括鸟类）知之甚少。 这将是第二个鸟类物种，这样一个广泛的套件的潜在限制因素的丰度已被调查。 这项研究的结果也将为夏威夷的湿地管理人员提供重要的信息，如何更好地管理这一濒危物种。

Most research on bird breeding site selection focuses on coarse characteristics of plant type and landscape structure at a variety of spatial scales. A broader approach would be to incorporate other factors (e.g., abundance of resources such as food) that might influence the presence and abundance of a given bird species at a particular site. However, there have been few comparisons of alternative factors that might limit bird populations. This study will test and compare three potential factors limiting the abundance of the Hawaiian moorhen, an endangered marsh bird: (1) local habitat structure and landscape features, (2) energy content and energy abundance of food plants, (3) and nutrient components of food plants. Moorhen abundance will be predicted using a suite of statistical models that will be compared to determine the most predictive relationships of abundance. Factors limiting the distribution and abundance of species are a central problem in ecology, and are poorly understood for most species, including birds. This will be only the second bird species for which such a wide suite of potentially limiting factors on abundance has been investigated. Results of this research also will provide important information for wetland managers in Hawaii on how to better manage this endangered species.