Wildebeest forage acquisition in fragmented landscapes under variable climates

多变气候下破碎景观中角马草料的采集

• 批准号: 0919383
• 负责人: Randall Boone
• 金额: $ 65.85万
• 依托单位: Colorado State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2009-09-01 至 2014-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0919383&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Wildebeest; forage; acquisition; fragmented; landscapes

Migratory grazers must move between ranges each year, and make daily movements to locate food, but landscape fragmentation and other obstacles to movement are increasing. At the same time, climate change is making droughts more frequent and extreme, requiring animals to move farther to locate sufficient food. How wildlife populations are affected by this combination of effects is of interest. Researchers from the U.S. and Kenya will address this topic in three conservation areas in Kenya. To track movements of wildebeest across the landscape, the researchers will place 45 collars, which contain global positioning devices, on the animals. Future landscape fragmentation in the areas will be modeled. A model will also be constructed to allow researchers to simulate movements of individual wildebeest within each population. Landscape fragmentation and frequency of droughts will be varied in simulations to quantify potential effects of land-use intensification and climate change on migratory wildebeest populations.Wildebeest migration fascinates the public, but remarkably little is known about individual movements, and how fragmentation and climate change interact to alter movements. The results will shed light on effects on other mobile grazers as well, including livestock, and address the sustainability of current practices in landscapes shared by wildlife and humans. This research will facilitate the development of novel modeling approaches. Other broader impacts include training of three graduate students, which will include international experience, and incorporation of research results into university courses. In addition, information will be shared with land managers and citizens from Kenya and the U.S.

迁徙的食草动物每年必须在活动范围之间移动，并每天进行移动来寻找食物，但景观破碎化和其他移动障碍正在增加。与此同时，气候变化使干旱变得更加频繁和极端，需要动物迁徙到更远的地方才能找到足够的食物。野生动物种群如何受到这种综合效应的影响是令人感兴趣的。来自美国和肯尼亚的研究人员将在肯尼亚的三个保护区讨论这一主题。为了追踪角马在整个景观中的活动，研究人员将在动物身上放置 45 个项圈，其中包含全球定位装置。将对这些地区未来的景观破碎化进行建模。还将构建一个模型，以便研究人员能够模拟每个种群内角马个体的运动。 在模拟中，景观破碎化和干旱频率将有所不同，以量化土地利用集约化和气候变化对迁徙角马种群的潜在影响。角马迁徙令公众着迷，但人们对角马个体的迁徙以及碎片化和气候变化如何相互作用以改变迁徙的情况知之甚少。研究结果还将揭示对包括牲畜在内的其他移动食草动物的影响，并解决野生动物和人类共享景观中当前做法的可持续性问题。这项研究将促进新型建模方法的开发。其他更广泛的影响包括培训三名研究生，其中包括国际经验，以及将研究成果纳入大学课程。此外，信息还将与来自肯尼亚和美国的土地管理者和公民共享。