BREAD: Development of Automated Systems to Increase Crop Yield by Reducing Group Foraging Intensity by Crop Pests

PI: Michael Stokes（西肯塔基大学）Co-PI: Bruce Schulte（西肯塔基大学）高级人员：Mark Chambron（西肯塔基大学）人类与野生动物冲突（HWC）是一个广义的术语，包括人类与野生动物之间的所有负面互动；它源于人口增长和资源竞争。在撒哈拉以南非洲，劫掠作物是一种普遍存在的、对经济造成破坏的HWC形式。一头大象或一群丛林猪或水牛可以在一天内完全摧毁一个小农场；在许多地区，超过90%的农民遭受野生动物造成的作物损失。这个创新项目旨在测试行为生态学的各个方面，以及在非洲发生野生动物袭击农村农田的HWC实例中改变动物行为的影响。该研究项目将针对对作物损失特别重要的野生动物物种（大象、野猪、猴子和各种牲畜），并将尝试利用这些物种对一系列感官刺激（尤其是声音和气味）的进化、适应性行为反应来减少作物损失。适应性行为反应是一个物种固有的行为，有助于个体生存和/或繁殖。将对每个目标物种对各种刺激的行为反应进行评估，以开发一套有效的刺激，引发对觅食或作物袭击具有破坏性的反应。此外，刺激将以减少目标物种习惯的方式传递。如果/当识别出这种刺激时，将对包括独立的高科技稻草人和训练项圈在内的威慑装置进行现场测试，以确定这些装置是否能够减少个体对喂食地点的访问，或者它们是否能够改变群体的喂食行为，从而减少喂食强度，从而减少对作物的损害。更广泛的影响：由于农民通过杀死野生动物或将野生动物栖息地转变为农业来应对作物受损，HWC可能导致野生动物种群的大量减少。该项目将有助于我们对野生动物生物学的基本了解，这对减轻HWC、保护野生动物和功能生态系统至关重要。然而，本研究项目的结果可能对小股东农民产生最广泛的影响。本研究项目的目的不是防止所有的HWC，而是确定动物行为的变化是否可以表征，从而减少生长季节中特定的、常见的作物损害类型，从长远来看，这将增加小股东农民的产量。通过破坏动物在农业和野生动物交界的觅食行为，即使减少几个百分点的HWC，也可以改善非洲地区的粮食安全，在这些地区，野生动物资源的惊人财富与自给自足的农民经常绝望的贫困形成鲜明对比。此外，该项目还将在美国和非洲培训青年科学家和社区志愿者。该项目将包括肯尼亚和美国的大学生在文化和科学网络中合作，并将为美国学生研究人员提供与当地非洲社区合作的机会。学校团体、非政府组织和其他感兴趣的团体将能够访问该项目的产品，包括来自西肯塔基大学生物系开发和维护的公共网站（http://bioweb.wku.edu）的声音、行为数据和威慑装置工程原理图的数字图书馆。

PI: Michael Stokes (Western Kentucky University) Co-PI: Bruce Schulte (Western Kentucky University) Senior Personnel: Mark Chambron (Western Kentucky University)Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a broad term encompassing all negative interactions between humans and wildlife; it stems from expanding human populations and competition for resources. In sub-Saharan Africa, crop-raiding is a widespread and economically damaging form of HWC. A single elephant or herd of bush pigs or buffalo can completely destroy a small farm in a day; in many areas, greater than 90% of farmers experience crop losses from wild life. This innovative project aims to test various aspects of behavioral ecology and the influence of modifying animal behavior on instances of HWC in Africa where wildlife raiding on rural farmsteads occurs. This research project will target wildlife species that are of particular importance to crop damage (elephants, wild pigs, monkeys, and various hoofstock) and will attempt to use the evolved, adaptive behavioral responses of those species to a broad suite of sensory stimuli (especially sound and odor) to reduce crop loss. Adaptive behavioral responses are those that are inherent in a species and help individuals to survive and/or reproduce. Behavioral responses to various stimuli will be assessed for each target species to develop a set of effective stimuli that elicit responses that are disruptive to foraging or crop raiding. In addition, stimuli will be delivered in ways to reduce habituation by the target species. If/when such stimuli are identified, deterrent devices, including standalone, high-tech scarecrows and training collars will be field tested to determine whether the devices are capable of reducing visits to feeding sites by individuals or if they can modify group feeding behaviors in such a way as to reduce feeding intensity and therefore crop damage. Broader Impacts: HWC can lead to the decimation of wildlife populations as farmers react to crop damage by killing wildlife or converting wildlife habitat to agriculture. This project will contribute to our fundamental understanding of wildlife biology that is essential for mitigating HWC and for conserving wildlife and functional ecosystems. However, the results from this research project may have the broadest impact on the small shareholder farmer. The intention of this research project is not to prevent all HWC, but to determine if changes in animal behavior can be characterized that may reduce specific, common types of crop damage during growing seasons, that in the long term will increase the yield of small shareholder farmers. Reducing HWC by even a few percentage points by disrupting foraging behaviors of animals at the agricultural-wildlife interface could improve food security in areas of Africa where the spectacular wealth of the wildlife resource contrasts with the often desperate poverty of the subsistence farmers. In addition, this project will train young scientists and community volunteers in the USA and Africa. The project will include both Kenyan and American university students working in partnerships in both cultural and scientific networks and will provide opportunities for American student researchers to work with local African communities. School groups, NGOs, and other interested parties will be able to access products from this project, including a digital library of sounds, behavioral data and engineering schematics of deterrent devices from a public website developed and maintained at the Department of Biology at Western Kentucky University (http://bioweb.wku.edu).