IRES: Behavioral Ecology and Conservation of African Carnivores

[0965840] Holekamp密歇根州立大学（MSU）杰出教授Kay Holekamp将启动一个为期三年的国际学生研究经验（IRES）项目，该项目建立在肯尼亚一个强大的、成熟的食肉动物研究科学计划的基础上。每年，美国将从全国范围内的申请者中选出四名优秀本科生，对斑点鬣狗和其他非洲食肉动物进行实地研究。在世界上最壮观的野生动物公园之一，美国本科生有机会研究自由生活的非洲食肉动物的生物学，这是没有其他类似的实地研究培训项目的。IRES的学生将帮助将目前的研究重点从单一物种扩展到对居住在马拉-塞伦盖蒂生态系统中的多种同域物种进行更丰富的比较分析；IRES还将与内罗毕肯尼亚野生动物管理局（KWS）的三位经验丰富的肯尼亚科学家建立培训伙伴关系，他们都将指导美国学生。在指导小组的帮助下，学生们将解决一系列关于非洲食肉动物的行为、保护和生理的假设驱动的研究问题，范围从它们的认知能力的进化到对它们应激生理的人为影响。出发前，学生将参加严格的网络研究和文化导向，以及斯瓦希里语的语言培训。在国内，他们将首先在肯尼亚野生动物服务总部接受培训，然后中转到马赛马拉国家保护区的帐篷研究营地，在那里他们将花7周的时间开发和执行研究。在离开肯尼亚之前，学生们将在每年在KWS总部举行的食肉动物研究人员会议上展示他们的工作。这里提供的研究机会是无与伦比的，不仅可以研究一些仍然知之甚少的食肉动物物种的生物学，而且还可以在行为生态学，应激生理学和保护生物学的知识领域做出重要贡献。预计IRES学生的研究将对非洲食肉动物与环境以及彼此之间相互作用的基本机制提供相当多的新见解。这些新获得的知识将通过会议报告和专业期刊的出版物广泛传播，并将直接应用于肯尼亚的食肉动物管理和保护工作。参考网址：http://www.naturalscience.msu.edu/students/undergraduate/enhance_your_experience/undergraduate_research/index.htmlAdditionally， IRES的参与者将学到很多关于非洲生活和文化的知识，以及在一个发展中国家与食肉动物保护相关的复杂性。通过培养肯尼亚人和美国人之间持久的友谊和合作，这一经验将极大地促进新一代全球科学家的发展，他们在理解和保护自然世界的愿望中团结一致。

0965840HolekampMichigan State University IRES: U.S.-Kenya Behavioral Ecology and Conservation of African Carnivores Michigan State University (MSU) Distinguished Professor Kay Holekamp will launch a 3-year International Research Experience for Students (IRES) project that builds on a strong, well-established scientific program of carnivore research in Kenya. Each year, four top US undergraduates will be selected from a nation-wide pool of applicants to conduct field research on spotted hyenas and other African carnivores. There is no other comparable field research-training program available that offers US undergraduate students the chance to study the biology of free-living African carnivores in one of the world's most magnificent game parks. The IRES students will help expand the current research focus from single-species to a much richer comparative analysis of multiple sympatric species that inhabit the Mara-Serengeti ecosystem; IRES will also foster a training partnership with three highly experienced Kenyan scientists at the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Nairobi, all of whom will mentor the US students. Aided by the mentoring team, the students will address a broad array of hypothesis- driven research questions about the behavior, conservation and physiology of African carnivores, ranging from the evolution of their cognitive abilities to anthropogenic effects on their stress physiology. Before departure, students will participate in a rigorous web-based research and cultural orientation, and Swahili language training. In-country, they will train initially at the Kenya Wildlife Service HQ, and then transit to the tented research camp in the Masai Mara National Reserve where they will spend seven weeks developing and executing the research. Before leaving Kenya, the students will present their work at the Carnivore Researchers Conference held each year at the KWS HQ. The research opportunities offered here are unparalleled, not only to investigate the biology of several carnivore species that remain poorly understood, but also to make important contributions in the intellectual domains of behavioral ecology, stress physiology, and conservation biology. It is expected that IRES student research will shed considerable new light on the basic mechanisms by which African carnivores interact with their environments and with one another. This newly acquired knowledge will be widely disseminated via conference presentations and publication in professional journals, and will be applied directly to carnivore management and conservation efforts in Kenya. For reference: http://www.naturalscience.msu.edu/students/undergraduate/enhance_your_experience/undergraduate_research/index.htmlAdditionally, participants in IRES will learn a great deal about African life and culture, and about the complexities associated with carnivore conservation in a developing country. By fostering long-lasting friendships and collaborations between Kenyans and Americans, this experience will contribute significantly to the development of a new generation of global scientists who are united in their desire to understand and protect the natural world.