IRES: Behavioral ecology of reptiles in the Namib Desert, Namibia

1065532摘要有了这个奖，堪萨斯劳伦斯的Erell研究所的道格拉斯博士和玛丽亚·艾夫勒博士将与纳米比亚的Gobabeb培训和研究中心的教师进行合作研究。在这个国际学生研究经验（IRES）项目中，来自美国和纳米比亚的学生将共同研究纳米布沙漠蜥蜴的行为。项目将与中心教师共同监督，可能包括觅食行为，社会结构或运动模式的研究，以及采矿对蜥蜴行为和分布的影响。该项目的智力价值基于其对脆弱干旱生态系统中生态动力学和相互关联性的广泛关注。每个学生项目-蜥蜴觅食，社会性，土地利用和人类土地利用的影响-都贡献了一个独特的维度。考虑到蜥蜴的可观察性，研究计划是现实的，可能会产生对沙漠生态学至关重要的新的科学认识。这些结果将用于验证或调整在其他干旱环境（美国，南美，澳大利亚）开发的现有理论。该研究还将为爬行动物保护这一新兴领域做出贡献，其更广泛的影响包括发展和传播有关沙漠生态系统动态和相互关联性质的知识，培养具有全球视野的行为生态学学生，以及使科学和技术工作队伍多样化。劳动力发展是通过专业发展活动，包括期刊俱乐部，写作和演示任务，以及社会和文化活动。这些努力建立在艾夫勒的本科生实地生态学研究与美洲原住民学生在不同领域的位置（哥斯达黎加，墨西哥和加勒比海）的成功辅导。

1065532 AbstractWith this award Drs. Douglas and Maria Eifler of the Erell Institute, Lawrence, Kansas, will carry out collaborative research with faculty from the Gobabeb Training and Research Center in Namibia.In this International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) project, students from the U.S. and Namibia together will engage in research on the behavior of Namib Desert lizards. Projects will be supervised jointly with Center faculty and may include studies of foraging behavior, social structure, or movement patterns, as well as the impact of mining on lizard behavior and distribution.The intellectual merit of this project is based on its broad focus on ecological dynamics and interconnectedness in a fragile arid ecosystem. Each of the student projects - lizard foraging, sociality, land use and effects from human land use - contributes a unique dimension. Given the observability of lizards, the research plans are realistic and likely to generate new scientific understandings pivotal to desert ecology. These results will be used to validate or adjust existing theories developed in other arid environments (US, South America, Australia). The study will also contribute to the emerging field of herpetological conservation.The broader impacts include development and dissemination of knowledge of the dynamic and interconnected nature of desert ecosystems, training students in behavioral ecology with a global perspective and diversifying the science and technology workforce. Workforce development is accomplished through professional development activities, including a journal club, writing and presentation assignments, as well as social and cultural activities. These efforts build upon the Eifler's successful mentoring of undergraduate field-based ecology research with Native American students in diverse field locations (Costa Rica, Mexico, and the Caribbean).