NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology for FY 2011

2011 财年 NSF 生物学博士后奖学金

• 批准号: 1103661
• 负责人: Nyeema Harris
• 金额: $ 18.9万
• 依托单位: Harris Nyeema
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Fellowship Award
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-01-01 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1103661&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: NSF; Postdoctoral; Fellowship; Biology; FY

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2011, Broadening Participation. The fellowship supports a research and training plan in a host laboratory for the Fellow who also presents a plan to broaden participation in biology. The title of the research and training plan for this fellowship to Nyeema Harris is "Impacts of predator losses on communities in a diverse African ecosystem." The host institution for this fellowship is University of California, Berkeley and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Justin Brashares.Local extinctions of apex predators can lead to cascading effects throughout food chains and ecosystems. However, some communities are buffered against these trophic cascades because species can shift their diet, behavior, or distribution over time. Unfortunately, much of our knowledge about predator losses comes from diminished ecosystems in North America where trophic cascades and community compensation are difficult to detect. In contrast, many African ecosystems support a greater assemblage of predator and prey species and offer a rich research environment. This research uses a community viability framework to compare the numerical and behavioral responses of species at lower trophic levels across replicated areas with and without apex predators in West Africa. Focal apex predators include African lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta).Training objectives include enhancing technical skills in occupancy and niche modeling through the collection of data from observational surveys, stable isotope and scat analysis, and camera trapping efforts. Understanding which species interactions are more sensitive to changes in community composition informs the resilience and health of ecosystems. Broader impacts include the first estimates of distribution and density of many small mammal and mesopredator species in Ghana, thus building local capacity for carnivore conservation and apprising global patterns of species diversity. Collaborations with scientists at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Ghana add an international dimension. A citizen science component involves distributing disposable cameras to visitors to photograph wildlife inside the study areas.

该行动为2011财年NSF生物学博士后研究奖学金提供资金，扩大参与。该研究金支持研究员在东道实验室的研究和培训计划，研究员还提出了扩大生物学参与的计划。为Nyeema Harris提供的研究和培训计划的标题是“捕食者损失对非洲多样化生态系统中社区的影响”。“这项研究的主办机构是加州大学伯克利分校，赞助科学家是贾斯汀·布拉夏雷斯博士。然而，一些社区对这些营养级联有缓冲作用，因为物种可以随着时间的推移改变它们的饮食，行为或分布。不幸的是，我们对捕食者损失的大部分知识来自北美减少的生态系统，那里的营养级联和社区补偿难以检测。相比之下，许多非洲生态系统支持更大的捕食者和猎物物种的组合，并提供了丰富的研究环境。 本研究采用了社区生存能力框架，比较在西非的复制区，有和没有顶端捕食者在较低的营养水平的物种的数量和行为反应。焦点顶端掠食者包括非洲狮（Panthera leo）、豹（Panthera pardus）和斑点鬣狗（Crocuta crocuta），培训目标包括通过收集观测调查数据、稳定同位素和粪便分析以及相机诱捕工作，提高占用和生态位建模方面的技能。 了解哪些物种的相互作用对群落组成的变化更敏感，可以为生态系统的恢复力和健康提供信息。更广泛的影响包括对加纳许多小型哺乳动物和中型食肉动物物种的分布和密度的首次估计，从而建立了当地保护食肉动物的能力，并评估了全球物种多样性的格局。与Kwame Nkrumah科技大学和加纳大学的科学家合作增加了国际层面。 公民科学的一个组成部分是向游客分发一次性相机，拍摄研究区域内的野生动物。