Research Trailer Acquisition for Quail Ridge Reserve

加州大学戴维斯分校获得了一笔拨款，用于在鹌鹑岭保护区部署一个独立的移动实验室，鹌鹑岭保护区是加州大学戴维斯分校自然保护区系统位于加州纳帕县的一个2000英亩的单位。实验室将是一个三室的通用设施。宽敞的中央房间将容纳工作高度的台面、书桌空间、通风柜、水槽和储物柜；两个外围房间将用于动物饲养和行为试验。照明和气候控制将是可编程的；环境状况将由一个与保护区相连的自动系统监测。如有任何技术问题，立即通知后备人员。该实验室将适合对捕获的动物进行处理、麻醉、标记、持有和进行行为实验。一个独立的移动发电机组将为实验室提供电力，同时最大限度地减少实验室内可能给动物造成压力和破坏自然行为的噪音。水和废水存储将集成到该单元中。鹌鹑岭保护区在动物遗传学和行为学以及植物生理学方面开展了多项积极的研究活动，这些研究将直接从该设施中受益。其他nsf赞助的项目，如鹌鹑岭自动动物跟踪系统（硬件已经完成，软件正在完善），将严重依赖实验室作为标记或控制动物的场所，或者进行与系统一起使用的传输器的外科植入。这种独特的自动系统可以通过远程跟踪小动物的位置和生理状况来改变对小动物运动、分散和对压力源的反应的理解。新设施将促进现有网络基础设施的新用途，通过正在进行的“虚拟环境博物馆”倡议，将实验室的研究与远程门户连接起来，例如教室和私人计算机。公民科学家和课外项目将能够观察行为试验，并最终从他们的电脑上近乎实时地跟踪动物的运动。该实验室也将被高等教育机构的讲师使用，这些机构目前使用该保护区，并且主要是少数民族服务。与国际调查人员和实习生正在进行的合作也将受益。实验室设备和动物跟踪系统的联合使用将提高对动物运动和栖息地利用的了解，从而为栖息地保护和养护决策提供信息。

The University of California-Davis is awarded a grant to acquire a self-contained mobile laboratory for deployment at Quail Ridge Reserve, a 2000-acre unit of the University of California-Davis Natural Reserve System located in Napa County, California. The laboratory will be a three-room, general purpose facility. The large central room will house work-height countertops, desk space, a fume hood, sink and storage; two peripheral rooms will be available for use in animal holding and for behavioral trials. Lighting and climate control will be programmable; environmental conditions will be monitored by an automatic system linked to the reserve?s wireless communication network, alerting reserve staff immediately of any technical problems. The lab will be appropriate for processing, anesthetizing, tagging, holding, and conducting behavioral experiments on captured animals. A separate mobile generator unit will provide power to the laboratory, while minimizing noise inside the laboratory that could stress animals and disrupt natural behaviors. Water and waste water storage will be integrated into the unit.Quail Ridge Reserve hosts multiple active research initiatives in animal genetics and behavior, as well as in plant physiology, that will directly and immediately benefit from the facility. Other NSF-sponsored initiatives, like the Quail Ridge automated animal tracking system (for which hardware is completed and software is in refinement), will rely heavily on the laboratory as a site for tagging or harnessing animals, or for performing surgical implants of transmitters for use with the system. This unique automatic system is poised to transform understanding of small animal movements, dispersal, and response to stressors by remotely tracking their locations and physiological conditions.The new facility will promote novel uses of the existing cyber-infrastructure linking research enabled by the lab to remote portals, such as classroom and private computers via an ongoing 'virtual museum of the environment' initiative. Citizen scientists and after-school programs will be able to watch behavioral trials and eventually track the movement of animals from their computers in near real time. The lab will also be used by instructors from institutions of higher education that currently use the reserve and are largely minority-serving. On-going collaborations with international investigators and interns will benefit as well. Results from combined use of the lab facility and the animal tracking system will enhance understanding of animal movement and habitat use, thus informing habitat protection and conservation decisions.