CNH: Linking Livestock Markets and Grazing Practices with the Nutritional Ecology of Grasses and Locusts Under Alternative Property Rights Regimes

最近的研究表明，在中国的一个草原上，过度放牧牲畜降低了草的氮含量，这造成了蝗虫数量的增加，可能导致蝗虫群。这一提议将检验澳大利亚和西非的相关蝗虫物种是否也是如此，并将放牧做法和蝗虫群与这三个截然不同地区的经济和社会政策联系起来。三位生物学家和三位社会科学家将合作回答：（1）昆虫-营养关系和牲畜放牧策略如何相互作用，影响粮食价格，粮食安全和牧场退化？(2)产权制度如何影响社会应对过度放牧与蝗灾之间联系的适应能力？ 由于市场力量和蝗虫群都在长距离上运作，这些影响可能是全球性的。 蝗虫的爆发对粮食安全造成了破坏性影响，影响到作物和牲畜的产量。该提案旨在制定新的、可持续的战略，以了解和管理蝗虫暴发，并考虑到生态、农业和经济系统之间的反馈。将通过与农业机构的合作，将成果直接转化为管理和政策建议。该项目还将加强国际科学合作，培训本科生和研究生，并为K-12学生和教师开发多媒体推广计划。

Research has recently shown that overgrazing of livestock in a grassland in China lowered the nitrogen content of the grasses and that this caused a rise in the abundance of a locust likely to lead to locust swarms. This proposal will test whether this is also true for related species of locust in Australia and western Africa, and link both grazing practices and locust swarms to economics and social policy in the three contrasting regions. Three biologists and three social scientists will team up to help answer: (1) How do insect-nutrient relations and livestock grazing strategies interact to affect food prices, food security, and rangeland degradation? (2) How do property rights regimes affect the adaptive capacity of societies to respond to the link between overgrazing and locust outbreaks? Because both market forces and locust swarms operate over long distances, these effects are likely to be global. Locust outbreaks have had devastating effects on food security, impacting crop and livestock yields. This proposal aims to develop new, sustainable strategies to understand and manage locust outbreaks, accounting for feedbacks among ecological, agricultural, and economic systems. Results will be translated directly into management and policy recommendations through collaborations with agricultural agencies. The project will also strengthen international scientific collaboration, train undergraduate and graduate students, and develop a multi-media outreach program for K-12 students and teachers.