LTREB: Evaluating Population Cycles and Spatial Synchrony Using Long-Term Demographic and Genetic Data on Snowshoe Hares

许多野生动物种群的数量在不同的栖息地和时间上表现出巨大的波动。其中最引人注目的是在所有或部分大陆同步的10年周期，北半球的一些哺乳动物物种显示了这一点。了解产生和抑制这些循环的机制，并使它们在物种范围内同步，可以阐明影响野生物种种群动态的基本过程。雪鞋野兔在加拿大和阿拉斯加的北部地区表现出典型的10年种群周期，但在其范围的南部(美国大陆北部)。这些周期被认为会减弱或消失，可能是由于栖息地的碎片化和气候变化。该项目扩展了对美国西部和加拿大雪鞋野兔的长期研究，以确定较低的48个州的周期是否受到抑制，气候变化和栖息地碎片化在周期抑制中所起的作用，以及动物运动在大空间尺度上同步种群动态方面所起的作用。由此产生的数据将提高我们对一个基本自然现象的理解，并测试关于人为变化对野生动物种群动态影响的假设。该项目的结果继续引起政策制定者、森林管理者和公众的广泛兴趣，因为它们对受威胁的加拿大山猫的恢复有直接影响，加拿大山猫是一种专门捕食野兔的动物。更广泛地说，结果将考察森林碎片化和气候变化如何影响整个大陆范围内的人口动态。该项目将促进与数百名公民科学家的密切合作，并让数十名本科生、研究生和国际科学家参与研究。首席调查员每年将向州和联邦机构提供至少2次受邀讲座或讨论，这项研究将继续吸引不同媒体的关注。

Many wildlife populations exhibit massive fluctuations in numbers across different habitats and through time. Among the most remarkable of these are the 10-year cycles, synchronized across all or parts of continents, shown by some mammal species in the northern hemisphere. Understanding the mechanisms that create and dampen these cycles, and synchronize them across a species' range, can illuminate the fundamental processes that influence population dynamics of wild species. Snowshoe hares exhibit classic 10-year population cycles across their northern range in Canada and Alaska, but in the southern part of their range (the northern continental U.S.) the cycles are thought to dampen or disappear, possibly due to habitat fragmentation and climate change. This project extends a long-term study of snowshoe hares across the western US and Canada to determine whether cycles are dampened in the lower 48 states, the role that climate change and habitat fragmentation play in cycle dampening, and the role that animal movement plays in synchronizing population dynamics across large spatial scales. The resulting data will both improve our understanding of a fundamental natural phenomenon and test hypotheses about the effects of human-caused changes on wildlife population dynamics.Results from this project continue to garner widespread interest among policymakers, forest managers, and the general public, as they have direct implications for recovery of the threatened Canada lynx, a specialist predator on hares. More broadly, results will examine how forest fragmentation and climate change affect population dynamics across continental scales. The project will foster strong collaborations with hundreds of citizen scientists and involve dozens of undergraduate and graduate students and international scientists in the research. The lead investigator will present at least 2 invited lectures or discussions per year to state and federal agencies, and the research will continue to attract attention from diverse media outlets.