RAPID: Re-organization of Philippine Rainforest Biodiversity Following Disturbance on Regional Scales from a Powerful Typhoon

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

This research award will use the unique event of the 2013 hyper-typhoon Haiya in the Philippines to learn about the impacts of massive, natural catastrophes on the survival and potential recovery of vertebrate animal populations and species. This is premised on the fact that the research team had been conducting comprehensive vertebrate species surveys for about five years in the Philippine archipelago immediately prior to the recent typhoon. This work is important because such studies have not been conducted before, and they can tell us a great deal about the processes of local extirpation, colonization, adaptation and recovery or extinction of both populations and species. In a time of global environmental change, such studies provide society and resource managers with valuable empirical examples of what can be expected regarding the responses of biological diversity to particular catastrophic environmental changes, and how planning for the future might best proceed.The first research objective is to provide an immediate "after the typhoon" species and abundance survey dataset to complement the prior, fortuitous 5 year effort. The research team has over 10 well-studied sites for which comprehensive inventories are already developed, and where they will assess species community changes caused by the typhoon. All survey methods are based on a proven field research program in the Philippines. The research team scouts sites, establishes camps, blazes transects, constructs trapping arrays (snap traps and live traps for mammals; pit fall traps, funnel traps, and adhesive traps for mammals, amphibians, and reptiles; and mist nets and harp traps for birds and bats), collects and handles live animals, collects all relevant data, photographs specimens, screens vertebrates for parasites, preserves genetic samples, and prepares modern museum specimens including associated ecological and microhabitat data. Resurveys will be linked to analyses of vegetation change developed from satellite imagery at two spatial resolutions, permitting broad extension of the point-based survey results to infer effects of the typhoon across the entire Philippine archipelago. The second main goal is to train a cohort of collaborating scientists in standardized survey methodology and data analysis frameworks to set the stage for a sustainable series of follow-up studies 3, 5, and 10 years after the 2014 surveys. This will be accomplished using (1) an established collaborative network in the Philippines of participating researchers, students, local government units, and conservation NGOs; (2) currently valid research permissions that allow for collection and export of biological specimens; (3) established logistical infrastructure and host sponsorship at several major universities and the national museum of the Philippines; (4) equipment, supplies, and a 4-wheel drive field vehicle ready for immediate use; and (5) research-active in-country counterparts with a proven track record of working with the NSF PI awardees. By involving students from both the U.S. and the Philippines (and their advisors) the research ensures a multi-academic-generational collaboration that maximizes training and capacity building to achieve research objectives.