US - UK and Jamaica Planning Visits: Initiating an international collaborative network on the impacts of private yard management for people and urban biodiversity

CNIC建立了国际合作和国际多城市研究网络。它将导致确定庭院管理决策如何影响城市鸟类种群，这些决策的基本原理以及它们如何通过生态系统服务提供反馈影响人们。这位导师领导的公民科学项目在美国五个城市开展，有两个目标，一是对鸟类人口统计学进行科学调查，二是向公众宣传鸟类生物学和科学过程。要求资助四名美国科学家对谢菲尔德的两次计划访问和对牙买加蒙特哥湾的一次计划访问。他们将a)向一个由城市生态学家和社会科学家组成的国际团队（美国、英国和牙买加）提供咨询；b)收集试点数据，证明向英国和牙买加出口神经网络的概念和可行性；c)提交CNH提案大纲。这项CNIC提案由Susannah Lerman博士（麻省大学PI）和Peter Marra博士（史密森学会联合PI）领导。主要外国合作者卡尔·埃文斯博士（英国谢菲尔德大学）将通过共同组织和积极参与所有活动，为建立国际网络发挥重要作用，并贡献他在鸟类城市生态学和多学科研究方面的专业知识。由于全球快速城市化，城市地区的性质将对决定全球气候变化做出重大贡献。美国的生物多样性及其为城市化人口提供生态系统服务的能力——预计到2050年，80%的人口将生活在城市地区。研究项目将建立庭院管理对城市生物多样性和人口的影响。通过提供生态系统服务实现健康和福祉。因此，CNIC有助于实现保护生物多样性和生活质量的主要社会目标。它的遗产将包括来自世界领先机构的杰出国际合作网络，包括学术界、非政府组织（birdcarbbean & &；英国鸟类学信托基金会）和政府机构（林务局& &；史密森尼）。通过将神经网络出口到英国和牙买加，CNIC将进一步提高全球背景下的科学素养，并使公众能够增加他们的地方感和对生态过程的理解。美国和英国的研究生参与提供了出色的培训机会，并在不同的文化和生态背景下接触跨学科研究。吸引更多人关注CNIC？在2016年美国生态学会会议上，合作者将提交一份研讨会提案。城市生态学在很大程度上作为使用不同方法的孤立研究取得了进展，阻碍了城市和地区之间的比较。为了解决这个问题，CNIC建议在城市研究站点的国际网络中建立一致的研究方法。CNIC及其后续研究将是第一个专门研究私人养殖场管理决策（植物选择、化学投入的使用等）如何影响鸟类生存、繁殖成功、健康和生理反应的研究。该网络还将探讨推动庭院管理决策、参与公民科学和管理的动机。采用神经网络模型可以获得关于庭院如何作为社会生态系统发挥作用的深入知识。城市网络跨越了一系列文化、社会经济和气候背景。因此，它有很大的潜力在全球范围内解决城市生态学的一个关键知识差距，即庭院管理、生物多样性响应和生态系统服务提供的后果之间的联系。实现这一点对于制定有效的庭院管理计划至关重要，该计划可提高城市的可持续性，保护野生动物和人类。为了实现这一目标，CNIC将建立统一的方法来测量鸟类的生物反应，并评估人类对鸡场管理和参与科学研究的态度。一致的方法将能够跨越国际边界进行直接比较，并评估这种联系如何在不同的文化和生态条件下得到推广。

a non-technical explanation This CNIC establishes international collaborations and an international multi-city research network. It will lead to determine how yard management decisions influence urban bird populations, the rationale for these decisions and how they feedback to influence people through ecosystem service provision. This mentor led citizen science project runs in five US cities and has the dual objectives of scientific inquiry on avian demographics, and educating the public about bird biology and the scientific process. Funding is requested for two planning visits to Sheffield and one planning visit to Montego Bay, Jamaica for four US scientists. These will a) provide consultation with an international team (US, UK & Jamaica) of expert urban ecologists and social scientists, b) collect pilot data demonstrating proof of concept and the feasibility of exporting NN to the UK and Jamaica, and c) deliver an outline CNH proposal. This CNIC proposal is led by Dr. Susannah Lerman (PI, University of Massachusetts) and Dr. Peter Marra (co-PI, Smithsonian Institution). Dr. Karl Evans, the primary foreign collaborator (University of Sheffield, UK) will be instrumental in establishing the international network by co-organizing and actively participating in all activities, and contributing his expertise in avian urban ecology and multi-disciplinary research.Due to rapid global urbanization the nature of urban areas will make a significant contribution to determining the globe?s biodiversity, and its ability to deliver ecosystem services to an urbanized population - 80% of people are predicted to live in urban areas by 2050. The research program will establish how yard management influences urban biodiversity and peoples? health and well-being through the provision of ecosystem services. The CNIC thus contributes to major societal goals of preserving biodiversity and quality of life. Its legacy will include an outstanding network of international collaborators from world-leading institutions, including academics, NGOs (BirdsCarribean & British Trust for Ornithology) and government agencies (Forest Service & Smithsonian). By exporting the NN to the UK and Jamaica, the CNIC will further increase scientific literacy within a global context and enable the public to increase their sense of place and understanding of ecological processes. US and UK graduate student participation provides outstanding training opportunities and an exposure to interdisciplinary research within vastly different cultural and ecological contexts. To draw wider attention to the CNIC?s activities the collaborators will submit a symposium proposal for the 2016 Ecological Society of America conference.a technical description Urban ecology has largely progressed as isolated studies that use divergent methodologies, hindering comparisons between cities and regions. To address this, the CNIC proposal establishes a consistent research methodology across an international network of urban research sites. The CNIC, and follow on research, will be the first study to address specifically how private yard management decisions (plant choices, use of chemical inputs etc.) influence avian survival, reproductive success, and health and physiological responses. The network will also explore the motivations driving yard management decisions, participation in citizen science and stewardship. Adapting the NN model enables the acquisition of in-depth knowledge of how yards function as a social-ecological system. The network of cities spans a range of cultural, socio-economic and climatic contexts. It thus has considerable potential to address a key knowledge gap in urban ecology at a global scale, i.e. the links between yard management, biodiversity responses and consequences for ecosystem service provision. Achieving this is essential for generating effective yard management programs that enhance urban sustainability for wildlife and people. To achieve this, the CNIC will establish uniform methodology for measuring avian biological responses and assessing human attitudes to yard management and participation in scientific research. Consistent methodologies will enable direct comparisons across international boundaries and assess how the linkages generalize across diverse cultural and ecological conditions.