EAPSI: Modeling Plant Species Distributions to Support Biological and Cultural Diversity Under Climate Change

气候变化改变了世界各地许多物种的分布，尽管其未来对生物和人类社会的影响程度仍然不确定。该项目将使用计算机建模来计算气候变化可能如何影响两种植物物种。Kuta（Eleocharis acelata）是毛利人编织用的一种本地灯心草，Kuta（Pomaderris eraho）是毛利人传统医药中使用的一种地方灌木，对毛利文化和新西兰生态系统的功能至关重要。该项目将绘制这些物种目前所在位置的地图，模拟这些物种的位置将如何受到气候变化的影响，并与毛利人团体和保护组织合作制定管理建议。项目成果还将促进对太平洋地区类似文化和生态系统的理解，特别是在研究人员的家乡夏威夷。研究人员将与达尼丁土地保护研究所的生态学家和保护生物学家普里西拉·韦希博士合作。Wehi博士在毛利文化和新西兰本土物种方面的专业知识将是该项目成功的关键。该项目将使用物种分布模型，以促进在气候变化条件下保护新西兰的生物文化多样性。研究人员将使用环境生态位模型来估计kuta（Eleocharis acelata）的基本生态位，这是一种用于毛利人编织的本地灯心草，以及kammarahou（Pomaderris pomeraho），这是一种用于毛利人传统医学的地方灌木。这些物种的生态位将被用来项目的基本气候信封，这两个物种使用未来的气候情景为新西兰。然后，将与毛利人团体和保护组织合作，制定文化知情管理建议。该项目将促进整个太平洋地区的生物文化保护，因为许多土著人民所经历的植物区系、殖民历史和气候威胁都有着密切的关系。新西兰和研究人员的家乡机构夏威夷的相似性特别强，为未来的合作提供了重要的机会。主持人研究员普里西拉·韦希博士是土地保护研究达尼丁的生态学家和保护生物学家。Wehi博士在毛利文化和新西兰本土物种方面的专业知识将是该项目成功的关键。东亚和太平洋夏季研究所计划下的这个奖项支持美国研究生的夏季研究，由NSF和韩国国家研究基金会共同资助。

Climate change has altered the distributions of many species around the world, although the extent of its future effects on organisms and human society remains uncertain. This project will use computer modeling to calculate how climate change is likely to affect two plant species. Kuta (Eleocharis sphacelata), a native rush used for Mâori weaving, and kûmarahou (Pomaderris kumeraho), an endemic shrub used in Mâori traditional medicine, are critical to Mâori culture and the function of New Zealand ecosystems. The project will create maps of where these species are currently located, simulate how the locations of these species will be affected by climate change, and develop management recommendations in collaboration with Mâori groups and conservation organizations. Project outcomes will also advance understanding of similar cultures and ecosystems across the Pacific, particularly in the researcher's home institution, Hawai'i. The researcher will be collaborating with Dr. Priscilla Wehi, an ecologist and conservation biologist at Landcare Research Dunedin. Dr Wehi's expertise in Maori culture and New Zealand native species will be integral to the success of this project. This project will use species distribution modeling to contribute to conservation of New Zealand's biocultural diversity under conditions of climate change. The researcher will use Environmental Niche Models to estimate the fundamental niche of kuta (Eleocharis sphacelata), a native rush used for Mâori weaving, and kûmarahou (Pomaderris kumeraho), an endemic shrub used in Mâori traditional medicine. These species niches will be used to project the fundamental climatic envelope of these two species using future climate scenarios for New Zealand. Culturally informed management recommendations will then be developed in collaboration with Mâori groups and conservation organizations. This project will advance biocultural conservation across the Pacific where floras, colonization histories and climate threats experienced by many indigenous peoples are strongly related. The similarities of New Zealand and the researchers home institution, Hawai'i, are particularly strong, providing significant opportunities for future collaboration. The host researcher, Dr. Priscilla Wehi, is an ecologist and conservation biologist at Landcare Research Dunedin. Dr Wehi's expertise in Maori culture and New Zealand native species will be integral to the success of this project. This award under the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes program supports summer research by a U.S. graduate student and is jointly funded by NSF and the National Research Foundation of Korea.