Formation of the global Mixed Species Working Group: Fostering integrative approaches to understanding mixed-species groups

许多动物，包括鱼、鸟和猴子，与不同的物种一起旅行和进食。 虽然这些群体很常见，但研究它们的科学家往往不会相互合作。 例如，那些研究鸟群的人通常不知道那些研究鱼群的人。 动物生物学家的这种专业化限制了我们对动物群体如何以及为什么形成的理解。 该奖项将使主要研究人员能够召开一个研讨会，以建立一个混合物种工作组，该工作组将由研究各种动物的专家组成。 在为期两天的演讲、团队建设、促进讨论和规划会议中，工作组将设计一个用于公众互动和教育的门户网站，并为科学家、保护团体和公园管理者制作教育材料。来自北美，印度尼西亚，斯里兰卡，印度，中国，拉丁美洲和欧盟的文化多样性参与者，包括初级和高级研究人员以及研究生和本科生。 在法国蒙彼利埃举行的2016年生态峰会上召开的关于混合物种动物群体的研讨会是有史以来关于此类群体的最大会议。 工作组将在讨论、出版物和更广泛的影响活动中追求两个主要目标：（1）通过分析推动所有混合物种群体形成和维持的新兴社会角色（例如，保护者、哨兵和打手）。在合作分享和分析数据方面，工作组将检验一个假设，即参与物种有必要和足够的社会作用，使混合物种群体得以持续存在。来自生物群系和分类群的经验数据将用于确定不同生态系统中的功能伞物种。(2)了解压力源，特别是人为干扰，如何削弱或加强退化环境中群体功能的关键社会角色和一致性。这种理解将有助于科学家制定保护敏感物种的战略。由于混合物种组是动物生态学许多学科的一个流行研究系统，工作组的一个重要成果是，其成员的专业活动和联系将显着降低群落生态学和生物多样性保护中特定分类群科学集团之间的传统障碍。 该研讨会部分由NSF的科学和工程办公室支持。

Many animals, including fish, birds and monkeys, travel and feed together with different species. Although these groups are common, the scientists who study them tend not to work with each other. Those who study bird flocks, for example, are generally unaware of those who study fish schools. This specialization among animal biologists limits our understanding of how and why animal groups form. This award will enable the Principal Investigators to convene a workshop to establish a Mixed Species Working Group, which will be comprised of experts who study a wide variety of animals. Over two days of presentations, team-building, facilitated discussions, and planning sessions, the Working Group will design a web portal for public interaction and education, and produce educational materials targeted for scientists, conservation groups, and park managers. Culturally diverse participants hail from North America, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, China, Latin America, and the European Union, and include junior and senior researchers as well as graduate and undergraduate students. The workshop on mixed-species animal groups, convened at Ecosummit 2016 in Montpellier, France, represents the largest meeting ever held on such groups. The Working Group will pursue two major goals in discussions, publications, and broader impact activities: (1) To develop a unifying theory of mixed-species groups, accomplished through analysis of emergent social roles that drive the formation and maintenance of all mixed species groups (e.g., protectors, sentinels, and beaters). In collaborative data sharing and analysis, the Working Group will test the hypothesis that there are necessary and sufficient social roles of participating species for mixed species groups to persist. Empirical data from across biomes and taxa will be used to identify functional umbrella species in different ecosystems. (2) To understand how stressors, especially human-induced perturbations, may weaken or strengthen key social roles and coherence of group function in degraded environs. This understanding will help scientists develop conservation strategies for sensitive species. Because mixed species groups are a popular study system across many disciplines of animal ecology, an important outcome of the Working Group is that its members' professional activities and affiliations will significantly degrade traditional barriers between taxon-specific scientific cliques in community ecology and biodiversity conservation. The workshop is partially supported by NSF's Office of Science and Engineering.