CAREER:Linking individual variation in behavior to plant community dynamics within disturbed landscapes

在许多动物物种中，个体的行为方式随着时间的推移和环境的变化而变化，这种现象被称为“动物个性”。越来越多的研究表明，行为特征，如大胆或侵略性，可以影响生活史特征，如生存。一个关键的问题是，这些个人层面的特征是否会产生更大规模的影响。本研究的目的是量化的生态后果的个体行为变异的野生种群受到不同程度的人类干扰，反过来，如何在动物行为的个体差异可以影响社区水平的过程。该项目将通过一项综合研究和教育计划进行，主要研究者将沿着公民科学家领导一个由研究生和本科生组成的小组，收集关于小型哺乳动物野生种群的数据。该团队将量化受到不同程度人类干扰的野生小型哺乳动物种群中的大胆和侵略性等性状的个体差异，并确定生存与这些性状变异的关系。同时，研究人员将研究具有不同行为特征的个体的种子传播，量化动物行为对植物群落动态的影响。本科生将学习如何量化个性（动物和人类），并将参加研讨会，重点是提高他们的科学沟通技能。使用针对自己的个性的方法，本科生将从事高中学生在两个公民科学项目，这将成为研究计划的重要组成部分。行为或个性的一致个体差异在决定个体动物如何体验和与不断变化的环境互动方面发挥着关键作用。行为类型在种群中的分布在多大程度上影响更大规模的生态过程，如种群动态和森林再生的程度知之甚少。为了填补这些知识空白，该项目将侧重于：1）评估具有不同但一致的行为库的个体对土地利用变化的反应，2）量化人口内行为多样性对受干扰景观中植物群落的人口统计和结构的影响。这项研究将通过在缅因州进行的大规模实地实验进行，使用小型哺乳动物物种作为模型系统。通过实地实验，该小组将评估土地利用变化的影响（即，造林实践）对不同性格类型动物生存的影响，同时评估动物行为多样性影响种群动态的能力。研究人员还将描述个性驱动的种子捕食和传播决策如何影响种子库的组成，以及这些决策如何与气候变化相互作用，影响植物的范围转移。该项目产生的见解和模型将阐明个体变异与种群、群落和生态系统动态之间的联系。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并被认为值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

In many animal species, individuals differ in their behavior in ways that are consistent over time and across contexts, a phenomenon that is referred to as “animal personality.” An increasing number of studies show that behavioral traits, such as boldness or aggression, can influence life history traits, such as survival. A key question that remains is whether these individual-level traits can have larger-scale effects. The goal of this study is to quantify the ecological consequences of individual variation in behavior in wild populations subject to various degrees of human disturbance, and in turn, how individual variation in animal behavior can affect community-level processes. This project will be conducted through an integrated research and education plan, in which the principal investigator will lead a team of graduate and undergraduate students along with citizen scientists to collect data on wild populations of small mammals. The team will quantify individual variation in traits such as boldness and aggression in populations of wild small mammals that are subject to various degrees of human disturbance, and determine how survival relates to variation in these traits. Concurrently, researchers will study the dispersal of seeds by individuals with different behavioral traits, quantifying the effects of animal actions on plant community dynamics. Undergraduate students will learn how to quantify personality (in animals and humans) and will participate in workshops focused on improving their scientific communication skills. Using approaches targeted for their own personalities, undergraduate students will then engage high school students in two citizen science projects, which will become critical components of the research program. Consistent individual differences in behavior, or personality, play a key role in determining how individual animals experience and interact with their changing environment. The extent to which the distribution of behavioral types in a population affects larger-scale ecological processes such as population dynamics and forest regeneration is poorly understood. To contribute to filling these knowledge gaps this project will focus on: 1) Assessing the response of individuals with different, yet consistent behavioral repertoires to land-use change and 2) Quantifying the effects of the diversity of behaviors within a population on the demographics and structure of plant communities within disturbed landscapes. The study will be conducted through a large-scale field experiment in Maine using small mammal species as a model system. Through the field experiment the team will assess the effects of land-use change (i.e., silvicultural practices) on survival of animals with different personality types, concurrently assessing the capacity for diversity in animal behavior to influence population dynamics. The researchers will also characterize how personality-driven seed predation and dispersal decisions affect the seed bank composition and how these decisions may interact with climate change to affect range shifts of plants. The insights and models generated by this project will illuminate the link between individual variation and population, community, and ecosystem dynamics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.