IRES Track I: understanding the global problem of defaunation through field experiments in southern Africa

世界正面临着几个正在改变自然环境的全球性挑战。下一代科学家需要全球视野和培训来推进科学和保护，以解决这些挑战。一个日益被认识到的挑战是生态系统中动物数量的减少和丧失，这被称为“缺省”。由于动物在自然环境中扮演着许多重要的角色，违约是可持续生态系统的关键问题。然而，人们对违约的后果仍知之甚少。这个项目将通过对南部非洲大型哺乳动物灭绝的大规模野外实验来解决这个问题，我们将培训学生关于科学和保护的知识，并为他们提供关于违约等生态挑战的全球视角。每年，来自佛罗里达州的美国本科生将与来自南非和埃斯瓦蒂尼(前斯威士兰)的学生合作，并接受来自这些国家的科学家的指导。我们将向学生传授科学方法、生态概念、保护和南部非洲文化，然后前往南部非洲进行为期8周的访问。他们将在南非和埃斯瓦蒂尼对大型哺乳动物的灭绝进行研究，例如非洲象，那里正在进行大型实验，以了解大型哺乳动物从它们历史上漫游的环境中消失的影响。每个队列将建立在过去的研究和测试假设的基础上，这些假设是关于大型动物的丧失可能如何改变自然环境的。学生项目将通过比较两个大型哺乳动物丰度历史不同的地区的结果来提供科学价值。这项工作将提供关于降水如何影响生物多样性和生态系统功能的新见解，这是更好地理解和采取保护行动以最好地限制潜在负面影响所必需的。该项目还将为下一代科学家提供全球培训，招募代表性不足的群体参与该项目，并将学生研究成果传达给南部非洲和佛罗里达州的当地社区。我们的IRES学生将在这些国家领先的和正在崛起的科学家的指导下，用八周的时间参加关于南部非洲违约问题的大规模实地实验。出发前，学生们将了解南部非洲的当地文化、生态概念和实验设计。他们将在南非克鲁格国家公园和埃斯瓦蒂尼的马劳拉野生动物保护区建立一个关于巨型食草动物灭绝的协调实验网络的范围内，开发独立的实验项目。这个协调的实验网络将有助于隔离违约的短期影响，并提供跨地区违约的长期背景。它将提供有关违约如何影响生物多样性和生态系统功能的新信息；这些信息对于更好地理解人类主导的景观以及如何最好地利用保护来限制环境变化的负面影响是必要的。第一组将通过巨型食草动物丧失假说的测试，量化剩余的生物多样性对退化的反应。第二组将探索驱动多样性模式的特定行为过程，重点是大型食草动物的丧失可能如何改变其他物种的栖息地避难所。第三组将对物种相互作用和生态系统服务进行研究，重点是功能冗余假说。该项目将通过促进教学和培训来促进发现和理解，同时让学生沉浸在非洲的实地研究中。学生将在快速变化的景观中推进生态过程的发现。我们正在通过以现场为基础的研究加强研究和教育的基础设施，并加强与南非和埃斯瓦蒂尼的科学家、教育工作者和学生的国际关系。我们还将通过招募少数族裔来扩大美国代表性不足群体的参与。最后，我们将提供广泛的科学交流和传播，以造福美国和南部非洲的当地社区。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The world is facing several global challenges that are transforming natural environments. The next generation of scientists requires a global perspective and training to advance science and conservation to solve these challenges. An increasingly recognized challenge is the decline in abundance and loss of animals from ecosystems, termed 'defaunation'. Because animals play many important roles in natural environments, defaunation is a key issue for sustainable ecosystems. Yet the consequences of defaunation remains poorly understood. This project will address this issue with research and education using large-scale field experiments on the loss of large mammals in southern Africa, where we will train students about science and conservation and provide them a global perspective on ecological challenges such as defaunation.Each year, U.S. undergraduate students from Florida will work with students from South Africa and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and be mentored by scientists from these countries. We will teach students about the scientific method, ecological concepts, conservation, and southern Africa culture before departing for eight weeks in southern Africa. They will conduct research on the loss of large mammals, such as the African elephant, in South Africa and Eswatini where large experiments are underway to understand the effects of losing large mammals from environments where they historically roamed. Each cohort will build upon past research and test hypotheses about how the loss of large animals may alter natural environments. Student projects will provide scientific value by comparing results across two regions that have different histories of large mammal abundance. This work will provide new insights about how defaunation influences biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, which is needed for better understanding and for conservation action that can best limit potential negative impacts. This project will also provide global training of the next generation of scientists, recruit underrepresented groups to participate in the program, and communicate the student research results to local communities in southern Africa and Florida. Our IRES students will spend eight weeks participating in large-scale field experiments on defaunation in southern Africa while being mentored by leading and rising scientists from these countries. Prior to departure, students will learn about southern Africa local culture, ecological concepts, and experimental design. They will develop independent experimental projects within the domain of a coordinated experimental network on the loss of megaherbivores in South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Eswatini’s Mlawula Game Reserve. This coordinated experimental network will help isolate the short-term effects of defaunation and provide long-term context of defaunation across regions. It will provide new information about how defaunation influences biodiversity and ecosystem functioning; this information is needed for better understanding human-dominated landscapes and how conservation can best be applied to limit negative impacts of environmental change. The first cohort will quantify how remaining biodiversity responds to defaunation through tests of the megaherbivore loss hypothesis. The second cohort will explore specific behavioral processes that drive patterns of diversity, focusing on how megaherbivore loss might alter habitat refugia for other species. The third cohort will conduct studies on species interactions and ecosystem services, focusing on the functional redundancy hypothesis. This project will foster discovery and understanding by promoting teaching and training while immersing students in field-based research in Africa. Students will advance discovery of ecological processes in rapidly changing landscapes. We are enhancing infrastructure for both research and education through our field station-based research and strengthened international relationships with South Africa and Eswatini scientists, educators, and students. We will also expand participation of U.S. underrepresented groups via minority recruitment. Finally, we will provide broad science communication and dissemination to benefit local communities in the U.S. and southern Africa.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.