CAREER: Morphology, performance, and ecology of the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse and co-occurring wetland rodents

职业：濒临灭绝的盐沼收获鼠和共存的湿地啮齿动物的形态、性能和生态学

• 批准号: 2146109
• 负责人: Diego Sustaita
• 金额: $ 54.46万
• 依托单位: California State University San Marcos Corporation
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-08-01 至 2027-07-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2146109&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Morphology; performance; ecology; endangered

Understanding why a species is endangered is critical to planning for its recovery. Combining work in the field and in the laboratory, this study investigates the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse, endemic to the San Francisco Bay estuary, and how it is physically adapted to its wetland environment. Occupying habitats that experience natural and controlled flooding on daily and seasonal bases, individuals of this species are subjected to continual environmental challenges that impact their behavior. Yet little is known about how they manage to forage, survive, and reproduce. Furthermore, these endangered mice often share these habitats with other rodents, and it is not clear how or whether they avoid competing with them. To advance our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary challenges of this endangered species, and other related species, this project investigates how individuals perform basic functions of biting, climbing, and swimming as they relate to foraging and moving through their habitats. Because these functions are influenced by anatomy, differences in important aspects of their body form are analyzed, such as tail and limb lengths, foot pad size and shape, and head width and depth. The relationships between performance and body form provide insights into how and why physical differences among species have evolved. Understanding variation in form and function is imperative for predicting long-term success of salt marsh harvest mouse in response to habitat management practices and sea level rise associated with climate change. A new field course centered on the ecology of the Suisun Marsh, California, will be implemented to teach students marketable field and quantitative skills, to contribute data to the research project, and to instill an understanding and appreciation for the ecological roles of rare and endangered species.This study integrates morphology, biomechanics, ecology, and genetics to examine the ecological implications of differences in morphology and performance among the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse and other co-occurring wetland rodents. The proposed morphological and kinematic analyses of feeding- and locomotor-related behavior, performed in the laboratory, will provide insights into how salt marsh harvest mice and other wetland rodents navigate potentially conflicting demands of their diverse substrates and how they partition resources. The lab-based performance studies are complemented by work in the field that address the adaptive value of the traits: long-term mark-recapture studies, quantification of microhabitat characteristics, and genetic analyses. Integrating basic science and wildlife management objectives, this work has the potential to inform wildlife management policies by (1) identifying limitations to the salt marsh harvest mouse’s physical abilities to use microhabitat and food resources and (2) illuminating the adaptive consequences of different wetland management regimes. California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) is a Hispanic Serving Institution with a strong tradition of involving underrepresented students in all levels of academic research. Each of the study dimensions (morphology, performance, ecology, and genetics) encompasses the scope of a master’s thesis project, and funding will be provided for several graduate students. Moreover, CSUSM undergraduate students will be educated on the study’s foundational material in the newly proposed field ecology course. Beyond research and education, this project has the capacity to reach hundreds more, both inside and outside of the scientific community, through conference presentations, scientific publications, media interactions, and community STEM outreach activities highlighting the importance of native fauna.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.

了解一个物种濒临灭绝的原因对于规划其恢复至关重要。结合在现场和实验室的工作，本研究调查了濒危盐沼收获鼠，特有的旧金山弗朗西斯科湾河口，以及它是如何适应其湿地环境的物理。占据栖息地，每天和季节性地经历自然和受控的洪水，这个物种的个体受到持续的环境挑战，影响他们的行为。然而，人们对它们如何觅食、生存和繁殖却知之甚少。此外，这些濒临灭绝的老鼠经常与其他啮齿动物分享这些栖息地，目前还不清楚它们如何或是否避免与它们竞争。为了促进我们对这一濒危物种和其他相关物种的生态和进化挑战的理解，该项目研究了个体如何执行咬，攀爬和游泳的基本功能，因为它们与觅食和通过栖息地移动有关。由于这些功能受到解剖学的影响，因此分析了它们身体形态的重要方面的差异，例如尾巴和四肢长度，脚垫大小和形状以及头部宽度和深度。性能和身体形态之间的关系提供了深入了解物种之间的物理差异是如何以及为什么进化的。了解形式和功能的变化对于预测盐沼收获鼠在应对栖息地管理实践和与气候变化相关的海平面上升方面的长期成功至关重要。以加州的休森沼泽生态为中心，将实施一项新的野外课程，教授学生有市场的野外和定量技能，为研究项目提供数据，并灌输对珍稀濒危物种生态作用的理解和欣赏。这项研究整合了形态学，生物力学，生态学，和遗传学，以研究濒危盐沼收获鼠和其他共存的湿地啮齿动物之间的形态和性能差异的生态意义。拟议的形态学和运动学分析的喂养和运动相关的行为，在实验室中进行，将提供深入了解盐沼收获鼠和其他湿地啮齿动物如何导航潜在的相互冲突的需求，其不同的基板，以及他们如何分配资源。以实验室为基础的性能研究的补充工作，在该领域的特点，解决适应价值：长期标记重捕研究，微生境特征的量化，和遗传分析。整合基础科学和野生动物管理目标，这项工作有可能通过以下方式告知野生动物管理政策：（1）确定盐沼收获鼠使用微生境和食物资源的物理能力的限制;（2）阐明不同湿地管理制度的适应性后果。加州州立大学圣马科斯分校（CSUSM）是一所西班牙裔服务机构，具有让代表性不足的学生参与各级学术研究的悠久传统。每个研究维度（形态学，性能，生态学和遗传学）都涵盖了硕士论文项目的范围，并将为几名研究生提供资金。此外，CSUSM的本科生将在新提出的野外生态学课程中接受研究基础材料的教育。 除了研究和教育之外，该项目还能够通过会议演讲、科学出版物、媒体互动，该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查进行评估，被认为值得支持的搜索.