Doctoral Dissertation Research: Ecological influences on coming to the ground in tree-dwelling primates

树栖（也被称为树栖）灵长类动物巧妙地适应了树上的生活，几乎不需要下到地面，然而，人们观察到树栖灵长类动物比预期的更频繁地使用地面。由于运动激活相机陷阱在野生动物研究中的日益普及，间接观察树栖灵长类动物的地面使用（或陆地行为）变得越来越普遍。这个博士论文研究项目结合了最先进的遥感调查，利用广泛的相机陷阱网络，并利用现有的关于食物供应和天气的长期数据来确定这些方面的生态对树栖灵长类动物陆地行为的影响。这项研究调查了灵长类动物从树上下来使用森林地面的地点、时间、方式和原因。该项目还支持公共科学推广和公共数据获取。该项目将新数据与5年多的现有生态数据集相结合。新收集的数据包括从详细的3D激光雷达（光探测和测距）图像中测量森林结构和连通性。现有的数据集包括地面灵长类动物的摄像机陷阱视频，捕食者的摄像机陷阱视频，水果可用性的估计，以及温度和降雨量等天气指标。本研究的重点是在一个已建立的野外地点对一个树栖灵长类动物群落中的多个物种进行研究。灵长类动物的陆地行为使用占用模型建模，检查上述数据的组合，以确定这些生态变量对灵长类动物土地使用的影响。本研究的结果对于理解其他树栖灵长类动物利用地面的特定生态条件具有重要意义。此外，该研究还可以为树栖灵长类动物的保护科学提供重要数据。随着灵长类动物栖息地在全球范围内的迅速变化，在物种和群落层面上更好地了解影响灵长类动物生态和行为灵活性的因素，对于成功的保护工作至关重要。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Tree-dwelling (also known as arboreal) primates are masterfully adapted to life in the trees and should have little need to descend to the ground, yet arboreal primates have been observed using the ground more frequently than expected. Indirect observations of ground use (or, terrestrial behavior) among arboreal primates are becoming more common due to the increasing popularity of motion-activated cameras traps in wildlife research. This doctoral dissertation research project combines state-of-the-art remote sensing surveys, utilizes an extensive network of camera traps, and uses existing long-term data concerning food availability and weather to identify the influence of these aspects of ecology on the terrestrial behavior of arboreal primates. The research investigates where, when, which, and why primates descend from the trees to use the forest floor. The project also supports public science outreach and public data access. This project combines novel data with over 5 years of existing ecological data sets. Novel data to be collected include measures of forest structure and connectivity from detailed 3D LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) imagery. Existing data sets include camera trap videos of primates on the ground, camera trap videos of predators, estimates of fruit availability, and weather metrics such as temperature and rainfall. The research focuses on multiple species in an arboreal primate community at an established field site. Primate terrestrial behavior is modeled using occupancy models, examining combinations of the data described above to determine the influence of these ecological variables on primate ground use. The results of this research have relevance for understanding the specific ecological conditions under which otherwise arboreal primates resort to using the ground. Additionally, this research can yield critical data for conservation science of arboreal primates. With primate habitats rapidly changing across the globe, having a better understanding of what factors influence primate ecological and behavioral flexibility, at both the species and community level, is crucial for successful conservation efforts.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.