Doctoral Dissertation Research: Nutrition, diet, and their influence on survival and reproduction across life

动物需要不同的营养组合来生存和繁殖，但对于许多物种，我们不知道一生中营养摄入对生存和繁殖的影响。在人类身上研究这种关系是很困难的，因为我们的寿命很长，这可能包含了许多不同的食物供应时期，而这些时期可能不为人所知。本博士论文研究项目评估了终生营养摄入和饮食如何影响野生灵长类动物的生存和繁殖，包括在极端干旱期间，这对生存有重大影响。在世界范围内，极端气候事件的严重性和频率都在增加，因此，这个项目的结果可以增强我们对饮食和营养如何在这些事件中与生存相互作用的理解。该项目作为一名生物人类学和营养生态学学生的博士论文，培养了两名早期职业女性科学家，为野生灵长类动物及其濒危栖息地的保护做出了贡献，并为当地学童提供了早期教育机会。本项目主要有三个目标：1)确定雌性白面卷尾猴（Cebus capucinus）在整个生命过程中的营养目标；2)确定雌性白面卷尾猴在整个生命过程中的最佳饮食；3)研究营养不良和饮食摄入与生存和繁殖的关系，特别是在2014 - 2016年发生的极端干旱期间。为了实现这些目标，研究人员收集了卷尾猴的进食数据，以确定它们吃什么。研究人员还收集食物样本，以确定卷尾猴消耗的营养物质。最后，研究人员使用了一个长期数据库（33年以上）来将摄入量与生存和繁殖联系起来，特别是在干旱期间。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。

Animals need different combinations of nutrients to survive and reproduce, but for many species, we do not know how survival and reproduction is affected by nutrient intake across a lifetime. It is difficult to study this relationship in humans because of our long lifespans, which may encompass many different periods of food availability that might not be known. This Doctoral Dissertation Research project assesses how lifetime nutrient intake and diet influence survival and reproduction in a wild primate, including during an extreme drought, which had major impacts survival. Extreme climatic events are increasing in severity and frequency world-wide, and the results of this project can therefore enhance our understanding of how diet and nutrition interact with survival during such events. This project serves as the doctoral dissertation for a student in biological anthropology and nutritional ecology, trains two early career female scientists, contributes to the conservation of a wild primate and its endangered habitat, and provides early education opportunities for local school children. This project focuses on three objectives: 1) Identify the nutritional goals of female white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) across the life course, 2) Identify the best possible diets of female white-faced capuchins across the life course, and 3) Examine how poor nutrient and dietary intake relates to survival and reproduction, especially during an extreme drought that occurred between 2014 - 2016. To address these objectives, researchers collect feeding data on capuchins to determine what individuals eat. Researchers also collect food samples to determine nutrients that capuchins consume. Lastly, researchers use a long-term database (33+ years) to relate intake to survival and reproduction, especially during the drought.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.