Doctoral Dissertation Research: The impact of environment on movement and habitat usage in a nocturnal primate

不合适的环境条件是进化的主要驱动力之一，因为物种必须适应，迁移或死亡。较小的哺乳动物通过夜间活动和转移到避难所来避免不合适环境的影响。目前前所未有的环境变化提出了一个问题，即包括灵长类动物在内的各种哺乳动物如何找到合适的栖息地。这个博士论文项目的重点是了解运动和活动如何受到非人类灵长类动物夜间和季节性环境变化的影响，为灵长类动物进化和适应提供更广泛的问题。该项目为本科生和研究生提供能力建设、培训和指导，并为夜间哺乳动物的保护工作提供信息。该项目使用直接观察、无线电跟踪项圈和温度和湿度记录器的数据集成，记录小型、夜间、非人类灵长类动物的环境和运动信息。有两个主要目标：（1）评估环境变量（温度和湿度）如何影响这种灵长类动物的运动和活动模式;（2）确定森林中提供较冷微环境的区域，并检查这种非人类灵长类动物是否利用这些区域。本研究评估运动与环境之间的关系，采样工作如何影响结果，并建立在以前的家域和栖息地适宜性模型，通过纳入一个3D组件来代表树栖灵长类动物的垂直运动。这项研究提供了一个机会，以评估最早的灵长类祖先如何利用这种非人类灵长类动物作为代理来减轻极端环境，以及夜间物种如何在行为上适应环境变化。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智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估来支持。

Unsuitable environmental conditions are one of the main drivers for evolution as species must adapt, move, or perish. Smaller mammals have avoided the impact of unsuitable environments by becoming nocturnal and moving to refuges. Current unprecedented environmental variations raise the question of how various mammals, including primates, can find suitable habitats. This doctoral dissertation project focuses on understanding how movement and activity are influenced by nocturnal and seasonal changes in environment in a non-human primate, informing broader questions about primate evolution and adaptation. This project provides capacity building, training, and mentorship for undergraduate and graduate students, as well as informing conservation efforts for nocturnal mammals.This project uses an integration of data from direct observations, radio-tracking collars, and temperature and humidity loggers to record environmental and movement information for a small, nocturnal, non-human primate. There are two main objectives: (1) to assess how environmental variables (temperature and humidity) influence this primate’s movement and activity patterns; and (2) to identify areas of the forest which provide a cooler microenvironment and examine if this non-human primate utilizes these areas. This research evaluates the relationship between movement and environment, how sampling effort impacts the results, and builds upon previous home range and habitat suitability models by incorporating a 3D component to represent the vertical movement employed by arboreal primates. This research provides an opportunity to evaluate how the earliest primate ancestors may have mitigated environmental extremes using this non-human primate as a proxy, and how a nocturnal species may behaviorally adapt to environmental change.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.