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

不适宜的环境条件是进化的主要驱动力之一，因为物种必须适应、迁移或灭亡。较小的哺乳动物通过夜间活动和迁徙到避难所来避免不适宜环境的影响。目前前所未有的环境变化提出了一个问题，即包括灵长类在内的各种哺乳动物如何找到合适的栖息地。这一博士论文项目的重点是了解非人灵长类动物的夜间和季节环境变化如何影响运动和活动，为灵长类动物的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，并为夜间活动的哺乳动物提供保护工作的信息。该项目使用直接观测、无线电跟踪项圈和温度和湿度记录仪的数据来记录小型、夜间活动的非人类灵长类的环境和运动信息。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)识别森林中提供较凉爽微环境的区域，并检查这种非人类灵长类动物是否利用这些区域。这项研究评估了运动和环境之间的关系，采样努力如何影响结果，并通过结合3D组件来表示树栖灵长类动物使用的垂直运动，建立了以前的栖息地范围和栖息地适宜性模型。这项研究提供了一个机会来评估最早的灵长类祖先如何使用这种非人类灵长类动物作为代理人来缓解极端环境，以及一个夜间活动的物种如何在行为上适应环境变化。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。

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.