Field Vehicle for Ecology and Evolution of Fishes Research

为了支持卡尔加里大学的约翰·R·波斯特和肖恩·罗杰斯的野外项目，需要一个可靠的工具来访问野外地点，这些项目的重点是淡水鱼的生态、进化和保护。他们的研究计划依赖于能否在艾伯塔省和不列颠哥伦比亚省获得未受干扰的自然和实验鱼类种群。我们的计划致力于了解淡水鱼的行为、生理、种群和进化特征的机制基础。我们使用野外采样和全湖野外实验相结合的方法来描述和测试有关自然界生态和进化过程的假设。我们研究地点的偏远性质和使用的现场设备需要使用加长型驾驶室、四轮驱动、3/4吨、带天篷和船架的车辆。我们联合使用这辆车需要连续使用10个月，而租用一辆同等的卡车的费用高得令人望而却步。这项拟议的车辆购买将取代在实地研究中使用20年和30万公里后不再可修复的车辆。这些研究计划依赖于安全、可靠和经济高效的研究工具，让研究人员和受训人员继续进行他们富有成效和重要的研究。购买汽车是迄今为止最经济的战略，以满足我们的共同需求，并最大限度地有效利用NSERC的研究资金。

A reliable vehicle is necessary to access wilderness field sites in support of the field programs of John R. Post and Sean Rogers of the University of Calgary which focus on the ecology, evolution and conservation of freshwater fishes. Their research programs depend on access to undisturbed natural and experimental populations of fishes throughout Alberta and British Columbia. Our programs strive to understand the mechanistic basis for behavioral, physiological, population and evolutionary traits of freshwater fishes. We use a combination of field sampling and whole lake field experiments to characterize and test hypotheses about ecological and evolutionary processes in nature. The remote nature of our research sites and the field equipment used necessitate use of an extended cab, 4WD, 3/4 ton vehicle with canopy and boat rack. Our combined use of the vehicle involves 10 months of continuous use and rental of an equivalent truck is prohibitively expensive. This proposed vehicle purchase will replace one that is no longer repairable after 20 years and 300,000 km of use in field research. These research programs depend on a safe, reliable and cost-effective research vehicle for the researchers and trainees to continue their productive and important research. Purchasing the vehicle is by far the most economical strategy to meet our combined needs and maximize the efficient use of NSERC research funds.