Larger, safer, rigid-hull inflatable boat for year-round research on island ecology

自达尔文以来，对居住在海洋岛屿上的动物的研究一直是我们理解进化和生态学的核心，因为水上旅行对大多数鸟类和哺乳动物的运动构成了障碍，导致了具有独特特征的物种的独特组合的产生。因为水上旅行也代表了人类的障碍，在海洋岛屿上进行研究需要一艘船。对于这类工作，很难想象还有比它更不可或缺的设备了。我们正在申请资金，用一艘更大、更安全、刚性船体的充气船替换一艘现在无法使用的充气船，这艘船是在2002- 2003财政年度用NSERC RTI基金购买的，这是进行全年研究所必需的。推迟购买该设备将危及5名（3名硕士，2名博士）在读研究生的研究，并严重影响一个由来自四所大学（西安大略大学，多伦多大学，维多利亚大学，西蒙弗雷泽大学）的5名高度活跃的研究人员组成的综合团队的研究计划，他们在遗传学，生理学，行为和生态学方面具有互补的专业知识，他们正在解决有关捕食者-猎物关系，引进和灭绝的问题。以及岛屿上鸟类和哺乳动物的部分迁徙。我们期望在以下方面取得重大进展：捕食者对猎物人口的间接影响，捕食者较少的岛屿所产生的遗传影响，岛屿上“中捕食者释放”的重要性，以及岛屿猎物如何“忘记”它们的捕食者（猎物的无知）。所有的研究都将在不列颠哥伦比亚省海湾群岛进行，以利用团队在这里做研究的长期经验和提供的不同寻常的后勤机会来解决整个群岛范围内的现象。在接下来的5年里，我们预计将指导至少12名硕士生和6名博士生，以及15名本科生研究助理，所有这些人都将需要使用所要求的研究船。这些学生将在分子生态学、生理学、行为学和人口生态学等领域接受广泛的培训；还有保护生物学。由此产生的高素质人才骨干将获得为学术、政府和私营部门作出贡献所需的技能。

The study of animals inhabiting oceanic islands has been central to our understanding of evolution and ecology ever since Darwin because travel over water represents a barrier to the movement of most birds and mammals, resulting in the creation of unique assemblages of species with unique characteristics. Because travel over water also represents a barrier to humans, conducting research on oceanic islands requires a boat. It is difficult to imagine a more indispensable piece of equipment for this type of work. We are requesting funds to replace a now unusable inflatable boat, purchased with NSERC RTI funds in fiscal year 2002-3, with a larger, safer, rigid-hull inflatable boat, necessary to permit year-round research. Delaying the acquisition of this equipment will jeopardize the research of five (3 MSc, 2 PhD) current graduate students and significantly impair the research program of an integrated team of five highly active investigators from four universities (U Western Ontario, U Toronto, U Victoria, Simon Fraser U) with complementary expertise in genetics, physiology, behaviour and ecology, who are addressing questions concerning predator-prey relationships, introductions and extirpations, and partial migration, in birds and mammals, on islands. We expect to make major advances in understanding: indirect predator effects on prey demography, the genetic implications arising from islands having fewer predators, the significance of 'mesopredator release' on islands, and how island prey come to 'forget' their predators (prey naiveté). All of the research will be conducted in the B.C. Gulf Islands to take advantage of the team's long experience doing research here and the unusual logistical opportunity provided to address phenomena at a whole-archipelago scale. Over the next 5 years we expect to supervise at least 12 MSc and 6 PhD students, and 15 undergraduate research assistants, all of whom will require the use of the requested research boat. These students will receive extensive training in the areas of molecular-, physiological-, behavioural-, and population-, ecology; as well as conservation biology. The resulting cadre of highly qualified personnel will thus be given the skills needed to contribute to the academic, government and private sectors.