The dimensions of fear: from genes to ecosystems

由于认识到捕食者的影响可能比之前认识到的要深远得多，正在进行一场“生态学范式的转变”。这在一定程度上是因为有新的证据表明，猎物实际上可以“死于惊吓”。我的研究处于这一范式转变的前沿。我第一次证明了恐惧本身的力量足以影响野生动物种群的动态，部分原因是受到惊吓的父母会让他们的孩子饿死。多亏了新的生物遥测技术，我可以全年跟踪生存情况，现在我将量化恐惧对猎物种群动态的总影响，方法是测试幼年和成年是否也会因惊吓而死亡，并将歌雀作为我的模型猎物。我的研究表明，恐惧是代价高昂的。在没有必要的地方，动物应该因此失去它们的恐惧。为了探索恐惧在生态系统层面的影响，我将测试较小的(中)捕食者(浣熊)在顶端捕食者(如狼)灭绝后恐惧的消失是否有助于解释“中掠食者放生”对生物多样性的毁灭性影响。恐惧有利于逃避，而不是耐力，因此可能会降低鸟类的迁徙飞行能力。利用全球独一无二的风洞和独一无二的育种设施，我将进行有史以来第一次实验测试，以确定迁徙成本是否会对生殖产生不利的“遗留”影响，作为测试恐惧是否会加剧这种影响的一部分。在创伤后应激障碍(PTSD)的动物模型中，捕食者引发的恐惧是最常见的应激源之一，这促使一些生物医学研究人员提出，创伤后应激障碍的进化是对捕食者的反应。为了帮助验证这一点，我将通过测试恐惧对野生鸟类和哺乳动物神经回路的同样持久影响，来弥合医学和生态学之间的鸿沟。因此，我的高度原创性和创新性的研究将对保护和野生动物管理以及医疗实践产生影响。我将培养6名博士、5名硕士、8名理科硕士论文学生和多名本科生助理。这些HQP将接受遗传、生理、神经生物学、行为和生态研究方面的综合培训，为他们提供在学术或专业、公共或私营部门职业生涯中取得成功所需的高度期望的技能。

A "paradigm shift in ecology" is in progress, resulting from the recognition that the impacts of predators may be far more profound than previously realized. This stems in part from new evidence that prey can actually 'die of fright'. My research is at the forefront of this paradigm shift. I demonstrated for the first time that fear itself is powerful enough to affect wildlife population dynamics, partly because frightened parents will literally let their young starve to death. Thanks to new biotelemetry technology I can track survival year-round, and I will now quantify the total impact of fear on prey population dynamics, by testing if juveniles and adults may also 'die of fright', using song sparrows as my model prey. My research shows that fear is costly. Where it is unnecessary, animals should thus lose their fear. To explore the ecosystem-level effects of fear I will test if the loss of fear in smaller ("meso") predators (raccoons) after the extirpation of apex predators (e.g. wolves), helps explain the devastating impacts of "mesopredator release" on biodiversity. Fear favours escape vs. endurance, and so may reduce migratory flight ability in birds. Using a globally-unique wind tunnel and a one-of-a-kind breeding facility, I will conduct the first ever experimental test of whether the costs of migration have adverse "carry-over" effects on reproduction, as part of testing if fear exacerbates such effects. Predator-induced fear is one of the most common stressors used in the 'animal model' of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), prompting some biomedical researchers to propose that PTSD evolved as a response to predators. To help validate this I will bridge the gap between medical science and ecology by testing for the same lasting effects of fear on neural circuitry in wild birds and mammals. My highly original and innovative research will thus impact conservation and wildlife management, and medical practice as well. I will train 6 PhDs, 5 MScs, 8 BSc thesis students, and multiple undergraduate assistants. These HQP will receive integrative training in genetic, physiological, neurobiological, behavioural and ecological research, providing them with the highly desired skills needed to succeed in academic or professional public or private sector careers.