Competition and facilitation in culturally significant herbivores

竞争和促进是很难衡量的两个动物物种之间的直接或间接的影响。因此，像促进作用这样的间接效应不如在动物生态学中那样受到重视。我已经成功地启动了一项研究计划，考虑大型食草动物的间接相互作用。继续这个主题，我将考虑竞争效应的一个特定子集（北美海狸和小羊驼（安第斯驼科动物）觅食行为的密度依赖性变化）和促进效应的特定子集（提供驼鹿水生饲养区，海狸蓄水的小溪，通过创建池塘海岸线促进狼狩猎，和牲畜对野生骆驼科动物的影响，减少种间竞争，提高觅食效率），可能会随着水的供应量的变化而变化。海狸的扩散将在明尼苏达州的Voyageurs国家公园的起伏湿地和高地森林的景观进行比较。驼鹿的栖息地利用将在海狸的影响下，在创造这个淹没景观的背景下进行研究。海狸的栖息地使用将与不同的交配系统相匹配，这些交配系统可能会影响生存、扩散和它们的景观“工程”能力。通过将今天的湿地分布与过去Voyageurs国家公园海狸殖民的已发布信息相匹配，可以随着时间的推移重建海狸、驼鹿和狼系统。将在较富裕的湿地觅食区和较干燥的觅食区比较小羊驼的栖息地利用，还将测试牲畜对小羊驼警惕行为的影响。这项基于厄瓜多尔的研究可能会确定在雨季和旱季不同的促进作用。明尼苏达州和厄瓜多尔的研究一起增加了关于可变质量栖息地殖民化的文献。厄瓜多尔的研究有助于我们了解不同物种可能共存的方式，包括牲畜，牧民和野生动物，以这种方式增加了重要的保护文献。这两项研究将培训学生野生动物调查技术，并将提供生态学的新见解。

Competition and facilitation are difficult to measure as direct or indirect effects between two animal species. Indirect effects like facilitation are as a result less appreciated than they might be in animal ecology. I have been successful in launching a program of study that considers indirect interactions in large herbivores. Continuing in this theme, I will consider a specific subset of competitive effects (density dependent changes in foraging behaviour in the North American beaver and in the vicuña, an Andean camelid) and a specific subset of facilitation effects (provision of moose aquatic feeding areas with beaver impoundment of small streams, facilitation of wolf hunting by creation of pond shorelines, and livestock effects on wild camelids that reduce interspecific competition and increase foraging efficiency) that might vary in size with variation in water availability. Dispersal of beavers will be compared across a landscape of undulating wetlands and upland forest in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota. Habitat use in moose will be studied in the context of beaver effects in creating this flooded landscape. Habitat use in beavers will be matched to varying mating systems that may affect survival, dispersal and their landscape 'engineering' ability. The beaver, moose and wolf system can be reconstructed through time by matching wetland distribution today to published information on past beaver colonization of Voyageurs National Park. Habitat use in vicuñas will be compared in richer, wetland foraging areas and in dryer, forage-poor areas, where the effect of livestock on vigilance behaviour in vicuñas will also be tested. This Ecuador-based study will likely identify facilitation that varies in rainy and dry seasons. Together, the Minnesota and the Ecuador studies add to the literature on colonization of habitats of variable quality. The Ecuador study contributes to how we understand different species may co-exist, including livestock, herders and wildlife, in this way adding importantly to conservation literature. Both studies will train students in wildlife investigation techniques and will offer new insights in ecology.