Behavioural ecology of ungulates: from individuals to populations

我的研究重点是有蹄类动物的行为生态学，特别是落基山大角羊和麋鹿。我提出的研究计划有三个目标：1)理解个体行为，特别是女性的配偶选择；2)探索行为和生态的性别差异如何影响更大的社会网络，从而影响疾病的暴露和传播；3)理解人类的干扰如何影响性别。落基山大角羊雌性在它们的受情期通常会与不止一只雄性交配，但每年只生一只羊羔。雌性可能会交配繁殖，为后代选择好的基因，这样后代就能更好地对抗疾病或抵抗寄生虫感染。一些大角羚离开它们的出生地到别处繁殖，繁殖后再返回。目前尚不清楚他们离开的原因和去向，但可以预计，男性和女性的迁移动机和程度不同。与女性相比，男性预计会走得更远，接触到的配偶也更多，这反过来又可能使他们接触寄生虫/疾病的风险更高。我正在调查男性和女性在多大程度上促成了人群中的疾病传播。了解疾病动态（谁感染谁）和接触率（谁与谁相互作用）非常重要，因为这些知识最终将为有效管理和根除国家关注的疾病（即慢性消耗性疾病、布鲁氏菌病、牛结核病等）提供工具。最后，我正在调查城市化（人为干扰）在多大程度上影响野生动物疾病的流行和动态。为了回答这个问题，我正在通过比较生活在坎莫尔市的麋鹿种群和生活在阿尔伯塔省弓谷省立公园的农村麋鹿种群，来研究麋鹿的疾病患病率。坎莫尔发展迅速，越来越多地限制了本地野生动物的栖息地。虽然坎莫尔麋鹿可能更安全，远离捕食者，并且可以在市政绿地上获得高质量的饲料，但与农村麋鹿相比，由于过度拥挤，它们可能面临更高的疾病传播风险。鉴于目前野生有蹄类动物栖息地破碎化和疾病带来的风险，这类研究至关重要。

My research focuses on the behavioural ecology of ungulates, particularly Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep and elk. The objectives of my proposed research program are three-fold: 1) understanding individual behaviour, in particular female mate choice 2) exploring how sexual differences in behaviour and ecology impact the larger social network and thus exposure to and transmission of disease, and 3) understanding how human disturbance affects the sexes. Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep females typically mate with more than one male during their receptive cycle but only produce one lamb per year. Females may mate multiply to select good genes for their offspring, who are then better adapted to combat disease or resist parasite infections. Some bighorns leave their natal range to breed elsewhere, returning after breeding. It is not clear why they leave and where they go, but it is expected that males and females have different motivations and different extents to their migrations. Males are expected to travel further and come into contact with more mates than females, which in turn could put them at higher risk of parasite/ disease exposure. I am investigating to what extent males and females contribute to disease flow among populations. Understanding disease dynamics (who infects whom) and contact rates (who interacts with whom) is very important because such knowledge will ultimately provide tools for the effective management and eradication of diseases of national concern (i.e. chronic wasting disease, brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis, etc.). Lastly, I am investigating to what extent urbanization (human disturbance) affects wildlife disease prevalence and dynamics. To answer this, I am studying disease prevalence in elk by comparing a population living in the city of Canmore, to rural elk living in Bow Valley Provincial Park, Alberta. Canmore has grown rapidly, increasingly restricting habitat for native wildlife. While Canmore elk might be safer from predators and have access to high quality forage on municipal greens, they are likely exposed to higher disease transmission risks due to overcrowding compared to rural elk. Research of this kind is crucial, given the current risks to wild ungulates from habitat fragmentation and disease.