Demography and life history traits of a temperate colonial mammal, the little brown bat

温带殖民哺乳动物小棕蝠的人口统计和生活史特征

• 批准号: RGPIN-2015-06020
• 负责人: Broders, Hugh
• 金额: $ 1.53万
• 依托单位: Saint Mary's University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=613887
• 关键词: Demography; life; history; traits; temperate

Understanding population biology is crucial for managing, monitoring and conserving biodiversity. Despite this, biologists have tremendous difficulty characterizing many key population parameters (e.g., size, productivity, etc.), even for common species. The objective of my research program is to quantify population parameters that are important for managing populations and to understand factors that cause variation in them. Ultimately, my goal is to measure how populations respond to environmental variation and understand the evolutionary causes and consequences of behaviors. My research program has a focus on bats. To date I have been working on movements of bats in eastern North America via field- and lab-based methods to understand the causes and consequences of population structure. Such information is important for understanding evolutionary dynamics, and management. In recent years, the need for information to inform management of bats is crucial, given the impacts of white-nose syndrome, a disease caused by a fungus that was introduced to North America and has reduced bat populations by >90% in 2 years. In Nova Scotia, it is no longer possible to conduct research at my study sites as their numbers have been reduced to near 0. In Canada three species of bat are now listed as ‘Endangered’ by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada and in many provincial jurisdictions. The science and management community are currently struggling with how to manage the situation and my research program will make a positive contribution to informing this discussion. Because of the decimation of my current study systems I am moving my research program to Newfoundland and Labrador where there is still no record of the fungus. Further, based on its geography (i.e., an island) and molecular work that we have conducted it seems there is a much reduced chance the fungus will be introduced. I intend to undertake an intensive, long-term study of the factors that explain variation in life history parameters (e.g., size, reproduction, behavior) of little brown bats, a species that is typical of many temperate zone bats worldwide. My research is designed to incorporate training of undergraduate and graduate students. We will address questions that ultimately address factors that cause change in population size of little brown bats. Little brown bats are a typical bat of temperate areas and I expect our results will be generalizable to other species in other places. Specifically, we will quantitatively characterize behaviors at roosts, social dynamics, and measure survival and reproduction. and identify factors that explain variation in these parameters to understand their evolutionary causes and consequences. As the scientific community struggles to manage the devastation of bat populations a quantitative understanding of these parameters will be important.

了解种群生物学对于管理、监测和保护生物多样性至关重要。尽管如此，生物学家很难确定许多关键的种群参数(例如，大小、生产力等)，即使是普通物种也是如此。我的研究计划的目标是量化对管理人口很重要的人口参数，并了解导致这些参数变化的因素。归根结底，我的目标是衡量种群对环境变化的反应，并了解行为的进化原因和后果。我的研究项目的重点是蝙蝠。到目前为止，我一直在通过野外和实验室的方法研究北美东部蝙蝠的迁徙，以了解种群结构的原因和后果。这些信息对于理解进化动力学和管理非常重要。近年来，考虑到白鼻症的影响，为蝙蝠的管理提供信息的需求至关重要。白鼻症是一种由一种真菌引起的疾病，它被引入北美，在两年内使蝙蝠的数量减少了90%。在新斯科舍省，不再可能在我的研究地点进行研究，因为他们的数量已经减少到近0个。在加拿大，三种蝙蝠现在被加拿大濒危野生动物状况委员会和许多省司法管辖区列为濒危物种。科学界和管理界目前正在为如何管理这种情况而苦苦挣扎，我的研究计划将对这次讨论做出积极贡献。 由于我目前的研究系统被摧毁，我将把我的研究项目转移到纽芬兰和拉布拉多，那里仍然没有这种真菌的记录。此外，根据它的地理位置(即一个岛屿)和我们进行的分子研究，这种真菌被引入的可能性似乎要小得多。我打算对解释小棕色蝙蝠生活史参数(如大小、繁殖、行为)变化的因素进行深入、长期的研究，小棕色蝙蝠是世界上许多温带蝙蝠的典型物种。我的研究旨在将本科生和研究生的培训结合起来。我们将解决最终导致小棕色蝙蝠种群大小变化的因素的问题。小棕蝠是一种典型的温带蝙蝠，我希望我们的结果也能推广到其他地方的其他物种。具体地说，我们将量化描述栖息地的行为、社会动态，并测量生存和繁殖。并找出解释这些参数变化的因素，以了解它们的进化原因和后果。随着科学界努力管理蝙蝠种群的破坏，对这些参数的量化理解将是重要的。