Eco-Evolutionary Dynamics of Habitat Selection

我的研究发展和测试了将个体生物的行为与其对生物种群和生态群落的影响联系起来的理论。我们特别感兴趣的是学习如何决定栖息地的使用和觅食行为，以创造新的物种，使竞争物种共存，预测气候变化对生物多样性的影响，并减少灭绝的风险。******我们的目标是通过结合理论、实地研究和利用我们的Habitron（一个全球独特的实地实验室，专门用于评估栖息地选择的多种后果）的明确实验来促进理解。我们将使用Habitron的24个防鼠围栏来控制栖息地质量和啮齿动物在栖息地之间的分布，以及啮齿动物密度、人口统计和表现出大胆与害羞个性的啮齿动物的频率。这些操作将使我们能够探索被捕食物种对捕食风险的栖息地差异的反应方式，以及不同的栖息地配置如何影响扩散。我们将利用有关扩散的知识来评估在不同质量的栖息地之间移动是否可以减少灭绝的可能性或有助于创造新物种。******我们还将在我们的研究实验室进行无脊椎动物的对照实验。这些研究将探讨生境选择调节种群规模的能力。我们特别感兴趣的是验证理论预测，即从源头到所谓的汇栖地（依靠移民维持其种群数量的栖息地）的分散可以稳定种群，否则这些种群将危险地波动到濒临灭绝的边缘。******我们将用正在进行的自然系统研究来补充这两组实验。在努纳武特的研究将评估棕色和有项圈旅鼠之间的性格差异是否可以解释它们数量的大幅波动，并有助于预测气候变化下未来栖息地的使用情况。安大略省南部的研究将建立在我们对白足鼠37年的研究基础上，以评估记录在案的繁殖差异是否与气候变化有关。******因此，我的研究项目提供了许多途径，沿着这些途径，我们可以推进我们对生态学和进化的基本理解，同时也为气候变化、栖息地丧失和生物多样性下降问题的政策和实际解决方案提供信息。

My research develops and tests theory linking the behaviour of individual organisms with its consequences to biological populations and ecological communities. We are particularly interested in learning how decisions governing habitat use and foraging behavior can act to create new species, enable coexistence of competing species, predict the consequences of climate change on biodiversity, and reduce the risks of extinction. ******We aim to advance understanding with a combination of theory, field studies, and definitive experiments that take advantage of our Habitron, a globally unique field laboratory designed specifically to assess the manifold consequences of habitat selection. We will use the Habitron's 24 rodent-proof enclosures to manipulate habitat quality and dispersal of rodents among habitats, as well as rodent density, demography, and the frequency of rodents expressing bold versus shy personalities. These manipulations will allow us to explore the ways that prey species respond to habitat differences in predation risk, and how different configurations of habitat impact dispersal. We will use the knowledge on dispersal to evaluate whether movement among habitats of varying quality can reduce the likelihood of extinction or help to create new species. ******We will also conduct controlled experiments on invertebrates in our research lab. These studies will explore the ability of habitat selection to regulate population size. We are especially interested in testing theory predicting that dispersal from source to so-called sink habitats (habitats that rely on immigration to sustain their populations) can stabilize populations that would otherwise fluctuate dangerously close to the edge of extinction.******We will complement both sets of experiments with on-going studies in natural systems. Research in Nunavut will evaluate whether differences in personalities between brown and collared lemmings can account for their wide fluctuations in abundance, and help to forecast future habitat use under climate change. Research in southern Ontario will build on our 37-yr study of white-footed mice to assess whether documented differences in reproduction are linked with climate change. ******My research program thus provides numerous avenues along which we can advance our fundamental understanding of ecology and evolution while also informing policy and practical solutions to problems of climate change, habitat loss, and declining biodiversity.