Spatial and Temporal Variability Influences on Ecology and Conservation

时空变化对生态和保护的影响

• 批准号: RGPIN-2016-04729
• 负责人: Boyce, Mark
• 金额: $ 3.21万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2020-01-01 至 2021-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=709446
• 关键词: Spatial; Temporal; Variability; Influences; Ecology

One of the consequences of climate change has been increasing frequency of extreme weather events. In addition, humans continue to fragment and alter landscapes with roads, energy corridors, agriculture, urbanization, and industrial development. When taken together these changes in temporal and spatial variability have complex ramifications for ecology including several consequences for conservation, e.g., spatially structured predator-prey interactions, dampening risk by bet hedging, among-individual variation in diet (the “Tangled Bank” after last paragraph in Darwin's On the Origin of Species), and seasonal variation in harvest and predation interacting with density dependence to shape optimum harvests (the “Hydra effect”). I propose 3 field studies that develop these applications of the interface between temporal fluctuations and spatial ecology on (1) individual and spatial variation in foraging that dampens among-year variation in fitness for black (Ursus americanus) and grizzly bears (U. arctos), (2) personalities among elk (Cervus elaphus) to shape how harvests should be managed, and (3) predation and hunter harvest influence density-dependent response by bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). Our proposed grizzly bear and black bear studies apply habitat selection based on radiotelemetry and more recently based on DNA from hair samples collected at rub trees. We are proposing to use habitat selection methods to refine mark-recapture estimation of bear populations in spatial context. The structure of bear populations in SW Alberta suggests a source-sink balance with sinks driven by conflicts with agriculture, but complicated by temporal and spatial variation in availability of foods. Our long-term elk studies are grounded in one of the largest radiotelemetry studies ever conducted on this species with over 1 million GPS relocations accumulated during the past 8 years on seasonal ranges in SW Alberta. We have integrated models of movement with habitat selection obtaining integrated step-selection analysis (iSSA) that allows us to analyze patterns of movement by elk in context of habitats. Alberta Ministry of Environment and Parks plans to implement an experimental change in elk harvest regulations in our study area where we will document demographic and behavioural responses by elk. Finally, we are initiating a new experimental study of cougar (Puma concolor) predation and hunter harvest of bighorn sheep. We have extensive radiotelemetry data on cougars already and Alberta Environment and Parks will implement extended cougar seasons on randomly selected Wildlife Management Units designed to reduce predation on hunted populations of bighorns. Tools of telemetry, mark-recapture, and our new iSSAs allow us to marry spatial ecology with population biology in novel ways with direct applications for conservation biology and wildlife management.

气候变化的后果之一是极端天气事件的频率增加。 此外，人类继续通过道路、能源走廊、农业、城市化和工业发展来破碎和改变景观。 综合起来，这些时间和空间变异性的变化对生态学产生复杂的影响，包括对保护的多种影响，例如，空间结构的捕食者-猎物相互作用、通过赌注对冲降低风险、个体之间的饮食变化（达尔文《物种起源》最后一段后的“纠结的银行”），以及收获和捕食的季节变化与密度依赖性相互作用以形成最佳收获（ “九头蛇效应”）。 我提出了 3 项实地研究，开发时间波动和空间生态学之间的界面的这些应用：(1) 觅食的个体和空间变化，抑制黑熊 (Ursus americanus) 和灰熊 (U. arctos) 健康状况的年际变化；(2) 麋鹿 (Cervus elaphus) 的个性，以决定如何管理收成；(3) 捕食和狩猎对收成的影响 大角羊（Ovis canadensis）的密度依赖性反应。 我们提出的灰熊和黑熊研究应用了基于无线电遥测技术以及最近基于从摩擦树采集的毛发样本中的 DNA 的栖息地选择。 我们建议使用栖息地选择方法来完善空间背景下熊种群的标记重捕获估计。 艾伯塔省西南部的熊种群结构表明，源库平衡是由与农业的冲突驱动的，但由于食物供应的时间和空间变化而变得复杂。 我们对麋鹿的长期研究以有史以来针对该物种进行的最大规模的无线电遥测研究之一为基础，过去 8 年在艾伯塔省西南部的季节性范围内累积了超过 100 万次 GPS 重新定位。 我们将运动模型与栖息地选择相结合，获得综合步骤选择分析（iSSA），使我们能够分析麋鹿在栖息地背景下的运动模式。 艾伯塔省环境和公园部计划在我们的研究区域对麋鹿捕捞法规进行实验性改变，我们将记录麋鹿的人口统计和行为反应。 最后，我们正在启动一项关于美洲狮 (Puma concolor) 捕食和猎人收获大角羊的新实验研究。 我们已经拥有关于美洲狮的大量无线电遥测数据，艾伯塔省环境和公园将在随机选择的野生动物管理单位上延长美洲狮季节，旨在减少对被猎杀的大角羊种群的捕食。 遥测、标记重捕获和新的 iSSA 工具使我们能够以新颖的方式将空间生态学与种群生物学结合起来，并直接应用于保护生物学和野生动物管理。