Integrating life history variation into conservation of reptiles

在其分布范围内，一个物种在年龄和成熟时的大小、繁殖产量、行为和栖息地选择方面在种群之间表现出相当大的差异，在种群内部，个体之间可能存在广泛的差异。这种变化在一定程度上代表了对当地环境条件和资源的表型适应，需要在设计濒危物种（SAR）恢复计划时加以考虑。我的研究计划的长期目标是在当地适应和物种恢复和保护的背景下，在多个组织层面上研究野生物种的变化。我的目标是通过实施多物种比较方法，更好地理解脊椎动物变温动物的一般生态模式，我的大部分工作都是关于海龟的。从保护的角度来看，海龟是一个极其重要的群体，因为在全世界大约300个物种中，由于栖息地的破坏和宠物、传统药物和食品贸易的捕捞，大约三分之二的数量正在减少。在接下来的5年里，我的长期研究目标将由3个短期主题的项目来支持。第一个主题包括检查海龟的身体大小、身体状况、环境因素和繁殖输出之间的关系，并将推进生殖生态学和生活史进化领域的知识。第二个主题涉及检查巢址保真度，巢密度和巢生存之间的关系，并将深入了解推动雌性巢址选择进化的机制，进而提供信息，以了解在保护背景下巢址破坏对海龟种群的影响。由于保护加拿大龟类的举措应侧重于减少道路死亡率、高巢失败率、湿地栖息地的丧失以及成年龟死亡率对种群生存能力的影响，第三个主题涉及应用空间生态学研究，该研究可直接为政府政策提供信息，并帮助物种恢复。我有幸访问了加拿大三种海龟的长期标记捕获、形态和繁殖数据，这为我的研究项目提供了无与伦比的机会来解决有关具有重要保护意义的长寿生物体的生活史进化问题。

Across its range distribution, a species displays considerable differences in age and size at maturity, reproductive output, behaviour and habitat selection among populations, and within populations there can be extensive variation among individuals. This variation, in part, represents phenotypic adaptations to local environmental conditions and resources, and needs to be considered in the design of recovery plans for Species at Risk (SAR). The long-term objective of my research program is to examine variation in the wild at multiple levels of organization in the context of local adaptations and species recovery and conservation. I aim to better understand general ecological patterns in vertebrate ectotherms by implementing a multi-species comparative approach, with most of my work on turtles. From a conservation perspective, turtles are an extremely important group because, of the approximately 300 species world-wide, about 2/3 are declining in numbers as a result of habitat destruction and harvesting for the pet, traditional medicine, and food trades. Over the next 5 years, my long-term research objective will be supported by projects categorized into 3 short-term themes. The first theme involves examination of the relationships among body size, body condition, environmental factors, and reproductive output in turtles, and will advance knowledge in the fields of reproductive ecology and life history evolution. The second theme involves the examination of relationships among turtle nest site fidelity, nest density, and nest survival, and will provide insight into mechanisms driving the evolution of female nest site choice, in turn providing information to understand the impacts of nest site destruction on turtle populations in a conservation context. Because conservation initiatives for Canada's turtles should focus on ways to mitigate road mortality, high rates of nest failure, loss of wetland habitat, and the impact of additive adult mortality on population viability, the third theme involves applied spatial ecology research that produces deliverables that directly inform government policy and aid species recovery. I have the extremely rare privilege to access long-term mark-recapture, morphological, and reproductive data on 3 species of turtles in Canada, providing my research program unparalleled opportunities to address questions about the evolution of life histories in long-lived organisms of significant conservation concern.