Integrating life history variation into conservation of reptiles

在整个分布范围内，物种在成熟期的年龄和大小、繁殖产量、行为和种群间的栖息地选择方面表现出相当大的差异，在种群内，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，在设计濒危物种恢复计划时需要考虑到这一点。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，检查野生物种在不同组织水平上的变异。我的目标是通过实施多物种比较方法来更好地理解脊椎动物外温带的一般生态模式，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，因为在世界上大约300个物种中，由于栖息地破坏以及宠物、传统医药和食品贸易的收获，大约三分之二的海龟数量正在减少。在接下来的5年里，我的长期研究目标将得到分为3个短期主题的项目的支持。第一个主题涉及研究海龟的身体大小、身体状况、环境因素和繁殖输出之间的关系，并将增进生殖生态学和生活史进化领域的知识。第二个主题涉及研究海龟巢址保真度、巢密度和巢存活率之间的关系，并将提供对驱动雌性巢址选择进化的机制的洞察，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。由于加拿大海龟的保护倡议应侧重于如何减少道路死亡率、高筑巢失败率、湿地栖息地的丧失，以及额外的成年海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，产生可直接为政府政策提供信息并帮助物种恢复的成果。我非常难得地有机会访问加拿大3种海龟的长期标记-重新捕获、形态和繁殖数据，为我的研究计划提供了无与伦比的机会来解决有关长期生活的生物的生活史进化的问题，这些生物具有重要的保护关注。

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.