Integrative Ecology

综合生态学

• 批准号: CRC-2021-00416
• 负责人: Mathot, Kimberley
• 金额: $ 3.64万
• 依托单位: University of Alberta
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Canada Research Chairs
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=750745
• 关键词: Integrative; Ecology

Dr. Mathot's research program will use innovative approaches to study the way that animals manage and respond to uncertainty. Animals are constantly faced with decisions, such as where to forage, with whom to mate, and how to avoid predators, and all of these decisions involve uncertainty. Imagine a small bird in winter balancing the risk of starvation against the risk of mortality due to predation; if they detect a predator, how should they respond? Underestimating the risk of predation and choosing to stay in the area could result in increased risk of mortality due to predation, but overestimating the risk and choosing to leave the area could result in increased risk of mortality due to starvation. Not surprisingly, animals have evolved various means of coping with uncertainty, including investing time and/or energy to learn about relevant features of the environment (i.e., sampling), observing the behaviour of others (i.e., social information), or insuring themselves against uncertainty. A growing body of evidence suggests that within populations, individuals often differ in how they invest in managing uncertainty, but the causes and consequences of these differences are not well understood. Dr. Mathot's research program will address how and why individuals differ in the extent to which they invest in and act on information, how information is shared among individuals within groups, and the adaptive value (i.e., survival consequences) of gathering information to reduce uncertainty. To do this, Dr. Mathot will develop models, and conduct both field and lab experiments manipulating the level of uncertainty about key environmental variables including food, predation risk, and temperature, and tracking individual responses. Field work will be conducted in a marked population of black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) which will enable Dr. Mathot and her team to track individuals throughout their lives to evaluate the consequences of different strategies for managing uncertainty on annual survival. Because information is necessary to respond appropriately to current conditions, Dr. Mathot's research program will provide critical insights on the ability of individuals and populations to respond to environmental change.

马索特博士的研究项目将采用创新方法来研究动物管理和应对不确定性的方式。动物不断面临决策，例如在哪里觅食、与谁交配以及如何躲避捕食者，所有这些决策都涉及不确定性。想象一下，一只小鸟在冬天平衡饥饿的风险和因捕食而死亡的风险；如果它们发现掠食者，它们应该如何反应？低估捕食风险并选择留在该地区可能会导致因捕食而死亡的风险增加，但高估风险并选择离开该地区可能会导致因饥饿而死亡的风险增加。毫不奇怪，动物进化出了各种应对不确定性的方法，包括投入时间和/或精力来了解环境的相关特征（即采样）、观察他人的行为（即社会信息）或确保自己免受不确定性的影响。越来越多的证据表明，在人群中，个体在管理不确定性方面的投资方式往往存在差异，但这些差异的原因和后果尚不清楚。马霍特博士的研究项目将解决个体在信息投资和行动方面如何以及为何存在差异、群体内个体之间如何共享信息，以及收集信息以减少不确定性的适应性价值（即生存后果）。为此，Mathot 博士将开发模型，并进行现场和实验室实验，操纵关键环境变量（包括食物、捕食风险和温度）的不确定性水平，并跟踪个体反应。实地工作将在黑顶山雀 (Poecile atricapillus) 的标记种群中进行，这将使 Mathot 博士和她的团队能够跟踪个体的一生，以评估管理年生存不确定性的不同策略的后果。由于信息对于对当前状况做出适当反应是必要的，因此马索特博士的研究计划将为个人和人群应对环境变化的能力提供重要见解。