Resource Distribution and Population Monitoring

该项目的目的是确定羚羊的群体规模、个体间距离、群体间距和群体移动的精细尺度模式如何受到其食物供应的精细空间分布和斑块的影响。该项目既解决了当前行为生态学中的重要理论问题，又为范围管理和保护提供了高度相关的信息。这项研究将主要集中在汤姆森瞪羚上，并将在肯尼亚进行为期三年的研究。基本研究问题包括测试和改进几种当前的动物定居和最优群体规模模型。计算机图形技术将被用来定义食物斑块模式。将使用高精度激光测距仪和计算机导航系统，每隔一段时间绘制瞪羚在这些地区的分散和移动地图。将测量食物摄取率，并对选定的个体进行无线电跟踪，进行航空调查，控制食物分配，并对其他羚羊物种进行比较观察。调查人员将与几名肯尼亚生物学家密切合作：国际野生动物保护组织的乔纳·韦斯特博士、肯尼亚牧场环境监测组的大卫·安德雷博士，以及内罗毕大学的一名研究生。KREMU负责监测野生和家畜的牧场使用情况以及农用土地使用情况。随着肯尼亚人口的持续增长，必须就这三项关键资源作出重要决定。他们目前的大部分数据都依赖于航空调查。他们特别感兴趣的是在这个项目中开发的用于监测动物细粒分散的地面技术。与整体动物密度相比，群体规模和迁移率可能被证明是衡量栖息地质量的更敏感和更即时的指标。韦斯特博士是安博塞利国家公园大型哺乳动物群落以及马赛部落人和他们的牛的行为生态学方面的专家。他将在国内畜群上进行关于牛群规模和间距的平行研究，在这些研究中，牛群规模、牛群迁移率和个体之间的间距可以进行实验性的操纵。这两项研究的综合结果将对家畜和野生牛群的管理产生重要影响。

The objective of this project is to determine how the fine- scale patterns of herd size, inter-individual distance, herd spacing, and herd movement in antelope are affected by the fine- scale spatial distribution and patchiness of their food supply. The project both addresses important current theoretical issues in behavioral ecology and provides highly relevant information for range management and conservation. The study will focus primarily on Thomson's gazelles and will be carried out in Kenya for a three-year period. The basic research questions involve the testing and refinement of several current animal settlement and optimal group size models. Computerized graphical techniques will be used to define the food patch pattern. The dispersion and movement of gazelles over these areas will be mapped at intervals using a highly accurate laser rangefinder and a computerized navigational system. Food intake rates will be measured and radio-tracking of selected individuals, aerial surveys, controlled manipulations of food distributions, and comparative observations on other antelope species will be conducted. The investigators will be working in close collaboration with several Kenyan biologists: Dr. Jonah Western of Wildlife Conservation International, Dr. David Andere of KREMU (Kenya Rangeland Environmental Monitoring Unit), and a graduate student from the University of Nairobi. KREMU is charged with monitoring rangeland use by both wild and domestic stock as well as agricultural land use. As Kenya's population continues to grow, important decisions will have to be made concerning these three critical resources. Most of their current data rely on aerial surveys. They are particularly interested in the ground-level techniques developed in this project for monitoring fine-grained dispersion of animals. Herd size and movement rates may prove to be a more sensitive and instantaneous index of habitat quality than overall animal densities. Dr. Western is an expert on the large mammal community of Amboseli National Park as well as the behavioral ecology of the Maasai tribesmen and their cattle. He will be conducting parallel studies of herd size and spacing on domestic stock, where herd size, herd movement rate, and inter- individual spacing can be experimentally manipulated. The combined results of both studies will have important implications for the management of domestic and wild herds.