International Research Fellowship Program: Ecology of the Long-Wattled Umbrellabird and Other Avian Frugivores in the Ecuadorian Choco

卡鲁宾国际研究奖学金计划使美国科学家和工程师能够在国外进行三到二十四个月的研究。该计划的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，并利用国外独特或互补的设施、专业知识和实验条件。该奖项将支持Jordan Karubian博士与David Romo博士在厄瓜多尔基多的旧金山大学合作的为期21个月的研究奖学金。该项目的一部分将得到环境中的生物复杂性(BE)计划的支持。乔科生物地理区域横跨哥伦比亚西部和厄瓜多尔西北部10万平方公里的潮湿森林，是世界上最鲜为人知、生物多样性最丰富的地区之一。《巧克力报》的调查显示，在植物、爬行动物、两栖动物、鸟类和蝴蝶中存在异常程度的地方性疾病(Dodson和Gentry 1991，Dinnerstein 1995，Galeano等人)。1998年，斯塔特斯菲尔德1998年)。然而，该区域几乎没有进行额外的研究，这使其成为明确的全球科学研究优先事项。雪上加霜的是，乔科栖息地正在以令人眼花缭乱的速度消失，厄瓜多尔仅存不到4%的森林(1999年的塞拉利昂)。该项目重点关注厄瓜多尔乔科地区大型食果鸟类的生态、行为和保护，特别强调长有节的雨伞(Cephalopterus Palluliger)。该项目的一个方面涉及栖息地质量、水果产量和以水果为食的鸟类的多样性和丰度之间的关系。为了更好地理解这种复杂的关系，栖息地结构和质量在200多个不同的点进行了测量，水果产量每两周量化一次，吃水果的鸟类通过标准化的点数定期抽样。这些数据为厄瓜多尔乔科提供了社区级生态的基线数据，对基础生物学和保护工作具有重要的好处。该项目的第二部分重点是长须雨伞，这是一种濒危的、鲜为人知的鸟类，是巧克力地区特有的物种。特别关注物种的生态、社会行为和保护。在生态学上，无线电遥测被用来评估物种作为大种子从原生林到次生林的播散者的作用，以及这种播撒在森林更新中所起的作用。监测社会关系和互动，以检验关于极端第二性特征的进化和合作行为的适应意义的假设。然后将这些数据与栖息地要求、觅食行为和栖息地相结合，以评估保护该物种和其他濒危物种的主要威胁和易处理的解决方案。

040213KarubianThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct three to twenty-four months of research abroad. The program's awards provide opportunities for joint research, and the use of unique or complementary facilities, expertise and experimental conditions abroad.This award will support a twenty-one-month research fellowship by Dr. Jordan Karubian to work with Dr. David Romo at Universidad San Francisco de Quito in Quito, Ecuador. A portion of this project will be supported by the Biocomplexity in the Environment (BE) program.The Choco Biogeographical Region, which spans 100,000 km2 of humid forest in western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador, is one of the least known and most biologically diverse areas in the world. Surveys in the Choco have revealed exceptional levels of endemism in plants, reptiles, amphibians, birds and butterflies (Dodson and Gentry 1991, Dinnerstein 1995, Galeano et al. 1998, Stattersfield 1998). However, little additional research has been done in the zone, making it a clear global priority for scientific research. Adding to the sense of urgency, Choco habitat is being lost at dizzying rates, with less than four percent of Ecuador's forests remaining (Sierra 1999).This project focuses on the ecology, behavior, and conservation of large, fruit-eating birds in the Ecuadorian Choco, with a special emphasis on the long-wattled umbrellabird (Cephalopterus penduliger). One aspect of the project concerns the relationship between habitat quality, fruit production, and the diversity and abundance of fruit-eating birds. To better understand this complex relationship, habitat structure and quality is measured at over 200 separate points, fruit production is quantified bi-weekly, and fruit-eating birds are regularly sampled via standardized point counts. These data provide baseline data community-level ecology for the Ecuadorian Choco, with important benefits for basic biology and conservation efforts. The second component of the project focuses on the long-wattled umbrellabird, an endangered and little-known species of bird endemic to the Choco. Special attention is paid to the species' ecology, social behavior, and conservation. Ecologically, radio telemetry is used to assess the species' role as a disperser of large seeds from primary to secondary forest and the role this dispersal plays in forest regeneration. Social relationships and interactions are monitored to test hypotheses about evolution of extreme secondary sexual characters and the adaptive significance of cooperative behavior. These data are then combined with habitat requirements, foraging behavior, and home range to assess principal threats and tractable solutions for conservation of this and other endangered species.