Doctoral Dissertation Research: Multi-Scale Investigation of Environmental and Human Influences on the Distribution of Birds in the Western Amazon

地理多样性的假设原因是生态条件的时空变化，如气候，土壤类型，地形，物种之间的竞争，物种的扩散能力和历史气候变化。 人类的影响也增加了复杂性，包括狩猎、农业和林业。 这个博士论文研究项目将使用标准化的生物调查在亚马逊流域西部的可变森林景观，以测试这些不同的因素对鸟类物种组合的地理分布的相对影响。 用于测试多样性的假设原因的可测量的代理包括植物物种组成，森林的结构特征，海拔，相对于主要传播障碍（河流）和假设的地理区域（生态区）的位置，站点之间的距离，以及相对于当地人类住区和区域市场的可访问性。 植物种类组成与植被的物理结构的相对影响是特别感兴趣的调查鸟类的栖息地选择。 在地方，景观和区域尺度的关联分析将测试空间尺度的影响。 将调查所有鸟类物种以及物种子集的空间格局。 研究生态学和生物遗传学上界定的物种群体将有助于确定不同群体对特定影响作出反应的方式的多样性。 例如，狩猎压力预计将不成比例地影响大型物种。 如果特定的物种组反映了在鸟类群落中更普遍观察到的模式，则这些组可以被确定为可以提高未来调查工作效率的指标组。 这项研究的结果可能会发现更复杂的情况下，不同的鸟类种群在不同的空间尺度上对不同的因素作出反应。 尽管如此，鸟类物种组合分布和解释因素之间的强关联的识别可能允许推断的模式，社区的独特性跨越广泛的地区，与新的调查数据进行验证。在景观和区域尺度的生物多样性的空间分布的基本信息是相对稀缺的亚马逊流域，景观地理分类是本研究的基本目标。 此外，本研究所采取的综合方法将有助于通过定量评估特定地方的生物多样性状况来推进地理学理论，这些生物多样性状况是在多个空间尺度上运行的多种文化和自然过程的结果。 多种形式的地理信息的生产和整合也可以在可持续文化景观的发展中发挥关键作用，因为生物独特的地方具有独特的保护价值和资源利用潜力。 为保护和发展规划提供信息的地理信息在增长和景观变化迅速的地区特别有价值，例如本项目研究的秘鲁亚马逊伊基托斯市周围地区。 作为博士论文研究改进奖，该奖项还将提供支持，使有前途的学生建立一个强大的独立的研究生涯。

Among the hypothesized causes of biogeographic diversity are spatial and temporal variability in ecological conditions, such as climate, soil type, topography, competition among species, dispersal abilities of species, and historical climate changes. Additional complexity is contributed by human influences, including hunting, agriculture, and forestry. This doctoral dissertation research project will use standardized biological surveys across variable forest landscapes in the western Amazon basin to test the relative influence of these different factors on the geographical distribution of bird species assemblages. Measurable proxies used to test hypothesized causes of diversity include plant species composition, structural characteristics of the forest, elevation, location relative to major dispersal barriers (rivers) and hypothesized biogeographic zones (ecoregions), distances among sites, and accessibility relative to local human settlements and regional markets. The relative influence of plant species composition vs. the physical structure of vegetation is of particular interest for investigating habitat selection in birds. Analysis of associations at local, landscape, and regional scales will test effects of spatial scale. Spatial patterns will be investigated for all bird species together and for subsets of species. Examining ecologically and phylogenetically defined species groups will allow the identification of diversity in the ways different groups may respond to particular influences. For example, hunting pressure is expected to disproportionately affect large-bodied species. If particular species groups reflect patterns observed more generally in the bird community, those groups may be identified as indicator groups that can improve the efficiency of future survey work. Results of this study may identify more complex situations in which different groups of bird species respond at different spatial scales to different factors. Nonetheless, the identification of robust associations between bird species assemblage distributions and explanatory factors may allow the inference of patterns of community distinctiveness across wide areas, subject to validation with new survey data.Basic information about the spatial distribution of biodiversity at landscape and regional scales is relatively scarce in the Amazon basin, and the biogeographic classification of landscapes is therefore a basic goal of this research. Furthermore, the integrative approach taken by this research will help advance biogeographic theory by quantitatively assessing the biodiversity status of particular places as outcomes of multiple cultural and natural processes operating at multiple spatial scales. The production and integration of multiple forms of biogeographic information also can play a key role in the development of sustainable cultural landscapes, because biologically distinctive places have distinctive conservation values and resource use potentials. Geographic information that informs conservation and development planning is of particular value in areas where growth and landscape change are occurring rapidly, such as this project's study area surrounding the city of Iquitos in the Peruvian Amazon. As a Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement award, this award also will provide support to enable a promising student to establish a strong independent research career.