Population Dynamics in Wild Verreaux's Sifaka (Lemuriformes, Primates)

这个项目的目标是阐明人口增长率的生态和人口的决定因素，使用不同的数据收集野生狐猴种群。目前，很少有人知道如何在表型的个体差异，以及环境的变化，实际上影响灵长类动物种群动态。野生灵长类动物是长寿的，慢慢成熟的动物，往往是不可操纵的。因此，收集野生灵长类动物种群的人口统计数据需要相当长的时间。大多数灵长类动物种群动态的研究使用圈养和/或不完善的人口统计数据。这极大地阻碍了我们理解影响野生灵长类动物种群命运的无数因素的能力。研究人员将研究灵长类动物种群动态，以努力解释不完善的人口普查数据，并提供一种将表型和环境变异纳入种群动态模型的方法。这将涉及两种主要类型的人口统计分析：多状态标记-再瞄准分析和矩阵人口模型。这两种方法在阐明种群动态的机制方面都有良好的记录。然而，这些方法很少应用于野生灵长类动物种群。该项目的数据来自一个正在进行的合作研究项目，该项目专注于马达加斯加西南部的野生狐猴种群Verreaux's sifaka（Propithecus verreauxi）的生物学。在过去的20年里，研究人员和他的同事们收集了个体标记动物的遗传、行为、人口统计学和表型信息。此外，现场还有50多年来的气候数据。为了继续研究狐猴种群，研究人员的研究计划集中在三个主要领域：进化人口学，种群遗传学和行为生态学。这项工作概述了将这些不同领域结合起来的方法，以便更好地了解遗传、表型和环境因素如何影响种群动态。为此，这项研究对狐猴保护生物学和进化生态学都有影响。要求资金补充实验室和实地研究方案的各个方面。

The goal of this project is to elucidate the ecological and demographic determinants of population growth rate using diverse data collected from a wild lemur population. At present, little is known with respect to how individual variation in phenotype, as well as environmental variation, actually influences primate population dynamics. Wild primates are long-lived, slowly maturing creatures that are often unmanipulable. Because of this, collecting demographic data on wild primate populations requires considerable long-term effort. Most studies of primate population dynamics use captive and/or imperfect demographic data. This greatly impedes our ability to understand the myriad factors that influence the fate of wild primate populations.The investigator will examine primate population dynamics in an effort to account for imperfect census data and provide a means to incorporate phenotypic and environmental variation into population dynamic models. This will involve two major types of demographic analyses: multi-state mark-resighting analysis and matrix population models. Both of these approaches have a proven track record in elucidating the mechanisms underlying population dynamics. However, these approaches are rarely applied to wild primate populations.The data for this project come from an on-going, collaborative research program focusing on the biology of a wild lemur population, Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) in southwest Madagascar. Over the past 20 years, the investigator and his colleagues have collected genetic, behavioral, demographic, and phenotypic information on individually marked animals. In addition, climate data are available for the field site going back over 50 years.In continuing to study this lemur population, the investigator's research program focuses on three major areas: evolutionary demography, population genetics, and behavioral ecology. The work proposed outlines methods that unite these different areas in order to gain a better understanding of how genetic, phenotypic, and environmental factors influence population dynamics. To this end, this research has implications for both lemur conservation biology and evolutionary ecology in general. Funds are requested to supplement each aspect of this research program in the laboratory and field.