Dissertation Research: Group territoriality of the African Lion - Behavioral Adaptation in a Heterogeneous Landscape

狮子是唯一一种依靠合作社会关系生存的猫科动物。 要解释狮子的合作行为，就必须理解它们栖息地的生态特征与群体生活的生存价值之间的联系。对坦桑尼亚塞伦盖蒂国家公园狮子38年数据的地理信息系统分析显示，狮子高价值栖息地（由高幼崽存活率定义）靠近河流、靠近小洛基山和林地。 这些信息将被用来测试狮子群居的假设，以获得在领土防御的竞争优势，从而保持获得高质量的栖息地。 本提案中要求的资金将支持研究，以验证这些塞伦盖蒂的结果在其他地方，提供了一个水平的外部有效性罕见的大多数论文projects.Conservation受威胁的人口取决于了解一个物种如何利用资源（空间，食物，水和配偶）在其栖息地。这反过来又有助于预测人口将如何应对不断变化和破碎的景观。这项研究将为理解群体领土物种的进化提供一个例子，也将建立新的方法来确定种群如何与景观联系在一起。这些工具普遍适用于有效保护其他野生动物物种。

Lions are the only cat species dependent upon cooperative social relationships for their survival. Explaining cooperation in lions lies in understanding the link between the ecological characteristics of their habitat and the survival value of group-living. GIS analysis of 38 years of data on lions in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, reveals that high value lion habitat (defined by high cub survival) is near a river, near a kopje (small rocky hill), and in woodland areas. This information will be used to test the hypothesis that lions live in groups in order to gain a competitive edge in territorial defense, thereby maintaining access to high quality habitat. The funds requested in this proposal will support research to verify these Serengeti-based results in other locations, providing for a level of external validity uncommon to most dissertation projects.Conservation of threatened populations depends upon understanding how a species utilizes the resources (space, food, water and mates) in its habitat. This, in turn, helps to predict how populations will respond to ever changing and fragmented landscapes. This research will provide an example for understanding the evolution of a group-territorial species and it also will establish new methods for determining how populations are tied to the landscape. These tools have general applicability to effective conservation of other wildlife species.