International Research Fellowship Program: Interactive effects of Mammalian Herbivores on Semi-Agrid Grassland Ecosystems

戴维森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9到24个月的研究。 该计划的奖项提供了联合研究的机会，以及使用独特或互补的设施，专业知识和国外的实验条件。戴维森与墨西哥国立自治大学（UNAM）的Gerardo Ceballos博士合作。由于农业集约化、荒漠化和本地物种的丧失，草原是世界上最危险的生态系统之一。为了管理和保护这些系统在面对多重，往往是相互冲突的利益，有一个关键需要了解的主要机制，驱动草原生态系统动态和生物多样性。大型食草动物和小型穴居食草动物在全球草地的结构和功能中发挥着关键作用。尽管家畜已经取代了世界上大部分地区的本地大型食草动物，但令人惊讶的是，人们对它们与本地野生动物的相互作用以及对草原系统的影响知之甚少。本研究的主要目的是确定国内大型草食动物（牛）和小型草食动物（草原土拨鼠）的独立和相互作用的影响，半干旱草原生态系统的北方奇瓦瓦州，墨西哥的Janos地区。这项研究将使用受控的，长期的，重复的实验同时操纵牛和土拨鼠。这项多学科研究将评估牛和草原土拨鼠对土壤，植物和动物的影响，使用2x2因子设计。该地区支持世界上最大的黑尾草原土拨鼠殖民地，并提供了一个难得的机会，在一个基本完整的草原生态系统的背景下进行大规模的操纵研究，保留了高度多样性的受威胁和濒危物种。这个博士后奖学金将是由来自美国和墨西哥的研究人员团队进行的长期项目的一部分。PI的角色将是设计、实施和领导这项研究，并与主持人建立长期合作关系，以便随着时间的推移跟踪这项重要研究的效果。 该研究将通过评估关键草食动物对草地生态系统结构和功能的相互作用来促进我们对生态学的认识。草食动物在半干旱草原荒漠化中的作用仍然是全球生态学和保护领域最重要的问题之一。这项研究预计将具有全球性的影响，因为国内大型食草动物和小型食草动物在世界各地的草原共同出现。该项目将通过以下方式直接造福美国/墨西哥边境地区：1）科学家和管理人员之间的国际合作; 2）对当地社区的教育和宣传; 3）通过向管理和保护机构提供有关半干旱草原功能的必要信息，保护该地区的草原生态系统。

0653296DavidsonThe International Research Fellowship Program enables U.S. scientists and engineers to conduct nine 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-four-month research fellowship by Dr. Ana D. Davidson to work with Dr. Gerardo Ceballos at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) in Mexico.Grasslands are among the most imperiled ecosystems in the world due to agricultural intensification, desertification, and the loss of native species. In order to manage and conserve these systems in the face of multiple, and often conflicting interests, there is a critical need to understand the primary mechanisms that drive grassland ecosystem dynamics and biodiversity. Megaherbivores and small burrowing herbivores are known to play key roles in the structure and function of grasslands worldwide. Although domestic livestock have replaced native megaherbivores throughout much of the world, surprisingly little is known about their interactive effects with native wildlife and the consequent effects on grassland systems. The primary objective of this research will be to determine the independent and interactive effects of domestic megaherbivores (cattle) and small herbivores (prairie dogs) on semi-arid grassland ecosystems in the Janos region of northern Chihuahua, Mexico. This research will manipulate cattle and prairie dogs simultaneously using a controlled, long-term, replicated experiment. This multidisciplinary research will evaluate the impacts of cattle and prairie dogs on soils, plants, and animals, using a 2x2 factorial design. This region supports the largest remaining colony of black-tailed prairie dogs in the world, and provides a rare opportunity to conduct large-scale manipulative research in the context of a largely intact grassland ecosystem that retains a high diversity of threatened and endangered species. This postdoctoral fellowship will be part of a long-term project conducted by a team of researchers from the United States and Mexico. The PI's role will be to design, implement, and lead this research and develop a long-term collaboration with the host in order to follow the effects of this important research over time. The research will advance our knowledge of ecology by assessing the interactive effects of key herbivores on grassland ecosystem structure and function. The role of herbivory in the desertification of semi-arid grasslands remains one of the most important questions in ecology and conservation worldwide. This research is expected to have global implications given the common co-occurrence of domestic megaherbivores and small herbivores in grasslands worldwide. This project will directly benefit the US/Mexico borderland region by promoting: 1) international collaboration among scientists and managers; 2) education and outreach to local communities; and 3) preservation of the region's grassland ecosystem by providing needed information on the functioning of semi-arid grasslands to management and conservation agencies.