LTREB RENEWAL: The population ecology of wolves and moose on Isle Royale

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案(公法111-5)资助的。密歇根州皇家岛国家公园的狼和驼鹿已经被研究了50年，代表了世界上最长的捕食者-猎物研究。该项目的目标是解决生态学中最基本的三个问题：(I)动物种群(这里是狼和驼鹿)如何以及为什么会像它们那样波动？(Ii)捕食者如何影响它们的猎物？以及(Iii)气候如何影响种群波动？该项目的基本方法包括量化狼和驼鹿的数量，以及每年冬天狼从固定翼飞机上采样杀死驼鹿的速度。通过收集在皇家岛上死亡的所有驼鹿的约35%的骨骼遗骸，进一步分析了驼鹿。该项目还采样了驼鹿的食物条件和相关的气候条件。皇家岛项目使用各种非常有创意的方式向普通公众传授生态、种群周期和物种相互作用，因为狼和驼鹿很容易激发公众的想象力。在过去的5年里，该项目通过参与为期一周的地球观察研究探险接触到了100多人，通过私人投资者的演讲接触到了15,000多人，通过项目研究助理的演讲接触到了3,000多人，通过长篇纪录片、博物馆展品和艺术接触到了数千人，通过网页接触到了数万人，通过专业新闻和畅销书接触到了数十万人。该项目更广泛的影响是突出的，因为它们还包括为管理和保护决策提供信息。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).The wolves and moose of Isle Royale National Park, Michigan, have been studied for 50 years and represent the longest predator-prey study in the world. The project's objectives address three of the most fundamental questions in all of ecology: (i) how and why do animal populations (in this case populations of wolves and moose) fluctuate the way they do?, (ii) how do predators affect their prey?, and (iii) how does climate affect population fluctuations? The essential methods of the project include quantifying the abundance of wolves and moose and the rate at which wolves kill moose each winter by sampling from a fixed-wing aircraft. The moose are further analyzed by collecting skeletal remains of ~35% of all the moose that die on Isle Royale. The project also samples food conditions of moose and relevant climatic conditions.The Isle Royale project uses diverse and very creative ways to teach the general public about ecology, population cycles and species interactions, as wolves and moose easily capture the public's imagination. In the past 5 years, the project reached over 100 people though their participation in week-long Earthwatch research expeditions, more than 15,000 individuals through presentations by the PIs; over 3,000 individuals through presentations by the project's research associates; thousands through a feature-length documentary film, museum exhibits, and art; tens of thousands through a webpage; and hundreds of thousands of people through professional journalism and popular books. The broader impacts of this project are outstanding, as they also include informing management and conservation decisions.