BREAD: Development of Automated Systems to Increase Crop Yield by Reducing Group Foraging Intensity by Crop Pests

主要研究者：迈克尔·斯托克斯（西肯塔基州大学）合作PI：布鲁斯·舒尔特（西肯塔基州大学）高级人员：马克·钱布朗（西肯塔基州大学）人类与野生动物冲突（HWC）是一个广泛的术语，涵盖了人类和野生动物之间所有的负面互动;它源于人口增长和资源竞争。 在撒哈拉以南非洲，掠夺作物是一种普遍存在并对经济造成破坏的高浓缩铀形式。 一只大象、一群丛林猪或布法罗可以在一天之内完全摧毁一个小农场;在许多地区，超过90%的农民经历过野生动物造成的作物损失。 这一创新项目旨在测试行为生态学的各个方面，以及改变动物行为对非洲HWC实例的影响，在非洲发生野生动物袭击农村农场的情况。 该研究项目将针对对农作物损害特别重要的野生动物物种（大象，野猪，猴子和各种蹄类），并试图利用这些物种对一系列感官刺激（特别是声音和气味）的进化适应性行为反应来减少农作物损失。 适应性行为反应是物种固有的，有助于个体生存和/或繁殖。 将评估每个目标物种对各种刺激的行为反应，以开发一套有效的刺激，引发破坏觅食或作物掠夺的反应。 此外，刺激将以减少目标物种习惯的方式传递。 如果/当这些刺激被识别，威慑设备，包括独立的，高科技稻草人和训练项圈将进行实地测试，以确定这些设备是否能够减少个人对喂食地点的访问，或者它们是否可以改变群体喂食行为，以减少喂食强度，从而减少作物损害。 更广泛的影响：由于农民对作物损害的反应是杀死野生动物或将野生动物栖息地改为农业，高浓缩废物可能导致野生动物种群的大量死亡。 该项目将有助于我们对野生动物生物学的基本理解，这对于减轻HWC和保护野生动物和功能生态系统至关重要。 然而，这项研究项目的结果可能对小股东农民产生最广泛的影响。 该研究项目的目的不是防止所有HWC，而是确定动物行为的变化是否可以表征为可以减少生长季节期间特定的常见作物损害类型，从长远来看将增加小股东农民的产量。 通过在农业-野生动物界面扰乱动物的觅食行为，将HWC降低几个百分点，可以改善非洲地区的粮食安全，在这些地区，野生动物资源的惊人财富与自给农民的极度贫困形成鲜明对比。 此外，该项目还将在美国和非洲培训青年科学家和社区志愿者。 该项目将包括在文化和科学网络中合作的肯尼亚和美国大学生，并将为美国学生研究人员提供与当地非洲社区合作的机会。 学校团体、非政府组织和其他感兴趣的各方将能够访问该项目的产品，包括声音、行为数据和威慑装置工程原理图的数字图书馆，这些数据来自西肯塔基州大学生物系开发和维护的公共网站（http：bioweb.wku.edu）。

PI: Michael Stokes (Western Kentucky University) Co-PI: Bruce Schulte (Western Kentucky University) Senior Personnel: Mark Chambron (Western Kentucky University)Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a broad term encompassing all negative interactions between humans and wildlife; it stems from expanding human populations and competition for resources. In sub-Saharan Africa, crop-raiding is a widespread and economically damaging form of HWC. A single elephant or herd of bush pigs or buffalo can completely destroy a small farm in a day; in many areas, greater than 90% of farmers experience crop losses from wild life. This innovative project aims to test various aspects of behavioral ecology and the influence of modifying animal behavior on instances of HWC in Africa where wildlife raiding on rural farmsteads occurs. This research project will target wildlife species that are of particular importance to crop damage (elephants, wild pigs, monkeys, and various hoofstock) and will attempt to use the evolved, adaptive behavioral responses of those species to a broad suite of sensory stimuli (especially sound and odor) to reduce crop loss. Adaptive behavioral responses are those that are inherent in a species and help individuals to survive and/or reproduce. Behavioral responses to various stimuli will be assessed for each target species to develop a set of effective stimuli that elicit responses that are disruptive to foraging or crop raiding. In addition, stimuli will be delivered in ways to reduce habituation by the target species. If/when such stimuli are identified, deterrent devices, including standalone, high-tech scarecrows and training collars will be field tested to determine whether the devices are capable of reducing visits to feeding sites by individuals or if they can modify group feeding behaviors in such a way as to reduce feeding intensity and therefore crop damage. Broader Impacts: HWC can lead to the decimation of wildlife populations as farmers react to crop damage by killing wildlife or converting wildlife habitat to agriculture. This project will contribute to our fundamental understanding of wildlife biology that is essential for mitigating HWC and for conserving wildlife and functional ecosystems. However, the results from this research project may have the broadest impact on the small shareholder farmer. The intention of this research project is not to prevent all HWC, but to determine if changes in animal behavior can be characterized that may reduce specific, common types of crop damage during growing seasons, that in the long term will increase the yield of small shareholder farmers. Reducing HWC by even a few percentage points by disrupting foraging behaviors of animals at the agricultural-wildlife interface could improve food security in areas of Africa where the spectacular wealth of the wildlife resource contrasts with the often desperate poverty of the subsistence farmers. In addition, this project will train young scientists and community volunteers in the USA and Africa. The project will include both Kenyan and American university students working in partnerships in both cultural and scientific networks and will provide opportunities for American student researchers to work with local African communities. School groups, NGOs, and other interested parties will be able to access products from this project, including a digital library of sounds, behavioral data and engineering schematics of deterrent devices from a public website developed and maintained at the Department of Biology at Western Kentucky University (http://bioweb.wku.edu).