CAREER: Individual Variation in Dispersal Through a Social Landscape: Causes and Consequences

幼小的动物在繁殖后代之前往往必须离开出生地，寻找新的家园；这种在出生地和繁殖地之间的移动被称为出生分散。扩散行为是许多生态过程的基础。例如，在分散过程中，个体在景观中的移动为自然种群提供了至关重要的生态连通性。然而，对于幼小动物在迁徙过程中如何适应复杂的社会和生态环境，我们知之甚少。本项目将使用刷鼠（Peromyscus boylii）作为模型系统来回答以下问题：1)个体之间存在的行为差异如何影响分散运动？2)与成年居民的社会互动如何影响青少年在景观中的行为？3)社会生态条件和个体扩散策略的相互作用如何影响生存和繁殖成功？该项目将利用一种新的自动动物跟踪系统、社会网络方法和遗传工具，对自然种群中刷鼠的扩散动态进行更全面的了解。该项目包括多种培训和外展机会。通过一个多机构的本科课程，学生们将利用野外无线网络和社交媒体跨校园合作，协调实地研究项目，收集数据，并将他们的经验传达给更广泛的受众。将发展和分发外展活动，向小学生介绍实地研究中使用的跟踪技术。教育和外联活动将在网上整合：项目参与者撰写的研究博客将记录无线电追踪动物的活动，社交网站将允许课程参与者交流他们在实地的经验，基于实地研究方法和数据的外联活动将在网上免费提供。

Young animals must often leave their birthplace and search for a new home before producing their own offspring; such movement between natal and breeding locations is known as natal dispersal. Dispersal behavior underlies many ecological processes. For example, individual movement across the landscape during dispersal provides crucial ecological connectivity in natural populations. However, extraordinarily little is known about how young animals navigate the complex social and ecological environments they encounter during dispersal. This project will use the brush mouse (Peromyscus boylii) as a model system to answer the following questions: 1) How do pre-existing behavioral differences among individuals influence dispersal movements? 2) How do social interactions with resident adults affect the behavior of juveniles as they move through the landscape? 3) How are survival and reproductive success affected by the interplay of socioecological conditions and individual dispersal strategies? This project will utilize a new automated animal tracking system, social network approaches, and genetic tools to develop a more complete understanding of dispersal dynamics in a natural population of brush mice. This project includes multiple opportunities for training and outreach. Through a multi-institution undergraduate course, students will collaborate across campuses using a wilderness wireless network and social media to coordinate field research projects, collect data, and communicate their experiences to a wider audience. Outreach activities introducing elementary school students to the tracking technology employed in the field research will be developed and distributed. Education and outreach activities will be integrated online: a research blog written by project participants will document the movements of radiotracked animals, social networking sites will allow course participants to communicate their experiences from the field, and outreach activities based on field research methods and data will be made freely available online.