PIRE: Mapping Evolutionary Process in the Face of Climate Change: An Integrated Approach to Education and Conservation Prioritization in Central Africa

该项目的主要研究目标是制定一个在气候变化下保护中部非洲生物多样性的综合框架，该框架既要从进化上了解情况，又要立足于该区域的社会经济制约因素。中非热带雨林是世界上最重要的生物多样性中心之一。虽然已经努力将区域列为保护的优先事项，但栖息地的丧失仍在以惊人的速度继续下去，严重限制了物种应对气候变化的能力。该项目将来自美国、喀麦隆、加蓬、英国、德国、法国和荷兰的研究人员和学生团结在一个创新的研究项目周围，该项目旨在确定有意义的保护措施，以减轻栖息地丧失和气候变化的影响。国际小组将使用多学科方法来：1)绘制广泛物种中与环境相关的基因组和表型变异图，并评估这如何与物种丰富度和保护区的模式重叠；2)评估进化适应、表型可塑性和景观连通性如何协调未来的威胁；3)制定综合优先方案，根据候选保护区的进化潜力、连通性、估计的社会经济成本、威胁程度和文化价值对其进行排序。该项目涉及美国、欧洲和非洲大学、非政府组织和政府机构之间的广泛伙伴关系。计划中的教育活动将通过以下方式促进合作伙伴之间的科学合作和交流：1)与美国和非洲学生合作的本科生和研究生教育项目，并提供生物、环境和社会科学方面的尖端培训；2)为美国和非洲早期职业生涯的科学家和高级研究生举办的年度专业发展研讨会；3)地区范围的研究座谈会和科学交流；4)双语远程教育项目；5)通过政策研讨会扩大与决策者的联系。这一综合计划与NSF的科学、工程和可持续发展教育(SEE)计划目标很好地结合在一起，培养一支全球参与的年轻研究人员队伍，他们的协调努力将集中在可持续发展科学和教育上。这些共同的国际研究和教育努力将加强现有的合作，并建立新的伙伴关系，为中部非洲的持久保护和可持续性奠定基础。该项目由美国国家科学基金会国际科学与工程办公室(OISE)资助。

The overarching research goal of this project is to develop an integrated framework for conserving Central African biodiversity under climate change that is both evolutionarily-informed and grounded in the socioeconomic constraints of the region. Central African rainforests represent one of the most important centers of biological diversity in the world. While efforts have been made to prioritize regions for protection, habitat loss continues at an alarming rate severely limiting the ability of species to respond to climate change. This project unites researchers and students from the U.S., Cameroon, Gabon, United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Netherlands around an innovative research program that seeks to identify meaningful conservation measures to mitigate the effects of habitat loss and climate change. The international team will use multi-disciplinary approaches to: 1) map environmentally-associated genomic and phenotypic variation in a broad range of species and assess how this overlaps with patterns of species richness and protected areas; 2) evaluate how evolutionary adaptation, phenotypic plasticity and landscape connectivity might mediate future threats; and 3) develop an integrated prioritization scheme that ranks candidate areas for protection on their evolutionary potential, connectivity, estimated socioeconomic costs, degree of threat and cultural value. This project involves a broad range of partnerships between U.S., European and African universities, non-governmental organization and governmental agencies. Planned educational activities will promote scientific collaboration and exchange between partners through: 1) undergraduate and graduate educational programs that will partner U.S. and African students and provide cutting-edge training in the biological, environmental and social sciences; 2) annual professional development workshops for early career U.S. and African scientists and advanced graduate students; 3) region-wide research symposia and scientific exchange; 4) bilingual distance-learning programs; and 5) outreach to decision makers through policy workshops. This integrative program aligns well with NSF's Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability (SEES) program objectives in developing a workforce of globally engaged young investigators whose coordinated efforts will focus on sustainability science and education. These joint international research and educational efforts will enhance existing collaborations and establish new partnerships that will build a foundation for lasting conservation and sustainability in Central Africa. The project is funded by NSF's Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE).