LTREB: Evaluating Population Cycles and Spatial Synchrony Using Long-Term Demographic and Genetic Data on Snowshoe Hares

许多野生动物种群在不同的栖息地和时间中表现出巨大的数量波动。其中最引人注目的是10年周期，在所有或部分大陆同步，北半球的一些哺乳动物物种显示了这一点。了解产生和抑制这些循环的机制，并使它们在一个物种的范围内同步，可以阐明影响野生物种种群动态的基本过程。在加拿大和阿拉斯加的北部地区，雪鞋兔表现出典型的10年人口周期，但在其活动范围的南部（美国大陆北部），这种周期被认为会减弱或消失，可能是由于栖息地破碎和气候变化。该项目扩展了对美国西部和加拿大的雪鞋兔的长期研究，以确定48个州的循环是否受到抑制，气候变化和栖息地破碎化在循环抑制中的作用，以及动物运动在大空间尺度上同步种群动态中的作用。由此产生的数据将提高我们对基本自然现象的理解，并检验关于人类引起的变化对野生动物种群动态影响的假设。这个项目的结果继续引起决策者、森林管理者和公众的广泛兴趣，因为它们对濒临灭绝的加拿大猞猁（一种专门捕食野兔的动物）的恢复有直接的影响。更广泛地说，结果将研究森林破碎化和气候变化如何影响整个大陆尺度上的人口动态。该项目将促进与数百名公民科学家的强有力合作，并让数十名本科生和研究生以及国际科学家参与研究。首席研究员每年将向州和联邦机构进行至少两次邀请讲座或讨论，该研究将继续吸引各种媒体的关注。

Many wildlife populations exhibit massive fluctuations in numbers across different habitats and through time. Among the most remarkable of these are the 10-year cycles, synchronized across all or parts of continents, shown by some mammal species in the northern hemisphere. Understanding the mechanisms that create and dampen these cycles, and synchronize them across a species' range, can illuminate the fundamental processes that influence population dynamics of wild species. Snowshoe hares exhibit classic 10-year population cycles across their northern range in Canada and Alaska, but in the southern part of their range (the northern continental U.S.) the cycles are thought to dampen or disappear, possibly due to habitat fragmentation and climate change. This project extends a long-term study of snowshoe hares across the western US and Canada to determine whether cycles are dampened in the lower 48 states, the role that climate change and habitat fragmentation play in cycle dampening, and the role that animal movement plays in synchronizing population dynamics across large spatial scales. The resulting data will both improve our understanding of a fundamental natural phenomenon and test hypotheses about the effects of human-caused changes on wildlife population dynamics.Results from this project continue to garner widespread interest among policymakers, forest managers, and the general public, as they have direct implications for recovery of the threatened Canada lynx, a specialist predator on hares. More broadly, results will examine how forest fragmentation and climate change affect population dynamics across continental scales. The project will foster strong collaborations with hundreds of citizen scientists and involve dozens of undergraduate and graduate students and international scientists in the research. The lead investigator will present at least 2 invited lectures or discussions per year to state and federal agencies, and the research will continue to attract attention from diverse media outlets.