Collaborative Research: Allometry of Behavior in Spatially Patterned Resource Landscapes

在自然生态系统中，资源在空间和时间上不是统一可用的。因此，动物必须调整自己的行为来应对不断变化的环境条件，以最大限度地提高生存和繁殖的成功率。理论认为，做出这种调整的能力应该受到体型的限制，因为能量需求等基本特征受到体型的强烈影响。然而，体型如何限制动物对环境变化的反应能力仍然知之甚少。这项研究将提高对以下方面的理解：(a)体型如何限制动物应对环境变化或变异的行为范围；(b)食物等资源的分布、对捕食者的隐蔽掩护和有利的小气候如何与行为相互作用，以决定体型不同的个体和种群的成功。该项目设在莫桑比克的戈龙戈萨国家公园（Gorongosa National Park），该公园在内战期间（1977-1992年）遭到破坏，由于认识到东非的稳定和停止非法象牙贸易对美国的利益至关重要，目前正在美国国际开发署（USAID）和其他机构的援助下得到修复。除了这个特定的生态系统之外，这项研究还将产生一般性的见解，可以为具有高娱乐和经济价值的北美物种（例如鹿、麋鹿和驼鹿）的管理和保护提供信息，这些物种也跨越了各种体型。最后，该项目促进了美国学生和莫桑比克学生在国际环境中的STEM培训和教育，这将有助于发展多元化和全球参与的STEM劳动力。行为可塑性受形态和生理的制约；因为这些经常与身体大小成比例，所以行为也应该如此。事实上，据预测，行为异速性是由以下因素相互作用产生的：(a)影响动物生产性能的体型变化特征（如能量需求），以及(b)生物和非生物栖息地属性（如资源分布和小气候）。该项目整合了观察、实验、分子和建模等方法，旨在揭示非洲热带稀树草原生态系统中具有空间和季节异质性的动物行为和种群动态的机制。研究系统（莫桑比克戈龙戈萨国家公园）以白蚁丘为特征，这些白蚁丘在广阔的空间尺度上控制着植被、营养物质和小气候的分布，并且被三种相同的羚羊（bushbuck， nyala和kudu，所有Tragelaphus属）大量使用，它们的体型变化为5倍。这些因素的组合为研究体型和资源分布对行为和种群动态的影响提供了理想的机会。异速缩放和资源异质性的统一概念意味着我们的见解将被推广并适用于整个生态系统，包括北美野生动物种群的管理。更广泛的影响包括为美国和莫桑比克的学生开设沉浸式跨学科实地课程，通过科学严谨的短片向公众广泛传播研究成果，以及与公园官员合作制定有效的野生动物管理政策。

In natural ecosystems, resources are not uniformly available across space and time. Consequently, animals must adjust their behavior in response to changing environmental conditions to maximize survival and reproductive success. Theory holds that the ability to make such adjustments should be constrained by body size, because fundamental traits such as energy requirements are strongly influenced by size. Nevertheless, how body size limits animals' ability to respond to environmental variation remains poorly understood. This research will improve understanding of (a) how body size limits the range of behaviors available to animals for coping with environmental change or variation, and (b) how the distribution of resources such as food, concealment cover from predators, and favorable microclimates interacts with behavior to determine the success of individuals and populations that differ in body size. The project is based in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park, which was devastated during civil war (1977-1992) and is being rehabilitated with assistance from USAID and other agencies, in light of recognition that stability in eastern Africa and cessation of the illegal ivory trade are vital to U.S. interests. Beyond this specific ecosystem, the study will yield generalizable insights that can inform the management and conservation of North American species with high recreational and economic value (e.g., deer, elk, and moose) that also span a range of body sizes. Finally, the project facilitates STEM training and education for U.S. students alongside Mozambican students in an international setting, which will contribute to the development of a diverse and globally engaged STEM workforce.Behavioral plasticity is constrained by morphology and physiology; because these often scale allometrically with body size, so should behavior. Indeed, the allometry of behavior is predicted to emerge from the interaction of (a) size-varying traits that influence animal performance (e.g., energy requirements), and (b) biotic and abiotic habitat attributes, such as the distribution of resources and microclimates. This project integrates observational, experimental, molecular, and modeling approaches to shed new light on the mechanisms that underpin animal behavior and population dynamics in an African savanna ecosystem that is both spatially and seasonally heterogeneous. The study system (Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique) is characterized by spatially patterned termite mounds that govern the distribution of vegetation, nutrients, and microclimates at broad spatial scales, and that are heavily used by three congeneric antelope species (bushbuck, nyala, and kudu, all Tragelaphus spp.) that vary five-fold in body size. This combination of factors presents an ideal opportunity to study the effects of body size and resource distribution on behavior and population dynamics. The unifying concepts of allometric scaling and resource heterogeneity mean that our insights will be generalizable and applicable across ecosystems, including to the management of North American wildlife populations. Broader impacts include development of an immersive, interdisciplinary field course offered to both U.S. and Mozambican students, broad public dissemination of research results via scientifically rigorous short films, and collaboration with park officials to develop effective wildlife-management policies.