CAREER:Linking individual variation in behavior to plant community dynamics within disturbed landscapes

在许多动物物种中，个体的行为方式不同，随着时间的推移和不同的环境，他们的行为是一致的，这种现象被称为“动物个性”。越来越多的研究表明，大胆或攻击性等行为特征会影响生存等生活史特征。仍然存在的一个关键问题是，这些个体水平的特征是否会产生更大规模的影响。这项研究的目的是量化野生种群在不同程度的人类干扰下行为的个体差异的生态后果，进而量化动物行为的个体差异如何影响社区水平的过程。该项目将通过一个综合研究和教育计划进行，在该计划中，首席调查员将带领一个由研究生和本科生组成的团队以及公民科学家收集关于小型哺乳动物野生种群的数据。该团队将量化野生小型哺乳动物种群中受不同程度人类干扰的个体特征变异，如大胆和攻击性，并确定生存与这些特征变异的关系。同时，研究人员将研究具有不同行为特征的个体传播种子的情况，量化动物行为对植物群落动态的影响。本科生将学习如何量化(动物和人类的)个性，并将参加以提高他们的科学交流技能为重点的研讨会。然后，本科生将利用针对自己个性的方法，让高中生参与两个公民科学项目，这两个项目将成为研究计划的关键组成部分。始终如一的个体行为或个性差异，在决定个体动物如何体验和与不断变化的环境互动方面发挥着关键作用。种群中行为类型的分布对种群动态和森林更新等更大规模的生态过程的影响程度尚不清楚。为了帮助填补这些知识空白，该项目将侧重于：1)评估具有不同但一致的行为模式的个体对土地利用变化的反应，以及2)量化种群内行为的多样性对受干扰景观中植物群落的人口统计和结构的影响。这项研究将通过在缅因州以小型哺乳动物物种作为模型系统的大规模野外实验来进行。通过野外实验，该团队将评估土地利用变化(即营林实践)对不同个性类型动物生存的影响，同时评估动物行为多样性影响种群动态的能力。研究人员还将研究个性驱动的种子捕食和传播决定如何影响种子库的组成，以及这些决定可能如何与气候变化相互作用，影响植物的范围转移。这个项目产生的洞察力和模型将阐明个体变化与人口、社区和生态系统动态之间的联系。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

In many animal species, individuals differ in their behavior in ways that are consistent over time and across contexts, a phenomenon that is referred to as “animal personality.” An increasing number of studies show that behavioral traits, such as boldness or aggression, can influence life history traits, such as survival. A key question that remains is whether these individual-level traits can have larger-scale effects. The goal of this study is to quantify the ecological consequences of individual variation in behavior in wild populations subject to various degrees of human disturbance, and in turn, how individual variation in animal behavior can affect community-level processes. This project will be conducted through an integrated research and education plan, in which the principal investigator will lead a team of graduate and undergraduate students along with citizen scientists to collect data on wild populations of small mammals. The team will quantify individual variation in traits such as boldness and aggression in populations of wild small mammals that are subject to various degrees of human disturbance, and determine how survival relates to variation in these traits. Concurrently, researchers will study the dispersal of seeds by individuals with different behavioral traits, quantifying the effects of animal actions on plant community dynamics. Undergraduate students will learn how to quantify personality (in animals and humans) and will participate in workshops focused on improving their scientific communication skills. Using approaches targeted for their own personalities, undergraduate students will then engage high school students in two citizen science projects, which will become critical components of the research program. Consistent individual differences in behavior, or personality, play a key role in determining how individual animals experience and interact with their changing environment. The extent to which the distribution of behavioral types in a population affects larger-scale ecological processes such as population dynamics and forest regeneration is poorly understood. To contribute to filling these knowledge gaps this project will focus on: 1) Assessing the response of individuals with different, yet consistent behavioral repertoires to land-use change and 2) Quantifying the effects of the diversity of behaviors within a population on the demographics and structure of plant communities within disturbed landscapes. The study will be conducted through a large-scale field experiment in Maine using small mammal species as a model system. Through the field experiment the team will assess the effects of land-use change (i.e., silvicultural practices) on survival of animals with different personality types, concurrently assessing the capacity for diversity in animal behavior to influence population dynamics. The researchers will also characterize how personality-driven seed predation and dispersal decisions affect the seed bank composition and how these decisions may interact with climate change to affect range shifts of plants. The insights and models generated by this project will illuminate the link between individual variation and population, community, and ecosystem dynamics.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.