IRES Track I: understanding the global problem of defaunation through field experiments in southern Africa

世界正面临着一些正在改变自然环境的全球性挑战。下一代科学家需要全球视野和培训来推进科学和保护，以解决这些挑战。人们日益认识到的一个挑战是生态系统中动物数量的减少和丧失，这被称为“退化”。由于动物在自然环境中扮演着许多重要的角色，因此退化是可持续生态系统的关键问题。然而，人们对诽谤的后果仍然知之甚少。这个项目将通过研究和教育来解决这个问题，我们将对南部非洲大型哺乳动物的消失进行大规模的实地实验，在那里我们将培训学生关于科学和保护的知识，并为他们提供一个全球视角来看待生态挑战，如退化。每年，来自佛罗里达州的美国本科生将与来自南非和斯威士兰（前斯威士兰）的学生一起工作，并接受来自这些国家的科学家的指导。我们将在前往非洲南部进行为期八周的旅行之前，向学生们讲授科学方法、生态概念、自然保护和南部非洲文化。他们将在南非和斯瓦蒂尼对大型哺乳动物（如非洲象）的消失进行研究，这些地方正在进行大型实验，以了解大型哺乳动物从它们曾经生活过的环境中消失的影响。每个队列都将建立在过去的研究基础上，并测试大型动物的消失如何改变自然环境的假设。学生项目将通过比较两个拥有不同大型哺乳动物丰度历史的地区的结果，提供科学价值。这项工作将提供关于退化如何影响生物多样性和生态系统功能的新见解，这是更好地理解和保护行动所需要的，这些行动可以最好地限制潜在的负面影响。该项目还将为下一代科学家提供全球培训，招募代表性不足的群体参与该项目，并将学生的研究成果传达给南部非洲和佛罗里达州的当地社区。我们的IRES学生将在非洲南部参加为期八周的大规模毁谤现场实验，同时接受来自这些国家的领先和新兴科学家的指导。出发前，学生将学习南非当地文化、生态概念和实验设计。他们将在南非的克鲁格国家公园和斯瓦蒂尼的姆拉乌拉野生动物保护区的大型食草动物损失的协调实验网络范围内开发独立的实验项目。这个协调的实验网络将有助于隔离诽谤的短期影响，并提供跨地区诽谤的长期背景。它将提供关于毁损如何影响生物多样性和生态系统功能的新信息；为了更好地了解人类主导的景观，以及如何最好地应用保护来限制环境变化的负面影响，需要这些信息。第一组将通过大型食草动物丧失假说的测试，量化剩余的生物多样性对退化的反应。第二组将探索驱动多样性模式的特定行为过程，重点关注大型食草动物的消失如何改变其他物种的栖息地。第三组将研究物种相互作用和生态系统服务，重点研究功能冗余假说。该项目将通过促进教学和培训来促进发现和理解，同时让学生沉浸在非洲的实地研究中。学生将在快速变化的景观中推进生态过程的发现。我们正在通过实地研究站的研究和加强与南非和斯威士兰科学家、教育工作者和学生的国际关系，加强研究和教育的基础设施。我们还将通过招募少数族裔来扩大美国弱势群体的参与。最后，我们将提供广泛的科学交流和传播，使美国和非洲南部的当地社区受益。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The world is facing several global challenges that are transforming natural environments. The next generation of scientists requires a global perspective and training to advance science and conservation to solve these challenges. An increasingly recognized challenge is the decline in abundance and loss of animals from ecosystems, termed 'defaunation'. Because animals play many important roles in natural environments, defaunation is a key issue for sustainable ecosystems. Yet the consequences of defaunation remains poorly understood. This project will address this issue with research and education using large-scale field experiments on the loss of large mammals in southern Africa, where we will train students about science and conservation and provide them a global perspective on ecological challenges such as defaunation.Each year, U.S. undergraduate students from Florida will work with students from South Africa and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) and be mentored by scientists from these countries. We will teach students about the scientific method, ecological concepts, conservation, and southern Africa culture before departing for eight weeks in southern Africa. They will conduct research on the loss of large mammals, such as the African elephant, in South Africa and Eswatini where large experiments are underway to understand the effects of losing large mammals from environments where they historically roamed. Each cohort will build upon past research and test hypotheses about how the loss of large animals may alter natural environments. Student projects will provide scientific value by comparing results across two regions that have different histories of large mammal abundance. This work will provide new insights about how defaunation influences biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, which is needed for better understanding and for conservation action that can best limit potential negative impacts. This project will also provide global training of the next generation of scientists, recruit underrepresented groups to participate in the program, and communicate the student research results to local communities in southern Africa and Florida. Our IRES students will spend eight weeks participating in large-scale field experiments on defaunation in southern Africa while being mentored by leading and rising scientists from these countries. Prior to departure, students will learn about southern Africa local culture, ecological concepts, and experimental design. They will develop independent experimental projects within the domain of a coordinated experimental network on the loss of megaherbivores in South Africa’s Kruger National Park and Eswatini’s Mlawula Game Reserve. This coordinated experimental network will help isolate the short-term effects of defaunation and provide long-term context of defaunation across regions. It will provide new information about how defaunation influences biodiversity and ecosystem functioning; this information is needed for better understanding human-dominated landscapes and how conservation can best be applied to limit negative impacts of environmental change. The first cohort will quantify how remaining biodiversity responds to defaunation through tests of the megaherbivore loss hypothesis. The second cohort will explore specific behavioral processes that drive patterns of diversity, focusing on how megaherbivore loss might alter habitat refugia for other species. The third cohort will conduct studies on species interactions and ecosystem services, focusing on the functional redundancy hypothesis. This project will foster discovery and understanding by promoting teaching and training while immersing students in field-based research in Africa. Students will advance discovery of ecological processes in rapidly changing landscapes. We are enhancing infrastructure for both research and education through our field station-based research and strengthened international relationships with South Africa and Eswatini scientists, educators, and students. We will also expand participation of U.S. underrepresented groups via minority recruitment. Finally, we will provide broad science communication and dissemination to benefit local communities in the U.S. and southern Africa.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.