Doctoral dissertation research: Examining the effects of forest ecology on primate nutrition and social organization

在亚热带和热带森林中，灵长类动物严重依赖植物资源作为食物。然而，森林整体结构和功能与灵长类生态和行为之间的关系尚不完全清楚。树种的特性各不相同，其中一些会影响植物的生长和生存（如叶片质量），而另一些（如果糖）则会对灵长类动物产生消极或积极的影响。“特征景观”是由树种的空间分布和特征（包括物候活动（如开花））形成的。这个博士论文项目研究了灵长类动物栖息的森林中的植物性状星座如何影响灵长类动物的饮食、营养和交配模式，如一夫一妻制。该项目有助于当地社区本科生和助理的专业发展和STEM教育。包括学生和助理在内的国际合作者将获得有关树冠访问技术，无人机遥感和使用Python编程的实践培训。该项目还将支持研究地区K-12课程的发展和灵长类动物的保护。该项目的目标是通过仔细考虑和结合植物性状自下而上的作用以及森林生态和组成的时空细节，确定灵长类动物饮食和一夫一妻制交配系统的重要生态相关性。具体而言，该项目将研究树木群落功能和营养效应性状的时空分布对Azara猫头鹰猴（Aotus azarae azarae）营养生态和交配模式的自下而上效应。研究人员将(1)通过考虑树木群落的功能生态/性状空间，在森林生态背景下考虑猫头鹰猴的饮食和营养生态，并将他们的研究结果与传统的营养生态学分析结果并列；(2)评估功能和营养效应性状如何以及为什么在廊道森林中在空间和时间上均匀分布，并将成对生活和一夫一妻制交配系统作为推论。研究人员将收集标准化的植物样本，并分析这些样本的功能特征、营养成分和植物次生化合物。他们将进一步通过无人机遥感评估物种分布和物候的时空细节，并统计分析空间、营养和群落生态参数。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。

Primates depend heavily on plants resources for food in subtropical and tropical forests. However, the way in which overall forest structure and function is related to primate ecology and behavior is not fully understood. Tree species differ in their traits, some of which affect plant growth and survival (e.g., leaf mass), while others (e.g., fruit sugars) negative or positively affect primates. A "trait landscape" results from tree species' spatial distributions and traits, including phenological activity (e.g., flowering). This doctoral dissertation project examines how the constellation of plant traits in forests that primates inhabit affect primate diet, nutrition, and mating patterns such as monogamy. This project contributes to professional development and STEM education of undergraduates and assistants from local communities. International collaborators, including students and assistants, will obtain hands-on training in canopy access techniques, drone remote sensing, and programming using Python. The project will also support K-12 curriculum development and primate conservation in the study region. The goal of this project is to identify important ecological correlates of primate diet and monogamous mating system, by carefully considering and incorporating the bottom-up roles of plant traits and the spatiotemporal details of forest ecology and composition. Specifically, the project will examine the bottom-up effects of a tree community’s spatiotemporal distribution of functional and trophic effect traits on the nutritional ecology and mating pattern of Azara's owl monkey (Aotus azarae azarae). The researchers will (1) consider the owl monkeys' diet and nutritional ecology in a forest ecology context by considering the functional ecology/trait space of the tree community, and juxtapose their findings with those of traditional nutritional ecology analyses, and (2) assess how and why functional and trophic effect traits are equally distributed over space and time in gallery forests, with pair-living and a monogamous mating system as corollaries. The researchers will collect standardized plant samples and analyze these for functional traits, nutrients, and plant secondary compounds. They will furthermore assess the spatiotemporal details of species distribution and phenology through drone remote sensing, and statistically analyze spatial, nutritional, and community ecology parameters.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.