Establishment of large-scale herbivore exclosures

虽然我们有时拥有关于灭绝原因的详细知识，但缺乏关于其对生态系统后果的信息。我和我的研究小组致力于了解大型食草动物的灭绝如何影响非洲稀树草原的植物种群。我们在肯尼亚莱基皮亚的研究基地包括一个理想的系统，在其中研究这种预防的后果。莱基皮亚由10，000平方公里的私人财产组成，其中每个财产都与反映脊椎动物群落典型的渐进式，大小偏向灭绝的三种情况之一有关：1）大象（~3000公斤）+黑斑羚（~70公斤）+ dik-dik（~5公斤）; 2）黑斑羚+ dik-dik;或3）dik-dik。在世界范围内，草食动物的影响往往取决于非生物因素，整个东非降雨量的高度空间变化模糊了植物种群动态的驱动因素。因此，解决这些问题的第一步是通过实验解开大型食草动物，降雨及其相互作用在塑造植物种群中的相对作用。该资金申请与NSERC发现赠款提案同时提交。在我的发现提案中，我寻求对一套电气化围栏的部分支持，以模拟上述东非土地使用做法引起的灭绝情景。在这项研究工具和仪器的建议，我寻求资金建设两个额外的食草动物围栏将建立沿着自然梯度的降雨在莱基皮亚。由于食草动物的影响取决于降雨量，因此任何关于食草动物灭绝对植物后果的结论都将限于与第一组围栏降雨量相似的地区。因此，额外的围隔将使我们能够明确地解决降雨在驱动植物种群中的作用，从而允许在食草动物灭绝，土地利用和气候变化的不同情景下生成稳健的预测。这些exclosures将构成的基础上，我在UBC的研究计划将建立，在那里我预计培训许多加拿大研究生和本科生在我的职业生涯。

Although we sometimes possess detailed knowledge about the causes of extinction, a dearth of information exists regarding its consequences for ecological systems. My research group and I work to understand how extinctions of large herbivores affect plant populations in African savannas. Our study sites in Laikipia, Kenya comprise an ideal system in which to study the ramifications of such extinctions. Laikipia consists of a 10,000 square km mosaic of private properties, where each property is associated with one of three scenarios reflecting the progressive, size-biased extinction typical of vertebrate communities: 1) elephant (~3000 kg) + impala (~70 kg) + dik-dik (~5 kg); 2) impala + dik-dik; or 3) dik-dik only. Worldwide, the impacts of herbivory often depend on abiotic factors, and high spatial variation in rainfall throughout East Africa obfuscates the drivers of plant population dynamics. Thus, the first step toward addressing these issues is to experimentally disentangle the relative roles of large herbivores, rainfall, and their interactions in shaping plant populations. This funding request is being submitted simultaneously with an NSERC Discovery Grant proposal. In my Discovery proposal, I seek partial support for a single set of electrified fences to simulate the aforementioned extinction scenarios stemming from land-use practices in East Africa. In this Research Tools and Instruments proposal, I seek funding for the construction of two additional sets of herbivore exclosures to be established along a natural gradient of rainfall in Laikipia. Because impacts of herbivory depend on rainfall, any conclusions about the consequences of herbivore extinction for plants would be restricted to areas receiving similar amounts of rainfall to the first set of exclosures. Thus, additional exclosures would allow us to explicitly address the role of rainfall in driving plant populations, and thus permit the generation of robust predictions under different scenarios of herbivore extinction, land use, and climate change. These exclosures will comprise the foundation upon which my research program at UBC will be built, where I anticipate training many Canadian graduate and undergraduate students throughout my professional career.