Linking space use, individual fitness, and population dynamics to quantify the conservation value of geographic areas

管理和保护水生动物具有挑战性。海洋和淡水动物会迁徙，随着时间的推移会改变它们的分布，而且很难监测。我的研究小组的主要目标是开发工具来量化水生物种的地理区域的价值。为此，我将把运动数据与身体状况、压力水平、繁殖成功率和种群规模数据联系起来。确定栖息地利用、繁殖条件和种群过程之间的关系，将使我的研究小组能够确定对水生物种生存重要的栖息地，这是保护和管理规划的关键一步。由于用于跟踪水生动物运动的技术提出了技术挑战，如测量误差大，我的研究计划的进一步重点将是开发新的统计工具，可以处理这些挑战。虽然我将开发的方法将适用于加拿大和其他地方的许多物种，但我将采取多物种方法，重点关注加拿大北极和亚南极岛屿的三个极地研究系统。首先，我将使用声波遥测技术来确定本地斑鳟的栖息地使用情况以及影响引进褐鳟传播的因素。保护斑马鱼的栖息地和阻止引进物种的扩散，使它们面临灭绝的威胁，是福克兰群岛的保护优先事项。我的工作将直接有助于这些物种的管理。其次，我将使用卫星遥测技术来确定福克兰群岛周围巴布亚企鹅的海洋栖息地，那里正在进行大量的渔业和石油开发。企鹅是福克兰群岛标志性的野生动物景点，旅游业是该岛经济的第二大贡献者。了解巴布亚与工业的相互作用，以及它们如何影响繁殖性能，对管理至关重要。第三，我将把加拿大北极地区的变化与独角鲸和白鲸分布的变化联系起来。气候变化导致海冰减少，从而促进了人类活动（例如航运、捕鱼、石油和天然气）的增加。我将验证这样一个假设，即航运的增加和海冰的减少改变了这些物种的分布，这是在哈德逊湾建立海洋保护区所需要的信息。拟议的研究将与学术机构、非政府组织和政府机构建立国内和国际合作关系，旨在直接培养17名高素质人才（2名博士后、4名博士、4名硕士、7名学士）。我的研究将带来新的统计工具来评估地理区域对物种的重要性。这些工具将有助于回答生态问题，并将用于解决具有重大经济、生态和文化重要性的物种的重要管理和保护问题。

Managing and conserving aquatic animals is challenging. Marine and freshwater animals migrate, change their distribution through time, and are difficult to monitor. The primary goal of my research group will be to develop tools to quantify the value of geographic areas for aquatic species. To do so, I will link movement data with body condition, stress levels, breeding success, and population size data. Determining the relationships between habitat utilization, reproductive condition, and population processes will allow my research group to identify habitats important to the survival of aquatic species, which is a crucial step towards conservation and management planning. Because the technology used to track the movement of aquatic animals presents technical challenges such as large measurement errors, a further focus of my research program will be to develop new statistical tools that can handle these challenges. While the methods I will develop will be applicable to many species in Canada and elsewhere, I will take a multi-species approach focused on three polar study systems from the Canadian Arctic and sub-Antarctic islands. First, I will use acoustic telemetry to identify the habitat use of native zebra trout and factors affecting the spread of introduced brown trout. Protecting the habitat of zebra trout and stopping the spread of the introduced species threatening them with extirpation are conservation priorities in the Falkland Islands. My work will directly contribute to the management of these species. Second, I will use satellite telemetry to identify the marine habitat use of gentoo penguins around the Falklands, where substantial fishing and oil development is occurring. Penguins are an iconic wildlife attraction in the Falklands, where tourism is the 2nd largest contributor to the economy. Understanding interactions of gentoos with industry, and how they affect reproductive performance, is crucial to management. Third, I will relate changes in the Canadian Arctic to variation in the distribution of narwhals and belugas. Climate change has led to declining sea ice, which promotes increased human activity (e.g. shipping, fishing, oil and gas). I will test the hypothesis that increased shipping and ice declines have changed the distribution of these species, information needed for the creation of a Marine Protected Area in Hudson Bay. The proposed research will create national and international collaborations with academic institutions, NGOs, and governmental agencies, and is designed to directly train 17 highly qualified personnel (2 postdocs, 4 PhD, 4 MSc, 7 BSc). My research will bring novel statistical tools to assess the importance of geographic areas to species. These tools will help answer ecological questions and will be designed to address important management and conservation issues for species with significant economic, ecological, and cultural importance.