Characterizing mammal community responses to large-scale impacts and interventions.

人口增长的累积影响正在改变地球，威胁物种和生态系统。人类对土地的使用覆盖了一半以上的陆地基础，使自然栖息地退化，并加剧了对生物多样性的其他威胁。中型和大型陆生哺乳动物(大型哺乳动物)是面临越来越大压力的生物多样性的关键组成部分。它们在自然生态系统的运行中发挥着关键作用，产生了可观的经济收入，并体现了巨大的文化价值。许多较大的哺乳动物对人类的干扰很敏感，而另一些则在人类改造的栖息地变得过多。在人类与野生动物共存的威胁和冲突之间找到平衡，需要了解哺乳动物对人为影响和干预的反应。我的项目的目标是预测陆生哺乳动物群落如何在改变景观的过程中对累积的环境影响做出反应。我最近的工作阐明了一个概念框架，通过将大规模监测监测与物种-影响关系的预测性建模相结合，改善累积影响评估。我的团队通过改进相机陷阱(CT)的使用来改进这一框架，以进行多物种、多尺度的调查，从而在面临累积干扰的情况下识别野生动物的赢家和输家。我们将在这项研究的基础上测试这一假设，即累积的人类干扰代表着哺乳动物群落的过滤器，导致群落结构的可预测变化。我们将通过以下方式做到这一点：1)改进关于相互作用的哺乳动物种群分布和丰度的CT推断；2)测试哺乳动物-景观关系的多尺度模型；3)推进哺乳动物群落结构和韧性的度量；以及4)将CT调查与景观管理实验相结合。我的计划将利用这种多物种调查工具的出现和社会对管理干预措施的投资，为使用CT的协调分布式实验提供概念验证。我们将测试关于灭绝脆弱性、功能多样性和群落韧性的基本假设，同时确定其他机制研究的方向。我们的方法测试和创新将在学术界内外的生物多样性研究和监测中得到广泛应用，并将通过我们的WildCAM网络广泛传播。我的计划将培训20多名HQP，为下一代野生动物科学家做出重大贡献，并将包括与广泛的研究用户(包括政府和行业)积极参与。我们的最终目标是创造知识和能力，以支持成功的人与野生动物共存。

The cumulative impact of a growing human population is transforming the Earth and threatening species and ecosystems. Human land uses cover more than half of the terrestrial land base, degrading natural habitats and compounding other threats to biodiversity. Medium- and large-bodied terrestrial mammals (larger mammals) are a key component of biodiversity facing mounting pressure. They play critical roles in the functioning of natural ecosystems, generate substantial economic revenues, and embody great cultural value. Many larger mammals are sensitive to human disturbances while others become overabundant in human-modified habitats. Finding a balance between threat and conflicta path to human-wildlife coexistencerequires an understanding of mammal responses to anthropogenic impacts and interventions. The goal of my program is to predict how terrestrial mammal communities respond to cumulative environmental effects in transforming landscapes. My recent work has articulated a conceptual framework to improve cumulative effects assessment by integrating large-scale surveillance monitoring with predictive modelling of species-impact relationships. My group has advanced this framework through improving the use of camera traps (CTs) to pursue multi-species, multi-scale inquiry, and thereby identify wildlife winners and losers in the face of cumulative disturbances. We will build on this research to test the hypothesis that cumulative human disturbance represents a filter on mammal communities, causing predictable shifts in community structure. We will do this by: 1) improving CT inferences on the distribution and abundance of interacting mammal populations; 2) testing multi-scale models of mammal-landscape relationships; 3) advancing metrics of mammalian community structure and resilience; and 4) combining CT surveys with landscape-level management experiments.My program will provide a proof-of-concept for coordinated distributed experiments using CTs, capitalizing on the emergence of this multi-species survey tool and on societal investments in management interventions. We will test fundamental hypotheses on extinction vulnerability, functional diversity, and community resilience, while identifying directions for additional mechanistic research. Our methodological tests and innovations will have broad application to biodiversity research and monitoring in and out of academia, and will be widely disseminated through our WildCAM network. My program will train over 20 HQP, making significant contributions to the next generation of wildlife scientists, and will include active engagement with a wide range of research users (including government and industry). Our ultimate goal is to produce knowledge and capacity to support successful human-wildlife coexistence.