Dissertation Research: Group territoriality of the African Lion - Behavioral Adaptation in a Heterogeneous Landscape

论文研究：非洲狮的群体领地性——异质景观中的行为适应

• 批准号: 0608128
• 负责人: Craig Packer
• 金额: $ 0.42万
• 依托单位: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-06-01 至 2008-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0608128&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Dissertation; Research; Group; territoriality; African

Lions are the only cat species dependent upon cooperative social relationships for their survival. Explaining cooperation in lions lies in understanding the link between the ecological characteristics of their habitat and the survival value of group-living. GIS analysis of 38 years of data on lions in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, reveals that high value lion habitat (defined by high cub survival) is near a river, near a kopje (small rocky hill), and in woodland areas. This information will be used to test the hypothesis that lions live in groups in order to gain a competitive edge in territorial defense, thereby maintaining access to high quality habitat. The funds requested in this proposal will support research to verify these Serengeti-based results in other locations, providing for a level of external validity uncommon to most dissertation projects.Conservation of threatened populations depends upon understanding how a species utilizes the resources (space, food, water and mates) in its habitat. This, in turn, helps to predict how populations will respond to ever changing and fragmented landscapes. This research will provide an example for understanding the evolution of a group-territorial species and it also will establish new methods for determining how populations are tied to the landscape. These tools have general applicability to effective conservation of other wildlife species.

狮子是唯一依赖于合作社会关系的猫类生存。 解释狮子的合作在于了解其栖息地的生态特征与群体生活的生存价值之间的联系。 GIS分析了坦桑尼亚塞伦盖蒂国家公园（Serengeti National Park）的狮子的38年数据表明，高价值的狮子栖息地（由高幼崽生存定义）在河边，靠近河流（小岩石山）和林地地区。 该信息将用于检验以下假设：狮子会分组以获得领土防御的竞争优势，从而维持获得高质量栖息地的竞争优势。 本提案中要求的资金将支持研究以验证其他位置的基于Serengeti的结果，从而提供了大多数论文项目的一定程度的外部有效性。受威胁人群的保存取决于了解物种在其栖息地中如何利用物种（空间，食物，食物，食物和伴侣）。反过来，这有助于预测人口将如何应对不断变化和破碎的景观。这项研究将提供一个理解群体 - 区域物种演变的示例，它还将建立确定种群如何与景观相关的新方法。这些工具通常适用于有效保护其他野生动植物物种。