Doctoral Dissertation Research: Ecological influences on coming to the ground in tree-dwelling primates

博士论文研究：树栖灵长类动物落地的生态影响

• 批准号: 2216525
• 负责人: Andrew Marshall
• 金额: $ 2.49万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-09-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2216525&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Doctoral; Dissertation; Research; Ecological; influences

Tree-dwelling (also known as arboreal) primates are masterfully adapted to life in the trees and should have little need to descend to the ground, yet arboreal primates have been observed using the ground more frequently than expected. Indirect observations of ground use (or, terrestrial behavior) among arboreal primates are becoming more common due to the increasing popularity of motion-activated cameras traps in wildlife research. This doctoral dissertation research project combines state-of-the-art remote sensing surveys, utilizes an extensive network of camera traps, and uses existing long-term data concerning food availability and weather to identify the influence of these aspects of ecology on the terrestrial behavior of arboreal primates. The research investigates where, when, which, and why primates descend from the trees to use the forest floor. The project also supports public science outreach and public data access. This project combines novel data with over 5 years of existing ecological data sets. Novel data to be collected include measures of forest structure and connectivity from detailed 3D LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) imagery. Existing data sets include camera trap videos of primates on the ground, camera trap videos of predators, estimates of fruit availability, and weather metrics such as temperature and rainfall. The research focuses on multiple species in an arboreal primate community at an established field site. Primate terrestrial behavior is modeled using occupancy models, examining combinations of the data described above to determine the influence of these ecological variables on primate ground use. The results of this research have relevance for understanding the specific ecological conditions under which otherwise arboreal primates resort to using the ground. Additionally, this research can yield critical data for conservation science of arboreal primates. With primate habitats rapidly changing across the globe, having a better understanding of what factors influence primate ecological and behavioral flexibility, at both the species and community level, is crucial for successful conservation efforts.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.

树木居民（也称为树木）灵长类动物非常适应树木中的生命，不需要降落到地面上，但是使用地面比预期的地面更频繁地观察到了树木灵长类动物。由于野生动植物研究中运动激活的相机陷阱的普及，树木灵长类动物之间地面使用（或陆地行为）的间接观察变得越来越普遍。该博士学位论文研究项目结合了最新的遥感调查，利用了广泛的相机陷阱网络，并使用有关食物可用性和天气的现有长期数据来确定生态学这些方面对树木孔灵长类动物的陆生行为的影响。该研究调查了在何处，何时，哪个以​​及为什么灵长类动物从树上降落以使用森林地面。该项目还支持公共科学外展和公共数据访问。该项目将新的数据与超过5年的现有生态数据集相结合。要收集的新数据包括详细3D激光雷达（光检测和范围）图像的森林结构和连通性的度量。现有的数据集包括地面上的灵长类动物的摄像头陷阱视频，捕食者的摄像头陷阱视频，水果可用性的估计以及温度和降雨等天气指标。该研究重点是在既定的现场地点的树木灵长类动物社区中的多种物种。灵长类动物的陆地行为是使用占用模型对上述数据组合进行建模的，以确定这些生态变量对灵长类动物地面使用的影响。这项研究的结果与理解特定的生态条件相关，否则树木灵长类动物可以使用地面。此外，这项研究可以为树木灵长类动物的保护科学产生关键数据。随着灵长类动物栖息地在全球范围内迅速变化，更好地了解哪些因素在物种和社区层面上都对灵长类动物的生态和行为灵活性，对于成功的保护工作至关重要。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是值得通过基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛影响的审查审查的标准来通过评估来获得支持的。