Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/J016527/1
[ENVIRONMENT]Quantifying the effects of environmental disturbance on community interactions using camera-traps: a case study from Kenya.
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor T Coulson, University of Oxford, Zoology
- Grant held at:
- University of Oxford, Zoology
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- None
- Abstract:
- We know that human-induced pressures on ecosystems cause changes in species composition, which ultimately influence the structure of ecological communities. However, our understanding of how perturbations influence species interactions remains poor. Only through increasing our knowledge of the underlying processes governing species interactions will we be able to begin to predict how communities will respond to future environmental and population pressures. Pressures on ecosystems may impact species relationships in different ways. Among ecologically similar species, a decline in resources may lead to an increase in competition. A reduction in food quality or food density may lead to an increase in foraging activity and exposure to predation, as well as other risks. Ultimately, changes in interactions across a wide range of species have the potential to dramatically alter ecosystem functioning. The objective of this research will be, first, to estimate patterns of interaction between species in habitats exposed to different levels of disturbance. Our approach will aim to predict species interactions based on the use of random encounter models. The latter assume the potential for encounter between species is related to their relative abundance, speed of movement and levels of activity, as well as species-specific behavioural traits, such as spatial and temporal patterns of habitat use and activity budgets. These measures will be obtained through recently developed camera trap methodologies, which can estimate the abundance and behaviour of a wide range of terrestrial vertebrates. In this study, the camera trap data will be combined with diet analyses of focal species to describe ecological networks and characterise trophic interactions. Based on this quantitative understanding of interactions between species and changes in behaviour across habitat gradients, the project will develop models of energy use and time budgets to develop a broader understanding of the potential impact of disturbance on individual survivorship and population stability. Finally, these models will be used to generalise patterns observed within the primary study area to a wider range of ecosystems. These results will then be validated using extensive databases that are being populated by global camera trapping initiatives, with which the project partners have established links. The study will apply these methods to investigate the effects of environmental disturbance on the structure of large vertebrate communities within an East African ecosystem. It will also address the need to develop robust analytical tools for using camera traps to monitor the dynamics of ecological networks. The proposed research will cover the following steps: 1) Characterisation of the composition and structure of medium and large vertebrate communities within specific areas of the Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya using camera traps. The different areas will cover a gradient of land-use ranging from pastoralist-dominated landscapes (highly disturbed) to untouched remote areas (no visible disturbance). 2) Determination of species activity patterns and habitat use (both spatially and temporally) from camera traps, in order to estimate ecological interactions. Additional diet analyses based on scat collection will serve to draw trophic interactions between predators (e.g. lion and leopard) and medium to large herbivore prey. 3) Combination of species' response to disturbance, ecological interactions (e.g. competition and predation) and species behaviour in order to develop energetic models that enable generalisation to a wider set of scenarios and identification of indicators of environmental stress. 4) Analysis of data from global camera trap studies to assess changes in species interactions over a wide range of contexts (e.g. sites in South America, Asia and Africa).
- NERC Reference:
- NE/J016527/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- DTG - directed
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Open CASE
This training grant award has a total value of £86,896
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Fees | Total - Student Stipend | Total - RTSG |
|---|---|---|
| £13,812 | £55,284 | £17,801 |
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