Adam T. Ford

My dissertation research addresses the effects of risk on the ecology of two species of Pecora, the ca.45kg gregarious impala and the ca.5kg obligate monogamous Guenther's dik-dik. With vastly different body sizes and mating structures, these two species provide useful models to illustrate the allometry of fear in a risky landscape. I have fitted several adult females from both species with GPS collars to look at movement metrics and habitat selection across a manipulated risk environment. Movements of both prey species will be linked to contemporary GPS fixes of African wild dogs to examine real-time responses to a common predator. From these mechanistic studies, I will then predict and test the landscape-scale and long-term effects of risk aversion on the distribution and behavior of both prey and forage resources. This work will link behavioral, community and conservation ecology through a mechanistic understanding of ecosystem structure. My research takes place at Mpala Research Center, Laikipia, Kenya, and is co-advised by Jake Goheen (University of Wyoming) and Peter Arcese (Forestry Department, University of British Columbia), in collaboration with Tim O'Brien (Wildlife Conservation Society), Rosie Woodroffe (Zoological Society of London), David Augustine (USGS) and the National Museums of Kenya.