The National Science Foundation Division of Integrative Organismal Systems awarded a $763,791 Project Grant to the University of Wyoming to study species roles and impacts of species loss in mixed-species animal groups from April 15, 2022 to March 31, 2025. This award supports research under the Biological Sciences federal grant program (CFDA 47.074), which aims to increase scientific knowledge and understanding of major problems confronting the nation.
Specifically, the grant will fund field research in tropical forests of Panama to experimentally test a theoretical framework for understanding organization in mixed-species animal groups like army-ant-following birds. Researchers will evaluate behavioral roles of species, how roles may vary across contexts, and impacts of temporarily removing species with differing roles during group formation and maintenance. This will be assessed by measuring effects on recruitment, foraging, competition and group structure. Broader impacts include training underrepresented early career scientists and an undergraduate course in Panama, as well as open educational research modules for multiple universities. Outcomes seek to bridge animal behavior and community ecology by examining behavioral mechanisms influencing group structure and resistance to species loss.