Robert L. Lochmiller of Oklahoma State University is the recipient of a Presidential Young Investigator Award. This grant will enable him to initiate new studies in the area of animal nutritional ecology and population ecology. For a very large number of mammalian herbivores, the most fundamental resource limiting population expansion is nutrient availability or forage quality, as these directly affect recruitment and survival. Dr. Lochmiller's interest is in elucidating the mechanisms by which nutritional status influences immune system function and disease resistance in adult animals, passive transfer of immunity to offspring, and immune system ontogeny (or development), and how all of these relate to population dynamics. Initial efforts will be focused on assessing immunocompetence of newborn young (in deer and in cotton rats), determining the influence of protein nutrition on development of immunity in the cotton rat, and measurement of mortality rates of young in both species. The methods used in this research include state-of-the-art techniques in immunology, histomorphology, and ecology (including radio- telemetry and ultrasonic detection). Laboratory and field studies are involved. Much of this scientist's previous work has dealt with various aspects of the biology and ecology of the collared peccary (Tayassuidae), resulting in a prolific publication record also notable for its outstanding quality. Funding is provided for a five-year duration.
