<p> Identity and intensity of parasitism have been shown to be correlated to the host genotype at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a genomic region involved in the adaptive immune response. However, the evolutionary mechanisms by which parasites exert a selective force on host immune systems are unknown. This thesis investigates the relationship between parasitism and MHC genotype in two bear populations in Southcentral Alaska. We diagnosed infection using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), targeting the ribosomal subunit of 18S of common blood parasites. Parasitism was detected in half of brown bears and 75% of black bears. We detected <i>Eimeria</i> spp. and several species of apicomplexan and nematode parasites, and we report here the first finding of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> in Alaskan bears. We found no association between MHC genotype and identity or intensity of infection, suggesting that other loci or even non-genetic factors are important covariates in predicting infection status.</p>

<p> The road network in the U.S. is immense, and vehicle use has expanded to incredible proportions since the early 1900s. While the use of this network has proven useful to people, roads and vehicles cause severe environmental degradation. An important part of this degradation is direct mortality of wildlife due to road-kill, with some estimates of vertebrate fatalities reaching the hundreds of millions each year in the U.S. alone. Until the last few decades, little attention was given to the problem of road-kill. A few recent studies have conducted statistical and GIS analyses to identify and predict locations of road-kill in order to strategically implement mitigation strategies. These road-kill studies focused on few species and/or limited study areas. </p><p> In the U.S., suburban areas have been expanding in recent years, but have been largely absent from the research on road-kill. This study investigates road-kill of the small vertebrate community on the fringe of the St. Louis metropolitan area and identifies significant land use/land cover attributes surrounding road-kill and hotspot locations using logistic regression models and hotspot analyses. The findings clearly show that rates of road-kill in this area are substantial and worthy of mitigation. Locations were identified for reducing overall rates of road-kill, such as areas nearer to forest fragments and farther from cultivated lands that are surrounded by greater amounts of open and low intensity developed areas and lesser amounts of cultivated lands. If mitigation were targeted in locations identified in this study, it could lead to reductions of thousands of road-kills each year.</p>

<p>The Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV) is an important region for wintering mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in North America, yet little is known about their spatiotemporal habitat use and related survival in Mississippi. I tracked 126 radio-marked female mallards to quantify survival, habitat use, and use of wildlife management areas (WMAs) with experimental hunt regimes in the south MAV of Mississippi during winters 2010-2012. Daily survival was greatest in agricultural (0.997) and moist-soil (0.999) habitats in winters 2010-2011 and 2011-2012, respectively. Overall interval survival across both winters was 0.60 (SE = 0.02). Forested (40-54%) and moist-soil wetlands (41-59%) received greatest use diurnally and nocturnally, respectively. Mallards used WMAs similarly (P > 0.22) whether they were hunted 2- or 4-days/week. My data suggest that complexes of flooded cropland, forest, and moist-soil habitats are suitable habitats for mallards in the MAV, WMAs can be hunted 4-days/week, and sanctuaries should be revised at two WMAs.

<p> This dissertation concerns the southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca), a genetically isolated population of fish-eating killer whales that frequent the international waters of the Salish Sea between the United States and Canada in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Research was conducted from June 1 to October 31, 2007 and from June 7 to October 31, 2008, between geographic coordinates: 48&deg;12&rsquo; to 49&deg; N latitude by 122&deg;43&rsquo; to 123&deg;50&deg; W longitude. </p><p> The southern resident killer whale population has experienced multiple fluctuations since population surveys were initiated by the Center for Whale Research (CWR) in the mid 1970's. In November 2005, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northwest Regional Office listed the southern resident killer whales as an endangered distinct population segment of the species <i>Orcinus orca </i> under the United States Endangered Species Act (ESA). Several risk factors including reductions in the quantity and quality of prey (salmon), exposure to persistent toxins, and disturbance from vessel presence and associated noise were identified as contributing to the decline of this already small population. With the listing under the ESA, critical habitat was designated in the inland waters around the U.S. San Juan Islands, Washington State and the Canadian Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada. </p><p> Chapter one, <i>Managing Vessel-based Killer Whale Watching: A Critical Assessment of the Evolution from Voluntary Guidelines to Regulations in the Salish Sea,</i> provides background on the southern resident killer whales and the robust international whale watching industry in the region. This chapter also provides a detailed history of local, state, federal and international vessel laws and guidelines for watching whales in the Salish Sea. </p><p> Chapter two, <i>Non-invasive methods to study southern resident killer whales and vessel compliance with regulations,</i> describes a novel equipment package, consisting of a differential GPS integrated with a digital compass and laser rangefinder that allowed me to collect accurate geo-referenced locations and behavioral data on whales and vessels throughout the whale's critical habitat. To improve both the spatial and temporal data on whale-vessel interactions, the information collected with this equipment was used to assess vessel compliance with local, state and federal laws and the regionally accepted best-practices Be Whale Wise Guidelines. </p><p> Chapter three, <i>The effects of vessels on group cohesion and behavior of southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca),</i> discusses research investigating changes in killer whale group cohesion in response to vessel density, distance and mode of operation. Future cetacean studies would benefit from using the equipment and methods presented here, especially in areas that are not conducive to land-based theodolite collected data.</p>

<p> Current research about wildlife has tended to emphasize the contributions of scientific perspectives. This thesis argues that the practice of wildlife rehabilitation (WR) also offers significant information to academic discourse. The goals of my study were to explore and describe the different perspectives and knowledges generated about wildlife through the practice of wildlife rehabilitation and the rehabilitators' relationships with their wild animal patients, through the use of qualitative methods including semi-structured interviews and autoethnography. I interviewed seven WR professionals about their nonhuman animal patients, education animals, and human staff and volunteers. The autoethnographic information used in this study was gathered from my own experience as a wildlife rehabilitator. </p><p> Five key themes emerged from my research. 1) The altruistic roles taken on by wildlife rehabilitators (both caregiving and training roles) improve communication with other animal individuals. 2) The subjective experience plays critical roles, both positive and negative, in the practice of wildlife rehabilitation and the ability to understand wildlife. 3) The sense of obligation and responsibility to address anthropogenic injuries to other animals leads humans to become wildlife rehabilitators. 4) Wildlife experience with, and education about, other animal species are important factors in forming an appreciation for wildlife. 5) The practice of wildlife rehabilitation generates significant information about wildlife and medicine that is useful to discourse about wildlife. </p><p> This study will be relevant to professionals from other fields that work with wildlife and nonhuman animals: conservation, wildlife management, animal communication, and to the new field of trans-species psychology, among others. Captive environments and enrichment for education animals at WR centers could be used as models for captive animals in other industries: entertainment (zoos and circuses), as well as laboratory and research institutions. Finally, this theoretical analysis of WR, placed in the context of power relations, offers a significant contribution to human-centered studies such as those of human ethics (biomedical, especially, and around human test subjects), medicine and public health, and studies of social justice.</p>

<p> I estimated patterns of shorebird abundance and species diversity in the Colorado River Delta and Upper Gulf of California wetlands in order to determine the relative contribution of intertidal wetlands and non-tidal anthropogenic wetlands to support shorebird habitat use. Species richness varied from 15 to 26 species among sites and 29 species were detected across sites. Density during the peak migration month was higher at the anthropogenic wetland Cienega de Santa Clara (mean = 168 ind/ha, 95% C.I. 29-367), and the intertidal Golfo de Santa Clara (mean = 153 ind/ha, 95% C.I. 17-323). Anthropogenic wetlands (playa and lagoons) supported high abundance of shorebirds along with intertidal wetlands in the Colorado River Delta (mudflats). In contrast, intertidal wetlands farther south on the Sonoran Coast presented lower abundance but higher diversity of shorebird, likely as a result of the higher diversity of habitats (rocky shore, sandy beach, estuary). I modeled water management scenarios for the Cienega in order to determine the response of the dominant vegetation (southern cattail, <i>Typha domingensis</i> Pers.) and the area of the outflow pool below the marsh to different scenarios of water management. The model indicates that if the inflow rate is reduced below the current 4-5 m³ s^-1 the vegetated area of the Cienega that supports habitat for marsh birds would decrease in proportion, as would the area of the outflow pool in the Santa Clara Slough identified previously as shorebird habitat. Increases in salinity will also reduce the vegetated area due to the low salt tolerance of <i>T. domingensis</i>. In winter about 90% of inflow water exits the Cienega into the Santa Clara Slough due to low evapotranspiration contributing to inundate areas that are used by wintering and migrating shorebirds. Lastly, I explored the feasibility of using Vegetation Indices (NDVI and EVI) to model Yuma Clapper Rail detections in the Cienega de Santa Clara as well as the effects of adding other habitat variables and the presence of fire events in the performance of linear models based on NDVI. Both NDVI and EVI were positively related to the Yuma Clapper Rail detections. The relationship was weak to moderate, but significant (P &lt; 0.001), which suggests other factors besides the vegetation condition play an important role in the bird distribution pattern. A model including all the variability among years was a better predictor of the rails detected per transect, than models for fire and non-fire years. We did not find a significant effect from adding habitat features (water % or vegetation %), and we recommend to include variables at both microhabitat level and landscape level, relevant before and during the breeding season in order to increase the explanatory power of models.</p>

<p> Abstract not available.</p>

<p> Habitat fragmentation and loss is the primary driver of mammalian carnivore extinctions across the world. In the Santa Cruz Mountains of California, native carnivores navigate daily through a landscape highly impacted by human development and activities. The puma (<i>Puma concolor </i>) is the apex predator of this habitat, but it is susceptible to both direct and indirect influences of expanding human populations. Smaller predators are not only affected by anthropogenic disturbances, but also by intraguild competition with the more dominant pumas. </p><p> My dissertation utilizes new technologies to study the ecology and behavior of carnivores in a human dominated environment. In my first chapter, I catalogued puma behaviors in the wild using measurements recorded by accelerometers attached to the animals. I found that I could clearly distinguish movement from non-movement behavior, and that predation events had distinctive accelerometer signatures. The second chapter describes how I used movement data recorded by GPS (Global Positioning System) collars to evaluate puma behavioral responses to increasing development. Pumas primarily traveled nocturnally, and moved more often and further in areas of higher housing development. The increase in activity in human dominated landscapes could have major repercussions on the energetic expenditure of pumas living in fragmented areas. My third chapter addresses the impacts of human development and activities on the entire carnivore community. Combining passive and experimental observations using motion-detecting camera traps, I studied the spatiotemporal behavior of predators across a gradient of human influences. Mesopredator activity was restricted temporally in areas of high human use, and certain predators (e.g., pumas and foxes) were more sensitive to increasing development. </p><p> Lastly, education and outreach is an important component of carnivore conservation. In my fourth chapter, I describe results from a Facebook game I developed with collaborators. Players earned points by identifying wildlife species from camera trap photographs. I found that agreement among players was the most important determinant of accuracy, and that untrained Internet users could identify many wildlife species. The Internet is an emerging tool for outreach, and I hope my work encourages other ecologists to think creatively about incorporating citizen scientists into their research through social media.</p>

<p> Stagnant science achievement by students, greater demands and stresses on natural resources and environmental systems, and societal disengagement from nature highlight the need for education programs to ameliorate subsequent consequences. One attempt to address science performance and environmental apathy is Youth Environmental Science (YES), an environmental education program initiated in 2011 in a rural, minority-dominated, upper elementary school in Mississippi. The program provides five consecutive days (30 hours) of experiential learning in natural sciences. During 2011-2013, I studied cognitive and affective responses of fourth and fifth grade students to YES participation using a pretest-posttest-delayed posttest design. The influence of demographic factors (race/ethnicity, gender, and economic status) on student responses was also examined. </p><p> Compared to pretest scores, posttest knowledge and attitude scores were higher for YES participants, indicating the pedagogy was effective at promoting knowledge gains and positive environmental attitudes. Higher values were associated with female, non-Black, or higher income students; however, gains in both knowledge and attitude were similar across all demographic groupings, suggesting students from diverse backgrounds benefitted equally. Year-end proficiency exams indicated natural science knowledge gained by fourth and fifth grade students during their participation in YES did not decline with time, demonstrating retention and application of content knowledge. Moreover, although Black and low income fifth grade students had lower proficiency scores, these groups showed generally increasing trends in exam performance with elapsed time. This pattern suggests experiential and intensive environmental education interventions scheduled early in the academic year may be effective for sensitizing students for classroom learning that follows later in the year. This may be particularly impactful to those students who may experience fewer science enrichment and outdoor opportunities and thereby provide a mechanism for reducing achievement gaps among demographic groups.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2003. / Thesis submitted to the Division of Science and Engineering. Bibliography: leaves 269-319.