The Amazon region is one of the richest areas on the planet in terms of its biodiversity and natural resources. The large scale harvesting of trees in this region is a relatively new activity, and it is uncertain whether the exploitation of timber species will result in depletion of forest genetic resources. To examine this, I have assessed levels of inbreeding, gene flow, and genetic diversity in populations of Amazonian forest trees undergoing logging. Because of their high variability within populations, microsatellite genetic markers were chosen for the study, and it was verified through an initial sampling experiment that this class of markers is sufficiently stable within somatic tissue of large and long-lived trees such that population studies could be undertaken with them. By sampling adult trees and seed progenies at several microsatellite loci, high levels of gene flow and low levels of inbreeding were found within populations of Sextonia rubra and Carapa guianensis, two important insect-pollinated Amazonian forest tree species. Comparing seed progeny collected before versus after selective logging of a population of Carapa guianensis, no measurable evidence was found that that the population genetic dynamics is impacted by logging. In particular, levels of inbreeding, gene flow, and population substructure were the same before and after logging. Comparing different populations distributed over the Amazon basin, a phylogeographical structure in the chloroplast DNA of Carapa guianensis that corresponds to major tributaries of the Amazon river was discovered, suggesting that seed dispersal through rivers may contribute to genetic connectivity among populations. Overall, the results of this thesis suggest that the large effective population sizes, the high levels of gene flow, and the low levels of inbreeding in exploited Amazonian tree populations may allow them to counteract potential negative genetic impacts of selective logging, at least at the levels of harvesting carried out during this study, and for the Carapa guianensis population investigated.

Thesis (Ph.D)--Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2009. / Committee Chair: Fu, Rong; Committee Member: Dickinson, Robert E.; Committee Member: Nenes, Athanasios; Committee Member: Webster,Peter J.; Committee Member: Yu, Hongbin. Part of the SMARTech Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

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One of the primary challenges facing researchers and practitioners in their efforts to address issues of poverty and environment is the need to deepen our understanding of the logic that guides local people's decisions over resource use, particularly among the rural poor whose livelihoods depend on fragile and dynamic environments. This study seeks to identify the set of factors that influences how rainforest people respond to abrupt natural disturbances and resource scarcity through changes in livelihood and resource management practices in two rural poor communities of the Peruvian Amazon. Data were gathered through in-depth survey interviews (n=95 households) between June and December 2003 in the Amerindian community of Arica Viejo (Ucayali River) and the mestizo (ribereno) community of Roca Fuerte (Maranon River). The results reveal that socioeconomic characteristics such as forest experience and knowledge, and access to agricultural land explain striking differences among households in livelihood responses to environmental change, particularly concerning resource use behavior, resilience to disturbance, and the propensity to adopt sustainable resource management strategies.

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This research investigated the application of an ecosystem approach to the problem of child nutrition and health in the Ucayali region of the Peruvian Amazon. Poor health and widespread poverty in frontier communities has long been recognized as a significant issue. The annual flooding and extensive inundation of large areas of the floodplain challenges every aspect of human settlement. The overall goal of the thesis was to determine if, and to what extent, child nutrition and health is affected by seasonal ecosystem dynamics. The research investigated the interactions across three seasons- the dry season, the start of the rains, and the wet season. Based on the results of this study, the scarce resources of the government and communities can be more appropriately focused on those groups most in need, during their season of greatest need. Intervention strategies for food security will now concentrate efforts for the indigenous population during the height of floods, the period of greatest stress for these children; whereas efforts for mestizo children in the uplands and floodplain will be targeted during the onset of the rains. In contrast, health intervention will be most effective in the dry season in all populations, as this was when the incidence of diarrhoeal infections was highest, and water quality the poorest. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

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