There is no abstract available for this thesis. / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management

In this thesis, a philosophy and lexicon for the engineering of biosystems are established. The focus is on a specific class of biosystems ( ecocyborgs) created by combining ecosystems and technological Components. This work is part of the EcoCyborg Project, a highly interdisciplinary research program which concerns the development of a general theory for biosystems engineering, with an emphasis on system autonomy as a design goal. In the short term, the objective is to develop computational models and simulations for use in the study of ecocyborgs as representative instances of substantially autonomous biosystems. Accordingly, in this thesis an explicit conceptual basis is established for the EcoCyborg Project, as well as for biosystems engineering in general. / First, in the body of the thesis, a biosystem is defined as a coherent assemblage of entities that is alive to some degree as a whole. The sole criterion for life is considered to be comportment that is somewhat autopoietic , whereby local interactions among the components combine to Continually renew the overall system. Next, concepts related to autonomy, or the formulation and pursuit of proprietary goals, are elaborated. The degree of autonomy of a system is seen to depend on its consciousness, or ability to reason using a model of itself. Hence, a substantially autonomous system requires an ensemble of information storage and processing devices (mind) of the type and sophistication (intelligence ) appropriate for this. The approach that is taken here to the creation of ecocyborgs with such minds is described, and a specific mental architecture is delineated, comprising functionally semidifferentiated, intermediate-scale components arranged according to a semihierarchical control organization. Finally, the characterization of such systems is scrutinized as an epistemic process in which knowledge is generated by an observer, but in which only a limited degree of objectivity is possible. A paradigm appropriate to the engineering of ecocyborgs is defined as an illustration, and associated archetypal concepts and descriptive procedures (such as measures) are given that are useful in this context. Such tools are required by significantly autonomous ecocyborgs because they must characterize themselves. They are also necessary to observers with scientific and engineering agendas.

The secondary productivity of communities is inherently influenced by the availability and quality of food resources. Movement of organic matter (OM) across landscapes can connect adjacent systems by providing subsidies of carbon and nutrients, implying that alterations of environments from their natural state may affect the productivity of neighboring food webs. The intact terrestrial and marine environments of Fiordland provide a setting to study linkages between the land and the sea. The first general objective of this study was to determine if large but nutritionally poor (nitrogen-poor, carbon-rich) inputs of forest litter support marine secondary production, and to identify pathways for incorporation of this material into upper trophic levels. Pools of marine and terrestrial OM had distinct values of [delta]�⁵N, [delta]��C and [delta]�⁴S, providing high power to estimate the relative use of these sources by the food webs of the fjord-head deltas. Deposit feeding invertebrates (e.g. Echinocardium cordatum, Pectinaria australis) directly assimilated plant detritus. Heterotrophic bacteria on the surface of the sediment assimilated forest litter and provided a potential food source for invertebrates. Chemoautotrophic bacteria fix CO₂ that originates from decomposing forest litter, thus providing an indirect pathway for incorporation of forest litter into the food webs. In the deep basins the strength of the flux of uptake by chemoautotrophic bacteria through the benthic food web into the upper trophic levels was demonstrated by hagfish (Eptatretus cirrhatus) obtaining 38-51% of their nutrition from these bacteria. The ability of a community to utilize discrete sources of OM relies on the presence of specific functional feeding guilds. Marine algae provide a highly nutritive (nitrogen-rich) food source for the fjord communities and fluxes of algae into food webs are facilitated by grazing invertebrates and filter feeders. The second general objective of this study was to determine how the effective loss of filter feeders from inner Doubtful Sound would alter the flux of marine-derived OM to the food webs of the delta communities. The low salinity environment imposed by the hydroelectric power station in Doubtful Sound caused a large reduction in the abundance of the infaunal bivalves Austrovenus stutchburyi and Paphies australis from delta habitats. Clams could tolerate periods of freshwater exposure of [less than or equal to]20 days duration, but the constant freshwater conditions in Doubtful Sound decreased survivorship. In 2004/05 the biomass of these species in inner Doubtful Sound (7.28 tonnes) was 29 times smaller than in Bradshaw Sound (214.12 tonnes). The associated loss of biodeposits (~91 tonnes(DW) yr⁻� in Bradshaw Sound vs. 1 tonne(DW) yr⁻� in inner Doubtful Sound) may have also altered the flux of nutritive OM to the infaunal community. The river delta communities in inner Doubtful Sound appear to have a higher reliance on forest litter than those in Bradshaw Sound, which is apparent as low values of [delta]�⁵N and [delta]��C for estuarine fish (Notolabrus celidotus, Hemerocoetes monopterygius), which act as integrators of the benthic community. This study demonstrates important linkages between terrestrial and coastal marine ecosystems and highlights the role of functional diversity in facilitating fluxes of organic material through food webs.

v, 240 leaves : ill., maps, photos, (some col.), graphs ; 29 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Zoology, 1981

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Montana, 2008. / Title from title screen. Description based on contents viewed May 6, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 80-86).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2008. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed June 17, 2009). Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Originally presented as the author's Thesis (M.A.)--University of Waterloo, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 188-208).

Originally presented as the author's Thesis (M.A.)--University of Waterloo, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 188-208).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Pretoria, 2004. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed Mar. 10, 2005). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Rutgers University, 2009. / "Graduate Program in Oceanography." Includes bibliographical references.