<p> In this investigation, a model is developed to explain the loss of farmland to other uses in Central Ontario in the period 1951-1971. Furthermore, it attempts to identify the socio-economic characteristics of operators involved in the loss of farmland process, as well as ascertaining the factors responsible for the change in land use.</p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

<p> A detailed land-use study is performed in a small rural area in Central Ontario. The physical characteristics of the study area are classified as five distinct land units. The land-use patterns are mapped and described using panchromatic aerial photograph flown in 1954 and 1971. Using the sequential photography, land-use changes are identified and described. In order to evaluate the hypothesis that the land-use changes are related to the study area's physical environment, a numerical analysis is performed. Statistical tests indicate a strong relationship between the land classification and the types of land-use change. The research results concur with previous observations in physically similar areas. </p> / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Community ecology and conservation are complementary disciplines under the umbrella of ecology, providing insight into the factors that determine where and how communities exist, and informing efforts aimed at sustaining the diversity and persistence of the organisms that comprise them. Conservation ecologists apply the principles of ecology and other disciplines, to the maintenance of biodiversity. This thesis uses this approach to assess the status of freshwater crayfish in south-central Ontario and investigate potential anthropogenic drivers of crayfish community change. I start with a temporal analysis of crayfish relative abundance over a period of 18 years and find that all species have experienced significant population declines across the sampled range, resulting in reduced species distributions and crayfish community diversity. Next I employ multivariate statistical techniques to relate changes in crayfish communities between the two time periods to ecological and anthropogenic changes. I identify a number of threats in the region that are correlated with crayfish decline and are likely to pose a threat to aquatic ecosystems more broadly in the region, including calcium (Ca) decline, metal pollution, human development, and species introductions. In the latter two chapters I look more closely at Ca decline as a mechanism driving crayfish declines. First, laboratory analysis of the effect of Ca availability on juvenile Orconectes virilis (a Shield native) reveals that survival is significantly reduced below 0.5-0.9 mg·L-1, which is one of the lowest ever reported Ca requirement thresholds for a crustacean. Second, a correlative study using adult inter-moult crayfish collected from lakes that range broadly in their Ca concentrations, indicates that for O. virilis, carapace Ca content is significantly related to lake Ca concentration, and is under-saturating below 8 mg·L-1. This collective body of work identifies significant anthropogenic threats to crayfish and their aquatic ecosystems in south-central Ontario.

Community ecology and conservation are complementary disciplines under the umbrella of ecology, providing insight into the factors that determine where and how communities exist, and informing efforts aimed at sustaining the diversity and persistence of the organisms that comprise them. Conservation ecologists apply the principles of ecology and other disciplines, to the maintenance of biodiversity. This thesis uses this approach to assess the status of freshwater crayfish in south-central Ontario and investigate potential anthropogenic drivers of crayfish community change. I start with a temporal analysis of crayfish relative abundance over a period of 18 years and find that all species have experienced significant population declines across the sampled range, resulting in reduced species distributions and crayfish community diversity. Next I employ multivariate statistical techniques to relate changes in crayfish communities between the two time periods to ecological and anthropogenic changes. I identify a number of threats in the region that are correlated with crayfish decline and are likely to pose a threat to aquatic ecosystems more broadly in the region, including calcium (Ca) decline, metal pollution, human development, and species introductions. In the latter two chapters I look more closely at Ca decline as a mechanism driving crayfish declines. First, laboratory analysis of the effect of Ca availability on juvenile Orconectes virilis (a Shield native) reveals that survival is significantly reduced below 0.5-0.9 mg·L-1, which is one of the lowest ever reported Ca requirement thresholds for a crustacean. Second, a correlative study using adult inter-moult crayfish collected from lakes that range broadly in their Ca concentrations, indicates that for O. virilis, carapace Ca content is significantly related to lake Ca concentration, and is under-saturating below 8 mg·L-1. This collective body of work identifies significant anthropogenic threats to crayfish and their aquatic ecosystems in south-central Ontario.

The hospice social movement, which emerged as a new social movement based on the ideals of providing a more humane and natural approach towards death, illness, and grief, led to the creation of community-based hospice programs across Canada. This single case study explored the factors that influenced the life course of a small, community-based hospice (Hospice Orillia) from its beginning in 1987 to 2017. A preliminary timeline was created through a review of secondary data sources which identified milestones, events and individuals who were in leadership roles in the organization. This information was then used to recruit nine key informants who participated in semi-structured interviews. Through thematic analysis, the interviews identified that the organization’s geographic location, its relationship to the formal health care system, its ability to access funding, and issues regarding advocacy and awareness all played key roles in how it developed over the years, leading to its eventual decline. / Graduate

Middle Ordovician carbonates in the Lake Simcoe area, south-central Ontario were examined to determine if: (1) The δ18O values of early-stage calcite cement in hardgrounds are useful proxies for Ordovician seawater δ18O values; (2) a regional hydrothermal event affected middle Ordovician strata in the Lake Simcoe area. Whole rock samples of middle Ordovician hardgrounds and immediately overlying limestones containing early calcite cement have δ13C values ranging from -1.7 to +2.9‰ (PDB) and δ18O values ranging from -6.9 to -2.9‰ (PDB). Hardground δ18O values and the similarity of the isotopic composition between the hardgrounds and overlying limestones are consistent with diagenetic alteration during shallow burial, which indicates the hardgrounds are not useful proxies. Late-stage calcite cements have δ13C values from -8.4 to +2.9‰ (PDB) and δ18O values from -11.4 to -6.0‰ (PDB). Late-stage microcrystalline dolomites have δ13C values from -3.9 to +0.4‰ and δ18O values from -10.7 to -7.6‰. Late-stage saddle dolomites have δ13C values from -1.7 to 1.9‰ and δ18O values from -13.8 to -8.5‰. The late-stage carbonate δ18O values are more negative than the early-stage carbonate δ18O values and are interpreted to reflect progressively deeper burial diagenesis. Four types of fluid inclusions were identified in late-stage calcite, saddle dolomite, barite, and quartz. Type 1 inclusions are aqueous liquid-rich with very consistent low to very low vapour-liquid ratios and are of primary, secondary pseudosecondary and indeterminate origins. Type 2 inclusions are aqueous liquid-only and are of primary and secondary origins. Type 3 inclusions are oil-bearing, liquid-rich with low to medium vapor-liquid ratios and are of secondary origin. Type 4 inclusions are vapour-only and are of indeterminate origin. The type 4 inclusions analyzed did not yield any microthermometric data suggesting they are empty cavities that have lost all their fluid. Fluid inclusions of primary, secondary and pseudosecondary origins in calcite, dolomite and quartz have overlapping homogenization temperatures ranging from 43 to 188°C. Fluid inclusions of indeterminate origin in calcite and barite have homogenization temperatures from 80 to greater than 200°C. Petrographic and microthermometric evidence indicates that fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures greater than 150°C most likely are caused by stretching or leaking; therefore, are discounted. Fluid inclusion types 1 and 2 represent two fluid inclusion assemblages (FIA) based on final ice melting temperatures. The high salinity (10 to 30 wt%CaCl2) inclusions in FIA 1 are of primary, secondary, pseudosecondary and indeterminate origin in calcite, dolomite, barite and quartz. Fluid inclusions in FIA 1 are interpreted as reflecting saline basin brines from which the host minerals precipitated during burial diagenesis. The low salinity (0 to 2.7 wt%CaCl2) inclusions in FIA 2 are of secondary and indeterminate origin in calcite. Fluid inclusions in FIA 2 may reflect a meteoric origin such as in a vadose or phreatic environment based on inclusions containing different phases and variable vapor-liquid ratios. Alternatively the low salinity inclusions may reflect alteration from an influx of meteoric fluids that migrated through basement faults and fractures during periods of uplift and erosion. Early and late-stage carbonates from this study precipitated from 18O-depleted pore fluids and/or at progressively higher temperatures accompanying deeper burial. The FIA 1 homogenization temperatures support burial diagenesis at 66 to 80°C if it is assumed the rocks were buried 2 km, the surface temperature was 20°C and the geothermal gradient was between 23 to 30°C/km. An alternative interpretation is mineral precipitation during a regional hydrothermal event. Burial diagenesis does not explain the fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures of 90°C and greater unless geothermal gradients are higher than 35°C/km or burial depth is increased to 3 km or more. However, thermal maturity of organic matter in the Michigan Basin suggests Ordovician strata were never buried more than 2 km. Four models for regional hydrothermal fluid migration are: (1) gravity-driven flow; (2) ‘squeegee-type’ fluid flow; (3) convection cell fluid flow; and (4) structurally-controlled fluid flow. The gravity-driven model relies on continental heat flow and an influx of meteoric water from basin catchment areas. For the ‘squeegee, convection cell and structurally controlled models, hot fluids could have entered the region from several conduits concurrently during episodic reactivation of basement faults and fracture systems in response to intracratonic stresses created by the continuous interaction of tectonic plates. Determining which of the models best explains regional hydrothermal fluid flow in the Michigan Basin is difficult for several reasons; (1) surface temperatures and maximum burial temperatures at the time of mineral precipitation in the Michigan Basin during the Ordovician are unknown; (2) the timing of mineral precipitation in relation to tectonic pulses is undetermined; (3) there is as yet no known deep-seated heat sources in the Michigan Basin for convection to occur; and (4) it is unknown whether advection is a major process in the Michigan Basin. A collaborative multi-disciplinary research project covering geology, geophysics and hydrogeology would provide much more integrated data than is currently available from stable isotopes, fluid inclusions and organic matter.

Middle Ordovician carbonates in the Lake Simcoe area, south-central Ontario were examined to determine if: (1) The δ18O values of early-stage calcite cement in hardgrounds are useful proxies for Ordovician seawater δ18O values; (2) a regional hydrothermal event affected middle Ordovician strata in the Lake Simcoe area. Whole rock samples of middle Ordovician hardgrounds and immediately overlying limestones containing early calcite cement have δ13C values ranging from -1.7 to +2.9‰ (PDB) and δ18O values ranging from -6.9 to -2.9‰ (PDB). Hardground δ18O values and the similarity of the isotopic composition between the hardgrounds and overlying limestones are consistent with diagenetic alteration during shallow burial, which indicates the hardgrounds are not useful proxies. Late-stage calcite cements have δ13C values from -8.4 to +2.9‰ (PDB) and δ18O values from -11.4 to -6.0‰ (PDB). Late-stage microcrystalline dolomites have δ13C values from -3.9 to +0.4‰ and δ18O values from -10.7 to -7.6‰. Late-stage saddle dolomites have δ13C values from -1.7 to 1.9‰ and δ18O values from -13.8 to -8.5‰. The late-stage carbonate δ18O values are more negative than the early-stage carbonate δ18O values and are interpreted to reflect progressively deeper burial diagenesis. Four types of fluid inclusions were identified in late-stage calcite, saddle dolomite, barite, and quartz. Type 1 inclusions are aqueous liquid-rich with very consistent low to very low vapour-liquid ratios and are of primary, secondary pseudosecondary and indeterminate origins. Type 2 inclusions are aqueous liquid-only and are of primary and secondary origins. Type 3 inclusions are oil-bearing, liquid-rich with low to medium vapor-liquid ratios and are of secondary origin. Type 4 inclusions are vapour-only and are of indeterminate origin. The type 4 inclusions analyzed did not yield any microthermometric data suggesting they are empty cavities that have lost all their fluid. Fluid inclusions of primary, secondary and pseudosecondary origins in calcite, dolomite and quartz have overlapping homogenization temperatures ranging from 43 to 188°C. Fluid inclusions of indeterminate origin in calcite and barite have homogenization temperatures from 80 to greater than 200°C. Petrographic and microthermometric evidence indicates that fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures greater than 150°C most likely are caused by stretching or leaking; therefore, are discounted. Fluid inclusion types 1 and 2 represent two fluid inclusion assemblages (FIA) based on final ice melting temperatures. The high salinity (10 to 30 wt%CaCl2) inclusions in FIA 1 are of primary, secondary, pseudosecondary and indeterminate origin in calcite, dolomite, barite and quartz. Fluid inclusions in FIA 1 are interpreted as reflecting saline basin brines from which the host minerals precipitated during burial diagenesis. The low salinity (0 to 2.7 wt%CaCl2) inclusions in FIA 2 are of secondary and indeterminate origin in calcite. Fluid inclusions in FIA 2 may reflect a meteoric origin such as in a vadose or phreatic environment based on inclusions containing different phases and variable vapor-liquid ratios. Alternatively the low salinity inclusions may reflect alteration from an influx of meteoric fluids that migrated through basement faults and fractures during periods of uplift and erosion. Early and late-stage carbonates from this study precipitated from 18O-depleted pore fluids and/or at progressively higher temperatures accompanying deeper burial. The FIA 1 homogenization temperatures support burial diagenesis at 66 to 80°C if it is assumed the rocks were buried 2 km, the surface temperature was 20°C and the geothermal gradient was between 23 to 30°C/km. An alternative interpretation is mineral precipitation during a regional hydrothermal event. Burial diagenesis does not explain the fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures of 90°C and greater unless geothermal gradients are higher than 35°C/km or burial depth is increased to 3 km or more. However, thermal maturity of organic matter in the Michigan Basin suggests Ordovician strata were never buried more than 2 km. Four models for regional hydrothermal fluid migration are: (1) gravity-driven flow; (2) ‘squeegee-type’ fluid flow; (3) convection cell fluid flow; and (4) structurally-controlled fluid flow. The gravity-driven model relies on continental heat flow and an influx of meteoric water from basin catchment areas. For the ‘squeegee, convection cell and structurally controlled models, hot fluids could have entered the region from several conduits concurrently during episodic reactivation of basement faults and fracture systems in response to intracratonic stresses created by the continuous interaction of tectonic plates. Determining which of the models best explains regional hydrothermal fluid flow in the Michigan Basin is difficult for several reasons; (1) surface temperatures and maximum burial temperatures at the time of mineral precipitation in the Michigan Basin during the Ordovician are unknown; (2) the timing of mineral precipitation in relation to tectonic pulses is undetermined; (3) there is as yet no known deep-seated heat sources in the Michigan Basin for convection to occur; and (4) it is unknown whether advection is a major process in the Michigan Basin. A collaborative multi-disciplinary research project covering geology, geophysics and hydrogeology would provide much more integrated data than is currently available from stable isotopes, fluid inclusions and organic matter.