Microhistology of moose browse using polarized light microscopy and age & sex-determination using moose scat

This thesis examines the past, present, and potential future of the practice of Heritage Conservation. Beginning with ancient Roman Architect, Vitruvius, this study establishes a vocabulary for the ideals of preservation practice. Utilitas and venustas, as two of the defining features of good architecture, are also key features to consider in the stewardship of a historic building in active use. The data set used in this evaluation comes from a symposium given in November 2004 by the Association for Preservation Technology International (APT), the United States General Services Administration (GSA), and the United States National Park Service (NPS). Historical background is presented to give a context for the symposium, which includes foundations, policy, and practice in the United States. The Venice Charter, National Historic Preservation Act, NPS, and GSA have been chosen for the Literature Review to provide this background. With utilitas and venustas as additional criteria for evaluation, the symposium case studies were mined for examples of practice that could be used to make suggestions for the future. Based on these examples and the possibilities for improving practice, this study concludes that the United States should draft a new document outlining an updated philosophy and policy for preservation. Future research would serve to develop refinements of existing frameworks and to create a new standard for "best practice".

Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-86).

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes special study report entitled: Methodology of mangrove creation, restoration and management. Includes bibliographical references.

Key sites for the conservation of waterbirds (Aves) in Durban Bay, South Africa. Durban Museum Novitates 30: 1-14. Forty-eight monthly counts of waterbirds were conducted in Durban Bay (July 1999-June 2003). A total of 47 227 waterbirds of 79 species were recorded. Eighteen waterbird species were significantly more abundant in summer while seven were significantly more abundant in winter. Centre Bank supported 40.6% of all waterbirds, comprising mainly Palearctic waders and roosting gulls and terns. Distinct species assemblages of plovers (Charadridae) and sandpipers (Scolopacidae) were associated with the two most selected of the intertidal sites: Bayhead and Centre Bank. The assemblage at Centre Bank included three large-bodied Palearctic species (Greenshank, Grey Plover and Whimbrel), all of which occurred in abundance there and showed strong selection for this site. The assemblage which showed strong site selection for Bayhead consisted of both resident and Palearctic species, five of which are known to favour finer sediments (Ringed and Kittlitz's plovers, Common and Terek sandpipers, and Little Stint). Bayhead had a higher number of waterbird species that occurred at higher densities, when compared with Centre Bank, and showed the highest species-diversity ranking of all sites. This may be a result of the more heterogenous nature of this area. Sporting Bodies- Pelican Island had high densities of, and strong site selection by, piscivorous species and species associated with the semi-natural shorelines of this area. This site, however, supported only 8.6% of all waterbirds counted during the study period. Fish Wharf-Yacht Basin had the highest numbers and densities of Greyheaded Gulls, which utilized this area when scavenging. Other waterbird species were poorly represented here and this site had the lowest species-diversity ranking. Commercial harbour areas were the least attractive for waterbirds in terms of species-abundance values, densities and site selection. This is largely attributed to the artificial nature of these areas. It is recommended that Centre Bank receive highest priority for conservation status within the Bay. Reasons for conserving this site include: (a) the high overall abundance of waterbirds that this site supports; (b) the unique assemblage of Palearctic waders that utilizes this area, and the overall contribution that this has to waterbird diversity in the Bay; and (c) the importance of this site to roosting gulls and terns, particularly Kelp Gull which has regionally, and potentially globally, significant numbers in this area.

Changes in intramuscular connective tissue brought about by conditioning were investigated in bovine muscles of different quality. Perimysial and endomysial collagens were solubilized to a small extent during conditioning and residual insoluble collagens in both connective tissue domains were damaged by proteolytic processing. Yields of soluble perimysial material from unconditioned muscles were significantly lower (p = 0.096) than from conditioned muscles. Solubilized perimysial collagen from unconditioned muscles was significantly lower (p = 0.015) than from conditioned muscles with 1±0.8 % of original collagen solubilized for unconditioned muscles and 3.4 ± 3.3 % for conditioned muscles. 87.5 % of the muscles examined showed an increase in percentage solubilized collagen due to conditioning. The main peptide components observed on analysis of insoluble perimysial fractions after CNBr digestion were derived from types I and III collagen. No changes were observed in the major peptide bands due to conditioning. Yields of soluble endomysial fractions representedo, n average,9 4.5 % of total extracted endomysial material for unconditioned muscles compared with 97.5 % for conditioned muscles. Soluble endomysial fractions contained, on average, 0.13 % collagen from unconditioned muscles and 0.22 % collagen from conditioned muscles. The main peptide components observed on analysis of insoluble endomysial fractions after CNBr-digestion were derived from types I and III collagen. Changes observed on the peptide maps, evident as the appearanceo f a number of new bandsf rom conditioned samples,a ppearedt o be muscle specific. % Type III collagen decreasedo n conditioning, indicating that endomysial type III collagen was preferentially destroyed during - conditioning. In model systems, insoluble perimysium treated with pepsin over 24 h resulted in little damage to the insoluble collagenous residue remaining. Insoluble perimysium treated with cathepsin resulted in changes to the major peptide bands on one-dimensional SDSpolyacrylamide gel electrophoresisw hich were evident after 24 h treatment. Two-dimensional peptide maps obtained from conditioned insoluble perimysium and from insoluble perimysium treated with cathepsin for 24 h were altered relative to the unconditioned insoluble perimysium, indicating proteolytic damage to high molecular weight fractions. The in vitro case was extreme, but was comparable with conditioned insoluble perimysium. In addition, new peptide material in conditioned perimysium and endomysium in the molecular weight range 40 000 to 50 000 was observed, while perimysial samples revealed loss of peptide material, due to conditioning. Percentage solubilized collagen was higher (p < 0.05) from three muscles of varying quality when pre-injected with 0.1 M lactic acid and conditioned from 1 to 14 days than from untreated muscles. Analysis of the high molecular weight collagen peptides from lactic acid treated muscles by two-dimensional SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis revealedi ncreasedin cidenceo f degradationi n this region comparedw ith untreated controls. Sensory profiling using quality descriptive analysis (QDA) was carried out on three muscles of varying quality, pre-injected with 0.1 M lactic acid and results compared with untreated muscles. The results obtained failed to correlate the observed biochemical changes due to lactic acid treatment with perceived textural changes in these muscles. However, variability of the taste panel scores contributed significantly to the results obtained.

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Animal response to anthropogenic features may be fine scale (e.g. changes in movement behavior) or large scale (e.g. landscape fragmentation). I collected locational data on 24 radio-instrumented grizzly bears in Northwest Montana. I used first order vector-based methods to examine grizzly bear movement and resting patterns around open forest roads and rural structures. I attribute grizzly bear locations with environmental and developmental variables and used logistic regression to model grizzly bear habitat selection. To evaluate local attitudes toward living with wildlife, I developed a mail-based survey to assess baseline resident attitude toward living with wildlife with emphasis to grizzly bears. Movement analysis suggested bears moved at higher velocities and rested less frequently in habitat adjacent to roads and structures. However, bears moved with greater sinuosity in habitats surrounding roads and we detected little difference in resting intervals proximate to roads and structures. Our top habitat selection models indicated good predictive performance. Human development features such as roads and structures had little influence over female or male habitat selection at the study area scale. Where grizzly habitat and human activity overlap, we recommend managers carefully consider access management and development to minimize mortality risk for grizzly bears. Survey respondents reported that their information on wildlife was mainly drawn from personal experience and respondent attitudes were generally favorable toward living with bears. Survey responses were most divided on tolerance of dangerous animals near places where people lived. Based on attitudes toward wildlife in the Seeley-Swan the most productive approach would be small scale projects that incorporate person to person collaboration to create local solutions for decreasing human-bear conflicts.