There are many aspects of ecological thinking. When reading texts through a lens of dark ecology, certain conflicts that arise from the imposition of human expectations on natural systems are revealed. These include interconnectedness, complicity, and ambiguities. Within a system, boundaries are contingent and transitory. Beginnings and ends are gradual, not definite. Ecological systems change over time, but it is a category error to imagine that change represents progress or to assume a teleological purpose. While there are hierarchies of power, and different roles, no species is, ecologically speaking, more advanced than another. Ecological criticism focuses on interconnectedness, complicity, and ambiguity in art and literature, and is well suited to texts that deal with destructive processes like degradation and decay. Noir serves as a good example of a genre that can be read as an ecological system. Graphic novels, which already defy easy categorization are also ripe for ecological study..In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep the boundary between natural and artificial is blurred, not just through the exploration of empathy, but in human artifacts. Watchmen uses many techniques, including a fractured narrative, simultaneous scenes on a single page, and the visual unity space and time to undermine the idea of clear beginnings and endings and critique teleology. A third work, Beautiful Darkness, probes how natural forces of disintegrations overcome temporary human constructs, including civilization. A dark ecological reading yields a sense of humility, instead of certainty, about human capacity for knowledge regarding ecological systems. It fosters respect for the unknowable that lies in shadow and the complicated natural systems that defy attempts at reduction. Disruptive events in narratives, when read ecologically, remind us of the unpredictable results that manipulation of components of the system can have for humanity, as well as on the functioning and balance of the system as a whole.

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Population genetic structure is difficult to assess in blow flies (Diptera: Calliphoridae) due to high connectivity and genetic diversity of subpopulations. Previous studies revealed high relatedness among individuals within wild samples of blow fly populations, however broad geographic structure was absent. The aim of this research was to determine if blow fly genetic structure exists at a fine spatiotemporal resolution and, if so, to elucidate the influence of environmental factors and resource availability on fly genetics. Specifically, blow fly population genetic patterns were tested against anull hypothesis that flies adhere to a patchy population model with high genetic diversity (i.e. no structure) and high resource availability. Samples of the black blow fly, <i>Phormia regina</i> Meigen (Diptera: Calliphoridae), were collected at six urban parks in Indiana, USA (=urban) in 2016 and 2017 (N = 14 and 16 timepoints, respectively). Additional sampling in different ecoregions was performed to determine if trends observed at a high-resolution scale were also present at a broad geographic scale. Therefore, <i>P. regina</i> were also collected at four sites within two national parks (the Great Smoky Mountains and Yellowstone National Parks) over a three-day period. Randomly selected females (N = 10) from each sample underwent the following analyses: 1) gut DNA extraction, 2) molecular analysis at 6 microsatellite loci, 3) vertebrate-specific 12S and 16S rRNA sequencing, and, 4) vertebrate fecal metabolite screening. Flies from the national parks and a comparable subset of urban data also underwent stable isotopeanalysis (SIA) to determine larval food source. Overall, strong seasonal population genetic structure was observed over both years in the urban environment (2016 F’_ST= 0.47, 2017 F’_ST0.34), however spatial structure was lacking, as seen in previous studies (2016 F’_ST= 0.04, 2017 F’_ST0.03). Weather conditions prior to and on the day of blow fly collections, interspecific competition, and resource availability greatly impacted the genetic diversity and kinship of <i>P. regina</i>. A total of 17 and 19 vertebrate species were detected by flies in 2016 and 2017, respectively, and many flies tested positive for vertebrate feces, suggesting that many varied resources are important for maintaining high gene flow among geographic locations. Genetic diversity was non-existent in flies collected from the Smokies (F’_ST= 0.00), while very slight spatial structure existed in the Yellowstone populations (F’_ST= 0.07). Environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, and wind speed were all statistically relevant in maximizing fly collections with vertebrate resources. In 720 min of total sampling time in the national parks and a subset of urban data, 28 vertebrate species were identified, and fecal resources appeared to be the most abundant in Yellowstone. Stable isotopeanalysis revealed a majority of larval resources in the national parks were herbivores, with a more even distribution of carnivore and herbivore carcasses present in the urban environment, which likely explains the high genetic diversity of adult flies in these regions. Overall, the null hypothesis that <i>P. regina</i> adheres to a patchy population model could not be rejected for the Smokies populations. However, the urban and Yellowstone populations appear to adhere to a Levins metapopulation model in which variable availability in resources leads to random bottleneck events in the local populations. Overall, environmental conditions, competition, and resource availability are all important factors influencing <i>P. regina </i>population genetic structure in different environments.

Ecological Economics has emerged across disciplines, and has begun to disentangle, not only the relationship between biophysical earth systems and economic activity, but also, fundamental relationships between objectivity, power, value, ethics, perspective and purpose. In part, this thesis represents an effort to illustrate basic transdisciplinary concepts necessary for understanding the project of Ecological Economics. At present, Ecological Economics is challenged by a seemingly infinite number of available considerations, with a relatively narrow repertoire of impactful mechanisms of control. Given this, it is apparent that the application of Cybernetics to Ecological Economics might provide insights. Cybernetics can help to lend concise language to manners for implementing control and also help to navigate the paradoxes which arise for self- regulating systems. While Cybernetics played an early role in the formulation of the relationship between the economy and an environment with available energy, second- order cybernetics can help to formulate the autonomy of Ecological Economics as a self-regulating system and shed light on the epistemology and ethics of circularity. The first article of this thesis identifies occasions when Ecological Economics has confronted circularity, and explores options moving forward. Ultimately, confronting paradox and circularity provide the means for the substantiation of Ecological Economics. The food system is prominent within Ecological Economics discourse. It serves as a good example of the ‘emergence’ of coordinated activity. In Cybernetics jargon, we can think of the ‘Food System’ as a symbol for the redundancy found in linked characteristics of particular Ecological-Economic inquiry. For instance, when we consider the food system we can be sure that we are dealing with resources that are essential, both rival and non-rival, excludable and non-excludable, and also highly sensitive to boundaries in scope, and scale, and thus highly sensitive to political and social change. In this sense, the food system acts as a symbol for the coordination of activity, and produces an output which is an input to the Ecological Economic ‘boundary’ between the Economy and the Ecosystem. The second article of this thesis provides an analysis of GHG emissions within the Chittenden County Foodshed. We conclude that urban agriculture, dietary change and agro-ecological production in concert, provide emission reductions which are not achieved when these options are considered separately. Given these conditions, we see mitigation beyond 90% of current emissions.

Unintended pregnancy is a global public health threat that affects the lives of women, families, communities, and society. In 2008, the rate of unintended pregnancy in Ethiopia was 101 per 1,000 women aged 14 to 44 years. Although Ethiopia has experienced a steady increase in modern contraceptive use since 2004, this increase did not result in a proportional decline in unintended pregnancy, total fertility rates, or rapid population growth. In this cross-sectional study, associations between individual, interpersonal, community, and societal factors and contraceptive uptake were tested using a sample of 3,863 women aged 15 to 49 years who participated in the 2016 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Surveys. Statistically significant predictors of contraceptive use were included in the logistic regression model. Findings showed that age, education, marital status, type of residence, and wealth index reliably predicted contraceptive use. Increase in age, highest level of education, and wealth index were associated with 13%, 15%, and 65% increase in the odds of contraceptive use, respectively. Being married was associated with 85% decrease in the odds of contraceptive use and being from an urban residence was associated with 56% increase in the odds of contraceptive use. Results of the study can be used to develop targeted family planning interventions to increase contraceptive use and reduce unintended pregnancy, child and maternal mortality, total fertility rates, and rapid population growth in Ethiopia.

Purging Disorder (PD) is characterized by purging after normal or small amounts of food among individuals who are not underweight. Several studies indicate that PD is associated with distress and impairment, underscoring the need for intervention. However, little is known about factors that trigger and maintain purging in PD. This study examined antecedents and consequences of purging using Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), a design that involved repeated assessments of current psychological states in participants' natural environments. Women with PD (N = 24) were recruited from the community to make multiple daily ratings of affect, shape/weight concerns, violation of dietary rules, and stomach discomfort using random-, interval-, and event-contingent recordings over a two-week period. Multilevel model analyses were used to examine between-day differences (purge versus non-purge day) and within-day changes in psychological variables relative to purging behavior. Results supported study hypotheses that negative affect and shape/weight concerns would be higher and positive affect would be lower on days when participants purged compared to days they did not purge. In addition, antecedent analyses supported within-day increases in negative affect, shape/weight concerns, and stomach discomfort prior to purging; however, only changes in positive affect and shape/weight concerns on purge days differed from naturally-occurring changes observed on non-purge days. For consequence analyses, negative affect, shape/weight concerns, and stomach discomfort decreased following purging on purge days, and trajectories of change were significantly different from non-purge days. Finally, exploratory analyses suggested that lower levels of impulsivity enhanced associations between antecedent affect and purging. These data are crucial to understand why women with PD purge after consuming normal or small amounts of food and may point to specific targets for the development of effective interventions.

Ditylenchus Dipsaci (Kuhn) Filipjev. is one of the most destructive nematodes to crop plants. It attacks and damages more than 300 species of cultivated and uncultivated plants. The nematode can be differentiated into many races, each of them having a preference for a group or even a single plant species. Alfalfa stem nematode is one of the races in this species which attacks the above ground portion of alfalfa but does not infest the roots. Larvae of this nematode may migrate from the plant tissue to soil in moist conditions. These nematodes migrate actively to nearby plants or are carried by agricultural tools or wind to reach plants at some distance away, causing a new infection.

To protect and restore the biological integrity of streams, we need to be able to both detect biological degradation and infer likely causes of impairment. Managers often use biological indices to measure biological condition and detect degradation. However, the ability to detect degradation can be limited by the performance of the indices we develop. Index performance varies widely, but the sources of this variation are often unclear. In addition, although bioassessments are useful tools for detecting biological degradation, they do not identify stressors associated with impairment. My thesis research had two general goals: 1) develop statistically and ecologically robust indices to measure biological condition in Nevada streams and 2) quantify relationships between land uses, stressors, and biological condition to infer likely causes of degradation. I developed two biological indices for Nevada streams, a multimetric index (MMI) and observed to expected (O/E) taxa ratios, and determined if index performance was related to site isolation and sample evenness. The Nevada O/E indices were relatively imprecise compared with those from other regions, which likely results from low assemblage predictability associated with spatial isolation of aquatic habitats in arid regions. In contrast, the Nevada MMI was more precise than most previously developed MMIs, likely the result of using models to reduce natural variation in index scores. Sample evenness was positively associated with both O/E and MMI scores. Adjustments of index scores for sample evenness increased index precision, but also altered relative differences in index values and therefore inferences of biological impairment at specific sites. I also quantified relationships between biological condition, instream stressors, and land uses and used a weight of evidence approach to infer likely causes of degradation. Land uses such as agriculture, urbanization, and mining were associated with the spatial distributions of instream stressors, and these stressors were associated with variation in biological condition. Total dissolved solids and metal contamination were the stressors most strongly associated with biological condition. By detecting biological degradation and identifying important stressors and their potential sources, the tools I developed should help managers target conservation and restoration efforts and improve their ability to protect freshwater resources.

Phenological studies of coneflower on aspen range in Northern Utah showed that resumption of growth of mature plants begins at the time of snow melt and the initial or rosette stage is completed between mid-May and mid- June. The rate of growth in this stage is controlled by temperature, being greater at higher mean temperatures. The bolting stage is completed about 1 week after the initiation of stem elongation and the process of capitulum development is begun. Flowering is initiated between late July and mid- August. Cross-pollination is necessary for seed set which is completed by the end of August. Seed dissemination is begun at that time and is completed by the middle of September. Altitude appeared to have an effect on the extent of seed filling, since collections from higher altitudes had lower percentages of filled seeds. Seedling mortality increases as the season advances and reaches a maximum at the end of June when the associated species begin rapid growth. During the first season seedling growth is restricted to one unelongated stem and three leaves. Shoot/root ratios indicated that the main development during this season is in the roots. Optimum controlled conditions for seed germination are alternating temperatures of 25 C-15C with 8 hour photoperiods coinciding with the periods of higher temperature. A constant temperature of 25 C or alternating temperatures of 15 C-5C or constant darkness under any of the temperature regimes give lower germination percentages. Growth chamber studies demonstrated that coneflower is a long day plant since normal development to the seed setting stage is obtained under 18 hour photoperiods but not under 12 hour photoperiods when temperature alternations of 25 C-15 C are used. Low temperature stratification of the crown buds is not required for normal development. A series of field experiments showed that coneflower does not inhibit the growth of an important associated grass species--mountain brome. Laboratory experiments with foliage leachate gave no evidence of inhibitory effects on the germination or growth of other species. Force-feeding of sheep with whole dried plants collected at the seed set stage showed no toxicity for these animals. Total non-structural carbohydrates increase in the aerial parts of the plant as the growing season progressed up to the seed set stage and decreases thereafter until death of the aerial parts. Carbohydrates in the roots show a reverse trend. Two or three clippings applied to the rosette stage resulted in death of the plants. Failure of regrowth after these clippings was probably due to exhaustion of the supply of mature buds on the crown rather than being due to exhaustion of food reserves since significant concentrations of nonstructural carbohydrates were still present in the roots of these dead plants.

The rangelands or semi-arid and arid regions of Western Australia occupy about 87 percent of the land area. Pastoral grazing of managed livestock, mainly sheep and cattle, occurs over much of this area, with an increasing proportion being allocated to the state conservation estate. Rangeland monitoring began at the local scale in the 1950s and since then has been closely tied to the needs of the pastoral industry. By 1992 a regional-scale, ground-based system was in place after two decades of trialling precursor techniques. The state-wide pastoral monitoring programme, known as the Western Australian Rangeland Monitoring System (WARMS), helps to monitor the state’s natural vegetation and soil resources. Change in soil and vegetation attributes through time, in response to climatic conditions, herbivore grazing, fire and other natural and anthropogenic drivers in the rangelands is known as change in range condition or range trend. When range condition is used in an ecological context, as it is in this research, an improving trend implies an improvement in ecological integrity or ecosystem health. In contrast, a declining trend implies a reduction in integrity, otherwise known as natural resource degradation. The principal objective of this study is to produce a regional-scale, long-term quantitative assessment of range condition change in the southern rangelands of Western Australia, using WARMS transect data. Previous analyses of the WARMS database have examined selected vegetation parameters, but this study is the first to calculate a single integrated range condition index. The assessment covers an area of approximately 760,000 km2, stretching southeast from the southern Pilbara region through the Gascoyne-Murchison and Goldfields regions to the Nullarbor region on the Great Australia Bight. / WARMS is designed to provide data and information for assessing regional and long-term changes in rangeland ecological condition. It consists of two principal parts: (1) numerous permanent field monitoring sites and (2) a large relational database. By the end of 2006, there were 980 WARMS sites located on 377 pastoral leases (stations) in the southern rangelands of Western Australia. Average lease size is 202,190 ha and the largest is 714,670 ha. The total area occupied by leases (pastoral plus leases converted to the conservation estate) is approximately 76,250,000 ha. WARMS sites are at an average density of 2.6 sites per lease or 1 site per 77,780 ha of pastoral rangeland. Field-recorded metrics include 11 soil surface parameters and four plant parameters (location on belt-transect, species, height and maximum canopy extent). The field data collection protocol has remained essentially unchanged since 1992 and new field data are captured at each site on a 5-year cycle. This is the most extensive quantitative, ground-based rangeland monitoring system in Australia. This assessment of range condition is based a suite of soil and vegetation indices derived from the WARMS transect field metrics. Seven basic indices have been derived and algorithmically combined into three higher-order indices, one for each of three components of ecological integrity: composition, function and structure. The three indices are then combined into an overall index of ecological health called the Shrubland Range Condition (SRC) Index. In addition, the indices have been assigned to particular time-slices based on the field acquisition date of their component metrics, allowing the calculation of change through time. / The combination of the hierarchical index framework, the use of time-slices and GIS mapping techniques provided a suitable analysis platform for the elucidation of spatial and temporal change in rangeland ecological integrity or health at WARMS sites. The nature of change in the SRC Index and the landscape function, vegetation structure and vegetation composition sub-indices has enabled possible causes to be inferred. The patterns of range condition and change are complex at all landscape scales. However, based on analysis of the WARMS sites, range condition is considerably more variable, in space and time, in the northern parts of the southern rangelands compared to the southern parts, with the exception of the Nullarbor region. Through time, the Ashburton and Gascoyne regions consistently demonstrate the largest area (site clusters) of change and the greatest magnitude of change. For many areas, range trend has fluctuated markedly between improvement and decline since the mid-1990s. However, there are two large clusters of sites which show continuing decline through more than two decades. The legacy of historical degradation and ongoing poor land stewardship (principally through over-stocking) is hindering the widespread recovery in range condition, despite more than a decade of good rainfall seasons. An uncommon exception to this sad story is a group of sites located in the upper region of the Gascoyne catchment, where there has been almost continuous improvement over the same period. This work also provides empirical evidence of a fundamental difference in the behaviour of surface water-flows in different catchment types. / Using the Landscape Function Factor (LFF), there is conspicuous regional differentiation of sites located in exorheic catchments from those located in endorheic-arheic catchments. In general, sites located in the coastal draining exorheic catchments exhibit greater rates of soil erosion compared to sites located in the other internally draining catchment types; the different erosional regimes are probably related to the nature of the ultimate and local base-levels associated with each catchment type. This has important implications for the long-term management of the rangelands of Western Australia.