Urbanisation is a key driver in the loss, fragmentation and modification of natural habitats resulting in the global loss of biodiversity. As the human population, and consequently the rate of urbanisation, continues to increase exponentially it is important to understand how to sustain and enhance biodiversity within the built environment. Cities comprise a complex assortment of habitat types yet relatively little is known of how its composition and spatial configuration can influence species presence or foraging activities. It is therefore necessary to examine habitat use and biodiversity patterns at multiple spatial scales to fully understand how species are responding to the urban matrix. There are few other orders of animals that are as strongly associated with people as bats (Chiroptera); for some bat species human habitations provide roosts and adaptations of the environment provide food sources. However bat species richness generally declines with increasing urbanisation indicating that many species are not able to persist in highly urbanised areas. In this thesis, I show that the behaviour, habitat preferences, and distribution of bats are strongly influenced by the built environment at both a local and landscape scale. Although many animal species are known to exhibit sex differences in habitat use, adaptability to the urban landscape is commonly examined at the species level without consideration of potential intraspecific differences. I found that female Pipistrellus pygmaeus show greater selectivity in foraging locations within urban woodland in comparison to males at both a local and landscape scale. There was a lower probability of finding females within woodlands which were poorly connected, highly cluttered, with a high edge: interior ratio and fewer mature trees. The results have important implications for our understanding of how to manage areas for breeding females and highlight the need to supplement acoustic monitoring with trapping data to assess sex differences in habitat use. Determining how morphological or behavioural traits can influence species adaptability to the built environment may enable us to improve the effectiveness of conservation efforts. The morphological similarities between P. pygmaeus and P. pipistrellus suggest that both species should respond similarly to the urban matrix, however I found differential habitat use occurring within a variety of urban habitats (e.g. woodland and waterways) and at a landscape scale. In urban woodland there was a higher probability of P. pygmaeus activity relative to P. pipistrellus in woodlands with low clutter and understory cover which were surrounded by low levels of built environment. Many bat species are strongly associated with aquatic or adjacent riparian habitats yet we know little about the utilisation of urban waterways by bats. After surveying urban waterways throughout the UK, I was able to show that the built environment can negatively affect a variety of bat species from the riparian zone up to 3km from a waterway. This indicates that beneficial urban waterway rehabilitation schemes for bats require management at multiple spatial scales, from retaining a vegetated riparian zone at the local scale to highlighting the necessity for conservation funding to be spent on the implementation of landscape scale environmental improvement schemes that encompass the entire urban matrix. Undertaking surveys to confirm species presence or to estimate population sizes can be difficult, particularly for elusive species such as bats. I was able to demonstrate a variety of ways to increase surveying efficiency (e.g. the use of an acoustic lure to increase bat-capture rate) and a significant relationship between bat activity and the relative abundance of certain species of bat which can maximise the knowledge of diversity in an area whilst minimising wildlife disturbances. Urbanisation has also had strong negative effects on many insect groups, such as moths, which are important components of the diets of many bat species. I found that woodland vegetation characteristics were more important than the surrounding landscapes in determining the abundance, species richness, and species diversity of moth assemblages within urban woodland. This indicates that management at a local scale to ensure provision of good quality habitat may be more beneficial for moth populations than improving habitat connectivity across the urban matrix. The findings presented in this thesis have important implications for our understanding of the adaptability of species to the built environment and for the management and monitoring of bat populations. It also highlights that even common bat species are negatively affected by urbanisation and much greater attention should be paid to securing their future within the urban landscape.

Large carnivores are in global decline, chiefly resultant of anthropogenic persecution, habitat reduction and disturbance. Fosas represent Madagascar's largest carnivore, occupying much of the island's forest. This thesis examines the threats of bushmeat hunting, retaliatory killing, habitat alteration and exotic species using sociological and remote-sensing methodologies. Habitat degradation was not associated with reduced fosa occupancy, indicating some resilience within large, contiguous forests. However, competition with exotic species (cats, dogs) was associated with reduced fosa occupancy and potential temporal shifts towards greater nocturnality. Poor households were more likely to consume protected species. Conversely, wealthier households consumed more fish and eel. This pattern is reflected in Malagasy reported taste preference to consume domesticated animals and certain legally hunted wild species. Protected areas were not associated with reduced protected species consumption. Fosas' predation was a major cause of rural poultry mortality. Predation was more likely to occur in deciduous forests, in the dry season, during the evening. Fosa predation, and lower education was associated with negative Malagasy attitudes. Wealthy households, and those that had experienced fosa predation were most likely to retaliatory kill a fosa. Strategies to safeguard fosas' long-term persistence should seek to improve domestic husbandry, build robust coops with the use of watchdogs, promote education, and reduce exotic species abundance.

The planning and management of coastal and river structures such as breakwaters, groynes, jetties, bridges and tidal inlets require accurate predictions of equilibrium morphologies. Generally these types of situations are modelled numerically using process - based models, where wave, current and sediment transport modules are applied over a number of time - steps until a steady - state morphology is obtained. Two alternative methods have been developed and applied in this thesis, based on self - organisation and entropy approaches. The self - organisation - based method utilises a cellular automata model, where local rules produce a global stable pattern through positive and negative feedback. The entropy - based method is able to predict equilibrium morphologies directly. It compares different randomly generated morphologies using an objective function and optimisation, instead of moving to an equilibrium morphology through intermediate states. This avoids some potential problems associated with traditional models such as error propagation and reliance on accurate initial conditions. The models developed in this thesis have been applied to a number of case studies. It was found that the cellular automata model obtained a higher Brier Skill Score than a comparable process - based model when predicting the equilibrium morphology associated with a channel obstruction. The entropy - based method was able to predict a realistic erosional channel in a coastal lagoon, similar to field observations at the Murray River Mouth in South Australia. It had difficulties predicting the deposition pattern due to the bias of the objective function towards erosional environments. The entropy - based method outperformed a conventional model prediction of the equilibrium erosional channel associated with a laboratory - sized lagoon, but similar problems were observed with its deposition predictive ability. The modelling methods developed in this thesis are a first step into the use of non - traditional, entropy - and self - organisation - based models for the prediction of complex equilibrium morphologies. They have made use of non - conventional models in order to explore different objective function formulations or self - organisation rules and the sensitivity of these, and have compared the models to laboratory results. The work documented in this dissertation shows that it is possible to use self - organisation - and entropy - based modelling methods to predict stable, equilibrium morphologies in coastal and river environments. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2006.

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.

No description available.

Thesis (M.E.S.)--The Evergreen State College, 2007. / Title from title screen (viewed on 1/10/2008). Includes bibliographical references (p. 48-51).

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv. / Härtill 6 uppsatser.

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Carleton University, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 37-43). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Cornell University, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Apr. 20, 2009). Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Mode of access: World Wide Web.