<i>Festuca hallii</i> [(Vasey) Piper] (plains rough fescue) is a dominant native grass species in the Fescue Prairie region of North America that has undergone dramatic range reduction in the past century. This research is undertaken to address the related issues associated with the effectiveness of sampling in capturing genetic diversity, the influence of habitat fragmentation on genetic variation, the geographic variation of seed germination characteristics, and the comparative genetic variation of differential germination. It was found that the tiller samples revealed slightly larger among-population variation than the seed samples. The fescue plant was genetically diverse, as revealed by the proportion of polymorphic bands, the mean band frequency, and the within-population variation. The genetic variation was not highly differentiated with only 6.5% of the total AFLP variation residing among populations. Mantel test revealed a significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances and a spatial autocorrelation up to 60 km among populations was detected. Base temperatures (<i>T_b</i>, minimal or base temperature permitting germination) of the 15 populations fell into a narrow range within 2.2°C with an average of 1.1°C. High final germination percentage was reached at a wide temperature range from 5 to 20°C with the highest germination percentage at 10°C. Germination rate index increased with increasing temperature from 5 to 20°C. <i>T_b</i> was positively correlated with latitude and negatively with longitude and the thermal time requirement for 50% germination was negatively correlated with latitude. The AFLP variation and germination responses were significantly associated with environmental attributes related to moisture, indicating local adaptation. However, the AFLP variation and germination was not significantly associated with the estimated population size and geographic distance to the nearest neighbor, suggesting that fragmentation has not generated considerable genetic and germination impact on the fescue populations. Marked differences in estimates of mean band frequency were observed for various groups of germinating seeds under different test temperatures. Comparisons of AFLP variation among 27 groups of seeds representing population, germination timing and test temperature indicates seed genotypes respond slightly differently to environmental variation, resulting in significant but small impact of germination timing and temperature on the genetic diversity of populations. These findings are significant not only for understanding and predicting the ecological adaptation of the species, but also for formulating effective restoration strategies for remnant populations.

Nigeria is the most densely populated country in Africa and one of the most advanced economically in terms of both industry and soil and landscape utilization. This country is projected to have one of the largest urban growth rates by 2050. Thus, the demands of the rapidly increasing human population and its material consumption represent a severe threat to biodiversity. Nigeria has the highest deforestation rate of natural forest in the world, its original vegetation has largely been replaced by farming activities, urban development and other products of human activities. The principal causes of the decline and loss of biodiversity in Nigeria include human exploitation of natural resources, fragmentation of habitats and populations, conversion of wild areas to agriculture and other intensive human use and alterations in the structure and function of ecosystems. Amphibians are the vertebrate group with the highest number of species threatened with extinction and habitat loss and fragmentation are considered to be among the leading causes of their declines and extinctions. It has been recognized that one of the most severe problems in conservation biology is the scarcity of baseline data. Such lack prevents evaluation of the effect of the expanding anthropogenic impact and determination of potential population declines. The mountains of eastern Nigeria, within Taraba State, are regionally important in terms of biodiversity and endemism, however, its herpetofaunal diversity has received little attention. Moreover, no studies have investigated how habitat loss and fragmentation may affect dispersal and gene flow among small and isolated amphibian populations, and in the absence of such studies attempts at amphibian conservation are compromised. The aims of this project were threefold. Firstly, a comprehensive inventory of the amphibians and reptiles of Ngel Nyaki and Kurmin Danko Reserve on the Mambilla Plateau was compiled. The outcome, an annotated list of 21 amphibians and 11 reptiles, represent the most thorough inventory to date of the herpetofauna on the Mambilla Plateau. Based on this inventory four key anuran species were selected to conduct a population genetics study. Secondly, molecular tools specifically AFLP markers were developed and used to analyze the genetic population structures of the four frog species Cardioglossa schioetzi, Leptodactylodon bicolor, Astylosternus sp. 1 and Astylosternus sp. 2. differing in geographic distribution and life history traits within the study area. Thirdly, these species were assessed to understand dispersal and connectivity among fragmented and continuous populations on the Ngel Nyaki and Kurmin Danko Reserve. Genetic differentiation among the forest and the riparian fragment populations was observed for three of the target species, however, no significant genetic differentiation was detected among the populations located in continuous forest for any of the four frog species. In addition, geographic and genetic distances were not correlated significantly for any of the four target species, suggesting no isolation by distance at this fine geographic scale. Results from both the inventory and the genetic population structure study revealed that the riparian forest fragments are of utmost importance for the persistence and migration of Cardioglossa schioetzi, and potentially for many other amphibian species. The new scientific findings are now part of the valuable baseline data on the diversity and genetic population structure of amphibian species in Ngel Nyaki and Kurmin Danko Forest Reserve. These results will better inform conservation managers who need to make decisions around management of montane habitat for amphibian species.

Habitat fragmentation is one of the most important factors affecting species extinction and biodiversity loss, Species habitat response expects to differ with habitat feature at different spatial scales and this study was to identify how bat diversity and individual bat species respond to different habitat amounts. The local bat species richness was observed in 156 different locations in Östergötland and the proportion of different habitats were calculated for circular areas with diameters ranging from 400 m. to 12 km. from each location. Although we found that the individual bat species responded differently to the amount of each habitat at different spatial scales, the bat species richness showed a decreasing response with increasing spatial scale. The strongest response of bat species richness to habitat characteristics was at a scale of 939 m.

The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is an iconic Australian marsupial that is the sole extant representative of the Family Phascolarctidae and forms part of the mammalian fauna in four Australian States and one Territory. There has been a significant decline in the range and distribution of the koala since European settlement, with habitat loss and its associated threats, including vehicle strikes, dog attacks and disease, continuing to reduce population numbers. Koalas provide the tourism industry and the Australian economy with revenue up to $1 billion per annum with 80 zoos and wildlife parks around the country displaying koalas. Koalas were introduced to a number of islands in southern Australia the early 20th century, in an attempt to ‘save’ them from near extinction due to habitat loss, hunting and disease. While populations on Queensland islands remain stable and require no management intervention, introduced populations on southern Australian islands show extremely low levels of genetic diversity yet have grown substantially and require constant monitoring and management to overcome overabundance and starvation associated with defoliation of food trees. The only known extant, naturally occurring, island population of koalas is on North Stradbroke Island in Southeast Queensland’s Moreton Bay. Infection with bacteria of the Family Chlamydiacae is at high prevalence in most koala populations but the resulting diseases are generally of low prevalence in koalas in Southeast Queensland and New South Wales. The role of the koala retrovirus (KoRV) in relation to infectious diseases is not fully understood, but it has been identified from all northern koala populations and the majority of southern koala populations though, like chlamydial infection, it is not usually associated with high disease prevalence. The major histocompatability complex (MHC) is a gene family in mammals that is vital for its role in disease resistance and so may play a role in disease susceptibility in koalas. This study provided detailed information about the genetic diversity and population structuring of the mainland koala population in Southeast Queensland, which is amongst the most threatened of koala populations because of anthropogenic disturbance. Microsatellite genotyping of 512 samples and mitochondrial DNA sequencing of a subset of 77 samples collected from sick, injured and dead koalas showed that in Southeast Queensland koalas had high microsatellite diversity (12.8 alleles/locus, He = 0.81) and at least 16 mitochondrial haplotypes. Population genetic analysis revealed six genetically differentiated clusters consistent with the existence of biogeographic and anthropogenic barriers like rivers and highways. The Koala Coast, an area in Southeast Queensland that provides habitat for one of the most significant natural koala populations in Australia was found to be genetically distinct from adjacent areas; the rapid decline of this population means it meets the criteria for classification as “Endangered Wildlife” under Queensland’s Nature Conservation Act 1992. Climatic patterns of warming and cooling that produced the disappearance and reappearance of rainforests is likely to have affected long term koala distribution in coastal eastern Australia – expansion into drier forests when they were available and restriction to refugia during times of rainforest dominance. The koala population in Northeast New South Wales, which has conventionally been classified as a different subspecies to the koalas in Southeast Queensland, has colonised an extensive part of the area since the destruction of the “Big Scrub” rainforest. This forest occupied about 75,000 ha before European settlement and would almost certainly have represented a natural barrier to the movement of koalas as it was unsuitable habitat due to its lack of suitable food trees. Population structuring analysis identified two major genetic clusters in the region, the northernmost of which was less differentiated from koalas sampled on the Gold Coast in Southeast Queensland than the southernmost cluster. The southern cluster, largely found around the city of Lismore, had significantly lower diversity than the northern cluster, consistent with a southward radiating colonisation pathway. Ninety-six percent (96%) of koalas in Northeast New South Wales shared the same mitochondrial DNA haplotype, which was the most common haplotype in Southeast Queensland. There was, therefore, little evidence to support the subspecies delineation of coastal koalas in Southeast Queensland and Northeast New South Wales. From a comparison between wild, mainland populations and two captive koala colonies in Southeast Queensland, genetic diversity in 106 captive koalas was found to be similar to the local wild populations (Dreamworld 9.2 alleles/locus, He = 0.75, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary 10.2 alleles/locus, He = 0.80). Microsatellite alleles in captive koalas were, in general, representative of the local wild populations and of similar frequencies, but the captive koalas possessed mitochondrial DNA haplotypes that were not found in the local wild koalas. Some of the original founders of the captive populations were not from Southeast Queensland so these different mitochondrial haplotypes are likely remnants of the koala genotypes at the original founders’ locations. The preservation of habitat and reduction of consequential threats to the koala’s long term survival in the wild are the most fundamental aspects of koala conservation in this region. However, the successful preservation of high genetic diversity at neutral loci in the captive colonies studied indicates that ex situ measures incorporating a captive breeding program could potentially be used as reservoirs for important genetic material should such an approach become necessary in the context of the drastic and accelerating decline towards local extinction of key Southeast Queensland koala populations. Urgent action would be essential to obtain a representative sample of current genetic diversity (both genomic and mitochondrial), given the drastic rate of decline. Island populations of organisms are expected to show reduced genetic diversity compared to their mainland counterparts because of factors such as founder effects and the increased susceptibility of small populations to the effects of genetic drift. A comparison of genetic diversity was made between the naturally occurring North Stradbroke Island koala population in Southeast Queensland and the introduced populations on St Bees, Brampton, Newry and Rabbit Islands in central Queensland with the mainland populations. As expected, the island populations had lower genetic diversity than mainland populations, however, the introduced St Bees Island population had higher mean number of alleles and expected heterozygosity (5.7 alleles/locus, He = 0.67) than the naturally occurring population on North Stradbroke Island (3.7 alleles/locus, He = 0.55). Anecdotal evidence suggests that the koala populations on Brampton, Newry and Rabbit Islands off the central Queensland coast were established by the unauthorised transfer of koalas from St Bees Island. Mitochondrial DNA haplotype analysis supports this claim however, the most likely explanations for the presence of at least four microsatellite alleles in the Brampton, Newry and Rabbit Island populations that were not found in St Bees Island koalas are that either there were additional introductions from elsewhere or that koalas were already present on these islands prior to the transfers from St Bees Island. A study on the prevalence of chlamydial and retroviral infection in captive and wild koalas showed that 100% of koalas in this study had retroviral and chlamydial infection in at least one tested swab site. None of the captive animals showed clinical signs of disease despite the high prevalence of infection. Signs of disease were evident in some wild koalas, which, in some cases, was the reason for their admission to Moggill Koala Hospital for treatment. In an attempt to understand the immunological mechanisms underlying the apparent disease resistance of koalas which usually limits latent infection progressing to clinical disease states, the MHC genes of koalas were investigated. Low variation at MHC loci is thought to increase susceptibility to infectious diseases because fewer foreign antigens are recognised. The first class II sequences identified from koalas are presented here and showed variation. Variation was also detected at exon 3 of class I, with evidence for at least three class I loci. The koala is a unique Australian marsupial that makes a nationally significant contribution to the Australian economy annually. The results of this study have important conservation and management implications for koala populations in Southeast Queensland and Northeast New South Wales - particularly declining populations in Southeast Queensland - as well as being informative on other aspects of the species’ biology and for mammalian conservation genetics, generally.

An investigation into the effects of deforestation and habitat fragmentation on a central Amazonian frog community was carried out on the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, (BDFFP) based in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Three aspects of deforestation were investigated: the effects of fragmentation and reserve size, the influence of matrix habitat and the effects offorest edge on frogs in 10- hectare isolates. Very few frogs species were lost from fragments (regardless of size) following fragmentation and isolation for 7-10 years. Instead, frog species richness increased, with an average increase in 10 species per fragment. The increase in species was brought about by an increase in matrix associated species, some of which were present in the absence of their preferred breeding habitat. Different frog species had varied responses to fragmentation. The abundance of Eleutherodactylus fenestratus, a terrestrial breeder, increased significantly as fragment size decreased, and its abundance was significantly higher in both large and small fragments than in continuous forest. Colostethus stepheni, a semi-terrestrial breeder, was less abundant in fragments than continuous forest. Finally, Eleutherodactylus zimmermanae and Osteocephalus sp.A did not differ significantly in abundance among fragments, or between fragments and continuous forest. Multiple regression analysis indicated that variation in litter depth and canopy cover may explain the observed increase in E. fenestratus abundance in small fragments. Breeding success of pool breeders attracted to artificial pools was variable, but there was no evidence of reduced breeding success in fragments relative to primary forest. Overall, fragmentation appeared to affect the frog community less severely than other taxonomic groups. Species richness in tropical forest remnants showed a tendency to increase as a result of fragmentation, and only one of four species exhibited lowered abundance in fragments. The effects of fragmentation and subsequent small isolated populations of frog species in fragments was alleviated somewhat by the ability of central Amazonian frogs to utilise matrix habitat. Litter frogs, wallow breeders and upland forest pool breeders all displayed an ability to permeate, and in most cases become residents of matrix habitat. Both matrix with a history of cut and burn and matrix which was only cut supported a similar frog community. Thus, for central Amazonian frogs isolates were not truly isolated due to the ability of frogs to utilise matrix habitat. Litter frogs in 10- hectare isolates displayed an independence from edge related abiotic and biotic gradients. This independence was true for frog species richness, abundance and composition. Consequently, forest fragments are in effect larger for frogs than for other taxa who are constrained by edge effects to exist only within the core of large fragments. Colostethus stepheni was one species found to be negatively affected by habitat fragmentation. Abundance of Colostethus stepheni was significantly lower in fragments and matrix habitat compared to primary continuous forest. This species was also found to be sensitive to edge, with higher abundances recorded as distance from the edge increased. The community level approach adopted in this study, as opposed to intensive investigation of single species, may well have overlooked other' sensitive' species which show more subtle responses to habitat fragmentation than that of Colostethus stepheni. The ability to use matrix and the relative independence from edge related phenomena accounts for the resilience of central Amazonian frogs in a disturbed and fragmented landscape. However, with respect to matrix habitat, forest surveyed in this study has not been repeatedly cut or cut and burnt (with the exception of pasture-land where the frog community is depauperate). In other areas of the Amazon, away from the experimental plots of the BDFFP, matrix habitat is destroyed more frequently. More work is needed to determine the ability of central Amazonian frogs to utilise matrix habitat which is disturbed more frequently.

Swamp rabbits (Sylvilagus aquaticus) in southern Illinois exist as a metapopulation due to loss and fragmentation of the bottomland hardwood forests in which they live, making their persistence in the state uncertain. I ran a spatially-explicit population viability analysis (PVA) on the metapopulation, using a habitat suitability map I created and life history parameters drawn from the literature. I varied parameters related to reproduction, survival, catastrophes, dispersal, and carrying capacity from 50 to 150% of the initial value of each parameter to compare their effects on extinction risk. I modified the map to test the effects of potential habitat loss, fragmentation, and the addition of dispersal corridors on the swamp rabbit metapopulation in southern Illinois. Under baseline conditions, the model suggested about a 20% chance of quasi-extinction (90% metapopulation decline) in 25 years. Changes in fecundity values and the effects of catastrophic flooding had the greatest effect on the risk of extinction, causing quasi-extinction probabilities to range from 0 to 100% and 0 to 87%, respectively. In contrast, changing dispersal values yielded the least impact on the risk of extinction (18-24%), and all other parameters had moderate impacts on the model. Removing groups of the largest habitat patches increased the risk of extinction, whereas removing groups of the smallest habitat patches decreased the risk of extinction, suggesting that small patches could act as population sinks with a negative impact on swamp rabbit persistence. Decreasing patch fragmentation per se reduced the risk of extinction slightly. The addition of dispersal corridors made no significant impact on the probability of extinction. My findings indicate that more research estimating fecundity and the effect of catastrophic floods on swamp rabbits in Illinois is required to more accurately predict swamp rabbit persistence in the state. I also suggest that managers should work to decrease the effect of flooding on the population by improving upland habitat, or decrease fragmentation by increasing the area of bottomland hardwood forests around existing habitat patches. Lastly, I suggest managers focus on preventing further habitat fragmentation into small patches, which will mitigate the creation of potential sink populations and will enable current populations to persist.

Fatores biogeográficos, em particular a posição da população em relação à sua área de distribuição geográfica, podem mediar variações interpopulacionais da resposta das espécies à fragmentação do habitat. O presente estudo teve como objetivo verificar se a posição biogeográfica das populações pode predizer a sensibilidade das espécies de aves à distribuição espacial do seu habitat, medida pela cobertura e configuração dos remanescentes florestais em paisagens fragmentadas. Considerando 21 espécies presentes em pelo menos 30 fragmentos, estabelecemos modelos de regressão relacionando a abundância destas espécies com a cobertura e configuração dos remanescentes, e ainda com a posição biogeográfica das populações. A variável de posição biogeográfica foi obtida através de modelos de distribuição das espécies, utilizando o algoritmo de máxima entropia (Maxent). Utilizamos o Critério de Informação de Akaike (AIC) para comparar os modelos e verificar a importância relativa de cada variável. Grande parte das espécies (n = 10) apresentou um padrão de resposta semelhante, que é o de serem influenciadas tanto por variáveis de configuração da paisagem, quanto pela posição biogeográfica em que se encontram as populações. Outras seis espécies foram influenciadas somente por características da paisagem, enquanto duas foram influenciadas somente pela posição biogeográfica das populações. Houve ainda três espécies que não mostraram sofrer influência de nenhuma das variáveis utilizadas. Não foram verificadas características biológicas das espécies que estivessem relacionadas com esses grupos de respostas das espécies. De maneira geral, o presente estudo mostrou que a posição biogeográfica das populações, assim como os parâmetros de estrutura da paisagem, são fatores importantes na determinação da abundância das populações da maioria das espécies de aves em paisagens fragmentadas. Tais resultados têm implicações para o próprio entendimento da persistência de populações de aves em paisagens fragmentadas, assim como para o direcionamento de esforços voltados para planos de conservação em escalas regionais. / Species distribution models (SDM) is a quite new technique that has been used in many fields of natural sciences. Nevertheless, as problem inherent of a new technique, there is still a lot of questions about the most appropriated manner of its use and application. As the SDM consists a powerful tool with high potential to be used use in many fields of research, it is extremely useful that tests are carried out, to improve and refine this technique. To help in the development of the SDM, this study consist a methodological test that aims to compare the performance of different algorithms used in SDM. We used points of occurrence of 21 bird species along an area of nearly 1,200,000 km2 in southeastern Brazil. The data were obtained through a rough bibliographic revision. Environmental layers used in the modeling procedure consisted of 19 bioclimatic variables, besides altitude and slope of the terrain. The algorithms used were Maxent, GARP and SVM. As a performance parameter of the algorithms we used the area under de ROC curve (AUC), generated with points of occurrence independent of the ones used for the modeling procedure. Based on the AUC values, we observed a higher prevision capacity of the models generated with Maxent, followed by the ones generated with SVM, and at least, the ones generated with GARP. The pattern of the probability distributions of the models generated with Maxent and SVM had a higher biological meaning, besides agreeing more with the species real area of occurrence. As conclusion of this study we consider that Maxent is the most appropriate algorithm to be used in species distribution models, that are made under the same conditions of the ones used in the present study. Biogeographical factors, specially the location of populations in relation to the occurrence area of the species, could mediate interpopulational variations in species response to habitat fragmentation. The present study aimed to verify if the biogeographical position of populations can predict bird species sensitivity to habitat spatial distribution, measured as the forest cover and configuration in fragmented landscapes. Considering 21 species present in at least 30 fragments, we established regression models relating the abundance of the species with patch cover and configuration of the patches, and with the population biogeographical position. This position was obtained through species distribution models, with the maximum entropy algorithm (Maxent). We used the Akaike Information Criteria (AIC) to compare the models and verify the relative importance of each variable. Most of the species (n= 10) presented a similar response pattern, being influenced by landscape configuration and also by biogeographical position parameter. Six other species were influenced only by landscape structure, while two species were influenced only by biogeographical position. There were also three other species that were not influenced by any of the used variables. The response pattern to the independent variables seems to be independent of the biological characteristic of the species. The present study showed that the biogeographical position of the populations could be, with the landscape structure, an important factor to determine the abundance of major part of bird species in a fragmented landscape. Such results have implications on the comprehension of bird species persistence in fragmented landscapes, as well to driven effort for conservation plans in regional scales.

In spatially structured populations, distributional dynamics are driven by the quantity, connectivity and quality of habitat. Because these drivers are rarely measured directly and simultaneously at relevant scales, information on their relative importance remains unclear. I assessed the influence of both direct and indirect measures of local habitat quality, and of landscape habitat amount and connectivity on long-term territory occupancy dynamics of non-migratory pygmy owls. Direct measures of local habitat quality based on territory-specific reproductive output had greater effects on distribution than landscape factors, but only when spatio-temporal fluxes in performance linked to environmental stochasticity and intraspecific competition were considered. When habitat quality was measured indirectly based on habitat structure, however, landscape factors had greater effects. Although all landscape factors were important, measures of landscape connectivity that were uncorrelated with habitat amount and based on attributes of matrix structure and habitat configuration that influence dispersal movements had greater effects than habitat effective area (amount weighted by quality). Moreover, the influence of connectivity (but not habitat effective area) depended on local habitat quality. Such results suggest the relative importance of local habitat quality in driving distribution has been underestimated and that conservation strategies should vary spatially depending on both local and landscape contexts.

The biogeography of Central America is considered a classical case study in understanding the impact of vicariant events on patterns of biotic dispersal. While many biogeographers have focused on community composition and geographic limits of species at broad scales across Central America, much less work has focused on post-colonization diversification patterns at finer scales. The livebearing freshwater fish Xenophallus umbratilis presents an ideal system for determining the impact of recent earth history events on biodiversity in northern Costa Rica. Here, we test the hypothesis that marine inundation of the San Carlos and Northern Limón basins during the Miocene has caused genetic fragmentation among X. umbratilis populations, despite contemporary freshwater connections across this region. To test this idea, we collected mitochondrial (cytb) and nuclear (Xmrk-2) DNA sequence data from up to 162 individuals taken from 27 localities across northern Costa Rica. We employed a variety of analytical approaches, including: maximum parsimony (MP) and maximum likelihood (ML), analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), nested clade phylogeographic analysis (NCPA), and demographic analysis of population size through time. We found four major clades within X. umbratilis, each geographically isolated with no shared haplotypes across drainages. Oddly, clades that occupy adjacent drainages are not always sister taxa in the phylogeny, suggesting that colonization in this species is more complex than a simple model of isolation by distance. All our results are consistent with the hypothesis that changes in sea level associated with glacial eustatic cycles have had an important effect in shaping diversification patterns in this species.

The widespread loss and degradation of habitat constitutes the largest threat to biodiversity in North America. While regulatory programs such as the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and wetland permitting under the Clean Water Act have addressed acute assaults on critical habitat, large areas of unprotected uplands have been lost. Urban development, particularly the advent of lower density suburban and rural sprawl, has greatly diminished the extent of contiguous patches of forest habitat and introduced a host of other undesirable effects on ecosystem function. This study sought to evaluate the extent of urban sprawl and its effects on ecological integrity in Florida using Landsat-derived land cover data collected by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) circa 1987 and 2003. Chapter 1 described a novel GIS technique for correcting the systematic errors in the FWC 1987 and 2003 land cover data and converting those data to a common classification system so that they could be used in any ad hoc land cover change analysis. Comparison to ground-truth observations demonstrated a significant improvement in the accuracy of the land cover data following the Land Cover Correction Process (LCCP). Change detection between 1987 and 2003 using the correct land cover revealed trends in land cover conversion that were very different from previously published results derived from the original FWC land cover data. Conversion to urban uses in the corrected data was 47,293 ha lower, and conversion to agricultural uses was reduced by 196,773 ha, resulting in 244,067 ha less anthropogenic land conversion than had been previously estimated. Although the corrected land cover data showed that overall land conversion of natural areas was lower compared to the earlier estimate, the corrected data showed proportionally greater habitat losses for four important habitat types: Pinelands (-10.08% in the corrected land cover as compared to -5.90% in the original FWC data); upland forest (-9.46% versus 6.37%); sandhill (-13.90% versus 11.18%); and scrub (-15.52% versus -9.83%). Given the relatively small areal extent of some of these habitats, the larger percent loss estimates over the study period revealed by the corrected land cover data are cause for even greater concern by conservation planners and policymakers. Now that its utility has been demonstrated, the LCCP technique can be applied to any pair of roughly similar land cover mapping datasets provided that their original classification systems can be composed by a cross-walk into a single scheme, and that one or more ancillary data sets are available to serve in the tie-breaker role performed here by the land use data from Florida's Water Management Districts. The Soil Survey Geographic (SSURGO) and State Soil Geographic (STATSGO) soils data of the National Resource Conservation Service, the National Land Cover Dataset (NLCD) or the statewide habitat mapping of the USGS GAP Analysis Program could be adapted to provide the ancillary tie-breaker data required by the LCCP to conduct change detection between disparate land cover data sources heretofore considered too incompatible for that purpose. In Chapter 2, measures of urban sprawl, habitat loss and fragmentation in Florida were estimated using the corrected land cover data for 1987 and 2003. The Northwest and North regions of the state exhibited significantly higher indices of urban sprawl, habitat loss and habitat fragmentation via application of the Moran's I statistic. Reducing urban sprawl and habitat fragmentation spatial metrics to simple ordination variables through the use of non-metric multidimensional scaling produced new measures of urban sprawl and habitat fragmentation that correlated strongly with the original FRAGSTATS metrics, but could be more easily mapped and interpreted. Urban and Habitat ordination metrics were each spatially autocorrelated (Local Moran's I and K-means grouping analyses) but not correlated to each other using the Procrustes analysis PROTEST statistic (m2 = 0.952, p = 0.061). In contrast, individual urban sprawl metrics (CA, NP, LPI, ED, SHAPE_AM and DCAD) correlated with habitat fragmentation. NP and DCAD appeared to be particularly useful in predicting fragmentation, and county governments should take measures to reduce establishment of new urban patches to minimize NP and DCAD. Chapter 3 explored the relationship between environmental outcomes in habitat loss and fragmentation and the quality of county local government comprehensive plans. The use of NMS analysis provided a powerful technique for capturing the intrinsic variability of the Local Government Comprehensive Plan (LGCP) plan scoring systems of Brody (2003) and Pannozzo (2013) into a pair of variables each that could be used to explore associations with metrics of urban sprawl, habitat fragmentation and other county characteristics that influence urban growth and development. The geographic distribution of LGCP plan quality favored coastal counties with higher quality plans over inland counties, and there was some evidence that plans in Central and South regions of Peninsular Florida were superior to those in the North and Northwest Panhandle regions. Key factors in plan quality, specifically Coordination and Management, were strongly associated with urban sprawl or habitat fragmentation outcomes. The resources available to counties in the form of tax revenues, whether the county possessed a rural or urban economy, and the county's political makeup also appeared related to LGCP plan quality, urban sprawl or habitat fragmentation outcomes. More research will be needed to elucidate the specific causal mechanisms behind the implementation of local government planning that resulted in the observed environmental outcomes.