Thesis advisor: Marjorie Howes / Thesis advisor: Andrew Von Hendy / By representing the relationship between a subject and a particular object, key modernist writers offered paradigms for conceiving their literary aesthetics more explicitly. <italic>A World of Objects</italic> presents three interconnected narratives about literary making in the twentieth century by pairing James Joyce with the hoarded object, Elizabeth Bowen with the toy, and Samuel Beckett with the forsaken thing. The over-arching aim of this study is to prove the logic of these pairings by contextualizing the object within each writer's work. In addition to offering detailed analyses of specific texts by Joyce, Bowen, and Beckett, I explore the ways that their work participated in larger aesthetic movements made up of fellow writers, visual artists, cultural theorists, psychoanalysts, and philosophers. Focused on the objects that dangerously clutter Shem's inkbottle house in <italic>Finnegans Wake</italic>, my first chapter reopens critical questions about modernism's stylistic engagement with waste, obsessive cataloguing, and projects of indefinite scope. By integrating recent case histories and psychological discourse on compulsive hoarding, I probe both Joyce's increasing interest in the excesses of the object world and its effects upon his readers. Hoarders and critics of the Wake are alike prone to anxieties concerning the potential value of acquired items. These anxieties lead to an extreme tendency that psychological researchers and clinicians refer to as "elaborative processing." Whether encountering a piece of trash, like a pack of used matches, or an obscure signifier, like "fallen lucifers," (an item in Shem's house) both the hoarder and the Joycean create cognitively rich associative networks for accumulated material or linguistic objects. Through an understanding of the phenomenon of hoarding, I offer an analysis of Joycean objects that assumes their potential value within a range of deferrable symbolic registers. Such a reading calls for a reconsideration of Joyce's later aesthetics and a critique of the critico-stylistic techniques peculiar to <italic>Wake</italic> scholarship. I go on to argue that the consequences of Joyce's equation of litter with literature extend well beyond <italic>Finnegans Wake</italic>; and that a large number of modernist texts exhibit the same potential for the discovery of value in the seemingly valueless. Bowen's theories on toys and character--presented in a series of essays, memoirs, radio broadcasts, and novels, particularly <italic>The House in Paris</italic>--provide a rich resource for considering the object of play in twentieth-century literary aesthetics. Bowen had a life-long obsession with toys ranging from Edwardian toy-theaters to Japanese dolls to Czechoslovakian marionettes. In the unpublished essay "Toys," she argues that the highest form of play involves resourceful manipulation, or the faculty to turn a found object into something else. Bowen's resourceful toy, like the hoarded object, relies upon an individual's heightened creative tendency to invent infinite uses (or misuses) for things. This chapter employs Bowen's theory by reemphasizing trope's etymological meaning of "to alter or to turn one thing into another." This method of encountering the phenomenal world can be discovered in a strain of twentieth-century writers who share Bowen's preoccupation with the effects of troping subjects with objects. Bowen was attracted to the toy because of its abilities to create tensions between subject and object distinctions; its mimetic potential to contest, invert, or reflect established ontological assumptions; and its capability to underscore the inter-construction of interiority and exteriority. My project's culminating chapter appropriates the phrase "forsaken things" from <italic>Malone Dies</italic> as a term to signify the recurrent, infraordinary objects that litter Beckett's texts and the daunting critical trajectories necessary to understand his aesthetic projects. Predominantly critics have abandoned Beckett's objects as either bereft of symbolic value or confoundedly too symbolic. My approach counters these readings by accepting the object's status as purposely forsaken, or liberated from confining ideological and aesthetic frames of judgment. Beckett uses objects to bait his audience into accepting tempting, cogent interpretations (whether allegorical, existential, psychoanalytic, autobiographical, or another); however, his technique is to undercut any stable reading by endowing the object with a paradoxically determined indeterminacy. I develop this argument by tracing the ways that a series of objects (spent matches, pebbles, "pointless" pencils) purposely fail to exhibit or contribute to a consistent syntax of meaning across Beckett's novels and short stories. I conclude my chapter by looking at Beckett's first completed play, <italic>Eleutheria</italic>, and a series of short stories that he wrote between 1946-47. Though one associates Beckett with the absence of objects, analysis of these texts proves that like his contemporaries, he, too, was dependent upon them. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: English.

Introdução: Em suas áreas urbanas, o Brasil vem enfrentando graves epidemias de Dengue, Zika e Febre Chikungunya. Sabe-se que a principal forma de transmissão se deve à veiculação dos vírus causadores destes agravos pelo mosquito Aedes aegypti, sendo fundamental o desenvolvimento de atividades de vigilância entomológica e controle vetorial. Além disso, Ae. aegypti é vetor do vírus da Febre Amarela e Mayaro, entre outros agravos. Entre as diferentes formas que contribuem para a proliferação de Ae. Aegypti, estão os imóveis onde residem pessoas que estão em situação de acumulação, e que podem se configurar como locais importantes para o aumento da densidade do vetor. Objetivo: Avaliar a relação entre os imóveis onde residem esses indivíduos, e a ocorrência de agravos causados por vírus veiculados por Ae. aegypti; elaborar um caderno de orientação aos profissionais de saúde para o atendimento de pessoas com transtorno de acumulação na esfera da Vigilância Ambiental. Materiais e Métodos: A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em uma região da zona norte da cidade de São Paulo, no período de agosto de 2013 a julho de 2017. Foram geocodificados os endereços das pessoas que estão em situação de acumulação, dos Pontos Estratégicos e dos casos autóctones de Dengue, e demais agravos envolvendo Ae. aegypti. Os imóveis das pessoas que estão em situação de acumulação e os PE foram caracterizados no espaço e temporalmente. A existência de aglomerados de casos das arboviroses em torno dos imóveis foi testada por meio da estatística espacial e focal denominada Gi, sendo considerada uma distância máxima de 500 metros, com intervalos a cada 100 metros. O caderno de orientação foi produzido com base na consolidação da estrutura de atendimento de pessoas com transtorno de acumulação existente no âmbito da Vigilância Ambiental. Resultados: Dos 93 imóveis de pessoas em situação de acumulação, foram utilizados 78, dos quais se constituíram como plausíveis para a análise. Em relação aos Pontos Estratégicos, foram considerados todos os 94 presentes na área de estudo. No período, foram confirmados 3112 casos autóctones de Dengue. Quanto às demais arboviroses, foram confirmados apenas 5 autóctones de Chikungunya. Dos imóveis de pessoas em situação de acumulação e dos Pontos Estratégicos, em apenas 6 (7,69%) e 4 (4,26%) respectivamente, foi constatada a formação de aglomerados de casos de dengue, todos pertencentes ao Distrito Administrativo de Vila Medeiros. Conclusões: Os imóveis e os Pontos Estratégicos não se mostraram relevantes para a constituição de aglomerados de casos de arboviroses. O caderno de orientação é apresentado no corpo do trabalho. / Introduction: Brazil has been facing severe epidemics of Dengue Zika and Chikungunya Fever in urban areas. It is widely known that the main form of transmission is due to the dispersion of the virus, which leads to diseases caused by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Thus, the development of entomological surveillance and vector control activities are fundamental. In addition, Ae. aegypti is a vector of Yellow Fever, Mayaro virus and other diseases. Among different ways of contributing for the proliferation of Ae. aegypti, are the houses where people accumulate objects, who suffer from the so-called accumulation disorder, that can be configured as important places for the increase of the vector\'s density. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between the houses where people who are in a situation of accumulation reside and the occurrence of diseases caused by virus transmitted by Ae. aegypti; to elaborate a guidebook for health professionals to care for people with accumulation disorders in the ambit of Environmental Surveillance. Materials and Methods: The research was conducted in a region situated in the northern part of the city of São Paulo, from August 2013 to July 2017. The addresses of the people in the accumulation situation, the Strategic Points and the cases were geocoded. autochthonous diseases of Dengue and other diseases involving Ae. aegypti. The properties of the people afflicted by hoarding disorder and the PE were characterized in space and temporarily. The existence of arboviruses clusters around real estate was tested using the spatial and focal statistics called Gi, considering a maximum distance of 500m, with intervals every 100m. The guidance document was produced based upon the consolidation of the care structure for people with accumulation disorder existing in the scope of Environmental Surveillance. Results: Of the 93 properties of people in a situation of accumulation, 78 were used, of which they were constituted as plausible for an analysis. Regarding the Strategic Points, we considered all the 94 presents in the study area. During the period, 3,112 autochthonous cases of Dengue were confirmed. As for the other arboviruses, only 5 autochthonous cases of Chikungunya were confirmed. Regarding the properties of the people in a situation of accumulation and of the Strategic Points, only in a total of 6 (7.69%) and 4 (4.26%) were respectively identified the formation of agglomerates of Dengue cases, all belonging to the Administrative District of Vila Medeiros. Conclusions: The properties and Strategic Points were not relevant for the formation of clusters of arboviruses cases. The orientation notebook is displayed in the body of the work.

Introdução: Em suas áreas urbanas, o Brasil vem enfrentando graves epidemias de Dengue, Zika e Febre Chikungunya. Sabe-se que a principal forma de transmissão se deve à veiculação dos vírus causadores destes agravos pelo mosquito Aedes aegypti, sendo fundamental o desenvolvimento de atividades de vigilância entomológica e controle vetorial. Além disso, Ae. aegypti é vetor do vírus da Febre Amarela e Mayaro, entre outros agravos. Entre as diferentes formas que contribuem para a proliferação de Ae. Aegypti, estão os imóveis onde residem pessoas que estão em situação de acumulação, e que podem se configurar como locais importantes para o aumento da densidade do vetor. Objetivo: Avaliar a relação entre os imóveis onde residem esses indivíduos, e a ocorrência de agravos causados por vírus veiculados por Ae. aegypti; elaborar um caderno de orientação aos profissionais de saúde para o atendimento de pessoas com transtorno de acumulação na esfera da Vigilância Ambiental. Materiais e Métodos: A pesquisa foi desenvolvida em uma região da zona norte da cidade de São Paulo, no período de agosto de 2013 a julho de 2017. Foram geocodificados os endereços das pessoas que estão em situação de acumulação, dos Pontos Estratégicos e dos casos autóctones de Dengue, e demais agravos envolvendo Ae. aegypti. Os imóveis das pessoas que estão em situação de acumulação e os PE foram caracterizados no espaço e temporalmente. A existência de aglomerados de casos das arboviroses em torno dos imóveis foi testada por meio da estatística espacial e focal denominada Gi, sendo considerada uma distância máxima de 500 metros, com intervalos a cada 100 metros. O caderno de orientação foi produzido com base na consolidação da estrutura de atendimento de pessoas com transtorno de acumulação existente no âmbito da Vigilância Ambiental. Resultados: Dos 93 imóveis de pessoas em situação de acumulação, foram utilizados 78, dos quais se constituíram como plausíveis para a análise. Em relação aos Pontos Estratégicos, foram considerados todos os 94 presentes na área de estudo. No período, foram confirmados 3112 casos autóctones de Dengue. Quanto às demais arboviroses, foram confirmados apenas 5 autóctones de Chikungunya. Dos imóveis de pessoas em situação de acumulação e dos Pontos Estratégicos, em apenas 6 (7,69%) e 4 (4,26%) respectivamente, foi constatada a formação de aglomerados de casos de dengue, todos pertencentes ao Distrito Administrativo de Vila Medeiros. Conclusões: Os imóveis e os Pontos Estratégicos não se mostraram relevantes para a constituição de aglomerados de casos de arboviroses. O caderno de orientação é apresentado no corpo do trabalho. / Introduction: Brazil has been facing severe epidemics of Dengue Zika and Chikungunya Fever in urban areas. It is widely known that the main form of transmission is due to the dispersion of the virus, which leads to diseases caused by the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Thus, the development of entomological surveillance and vector control activities are fundamental. In addition, Ae. aegypti is a vector of Yellow Fever, Mayaro virus and other diseases. Among different ways of contributing for the proliferation of Ae. aegypti, are the houses where people accumulate objects, who suffer from the so-called accumulation disorder, that can be configured as important places for the increase of the vector\'s density. Objective: To evaluate the relationship between the houses where people who are in a situation of accumulation reside and the occurrence of diseases caused by virus transmitted by Ae. aegypti; to elaborate a guidebook for health professionals to care for people with accumulation disorders in the ambit of Environmental Surveillance. Materials and Methods: The research was conducted in a region situated in the northern part of the city of São Paulo, from August 2013 to July 2017. The addresses of the people in the accumulation situation, the Strategic Points and the cases were geocoded. autochthonous diseases of Dengue and other diseases involving Ae. aegypti. The properties of the people afflicted by hoarding disorder and the PE were characterized in space and temporarily. The existence of arboviruses clusters around real estate was tested using the spatial and focal statistics called Gi, considering a maximum distance of 500m, with intervals every 100m. The guidance document was produced based upon the consolidation of the care structure for people with accumulation disorder existing in the scope of Environmental Surveillance. Results: Of the 93 properties of people in a situation of accumulation, 78 were used, of which they were constituted as plausible for an analysis. Regarding the Strategic Points, we considered all the 94 presents in the study area. During the period, 3,112 autochthonous cases of Dengue were confirmed. As for the other arboviruses, only 5 autochthonous cases of Chikungunya were confirmed. Regarding the properties of the people in a situation of accumulation and of the Strategic Points, only in a total of 6 (7.69%) and 4 (4.26%) were respectively identified the formation of agglomerates of Dengue cases, all belonging to the Administrative District of Vila Medeiros. Conclusions: The properties and Strategic Points were not relevant for the formation of clusters of arboviruses cases. The orientation notebook is displayed in the body of the work.

Introdução: O acúmulo de animais tem sido considerado um distúrbio mental caracterizado pela manutenção de um número excessivo de animais em condições inadequadas de criação e de ausência de discernimento desta situação. É um complexo problema de saúde pública com sérias implicações no bem-estar humano, animal e no entorno, porém com poucas pesquisas e dados científicos no Brasil e no mundo. A identificação de situações de excesso de cães e gatos submetidos a maus tratos pode contribuir para o planejamento de estudos futuros para o melhor conhecimento dos casos de acúmulo desses animais. Objetivo: Descrever casos de excesso de cães e gatos notificados no município de São Paulo e propor instrumento de avaliação técnica de inspeção de residências com presença destes animais. Método: Estudo descritivo de denúncias por excesso de cães e gatos do Sistema de Atendimento ao Cidadão SAC no município de São Paulo no período de 2006 a 2015. Foram incluídas as denúncias identificadas com mais de 10 animais ou cujo conteúdo permitisse concluir por excesso de animais. Foram descritas a quantidade e razão por 100.000 habitantes de denúncias, as providências adotadas e o tempo de resposta por ano, por espécie segundo a unidade responsável. Foi feita uma análise crítica das informações contidas no SAC e proposto um instrumento de vistoria de residências com animais, construído com base nos resultados obtidos, em revisão da literatura e nos instrumentos utilizados pelo Centro de Controle de Zoonoses e pela Supervisão de Vigilância em Saúde da Vila Maria de São Paulo. Resultados: Do total de 72.819 denúncias de maus tratos a cães e gatos realizadas no período, 7.293 foram referentes a excesso de animais, sendo 5.283 de cães e 2.010 de gatos. Cães apresentaram 72,4 por cento de denúncias de excesso, porém em relação ao total de denúncias de condições inadequadas de criação, o excesso de cães 10 representa apenas 7,8 por cento enquanto que para gatos esse valor é 39,8 por cento . Dentre as denúncias de excesso, 50 por cento foram confirmadas na vistoria. Quanto à conclusão, 85 por cento foram identificadas como serviço efetuado, sendo que destas, aproximadamente 35 por cento foram consideradas procedentes e 14 por cento resolvidas, independentemente da espécie. Em relação ao tempo de resposta dado ao munícipe, por espécie, a conclusão serviço efetuado e falta informação foram preenchidos em sua maioria no primeiro mês, enquanto que solicitação cancelada e serviço indeferido levaram mais de um ano para serem preenchidos. O instrumento de vistoria proposto permite obter informações sobre os indivíduos que possuem animais, de seus animais e do ambiente e pode contribuir para planejamento de estudos futuros. Conclusão: O número de casos denunciados de excesso de animais no município de São Paulo é grande, com maior ocorrência de excesso de cães. As denúncias apresentaram baixa resolutividade. As informações disponíveis apresentam problemas tanto na qualidade de informação como pela dificuldade em recuperá-las, uma vez que não são padronizadas. O instrumento de vistoria proposto pode contribuir para a obtenção de informações necessárias para melhorar o conhecimento sobre acumuladores e propiciar ações de prevenção e promoção da saúde e um melhor atendimento intersetorial / Introduction: Animal hoarding has been considered a mental disorder described as the keeping an excessive number of animals in inappropriate conditions and the denial about this situation. Its an issue with important public health implications, to people welfare, animals involved and the neighborhood; however there are few studies and scientific data in Brazil and the world. The identification of excess of dogs and cats subjected to animal abuse can contribute to the planning of future studies for a better knowledge of cases of animal hoarding. Objective: Describe cases of excess of dogs and cats reported in the city of São Paulo / SP and to propose an instrument of technical evaluation of inspection in residences with presence of animals. Methods: descriptive study of denunciations of excess of dogs and cats from the Citizen Service (Sistema de Atendimento ao Cidadão SAC) in the city of São Paulo carried out between the years 2006 to 2015. All the denunciations identified with than 10 animals or the content of which allowed conclude an excessive number of animals were included. The quantity and the ratio per 100,000 inhabitants of denunciations, the measures taken and the response time per year, per specie according to the unit responsible were described. A critical analysis of the information contained in the SAC was made and an instrument of inspection in residences with animals was proposed, based on the results obtained, on the literature revision and the instruments used by Zoonoses Control Center and Vila Maria Surveillance Health System of São Paulo. Results: Of the total of 72,819 reports of animal abuse obtained in the period, 7,293 were referring to excess of animals, being 5,283 of dogs and 2,010 of cats. Dogs presented 72.4 per cent of excess denunciations, however in relation to all the denunciations of inappropriate conditions, the dogs excess represented only 7.8 per cent while for cats this value is 39.8 per cent . Among the complaints of excess, 50 per cent were confirmed in 12 inspection. Regarding the conclusion, 85 per cent were identified as service performed, of these, approximately 35 per cent were confirmed as excessive number of dogs and cats and 14 per cent were resolved, regardless of specie. In relation to the response time given to the citizen, per specie, the conclusion service performed and missing information were filled out most in the first month, while \"canceled request\" and \"denied service\" took more than a year to complete. The instrument of inspection proposed allow get information about people who have animals, your animals and of environment that can contribute to the planning of future studies. Conclusions: there are a big number of denunciations of excess of animals in the city of São Paulo, with greater occurrence of excess dogs. The denunciations presented low resolution. The information available presents problems both in the quality of information and the difficulty in retrieving them, since they are not standardized. The instrument of inspection proposed can contribute to obtain the necessary information to improve knowledge about animal hoarding and propitiate health promotion and prevention and a better intersectoral care

O presente texto - Inventários do Impalpável: uma coleção de sombras, temporalidades e projeções -, resultado de pesquisa em poéticas visuais, tem como foco principal a análise de meu percurso artístico no qual a sombra foi o principal elemento constituinte. Interessa-me pensar na qualidade da imagem que, se por um lado fixa um momento, por outro lado remete ao movimento, à passagem do tempo e à sua fluidez: o tempo suspenso ou o tempo acumulado, mas sempre a passagem, o devir e o tempo. Por meio de desenhos e de fotografias realizo escrituras temporais. Durante a pesquisa, interessou-me ainda observar como se dá a percepção do tempo-espaço a partir de projeções e investigar, por meios plásticos, a operacionalidade de sua visualidade. O texto está ancorado em três conceitos implicados no processo artístico: temporalidade, materialidade e colecionismo. / This text, – Impalpable Inventories: a collection of shadows, temporalities and projections - the result of research into visual poetry is focused on an analysis of my artistic career in which shadow was the main constituent element. Interests me to think about the image quality which, if on one hand fixes a moment, on the other hand refers to movement, the passage of time and its fluidity: the suspended time or cumulative time, but always in transition, the becoming and the time. Through drawings and photographs I perform temporal scriptures. During the research, I was also interested in observing how the perception of space-time takes place from projections and investigate, by plastic means, the operation of its visuality. The text is anchored on three concepts involved in the artistic process: temporality, materiality and hoarding.

Social workers working for adult protective services (APS) face many clinical challenges to ensure the safety and well-being of older adult clients. APS social workers often interact with older adults who engage in self-neglecting behaviors that compromise their ability to function in a healthy and independent manner. The purpose of this research study was to explore challenges in direct social work practice to identify how APS services can be improved when working with the older adult population, particularly individuals who engage in hoarding behaviors. Using action research methodology, 2 focus groups were conducted to explore the experiences and knowledge of social workers who are trained in APS and in-home supportive services programs and work directly with the older adult hoarding population when investigating cases of self-neglect. The theoretical framework of cognitive behavioral theory guided the analysis of focus group data to provide insights into understanding the core manifestations of hoarding and how social workers working with this population can provide appropriate services. The overall findings of the study resulted in identifying improvements to APS service interventions. Study findings inform recommendations that allow APS social workers to effectively work with older adults who exhibit hoarding behaviors, while also advancing professional development in the field of social work. Understanding practice challenges to appropriately serve older adults that exhibit hoarding behaviors is essential in effecting positive social change in the lives of vulnerable and disadvantaged older adults, APS agencies, and communities.

Compulsive hoarding is characterized by difficulty discarding unneeded items and the accumulation of items within living spaces and is associated with significant functional impairment and distress. Along with the negative impact on the individual, previous reports have indicated that compulsive hoarding is not only impairing and substantially burdensome for family members, but also linked to disruptions in family functioning. The present study utilized a path model analysis to examine the associations between an array of hoarding variables hypothesized to impact family functioning and parent-adult child relationships in 199 adult children of hoarders. Results revealed that family functioning mediated the relationship between hoarding severity and parent-adult child relationship. Decreased insight into hoarding symptoms was directly associated with decreased quality of parent-adult child relationships, which was mediated by family functioning. Increased family accommodation was significantly associated with increased impairment (work, social, family domains) in adult children of hoarders. Clinical implications and future directions in research are discussed.

During the past few decades, obesity has risen significantly in the United States with recent estimates showing that 65% of Americans are overweight and 30% are obese. This increase is a major cause for concern because obesity is linked to many secondary health consequences that include type II diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Current approaches to the obesity problem primarily have focused on controls of food intake and have been largely unsuccessful. Food, however, almost always has to be acquired (foraging) and frequently is stored for later consumption (hoarding). Therefore, a more comprehensive approach that includes studying the underlying mechanisms in human foraging and food hoarding behaviors could provide an additional target for pharmaceutical or behavioral manipulations in the treatment and possibly prevention of obesity. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a particular peptide that provides a potent orexigenic drive to alter foraging, food hoarding (appetitive ingestive behaviors) and food intake (consummatory ingestive behaviors) in variety of species. NPY is predominantly produced in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus (ARC) and has extensive efferent projections throughout the brain. Two target nuclei of ARC-NPY, the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH) and perifornical area (PFA), have been shown to mediate the effect of NPY on food intake in laboratory rats and mice, but nothing is known about the effect of ARC-NPY on foraging and food hoarding. In addition, the action of specific NPY receptor subtypes within these two nuclei for these behaviors is unknown. Even though ARC-NPY is one of the main sources of input into the PVH and PFA, it is not known if this NPY fiber projection mediates alterations in appetitive and consummatory ingestive behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this dissertation is to test 1) if NPY within the PVH or PFA controls appetitive, as well as, consummatory ingestive behaviors, 2) if NPY Y1 receptors within the PVH or PFA differentially control appetitive or consummatory ingestive behaviors, and 3) if NPY from the ARC is necessary for the control of appetitive and consummatory ingestive behaviors.

Northern environments are often characterised by large seasonal and annual fluctuations in food abundance. In this thesis, I examined how arctic foxes (</i>Alopex lagopus</i>) used seasonally superabundant foods (geese and their eggs) and how access to these foods influenced population dynamics of arctic foxes. I addressed this against a backdrop of variation in lemming and vole abundance (small mammals hereafter) the main foods of arctic foxes throughout most of their range. Field work was done at the large goose colony at Karrak Lake and surrounding areas in the Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary in Nunavut, Canada, in the spring and summers of 2000 to 2004. <p> Behavioural observations of individually-marked arctic foxes showed that they took and cached 2,000-3,000 eggs per fox each year and that the rate at which they took eggs was largely unrelated to individual attributes of foxes (e.g. sex, size, and breeding status) and nesting distribution of geese. Further, the rate at which foxes took eggs varied considerably within individuals in that foxes were efficient at taking eggs at times and inefficient at other times. This may have resulted from foxes switching between foraging actively and taking eggs opportunistically while performing other demands such as territorial behaviours. <p>Comparison of stable isotope ratios (13C and 15N) of fox tissues and those of their foods showed that the contribution of cached eggs to arctic fox diets was inversely related to collared lemming (<i>Dicrostonyx torquatus</i>) abundance. In fact, the contribution of cached eggs to overall fox diets increased from <28% in years when collared lemmings were abundant to 30-74% in years when collared lemmings were scarce. Furthermore, arctic foxes used cached eggs well into the following spring (almost 1 year after eggs were acquired) a pattern which differs from that of carnivores generally storing foods for only a few days before consumption. <p>A field-study of experimental caches showed that survival rate of these caches was related to age of cache sites in the first year of the study (e.g. 0.80 and 0.56 per 18-day period for caches from new and 1 month old cache sites, respectively) and departure by geese after hatch in the second year of the study (e.g. 0.98 and 0.74 per 18-day period during and after goose nesting, respectively). Food abundance and deterioration of cache sites (e.g. loss of soil cover and partial exposure of caches) were, thus, important factors affecting cache loss at Karrak Lake. Further, annual variation in the importance of these factors suggests that strategies to prevent cache loss are not fixed in time but vary with existing conditions. Evolution of caching behaviours by arctic foxes may, thus, have been shaped by multiple selective pressures. <p>Comparisons of reproductive output and abundance of arctic foxes inside and outside the goose colony at Karrak Lake showed that (i) breeding density and fox abundance were 2-3 times higher inside the colony than they were outside the colony and (ii) litter size, breeding density, and annual variation in fox abundance followed that of small mammal abundance. Small mammal abundance was, thus, the main governor of population dynamics of arctic foxes whereas geese and their eggs elevated fox abundance and breeding density above that which small mammals could support. These results highlight both the influence of seasonal and annual variation on population dynamics of consumers and the linkage between arctic environments and wintering areas by geese thousands of kilometres to the south.

Northern environments are often characterised by large seasonal and annual fluctuations in food abundance. In this thesis, I examined how arctic foxes (</i>Alopex lagopus</i>) used seasonally superabundant foods (geese and their eggs) and how access to these foods influenced population dynamics of arctic foxes. I addressed this against a backdrop of variation in lemming and vole abundance (small mammals hereafter) the main foods of arctic foxes throughout most of their range. Field work was done at the large goose colony at Karrak Lake and surrounding areas in the Queen Maud Gulf Bird Sanctuary in Nunavut, Canada, in the spring and summers of 2000 to 2004. <p> Behavioural observations of individually-marked arctic foxes showed that they took and cached 2,000-3,000 eggs per fox each year and that the rate at which they took eggs was largely unrelated to individual attributes of foxes (e.g. sex, size, and breeding status) and nesting distribution of geese. Further, the rate at which foxes took eggs varied considerably within individuals in that foxes were efficient at taking eggs at times and inefficient at other times. This may have resulted from foxes switching between foraging actively and taking eggs opportunistically while performing other demands such as territorial behaviours. <p>Comparison of stable isotope ratios (13C and 15N) of fox tissues and those of their foods showed that the contribution of cached eggs to arctic fox diets was inversely related to collared lemming (<i>Dicrostonyx torquatus</i>) abundance. In fact, the contribution of cached eggs to overall fox diets increased from <28% in years when collared lemmings were abundant to 30-74% in years when collared lemmings were scarce. Furthermore, arctic foxes used cached eggs well into the following spring (almost 1 year after eggs were acquired) a pattern which differs from that of carnivores generally storing foods for only a few days before consumption. <p>A field-study of experimental caches showed that survival rate of these caches was related to age of cache sites in the first year of the study (e.g. 0.80 and 0.56 per 18-day period for caches from new and 1 month old cache sites, respectively) and departure by geese after hatch in the second year of the study (e.g. 0.98 and 0.74 per 18-day period during and after goose nesting, respectively). Food abundance and deterioration of cache sites (e.g. loss of soil cover and partial exposure of caches) were, thus, important factors affecting cache loss at Karrak Lake. Further, annual variation in the importance of these factors suggests that strategies to prevent cache loss are not fixed in time but vary with existing conditions. Evolution of caching behaviours by arctic foxes may, thus, have been shaped by multiple selective pressures. <p>Comparisons of reproductive output and abundance of arctic foxes inside and outside the goose colony at Karrak Lake showed that (i) breeding density and fox abundance were 2-3 times higher inside the colony than they were outside the colony and (ii) litter size, breeding density, and annual variation in fox abundance followed that of small mammal abundance. Small mammal abundance was, thus, the main governor of population dynamics of arctic foxes whereas geese and their eggs elevated fox abundance and breeding density above that which small mammals could support. These results highlight both the influence of seasonal and annual variation on population dynamics of consumers and the linkage between arctic environments and wintering areas by geese thousands of kilometres to the south.