<p>Traditional forest reserves are protected natural forests established by ancestors to perform many socio-cultural functions and are protected in accordance to customary laws, not based on government legislation. These reserves generally have a long history with well preserved forests that could demonstrate what the surrounding environment could have looked liked, if humans had not altered it. Therefore, the traditional forest reserves might have significant ecological value and a potential high biodiversity. During February and March of 2009 a field study with semi-structured interviews and field observations was carried out in Babati District in Manyara Region in Tanzania, to study the possible contribution TFRs might have to conservation. The information collected were then analysed using Metapopulation Theory, Island Biogeography Theory and local knowledge concepts. The analysis indicates that there is a higher biodiversity in TFRs compared to surrounding areas and unprotected forests as a result of a rigid traditional protection that local people respect. Further on the MPT and IBT show how TFRs could benefit conservation as islands of refuge for threatened species or as migration corridors between nearby forest reserves and national parks. The future for TFRs and possible conversion into CBFM must include respect and support for the local beliefs as a basis for protection and thereby conservation.</p>

Traditional forest reserves are protected natural forests established by ancestors to perform many socio-cultural functions and are protected in accordance to customary laws, not based on government legislation. These reserves generally have a long history with well preserved forests that could demonstrate what the surrounding environment could have looked liked, if humans had not altered it. Therefore, the traditional forest reserves might have significant ecological value and a potential high biodiversity. During February and March of 2009 a field study with semi-structured interviews and field observations was carried out in Babati District in Manyara Region in Tanzania, to study the possible contribution TFRs might have to conservation. The information collected were then analysed using Metapopulation Theory, Island Biogeography Theory and local knowledge concepts. The analysis indicates that there is a higher biodiversity in TFRs compared to surrounding areas and unprotected forests as a result of a rigid traditional protection that local people respect. Further on the MPT and IBT show how TFRs could benefit conservation as islands of refuge for threatened species or as migration corridors between nearby forest reserves and national parks. The future for TFRs and possible conversion into CBFM must include respect and support for the local beliefs as a basis for protection and thereby conservation.

The marine ecosystem provides key resources to terrestrial organisms inhabiting oceanic islands. These subsidies of marine resources have the potential to affect species richness, ecology and productivity, especially on islands with high perimeter-area ratios. I investigated the impact and importance of marine subsidies on mammal diversity and diet on islands of British Columbia’s Central Coast. Insular mammal species richness was significantly correlated with island area and quantity of marine subsidy (wrack). However, mink and river otter island occupancy was unaffected by island-level covariates, whereas small mammals were more likely to occupancy islands closer together. Keen’s mice and food items were subsidized directly (i.e., consumption) and indirectly (i.e., fertilization) by marine resources. Beach-dwelling arthropods composed 33% of mouse diets. Furthermore, mouse and terrestrial arthropod abundances and stable isotope signatures (d13C and d15N) of food items were depleted moving inland from the beach. Finally, reproductive male mice consumed up to twice the marine-derived prey as females. Collectively, this work demonstrates that insular mammalian richness, as mediated by island-level factors, may be complex due to variation within populations and the recipient ecosystem (e.g., prey biomass). / Graduate