Cousine Island, Seychelles, is of major conservation significance as it is relatively pristine, and apparently the only tropical island over 20 ha with no alien invasive mammals. Such mammals, especially rodents, can impact substantially on arthropod faunas. This study focuses on the arthropods of the island that live in fallen logs and litter. The dominant log species are Pisonia grandis (Summerhayes, 1932), Ficus spp. and Cocos nucifera (Linnaeus, 1952). Stage of decomposition and forest type in which the logs occurred significantly influenced the composition and structure of the assemblages. Young logs were significantly richer in species than older logs, possibly due to the greater resources and more varied microhabitats in the younger logs. Log type was also important for arthropod species richness and abundance. Although P. grandis and Ficus spp. logs did not differ significantly, these two log types did differ greatly from C. nucifera which had a higher arthropod species richness, composition and abundance. However, these differences were only significant for recently fallen logs. As the logs decayed, their arthropod assemblages converged. Nevertheless, each log type had some arthropod species not present in another log type. This is important in terms of conservation, especially in the case of C. nucifera, which, according to one school of thought, should be removed from some Seychelles islands as it is considered an alien invasive. Arthropod assemblages in woody litter differed in composition depending on forest type in which they occurred. These woody litter assemblages were generally dissimilar to those in logs in the same forest type. Leaf litter was extremely poor in arthropod species. Species richness, both in logs and litter, was comparable to figures from temperate lands, possibly because the rich, topical fauna was ameliorated by small island size. As the logs are home to several Seychelles endemic species, their conservation is essential. Furthermore, as they are also the food base of certain threatened Seychelles vertebrates, their conservation is about conservation of a food chain on this unique tropical island. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2001.

No description available.

The ulama in Madura are an inseparable part of the local social structure. Their strategic position has given them an excellent opportunity to exercise a leadership role in the local context. The ulama's niche in the social order of the village and the forces that participate in the process of change can be seen through a study of village religion in a historical context. More specifically, this study examines village religion in a contemporary setting, and focuses on the internal structure of the villages and their relations to the outside world. The ulama play an important role in a number of domains, and thus occupy a central position in society. Indeed, their religious leadership has nurtured the emergence of complex networks of followers and colleagues which have, over time, sustained the stability of the ulama's leadership role in the face of social and political vicissitudes.

This thesis explored the place of vitamin C in the Inuit diet through analysis of traditional food sources, assessment of contemporary intake among women aged 20--40 years, estimation of a pre contact intake of vitamin C and qualitative interviews to contextualize current food choices that can affect vitamin C intake. This thesis provides the first reports of vitamin C values for several Inuit traditional foods. There are rich sources of vitamin C in the Inuit traditional food although they are infrequently consumed by this group of women. On average half of the women interviewed in each season met the 1990 Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI) set at 30 mg/day, however, only 34% of the group met the new Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) of 60 mg/day. Historically, ample vitamin C was obtained through the traditional Inuit food system.

No description available.

Climate change and warming have been linked to enhanced coastal erosion in the arctic. Specifically, permafrost is believed to be thawing at greater rates, and wave dynamics are expected to increase in intensity. As a result, thermokarst activity, which includes the occurrence of retrogressive thaw slumps, will be more frequent along arctic coasts. / The availability of airborne and spaceborne imagery in the arctic over the last fifty years has made possible the temporal analysis of permafrost and ground ice-related erosion. The objectives of this thesis are (1) the creation of a large scale database for horizontal coastal retreat on Herschel Island for the 1952-2000 timespan, (2) the investigation of retrogressive thaw slump activity over the same period and its relation to coastal erosion, and (3) the elaboration of stereophotogrammetric techniques to investigate retrogressive thaw slump activity volumetrically. Herschel Island, located on the northern coast of the Yukon Territory, was chosen as the study site for this research, because of the widespread presence of retrogressive thaw slumps and the lack of data for coastal erosion during the last fifty years. / Photogrammetric tools were used to create orthorectified and stereo-images of the Island for the years 1952, 1970, 2000 and 2004 from airphoto archives and Ikonos (1 m resolution) imagery. Coastal erosion was found to be stable or declining on Herschel Island except in the vicinity of retrogressive thaw slumps. In addition, retrogressive thaw slumps were identified on the imagery and observed to have increased in frequency for the 1952-2000 period. / Stereophotogrammetric analysis of two retrogressive thaw slumps showed that eroded sediment volumes from these landforms are considerable and should be included in future assessments of sediment release from arctic coasts to the oceanic shelves.

This thesis presents an exploratory approach using detailed zooarchaeological analysis to evaluate the nature of ringed seal ( Phoca hispida) remains from three seasonally different Thule sites in the Hazard Inlet area of Somerset Island, Nunavut. Most Thule research focuses on winter occupation and presents Thule as a whaling society. Little attention has been given on the nature of sealing during Thule occupation and research on seasonal differences of seal remains from Thule sites remains scarce. This thesis is thus one of the first to focus on ringed seal remains from seasonally different Thule sites through an analysis of over 30,000 bone specimens. The goal of this thesis is to determine if the seal assemblages are a product of differential butchering and transport, taphonomic processes, or if external factors are also playing a role in shaping the faunal record. The analysis considers variability within each site as well as between the sites. Overall, a moderate to strong correlation was found between bone density and the seal bone elements identified while a negative correlation existed with the elements and FUI (food utility indices). This led to the conclusion that taphonomy was the leading agent shaping the seal remains at Hazard Inlet. However, enough variation existed within each site to consider the role of outside factors, such as the presence of dogs, food preferences, food storage and season of occupation in shaping the seal remains at Hazard Inlet.

Dental annuli analyses were performed on 170 ringed seal (Phoca hispida) canines recovered from five Thule semisubterranean houses located at site PaJs-13 at Hazard Inlet, Somerset Island in the central Canadian Arctic. Season of death results indicate greater seal hunting during the spring. Age at death results were used to produce mortality profiles which, when compared with idealized patterns, revealed a prime-dominated pattern indicating the presence of some selective factor in the subsistence strategy. Based on ethnographical studies of traditional seal hunting techniques, conscious selection was eliminated as a factor. Biological studies of ringed seal demonstrate that during the spring, older, sexually mature seals, occupy breeding areas in stable fast ice formations located close to the coast in complex coastal areas. Younger immature seals, on the other hand, occupy areas of unstable pack ice formations either further from the shore in complex coastal areas, or along simple coastlines. The archaeological mortality patterns do not clearly resemble either complex or simple coast modern populations, although a trend toward simple coasts was observed. This observation is consistent with the site location, which allows greater access to pack ice formations. The appearance of selective biological factors affecting random human subsistence strategies indicates that caution must be utilized when interpreting mortality patterns.

Alvars are naturally open habitats which are found in the Great Lakes region in North America and in Scandinavia. The insect fauna of four types of alvars (grassland, grassland savanna, shrubland and pavement) was sampled in the summer of 1996 on Manitoulin Island, Ontario. A total of 9791 specimens from four target insect groups (Coleoptera: Carabidae, Homoptera: Auchenorrhyncha, Hymenoptera: Symphyta and Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea) was identified. Results showed that the grassland savanna and grassland alvars supported the highest number of insect specimens whereas the pavement alvar supported the highest number of species. The origin of the fauna differed between the taxa depending on their closer association with specific microclimatic conditions (Carabidae) or on the presence of host plants (Auchenorrhynca). This first inventory of alvar insects in North America revealed the presence of a high number of species of interest to conservation (rare, disjunct or restricted species).

This thesis investigates the geomorphology of retrogressive thaw slumps and active layer slides on Herschel Island, northern Yukon Territory. In particular, it examines the formation and morphology of both landforms, and the ground ice characteristics of retrogressive thaw slumps. During 1988-1989 a number of retrogressive thaw slumps and active layer slides were surveyed and monitored. Field and laboratory investigations involved (1) documentation of landform distribution, setting and morphology, (2) examination of processes of landform formation, and (3) the examination of cryostratigraphy, ground ice characteristics and material properties. / Retrogressive thaw slumps developed in areas of low to moderate slopes underlain by a variety of sediments with ice contents up to 4500% (on a dry weight basis). Slump headwall retreat rates of up to 19.5 m/yr were recorded. By comparison, active layer slides developed on steeper slopes underlain mainly by marine silts and clays. The sediments exposed in the slide floors and headwalls displayed no visible ground ice, but moisture contents were between 15-35%. Retrogressive thaw slumps and active layer slides form by entirely different processes. However, they do occur in close association and are influenced by many of the same parameters.