There is a growing need to address the effects of roadway presence on wildlife. Not only do roads directly impact gene dispersal from a movement perspective, but they limit movement of the individual animal from a habitat perspective by presenting an artificial barrier between one area of viable habitat and another. For this reason it is becoming increasingly important to quantify contact between humans and wildlife and to develop better methods for mitigating these types of conflicts. Studying habitat connectivity and animal mobility in the context of roads can provide actionable information on how, where, and when these encounters might occur in order to minimize the effects transportation networks have on wildlife. This study uses two different approaches for studying wildlife-road interactions: (1) quantifying habitat fragmentation caused by roads and (2) directly quantifying wildlife interaction with roadways. This was achieved through the development and extension of methods found in the fields of landscape ecology and time geography. First, this study demonstrates the utility of one newly created road-based landscape metric through a detailed case study via the creation of an original ArcGIS toolbox. Second, this study develops a new time-geographic methodology to probabilistically measure and predict where wildlife interactions are most likely to occur on road networks. Additionally, it is important to ensure these methods not only quantify effects of roads from habitat and movement perspectives but can be used to mitigate these conflicts in real world conservation settings. Each of these approaches individually leverages techniques found in the field of spatial optimization to strategically locate wildlife crossing structures. This study developed two new methodologies to quantify where, when, and how wildlife interactions with roads are most likely to occur: the first using road-based landscape metrics and the second using a probabilistic voxel-based time-geographic approach. To address habitat connectivity issues, one road-based landscape metric was validated on a real world data set and further advanced by developing a GIS-based tool for real world applications. Utilizing landuse and roadway layers in combination with user specified parameters, the script tools developed here readily calculate this road-based landscape metric for a given study area. To address wildlife mobility issues, probabilistic space-time prisms were used to quantify interaction probabilities between wildlife and roads. These prisms were generated for a given set of tracking points and overlaid with an intersecting roads layer in GIS. Summing the probabilities at prism-roadway intersections revealed a pattern in the likelihood of animal-roadway interactions. Finally, each method was expanded to capture habitat fragmentation and animal movement in the presence of roads over large spatial scales using location analysis techniques. This research also develops and implements new methods that explicitly address wildlife-road interactions and aid in siting potential wildlife crossing structures. Since this study directly addresses effects of roadway presence on wildlife, the techniques developed here offer an alternative approach versus existing methods from a habitat and wildlife movement perspective. These methods can aid planners in the conservation of wildlife whose habitat has been impacted by road development by identifying and targeting areas of high impact.

La technique d’ionisation par désorption laser assistée par matrice (MALDI) est l’une des plus fréquemment utilisées lors des analyses de spectrométrie de masse. Découverte il y a 28 ans, elle est encore activement développée. Malgré son vaste domaine d’utilisation et de nombreux travaux menés à ce sujet, les mécanismes de formation des ions restent toutefois vivement discutés. La grande majorité de ces études, visant notamment à rationaliser les principes qui régissent la formation des ions, sont réalisés sur des peptides en mode ion positif. Le travail de cette thèse vise à combler cette lacune et s’attache à explorer le mode ion négatif par l’étude de l’ionisation de polyoxométallates hybrides, qui sont des oxydes métalliques assemblés et greffés de fonctions organiques. Les polyoxométallates portent plusieurs charges négatives en solution et, à la suite de l’ionisation MALDI, ont été détectés sous forme d’ions mono-chargés, donc comme des adduits avec divers cations. En se basant sur les deux principaux modèles décrivant les mécanismes de formation des ions, nous avons proposé un modèle pour l’ionisation de nos composés fondé sur nos observations expérimentales. Le grand nombre de cations utilisés a permis d’établir une classification relative de l’affinité cationique en phase gazeuse pour nos composés, à travers des expériences MALDI. Enfin, l’étonnante capacité des polyoxométallates testés à s’ioniser dans douze matrices très diverses, alliée à la possibilité d’observer des fragmentations en source de manière variable, a permis d’effectuer une classification fine de sept matrices en fonction des taux de fragmentation mesurés. / The matrix assisted laser desorption ionization technique (MALDI) is one of the most used for mass spectrometry analyses. Discovered over 28 years ago, MALDI is still actively developed. However, in spite of its wide utilization and several researches works describing the ion formation mechanisms, it does not exist an unequivocal and clear description of the whole process yet. The majority of those studies destined to rationalize ion formation were carried out in positive ion mode using peptides. Our work is aimed at bridging the gap, performing the MALDI technique in negative ion mode and testing the ionization of hybrid polyoxometalates, i.e. structured metallic oxides functionalized by organic moieties.Based on the two main ion formation mechanisms models, we suggested a model for the ionization of our compounds based on our experimental observations. In fact, polyoxometalic species present in solution several negative charges and have been detected in MALDI as singly charged species under cationic adducts. The numerous cations tested proved the possibility to use MALDI to build a relative gaseous cationic affinity classification. The astonishing capacity of polyoxometalates to be ionized through a wide variety of matrixes allowed to finely classify seven matrices, according to their different ability to induce in source fragmentation.

L'apparition du phénomène Big-Data, a conduit à l'arrivée de nouvelles besoins croissants et urgents de partage de données qui a engendré un grand nombre de requêtes que les SGBD doivent gérer. Ce problème a été aggravé par d 'autres besoins de recommandation et d 'exploration des requêtes. Vu que le traitement de données est toujours possible grâce aux solutions liées à l'optimisation de requêtes, la conception physique et l'architecture de déploiement, où ces solutions sont des résultats de problèmes combinatoires basés sur les requêtes, il est indispensable de revoir les méthodes traditionnelles pour répondre aux nouvelles besoins de passage à l'échelle. Cette thèse s'intéresse à ce problème de nombreuses requêtes et propose une approche, implémentée par un Framework appelé Big-Quereis, qui passe à l'échelle et basée sur le hypergraph, une structure de données flexible qui a une grande puissance de modélisation et permet des formulations précises de nombreux problèmes d•combinatoire informatique. Cette approche est. le fruit. de collaboration avec l'entreprise Mentor Graphies. Elle vise à capturer l'interaction de requêtes dans un plan unifié de requêtes et utiliser des algorithmes de partitionnement pour assurer le passage à l'échelle et avoir des structures d'optimisation optimales (vues matérialisées et partitionnement de données). Ce plan unifié est. utilisé dans la phase de déploiement des entrepôts de données parallèles, par le partitionnement de données en fragments et l'allocation de ces fragments dans les noeuds de calcule correspondants. Une étude expérimentale intensive a montré l'intérêt de notre approche en termes de passage à l'échelle des algorithmes et de réduction de temps de réponse de requêtes. / The emergence of the phenomenon Big-Data conducts to the introduction of new increased and urgent needs to share data between users and communities, which has engender a large number of queries that DBMS must handle. This problem has been compounded by other needs of recommendation and exploration of queries. Since data processing is still possible through solutions of query optimization, physical design and deployment architectures, in which these solutions are the results of combinatorial problems based on queries, it is essential to review traditional methods to respond to new needs of scalability. This thesis focuses on the problem of numerous queries and proposes a scalable approach implemented on framework called Big-queries and based on the hypergraph, a flexible data structure, which bas a larger modeling power and may allow accurate formulation of many problems of combinatorial scientific computing. This approach is the result of collaboration with the company Mentor Graphies. It aims to capture the queries interaction in an unified query plan and to use partitioning algorithms to ensure scalability and to optimal optimization structures (materialized views and data partitioning). Also, the unified plan is used in the deploymemt phase of parallel data warehouses, by allowing data partitioning in fragments and allocating these fragments in the correspond processing nodes. Intensive experimental study sbowed the interest of our approach in terms of scaling algorithms and minimization of query response time.

The prevalence of rape and its widespread impunity, whether committed during armed conflict or peacetime, has been firmly condemned by the UN and its prohibition has been consistently recognised in international law. This development, however, is a rather novel endeavour. The belated response is in part a consequence of rape being characterised by such myths as sexual violence representing an inevitable by-product of war or as being committed by sexual deviants. Its systematic nature has thus been ignored as has the gravity of the offence, often leading to a culture of impunity. This was evident, for example, through the failure to prosecute crimes of rape during the Nuremberg trials, in qualifying it as a harm against a woman’s honour in the 1949 Geneva Convention (IV), or in considering it a violation located in the “private sphere”, thereby beyond regulation by international law. However, substantial efforts have been made in international law to recognise obligations for states to prevent rape. A prohibition of the offence has developed both through treaty law and customary international law, requiring the prevention of rape whether committed by state agents or by a private actor. One measure to prevent such violence has been identified as the duty to enact domestic criminal laws on the matter. The flexibility for states in determining the substance of such criminal laws is increasingly circumscribed, leading to the question of whether a particular definition of rape or certain elements of the crime must be adopted in this process. Elaborations on the elements of the crime of rape have been a late concern of international law, the first efforts made by the ad hoc tribunals (the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia), followed by the regional human rights systems as well as the International Criminal Court. The principal purpose of the thesis is consequently the systematisation and analysis of provisions and emerging norms obliging states to adopt a particular definition of rape in domestic penal codes. The prohibition of rape and, subsequently, the process of defining the crime has been made in three areas of international law – international human rights law, international humanitarian law and international criminal law. Emerging norms in all three regimes are consequently examined in this thesis, bringing to the fore overarching questions on the possible harmonisation of defining rape in these distinct branches of international law. The study will thus provide a contextual approach, aiming to evince whether the definition can be harmonised or if prevailing circumstances, such as armed conflict or peace, should necessarily inform its definition. Ultimately, the advances in international law are evaluated in order to identify possible areas for further development.

Civil wars are inherently complex and often feature a myriad of actors, whose interactions influence the intensity, duration and outcome of the conflict. The larger the number of actors involved in a conflict, the more complex it gets. While civil wars are often portrayed as a dyadic interaction between the government and a single rebel group, this is far from the reality. Between 1946 and 2015, more than half of those countries that experienced civil wars saw two or more active rebel groups. Understanding multiparty conflicts better is important, as they are deadlier, more difficult to solve and more dangerous for civilians. This dissertation studies the causes and consequences of multiparty civil wars. It suggests that all actors in a conflict system with several actors influence each other, which impacts conflict dynamics. Four essays shed light on different aspects of these civil wars. Essay I studies the differences in formation rates of rebel groups across the states of Northeast India. It finds that potential rebel groups will only form when rebellion is perceived as a legitimate way to address grievances and when competition from already existing groups is not too high. Essay II looks at rebel group splintering: It focusses on relationships within rebel groups and finds that both vertical and horizontal relations affect the likelihood of splintering. Essay III studies violent interactions between rebel groups and investigates how different conflict dynamics influence interrebel fighting. It demonstrates that interrebel fighting is more likely when one of the rebel groups is more successful against the government and when negotiations are ongoing. Finally, Essay IV widens the scope of conflict actors by studying why rebels decide to fight against UN peacekeeping operations. It shows that only relatively strong rebel groups are likely to attack blue helmets. Taken together, this dissertation furthers our understanding of the causes and consequences of multiparty civil wars. It highlights the intricate web of relations that form between actors and that influence civil war dynamics. These relations matter not only for studying civil wars, but also for preparing negotiations or planning a peacekeeping mission.

This thesis deals with the landscape fragmentation in relation to the spatial and migration requirements of large carnivores in Western Carpathians region. Based on the data of the model species (Lynx Lynx) occurrence and selected environmental factors, the habitat suitability for Lynx Lynx is discussed using the Maxent habitat model. Employing the Effective Mesh Size method, the current landscape fragmentation caused by the transport infrastructure and urban development is studied in detail in terms of the fragmentation geometry. In addition to the analysis of measure of the current fragmentation, this thesis also includes a prediction of development of the landscape fragmentation in relation to the planned large transport constructions up to the year 2030. Comparing the habitat suitability model with the measure of current landscape fragmentation, the areas with the greatest potential of the Lynx Lynx permanent occurrence as well as the problematic areas in view of the dispersion and individuals migration are determined. Comparing the habitat suitability model with the prognosis of development of the landscape fragmentation, the impact of the planned road constructions on the suitable habitat is assessed.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / The objective of this project is to study the production of Li, Be and B isotopes emitted in the interaction of 12C with 12C at incident energies of 200 and 400 MeV.The energies of these produced fragments were measured with a detector telescope consisting of two silicon detectors at the incident energy of 200 MeV while a third silicon detector was added for the measurements at 400 MeV. / South Africa

Master of Science / Department of Biology / Alice Boyle / Species extinctions over the past two centuries have mainly been caused by habitat destruction. Landscape change typically reduces habitat area, and can fragment contiguous habitat into remnant patches that are more subject to anthropogenic disturbance. Furthermore, changes in the landscape matrix and land-use intensification within remaining natural areas can reduce habitat quality and exacerbate the consequences of habitat loss and fragmentation. Accordingly, wildlife conservation requires an understanding of how landscape structure influences habitat selection. However, most studies of habitat selection are conducted at fine spatial scales and fail to account for landscape context. Temperate grasslands are a critically endangered biome, and remaining prairies are threatened by woody encroachment and disruptions to historic fire-grazing regimes. Here, I investigated the effects of habitat area, fragmentation, woody cover, and rangeland management on habitat selection by two species of declining grassland-obligate sparrows: Henslow’s Sparrows (Ammodramus henslowii) and Grasshopper Sparrows (A. savannarum). I conducted >10,000 bird surveys at sites located throughout eastern Kansas, home to North America’s largest remaining tracts of tallgrass prairie, during the breeding seasons of 2015 and 2016. I assessed the relative importance of different landscape attributes in determining occurrence and within-season site-fidelity of Henslow’s Sparrows using dynamic occupancy models. The species was rare, inhabited <1% of sites, and appeared and disappeared from sites within and between seasons. Henslow’s Sparrows only settled in unburned prairie early in spring, but later in the season, inhabited burned areas and responded to landscape structure at larger scales (50-ha area early in spring vs. 200-ha during mid-season). Sparrows usually settled in unfragmented prairie, strongly favored Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields embedded within rangeland, avoided trees, and disappeared from hayfields after mowing. Having identified fragmentation as an important determinant of Henslow’s Sparrow occurrence, I used N-mixture models to test whether abundance of the more common Grasshopper Sparrow was driven by total habitat area or core habitat area (i.e. grasslands >60 m from woodlands, croplands, or urbanized areas). Among 50-ha landscapes containing the same total grassland area, sparrows favored landscapes with more core habitat, and like Henslow’s Sparrows, avoided trees; in landscapes containing ~50–70% grassland, abundance decreased more than threefold if half the grassland area was near an edge, and the landscape contained trees. Effective conservation requires ensuring that habitat is suitable at spatial scales larger than that of the territory or home range. Protecting prairie remnants from agricultural conversion and woody encroachment, promoting CRP enrollment, and maintaining portions of undisturbed prairie in working rangelands each year are critical to protecting threatened grassland species. Both Henslow’s Sparrows and Grasshopper Sparrows were influenced by habitat fragmentation, underscoring the importance of landscape features in driving habitat selection by migratory birds. As habitat loss threatens animal populations worldwide, conservation efforts focused on protecting and restoring core habitat could help mitigate declines of sensitive species.

Angadenia berteroi is a tropical perennial subshrub of the pine rocklands with large yellow flowers that set very few fruits. My dissertation seeks to elucidate the factors that affect the reproductive fitness of Angadenia berteroi a native species of the south Florida pine rocklands. I provide novel information on the pollination biology of this native species. I also assess the effects of herbivory on growth and the reproductive success of A. berteroi. Finally, I elucidate how habitat fragmentation and quality are correlated with reproductive fitness of this native perennial plant. Using a novel experimental approach, I determined the most effective pollinator group. I used nylon fishing line of widths corresponding to proboscis diameter of the major groups of visitors to examine pollen removal and deposition. In the field, I estimated visitation frequency and efficacy of each pollinator type. Using potted plants, I exposed flowers to single visit from different types of pollinators to measure fruit set. I performed artificial defoliation with scissors on plants growing in the greenhouse to assess the effects of defoliation before flowering as well as during flowering. Additionally, I used structural equation modelling (SEM) to elucidate how A. berteroi reproductive fitness was affected by habitat fragmentation and quality. My experiments provide evidence that Angadenia berteroi is specialized for bee pollination; though butterflies, skippers and others also visit its flowers, A. berteroi is exclusively pollinated by two native bees of the South Florida pine rocklands . This research also demonstrated that herbivory by the oleander moth may have direct and indirect effects on Angadenia berteroi growth and reproductive success. The SEM results suggested that habitat quality (litter depth and subcanopy cover) may favor reproduction in native species of the South Florida pine rocklands that are properly maintained by periodic fires and exotic control. Insights from this threatened and charismatic species may provide impetus to properly manage remaining pine rocklands in South Florida for this and other endemic understory species.