This thesis aims to identify the possible origins of the peoples who immigrated into the archaeological sites of Guajilar and Lagartero, located in the upper Grijalva River Basin region in southern Chiapas, Mexico, during the Late Classic period (AD 650-900). First, I present the Late Classic burial data from both sites according to four basic descriptive criteria: burial location, grave type, burial type, and grave goods. Then, I conduct a comparative analysis of the burial practices found at these two sites based on these criteria so that patterns in burial practices can be identified. Following the comparative analysis between Guajilar and Lagartero, I then compare their burial practices to those from two sites in the southern Maya Lowlands (Altar de Sacrificios and Seibal) and those found at various sites in the Guatemala Highlands (which border the upper Grijalva River Basin region to the north and east, respectively). The analysis reveals greater similarities in burial practices with sites in the Guatemala Highlands than with those in the southern Maya Lowlands. This suggests that peoples from the Guatemala Highlands were more likely to have immigrated into Guajilar and Lagartero during the Late Classic period.

Esta pesquisa aborda um momento pouco investigado pelos estudos sobre o Pacífico negro colombiano. Território de população majoritariamente negra, cujo povoamento desdobrou-se da crise da instituição escravista, o Pacífico negro organizou-se sob um padrão de relativo isolamento frente às estruturas estatais de organização social, constituindo um modelo de subsistência autônomo, baseado em mecanismos locais de parentesco, trabalho e posse da terra. A pesquisa que aqui se apresenta trata de investigar como este modelo de subsistência foi desarticulado pela ação extrativista das indústrias madeireiras, a partir dos anos 1950, as quais se disseminaram na região estimuladas pela emergência de uma nova perspectiva estatal sobre as terras baixas, que as compreendia como baldios da nação que deveriam ser explorados técnica e racionalmente. Este processo gerou focos de proletarização dos camponeses, sobretudo na porção sul da costa, mas também logrou absorver e transformar as dinâmicas locais de trabalho, produzindo uma nova forma de subordinação do trabalho, distinta do assalariamento tipicamente capitalista. Tais elementos levaram a pesquisadora a revisitar a teoria marxiana da acumulação primitiva e da subsunção formal e real do trabalho no capital, bem como as contribuições de Rosa Luxemburg sobre a acumulação do capital, para estabelecermos um patamar teórico seguro que nos permitisse compreender as transformações locais nas relações de trabalho e posse da terra dos camponeses negros, sem perder de vista que tal processo se insere em um movimento mais amplo de consolidação das relações de produção capitalistas no país. / This research address a moment not much explored by the studies about the Pacific Lowlands of Colombia. A territory where the majority of its population is black and came from the slavery crisis. The Pacific lowlands put themselves in an isolated positon according to the social organization, creating an autonomy surviving model based on the local mechanisms of kinship work and territory possession. The research presented draws upon the investigation of the existing model which was dismantled by the extractive actions from the lumber industry, starting in 1950\'s, which were disseminated in the region that urgently needed a new state perspective in the lowlands, and it was seen as a vacant state land and should be technically and rationally explored. This processes brought the proletarianization to the peasants, mostly to the South Coast, and they were also able to absorb the local work dynamics, creating a new way of subjection of labour, not as the proletariat form from the typical capitalism. These elements brought the researcher to revise the primitive accumulation and the capital\'s real and formal work subsumption from Marxist\'s theory. Also Rosa Luxemburg\'s contribution about the capital accumulation to establish theoretical level which allows us to comprehend the local transformations in the work relations and territory possession from the black peasant, keeping in mind that the process is a from a movement beyond the capitalism relations productions in the country.

Esta pesquisa aborda um momento pouco investigado pelos estudos sobre o Pacífico negro colombiano. Território de população majoritariamente negra, cujo povoamento desdobrou-se da crise da instituição escravista, o Pacífico negro organizou-se sob um padrão de relativo isolamento frente às estruturas estatais de organização social, constituindo um modelo de subsistência autônomo, baseado em mecanismos locais de parentesco, trabalho e posse da terra. A pesquisa que aqui se apresenta trata de investigar como este modelo de subsistência foi desarticulado pela ação extrativista das indústrias madeireiras, a partir dos anos 1950, as quais se disseminaram na região estimuladas pela emergência de uma nova perspectiva estatal sobre as terras baixas, que as compreendia como baldios da nação que deveriam ser explorados técnica e racionalmente. Este processo gerou focos de proletarização dos camponeses, sobretudo na porção sul da costa, mas também logrou absorver e transformar as dinâmicas locais de trabalho, produzindo uma nova forma de subordinação do trabalho, distinta do assalariamento tipicamente capitalista. Tais elementos levaram a pesquisadora a revisitar a teoria marxiana da acumulação primitiva e da subsunção formal e real do trabalho no capital, bem como as contribuições de Rosa Luxemburg sobre a acumulação do capital, para estabelecermos um patamar teórico seguro que nos permitisse compreender as transformações locais nas relações de trabalho e posse da terra dos camponeses negros, sem perder de vista que tal processo se insere em um movimento mais amplo de consolidação das relações de produção capitalistas no país. / This research address a moment not much explored by the studies about the Pacific Lowlands of Colombia. A territory where the majority of its population is black and came from the slavery crisis. The Pacific lowlands put themselves in an isolated positon according to the social organization, creating an autonomy surviving model based on the local mechanisms of kinship work and territory possession. The research presented draws upon the investigation of the existing model which was dismantled by the extractive actions from the lumber industry, starting in 1950\'s, which were disseminated in the region that urgently needed a new state perspective in the lowlands, and it was seen as a vacant state land and should be technically and rationally explored. This processes brought the proletarianization to the peasants, mostly to the South Coast, and they were also able to absorb the local work dynamics, creating a new way of subjection of labour, not as the proletariat form from the typical capitalism. These elements brought the researcher to revise the primitive accumulation and the capital\'s real and formal work subsumption from Marxist\'s theory. Also Rosa Luxemburg\'s contribution about the capital accumulation to establish theoretical level which allows us to comprehend the local transformations in the work relations and territory possession from the black peasant, keeping in mind that the process is a from a movement beyond the capitalism relations productions in the country.

The successful analysis of LiDAR data for archaeological research requires an evaluation of effects of different vegetation types and the use of adequate visualization techniques for the identification of archaeological features. The Ceibal-Petexbatun Archaeological Project conducted a LiDAR survey of an area of 20 x 20 km around the Maya site of Ceibal, Guatemala, which comprises diverse vegetation classes, including rainforest, secondary vegetation, agricultural fields, and pastures. We developed a classification of vegetation through object-based image analysis (OBIA), primarily using LiDAR-derived datasets, and evaluated various visualization techniques of LiDAR data. We then compared probable archaeological features identified in the LiDAR data with the archaeological map produced by Harvard University in the 1960s and conducted ground-truthing in sample areas. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the OBIA approach to vegetation classification in archaeological applications, and suggests that the Red Relief Image Map (RRIM) aids the efficient identification of subtle archaeological features. LiDAR functioned reasonably well for the thick rainforest in this high precipitation region, but the densest parts of foliage appear to create patches with no or few ground points, which make the identification of small structures problematic.

[pt] A presente tese visa apresentar uma perspectiva antropológica para a crise ambiental da Baixada de Jacarepaguá, situada na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, ao longo do século XX. Mais especificamente, essa perspectiva busca compreender a história dessa crise a partir da intensa transformação das águas e da terra, inserindo as ações antrópicas locais no contexto global de ações humanas que mudaram a relação entre os seres humanos e não humanos que configuram o Antropoceno-mais-que-humano da antropóloga Anna Tsing. Ao longo do século XX, principalmente a partir dos anos 1970, após a aprovação do Plano Piloto do arquiteto Lúcio Costa, as inúmeras e aceleradas ações humanas para modernizar a região, como as obras de infraestrutura urbana e os frequentes lançamentos de diversos empreendimentos imobiliários pelos agentes da transformação – poder público e empreendedores - iniciaram uma crise ambiental local que foi acentuada pelo comportamento feral de algumas espécies, como o crescimento descontrolado das gigogas e floração das cianobactérias em todo o complexo lagunar da baixada. Além disso, enquanto as tilápias, uma espécie exótica, contribuíram para a mudança na ecologia da ictiofauna, o jacaré-de-papo-amarelo, espécie local, passou a ser um reflexo dessas ações antrópicas, quando seu corpo foi deformado por conta da ingestão de plástico e outros produtos inorgânicos oriundo das atividades humanas. A transformação da paisagem e do comportamento das espécies proporcionou alteração na vida daquelas pessoas que dependem dos recursos naturais provenientes das águas do complexo lagunar. Dessa forma, a crise ambiental desencadeada por conta tanto da intensa e acelerada transformação da região quanto do comportamento feral de algumas espécies da Baixada talvez possa ser entendida como um exemplo local, dentre tanto outros pelo mundo, que revelam os riscos do Antropoceno. / [en] This thesis aims to present an anthropological perspective on the environmental crisis in Baixada de Jacarepaguá, located in the city of Rio de Janeiro, throughout the 20th century. More specifically, this perspective seeks to understand the history of this crisis based on the intense transformation of water and land, inserting local anthropic actions in the global context of human actions that changed the relationship between human and non-human beings that shape the More –than- human - Anthropocene by the anthropologist Anna Tsing. Throughout the 20th century, mainly from the 1970s onwards, after the approval of architect Lúcio Costa s Pilot Plan, the countless and accelerated human actions to modernize the region, such as urban infrastructure works and the frequent launches of various real estate projects by agents of transformation – public authorities and entrepreneurs – initiated a local environmental crisis that was accentuated by the feral behavior of some species, such as the uncontrolled growth of gigogas and the bloom of cyanobacteria throughout the lagoon complex of the Baixada. Furthermore, while tilapia, an exotic species, contributed to the change in the ecology of the ichthyofauna, the broad-snouted caiman, a local species, became a reflection of these anthropic actions, when its body was deformed due to ingestion plastic and other inorganic products arising from human activities. The transformation of the landscape and the behavior of species led to changes in the lives of those people who depend on natural resources from the waters of the lagoon complex. In this way, the environmental crisis triggered by both the intense and accelerated transformation of the region and the feral behavior of some species in the Baixada can perhaps be understood as a local example, among many others around the world, that reveal the risks of the Anthropocene.

Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at Stellenbosch University. / Thesis (PhD (Conservation Ecology and Entomology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The South African Cape lowlands have been severely transformed and reduced to fragments embedded in matrices of various activities. With the need to prioritise conservation efforts, information on the conservation worthiness and management of these fragments is required. This study aimed to better understand how fragmentation affects the Cape lowland vegetation patterns and dynamics and more specifically, to determine if, and if so to what extent these fragments contribute to regional plant diversity and more importantly their functionality. The novel approach adopted focused on plant functional traits, which are better predictors of ecosystem response to global change than individual species. Species were sampled at four scales in four sites of decreasing sizes, including: a mainland and three fragments of three Cape lowland vegetation types i.e. Atlantis Sand Fynbos (ASF), Swartland Shale Renosterveld (SSR) and Langebaan Dune Strandveld (LDS). Traits such as dispersal, pollination, breeding mode and longevity were selected based on relevance to species’ and plantfunctional types’ (PFTs) responses to fragmentation. The findings revealed different effects on species richness and PFTs. The effect of reduced patch size on species richness was more evident in ASF where fragments below 600 ha had significantly fewer species than the mainland. This effect was not unequivocal in SSR and LDS due to several confounding factors (notably the grazing history of the sites). The SSR fragment grazed by indigenous herbivores had significantly more species than the ungrazed sites. Also, the largest LDS fragment grazed by livestock had significantly more species than the ungrazed mainland, indicating that grazing rather than fragment size influences species richness, although the smallest fragments of these two vegetation types had significantly fewer species than the larger fragments. Species turnover and complementarity were high for all three vegetation types, reflecting the degree of habitat heterogeneity and high contribution of beta diversity to overall gama diversity. The effect of reduced patch size was higher on PFT diversity than on PFT richness, with Langebaan Dune Strandveld where habitat fragmentation was more recent being the least affected of the three vegetation types. This indicates a degree of functional redundancy in the Cape lowlands, which is important for ecosystem resistance and resilience. The ASF mainland and the largest fragment had higher PFT diversity than the medium-sized and the smallest fragments; the mainland had also higher PFT diversity than all the fragments combined. Similarly, the smallest SSR fragment had significantly lower PFT diversity and richness than the other sites. The grazed SSR fragment had higher PFT richness and diversity than the ungrazed mainland and smallest fragment, indicating the role of grazing in maintaining renosterveld vegetation. The PFTs absent from the different sites were mostly short-distance dispersed dioecious and non-dioecious species, and some with highly specialised pollination systems. This suggests that dispersal and pollination are vital functional attributes for the persistence of the studied fragmented ecosystems. Habitat fragmentation effects plant community composition and ecological functions in the Cape lowlands, a conclusion supported also by the revealed significant trait-convergence and divergence assembly patterns. These communities result from various fragmentation filters that operate at different spatial-temporal scales and selecting species with suitable responses. All three vegetation types are susceptible to fragmentation, albeit at varying degree. The fragmentation effect was confounded by the sampling and temporal scales, the nature of disturbance regime, and the traitmediated differences in species’ response. The role of the surrounding matrix on fragment connectivity and gene flow appears to be of crucial importance, hence mitigation measures focusing on improving connectivity between patches, monitoring threatened taxa, and promoting dispersal and pollination have been recommended. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika se Kaapse laagland het dramaties verander en weggekwyn tot fragmente wat in matrikse van verskeie bedrywighede veranker is. Gedagtig aan die voorkeuraandag wat bewaringspogings tans geniet, is inligting oor die bewaringswaardigheid en bestuur van hierdie fragmente nodig. Hierdie studie stel dit ten doel om beter begrip te vorm van hoe fragmentasie die plantegroeipatrone en -dinamiek in die Kaapse laagland raak, en meer bepaald om vas te stel óf, en indien wel, in watter mate, hierdie fragmente tot streeksplantdiversiteit en -funksionaliteit bydra. Die ongewone studiebenadering konsentreer op funksionele kenmerke van plante, wat beter aanwyser van ekosisteemreaksie op wêreldwye verandering is as individuele spesies. Spesiemonsters is op vier skale by vier terreine van wisselende grootte ingesamel, wat insluit moederstrook en drie fragmente van elk van drie plantegroeisoorte in die Kaapse laagland, naamlik Atlantis-sandfynbos (ASF), Swartland-skalierenosterveld (SSR) en Langebaan-duinestrandveld (LDS). Kenmerke soos verspreiding, bestuiwing, voortplantingsmetode en lewensduur is gekies op grond van die tersaaklikheid daarvan vir spesies en plantfunksionele tipes (PFT’s) se reaksie op fragmentasie. Die studie bring verskillende uitwerkings op spesie-oorvloed en PFT’s aan die lig. Wat spesie-oorvloed betref, was die uitwerking van kleiner strookgrootte (“patch size”)duideliker te sien by ASF, waar fragmente kleiner as 600 ha beduidend minder spesies as die moederstrook bevat het. Hierdie uitwerking kon nie so duidelik by SSR en LDS waargeneem word nie weens verskeie strengelingsfaktore, veral die weidingsgeskiedenis van die terreine. Die SSR-fragment waarop inheemse herbivore gewei het, het beduidend meer spesies as die onbeweide terreine bevat. Voorts het die grootste LDS-fragment waarop vee gewei het heelwat meer spesies as die onbeweide moederstrook gehad, wat daarop dui dat weiding eerder as fragmentgrootte spesie-oorvloed beïnvloed, hoewel die kleinste fragmente van hierdie twee plantsoorte steeds aansienlik minder spesies as die groter fragmente bevat het. Spesie-omset en -aanvullendheid was hoog vir ál drie plantsoorte, wat aanwyser is van die mate van habitat-heterogeniteit en die groot bydrae wat betadiversiteit tot algehele gammadiversiteit lewer. Die uitwerking van kleiner strookgrootte was duideliker te bespeur op PFT-diversiteit as PFT-oorvloed – in dié verband het LDS, waar habitatfragmentasie mees onlangs plaasgevind het, die ligste van die drie plantsoorte afgekom. Dít dui op mate van funksionele oorbodigheid in die Kaapse laagland wat belangrik is vir ekosisteemweerstandigheid en -gehardheid. Die ASF-moederstrook en die grootste ASF-fragment het hoër PFT-diversiteit getoon as die medium- en kleinste fragmente; die moederstrook het in werklikheid oor hoër PFT-diversiteit as ál die fragmente saam beskik. Insgelyks het die kleinste SSR-fragment beduidend minder PFT-diversiteit en -oorvloed as die ander terreine getoon. Die beweide SSR-fragment was hoër in PFT-oorvloed én -diversiteit as die onbeweide moederstrook en die kleinste fragment, wat die rol van weiding in die instandhouding van renosterveldplantegroei beklemtoon. Die PFT’s wat nié op die verskillende terreine voorgekom het nie, was meestal tweehuisige en nietweehuisige spesies wat oor kort afstande versprei, en sommige spesies met hoogs gespesialiseerde bestuiwingstelsels. Dít dui daarop dat verspreiding en bestuiwing noodsaaklike funksionele kenmerke vir die voortbestaan van die bestudeerde gefragmenteerde ekosisteme is. Habitatfragmentasie raak die samestelling en ekologiese funksies van plantgemeenskappe in die Kaapse laagland. Dié gevolgtrekking word ook gerugsteun deur die bewese patrone van beduidende kenmerkkonvergensie (“trait convergence”) en divergensiesamekoms (“divergence assembly”). Hierdie plantgemeenskappe spruit uit verskeie fragmentasiefilters wat op verskillende ruimte-tydskale funksioneer, en wat spesies met geskikte reaksies kies. Ál drie plantsoorte is ontvanklik vir fragmentasie, hoewel in wisselende mate. Die fragmentasie-uitwerking is beïnvloed deur monsterinsameling- en tydskale, die soort versteuringsbedeling, en die kenmerkbemiddelde (“traitmediated”) verskille in spesiereaksie. Die rol van die omringende matriks op fragmentverbondenheid en geenvloei blyk van die allergrootste belang te wees, en dus word temperingsmaatreëls aanbeveel wat daarop gemik is om verbondenheid tussen stroke te verbeter, bedreigde taksa te moniteer, en verspreiding en bestuiwing aan te help.

No description available.

Knowledge of a species habitat-use patterns, as well as an understanding of the distribution and spatial arrangement of preferred habitat, is essential for developing comprehensive management or conservation plans. This information is absent for many species, especially so for those living or breeding in remote areas. Habitat-use models can assist in delineating specific habitat requirements or preferences of a species. When coupled with geographic information system (GIS) technology, such models are now frequently used to identify important habitats and to better define species distributions.<p> Recent and persistent warming, widespread contaminant accumulation, and intensifying land use in the arctic heighten the urgent need for better information about spatial distributions and key habitats for northern wildlife. Here, I used aerial survey and corresponding digital land cover data to investigate breeding-ground distributions and landscape-level habitat associations of greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons frontalis), small Canada geese (Branta canadensis hutchinsii), tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus), king eiders (Somateria spectabilis), and long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis) in the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary and the Rasmussen Lowlands, Nunavut, Canada.<p> First, I addressed the sensitivity of inferences about predicting waterfowl presence on the basis of the amounts and configurations of arctic habitat sampled at four scales. Detection and direction of relationships of focal species with land cover covariates often varied when land cover data were analysed at different scales. For instance, patterns of habitat use for a given species at one spatial scale may not necessarily be predicted from patterns arising from measurements taken at other scales. Thus, inference based on species-habitat patterns from some scales may lead to inaccurate depictions of how habitat influences species. Potential variation in species-environment relationships relative to spatial scale needs to be acknowledged by wildlife managers to avoid inappropriate management decisions.<p> Second, I used bird presence determined during aerial surveys and classified satellite imagery to develop species-habitat models for describing breeding-ground distributions and habitat associations of each focal species. Logistic regression models identified lowland land cover types to be particularly important for the species considered. I used the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) technique and the area under the curve (AUC) metric to evaluate the precision of models, where the AUC is equal to the probability that two randomly selected encounter and non-encounter survey segments will be discriminated as such by the model. In the Queen Maud Gulf, AUC values indicated reasonable model discrimination for white-fronted geese, Canada geese, and tundra swans (i.e, AUC > 0.7). Precision of species-habitat models for king eiders and long-tailed ducks was lower than other species considered, but predict encounters and non-encounters significantly better than the null model. For all species, precision of species-habitat models was lower in the Rasmussen Lowlands than in the Queen Maud Gulf, although discrimination ability remained significantly better than the null model for three of five species (king eider and long-tailed duck models performed no better than the null model here).<p> Finally, I simulated anticipated environmental change (i.e., climate warming) in the arctic by applying species-habitat models to manipulated land cover data, and then predicted distributional responses of focal species. All species considered in this research exhibited some association to lowland cover types; white-fronted geese, Canada geese, and tundra swans in particular demonstrated strong affinity toward these habitats. Others authors predict lowland cover types to be most affected by warming. Reductions of wet sedge, hummock, and tussock graminoid cover predicted in this simulation, predominantly along the coast of the Queen Maud Gulf study area and in central areas of the Rasmussen Lowlands, suggest that distributions of species dependant on these lowland habitats will be significantly reduced, if predictions about warming and habitat loss prove to be correct. Research presented here provides evidence that modeling of species distributions using landscape-level habitat data is a tractable method to identify habitat associations, to determine key habitats and regions, and to forecast species responses to environmental changes.

The proceedings included herein are the papers presented in the Seventh ICCAE Open Forum held in October 20th, 2006 at Nagoya University, Japan.

Knowledge of a species habitat-use patterns, as well as an understanding of the distribution and spatial arrangement of preferred habitat, is essential for developing comprehensive management or conservation plans. This information is absent for many species, especially so for those living or breeding in remote areas. Habitat-use models can assist in delineating specific habitat requirements or preferences of a species. When coupled with geographic information system (GIS) technology, such models are now frequently used to identify important habitats and to better define species distributions.<p> Recent and persistent warming, widespread contaminant accumulation, and intensifying land use in the arctic heighten the urgent need for better information about spatial distributions and key habitats for northern wildlife. Here, I used aerial survey and corresponding digital land cover data to investigate breeding-ground distributions and landscape-level habitat associations of greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons frontalis), small Canada geese (Branta canadensis hutchinsii), tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus), king eiders (Somateria spectabilis), and long-tailed ducks (Clangula hyemalis) in the Queen Maud Gulf Migratory Bird Sanctuary and the Rasmussen Lowlands, Nunavut, Canada.<p> First, I addressed the sensitivity of inferences about predicting waterfowl presence on the basis of the amounts and configurations of arctic habitat sampled at four scales. Detection and direction of relationships of focal species with land cover covariates often varied when land cover data were analysed at different scales. For instance, patterns of habitat use for a given species at one spatial scale may not necessarily be predicted from patterns arising from measurements taken at other scales. Thus, inference based on species-habitat patterns from some scales may lead to inaccurate depictions of how habitat influences species. Potential variation in species-environment relationships relative to spatial scale needs to be acknowledged by wildlife managers to avoid inappropriate management decisions.<p> Second, I used bird presence determined during aerial surveys and classified satellite imagery to develop species-habitat models for describing breeding-ground distributions and habitat associations of each focal species. Logistic regression models identified lowland land cover types to be particularly important for the species considered. I used the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) technique and the area under the curve (AUC) metric to evaluate the precision of models, where the AUC is equal to the probability that two randomly selected encounter and non-encounter survey segments will be discriminated as such by the model. In the Queen Maud Gulf, AUC values indicated reasonable model discrimination for white-fronted geese, Canada geese, and tundra swans (i.e, AUC > 0.7). Precision of species-habitat models for king eiders and long-tailed ducks was lower than other species considered, but predict encounters and non-encounters significantly better than the null model. For all species, precision of species-habitat models was lower in the Rasmussen Lowlands than in the Queen Maud Gulf, although discrimination ability remained significantly better than the null model for three of five species (king eider and long-tailed duck models performed no better than the null model here).<p> Finally, I simulated anticipated environmental change (i.e., climate warming) in the arctic by applying species-habitat models to manipulated land cover data, and then predicted distributional responses of focal species. All species considered in this research exhibited some association to lowland cover types; white-fronted geese, Canada geese, and tundra swans in particular demonstrated strong affinity toward these habitats. Others authors predict lowland cover types to be most affected by warming. Reductions of wet sedge, hummock, and tussock graminoid cover predicted in this simulation, predominantly along the coast of the Queen Maud Gulf study area and in central areas of the Rasmussen Lowlands, suggest that distributions of species dependant on these lowland habitats will be significantly reduced, if predictions about warming and habitat loss prove to be correct. Research presented here provides evidence that modeling of species distributions using landscape-level habitat data is a tractable method to identify habitat associations, to determine key habitats and regions, and to forecast species responses to environmental changes.