The study involved the predator-prey interaction of three species namely the predator (Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus), the super-predator (Lion Panthera leo), and their common prey (Impala Aepyceros melampus). The study area is the Kruger National Park. The predator being an endangered species, faces a survival problem. It is frequently killed by the super-predator to reduce competition for prey. The super-predator also scares away the predator o_ its kills. The prey forms the main diet of the predator. The plight of the predator motivated the author to formulate disease and reaction-diffusion models for the species interactions. The purpose of the models were to predict and explain the effect of large competition from the super-predator on the predator population. Important parameters related to additional predator mortality due to presence of super-predator, the disease incidence rate and induced death rate formed the focal points of the analysis. The dynamics of a predator-prey model with disease in super-predator were investigated. The super-predator species is infected with bovine Tuberculosis. In the study, the disease is considered as biological control to allow the predator population to regain from low numbers. The results highlight that in the absence of additional mortality on the predator by the super-predator, the predator population survives extinction. Furthermore, at current levels of disease incidence, the super-predator population is wiped out by the disease. However, the super-predator population survives extinction if the disease incidence rate is low. Persistence of all populations is possible in the case of low disease incidence rate and no additional mortality imparted on the predator. Furthermore, a two-species subsystem, prey and predator, is considered as a special case to determine the effect of super-predator removal from the system, on the survival of the predator. This is treated as a contrasting case from the smaller parks. The results show that the predator population thrives well in the total absence of its main competitor, with its population rising to at least twice the initial value. A reaction-diffusion three-species predator-prey model was formulated and analysed. Stability of the temporal and the spatio-temporal systems, existence and non-existence of stationary steady state solutions were studied. Conditions for the emergence of stationary patterns were deduced. The results show that by choosing the diffusion coeffcient d2 > _D 2 suffciently large, a non-constant positive solution is generated, that is, stationary patterns emerge, depicting dispersal of species. Predators were observed to occupy habitats surrounding prey. However, super-predators were observed to alternate their habitats, from staying away from prey to invading prey habitat. In the investigation, strategies to determine ways in which the predator species could be saved from extinction and its population improved were devised, and these included isolation of the predator from the super-predator.

D.Phil. (Nematology) / This was the first study on aquatic nematodes from the Kruger National Park. Samples were taken more or less randomly over a period of two years from the four main rivers in the park, viz. the Crocodile, Sabie, Olifants and Luvuvhu rivers. A total of 33 species representative of 24 genera were found. Dorylaimida seemed to be dominant in most of the sampling sites in the Sabie, Olifants and Luvuvhu Rivers, but there was no dominant group in the Crocodile River. Five new Dorylaimida species are described: Dorylaimus deaconi spec. nov., Laimydorus olifanti spec. nov., Laimydorus africanus spec. nov.; proleptonchus krugeri spec. nov. and Aporcelaimellus glandus spec. nov. Previously known dorylaim species which were redescribed in detail are Mesodorylaimus sp.cf paralitoralis Basson & Heyns, 1974; M. potus Heyns, 1963, M. aegypticus (Andrassy, 1958), Aquatides thornei (Schneider, 1937), Afractinolaimus zairensis (Baqri, Coomans & Van der Heiden, 1975) and Oxydirus gangeticus Siddiqi, 1966. Further dorylaim species recorded are Aporcelaimellus micropunctatus Botha & Heyns, 1990, Discolaimus monoplanus Heyns, 1963, D. major Thorne, 1939, Xiphinema italiae Meyl, 1953, Thornenema baldum (Thorne, 1939), Tyleptus striatus Heyns, 1963 and Dorylaimellus (Axodorylaimellus) caffrae (Kruger, 1965) . The following Tylenchida species were found: Hemicycliophora labiata Colbran, 1969, Helicotylenchus africanus (Micoletzky, 1916) and Scutellonema brachyurum (Steiner, 1939). Three Araeolaimida species were recorded, viz. Chronogaster africana Heyns & Coomans, 1980, Plectus cirratus Bastian, 1865 and Rhabdolaimus terrestris de Man, 1880. The latter species is redescribed in full collected and (de Man, 1979). Only one species of the Cromadorida viz. Achromadora ruricola 1880), Enoplida viz. Eutobrilus annetteae (Joubert & Heyns, Monhysterida viz. Monhystera somereni Allgen, 1952, were Detailed descriptions are given to incorporate additional morphological information obtained. Brief descriptions and new distribution records are also given for Mononchus truncatus Bastian, 1865, M. aquaticus Coetzee, 1968 and Mylonchulus minor (Cobb, 1893) of the Mononchida and Ironus longicaudatus de Man, 1884 and I. ignavus Bastian, 1865 of the Iro~idae.A diagnostic compendium for the Mesodorylaimus species of South Africa and a checklist of the free-living and plant parasitic nematode species from both terrestrial and aquatic habitats in the park are also included. Most of this work has already been published or submitted for publication in scientific journals and is presented in this thesis in the same format as required by the editors of the journals concerned.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第23390号 / 農博第2463号 / 新制||農||1086(附属図書館) / 学位論文||R3||N5347(農学部図書室) / 京都大学大学院農学研究科森林科学専攻 / (主査)教授 北島 薫, 教授 神﨑 護, 准教授 三谷 羊平 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DGAM

No description available.

Information concerning the mammals of Zion National Park was needed for management purposes and general information. During the summers of 1975 and 1976, mammals observed throughout the park were recorded and habitat structure was measured for each animal at the immediate observation site. Ordinations based on stepwise discriminant analyses of the data on 12 rodent species were constructed and substantiated by Bray-Curtis analyses. The results showed that amounts of cover and boulders contrasted the habitats of Peromyscus eremicus, P. maniculatus, P. crinitus, P. boylii and P. truei. A second group of species--Eutamias minimus, E. umbrinus, Spermophilus variegatus, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus, Dipodomys merriami, Neotoma lepida and Microtus longicaudus--were discriminated by amounts of litter, grass and trees in the habitat of each species. A list of mammalian species found within Zion and suggestions for further study are given.

No description available.

Learning about people’s views on nature and their attitudes towards national parks is important for the sustainable development and success of national parks. However, the relationship between these two topics is a relatively under-researched area. This study sets out to investigate this relationship for visitors of Harz National Park, Germany. Visitors’ views on nature, conservation measures in the national park and the relationship between those are analysed through data that was collected with an online survey during a period of two weeks in March 2022. Respondents favour a concept of human-nature interdependence but sometimes contradict themselves concerning the place of humans in nature. Harz National Park and conservation measures are accepted by respondents. Results show that knowledge about the importance of bark beetles is an area in which the national park can improve its information campaigns. A small to moderate but statistically significant relationship exists between views on nature and attitudes on conservation measures. This provides a basis for future continued research of Harz National Park, as well as in different contexts.

In 1916 the United States National Park Service (NPS) was founded to conserve the nation’s natural and cultural landscapes as well as “to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” While much historical analysis has been done by historians and the NPS on the agency’s national history, these scholars have ignored how the NPS was shaped by and contributed to an international history of national parks. Thus, this thesis addresses this historiographical gap and institutional forgetfulness by examining the agency’s Division of International Affairs (DIA). The DIA was established in 1961 by the NPS to foster international cooperation by building national parks overseas, which often advanced foreign policy containment initiatives in the developing world during the Cold War. Following the end of the Cold War, a significant decline in activity and staffing made it more difficult for the DIA to return to the pull of its influence just a decade or two earlier. In 1987 the DIA was renamed the Office of International Affairs (OIA) and has since suffered from many of its parent agency’s larger issues including a decline in staffing, funding, and a host of other issues that have compromised the NPS’s ability to meet its mission. As the NPS celebrates its centennial in 2016, I argue that examining the NPS’s history of international work challenges the agency to consider its past in new ways in the hopes that it reconfigure its mission and future to best meet the needs of its audiences in a globally connected twenty-first century world. / History

The effects of gypsy moth infestation on the Shenandoah National Park (SNP) black bear population and habitat were studied during 1985 - 1991 by comparing radio telemetry, population, and behavioral data from preinfestation years (1982 - 1986) and years with extensive defoliation (1987 - 1991). Gypsy moth defoliation (> 60% canopy loss) increased from 546 ha in 1986 (1 % of the study area), to 2,304 ha in 1987 (4%), 6,227 ha in 1988 (12%), and 17,736 ha in 1989 (34%). Chestnut oak and red oak habitat types received the greatest defoliation; 60% and 45% of these habitat types suffered greater than 60 % canopy loss in the North and Central Districts, respectively. Infestation resulted in a 99% reduction in acorn production in defoliated stands. Maximum daily temperatures 0.5 m above the ground in defoliated stands averaged 4.7 ± 0.3 C, 4.3 ± 0.4 C, and 2.5 ± 0.3 C warmer (P < 0.01) than in nondefoliated stands during peak defoliation, refoliation, and post-refoliation periods, respectively. Bear / Ph. D.

The seasonal movements, food habits, and habitat selection of black bears (<i>Ursus americanus</i>) in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia were studied from May 1982 to April 1985. A total of 47 collared bears, including 25 adult females, 17 adult males, and 5 subadult males < 3.5 years old, was located 3973 times during the study. Adult males had larger (<i>P</i><0.001) home ranges (100% X=195 km², 95% X=116 km²) than adult females (100% X=38 km², 95% X=22 km²). Subadult males had larger (<i>P</i><0.10) home ranges (100% X=542 km², 95% X=289 km²) than adult males and females. Extensive home range overlap occurred among each sex and age group. At least three subadult males dispersed from the Park during the study. Female bears with cubs were less mobile than solitary females during the spring. Fall cubs were large and did not restrict females' movements. Large fall home ranges for females were related to the scattered supply of acorns relative to the concentrated sources of soft mast used in the summer. Two females with cubs and 2 subadult males remained active during the winter months. Adult and subadult males generally had less stable home ranges than adult females. Female bears displayed infidelity to given areas during the fall from year-to-year due to variation in the distribution of hard mast (acorns). Male bears made long excursions onto the Piedmont Plateau east of the Park mainly during the spring and early fall. Females were not exposed to as much human induced mortality as males because they were located within the Park 17% more frequently than males. Males avoided fire roads (<i>P</i><0.001), light duty roads (<i>P</i><0.001), and primary roads (<i>P</i><0.01) year around. Female bears preferred fire roads during summer (<i>P</i>< 0.001) and early fall (<i>P</i><0.01) and avoided heavier traveled roads such as light duty roads (<i>P</i><0.001) and primary roads (<i>P</i><0.001) year around. Both male and female bears preferred foot trails for travel (<i>P</i><0.05). Bears rarely came within 100 meters of campgrounds, picnic areas, and other human disturbance areas within the Park. Both sexes used low (<i>P</i><0.10) elevations during the summer and high (<i>P</i><0.10) elevations during early and late fall. Bears showed the greatest use of small rivers and streams during the driest months of summer. Geographic land forms of specific aspects, contours, and varying steepness were used differently by male and female bears. Twelve stomachs and 854 scats were analyzed for food content. Forbs, graminoids, squawroot (<i>Conopholis americana</i>), corn, and the fruits of trees, shrubs, and vines composed 90 percent volume of the annual diet. Eight percent of the food consumed was animal matter from mammals, birds, and invertebrates. During all seasons, females used yellow poplar (<i>Liriodendron tulipifera</i>) forests more (<i>P</i><0.05) than males while males used yellow poplar forests less (<i>P</i><0.05) than expected; males used black locust (<i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i>) \ black cherry (<i>Prunus serotina</i>) forests more (<i>P</i><0.05) than females and more (<i>P</i><0.05) than expected. Shifts in use of chestnut oak (<i>Quercus prinus</i>) \ northern red oak (<i>Q. rubra</i>) forests and northern red oak \ white oak (<i>Q. alba</i>) forests by both males and females in early and late fall was attributed to annual variation in oak mast production, preference for white oak acorns, foraging strategy, and the importance of mountain laurel (<i>Kalmia latifolia</i>) shrub cover in late fall. Seasonal use of domestic fruits at 330 abandoned homesites was determined. Distance-to-nearest-homesite measurements indicated that males were never closer (<i>P</i>>0.10) to homesites than females or random points during any season while females were closer (<i>P</i><0.001) to homesites than males and random points during summer. Only females were located at homesites (≤ 100m) more (<i>P</i><0.001) than expected during summer and early fall. Bears consumed apples (<i>Malus</i> spp.) and sweet cherries (<i>Prunus avium</i>) at abandoned homesites mainly in summer, early fall, and late fall. Bears used homesites in late fall more than distance measures indicated. Domestic fruits were an important nutritional food for black bears in relation to total soft fruits eaten. / Master of Science / incomplete_metadata