Communities of granivorous desert rodents are structured by habitat selection and may be influenced by either predatory risk or resources. To examine these hypotheses, I manipulated illumination using lanterns, parachute canopies, or natural moonlight and resources using seeds. Foraging behavior is risk-sensitive; increased illumination reduces foraging in open areas while adding shadows to open areas using parachutes increases foraging there. Foraging behavior is also affected by resource enrichments. Differences among species in habitat selection were determined by specific abilities to detect and avoid predators. The least vulnerable species, Dipodomys deserti, foraged heavily in the open and was largely unaffected by treatments; other species of kangaroo rats and kangaroo mice also prefer the open, but responded to both risk and resource manipulations; highly vulnerable Peromyscus maniculatus was always restricted to bushes even under the most favorable circumstances; Perognathus longimembris was restricted to bushes in the absence of P. maniculatus in 1980 and was displaced from preferred microhabitats by the presence of kangaroo rats in 1981. A correlation between auditory bullar volume and use of open habitat by the various species in this community suggests that predatory risk provides an axis along which habitat segregation occurs. Predation can shape community structure by influencing foraging decisions of individuals. Desert rodents from North America and the Middle East have converged morphologically and perhaps in behavior and in community structure. Using desert rodent communities in the Great Basin Desert of U.S.A. and in the Negev Desert of Israel, I manipulated predatory risk in both communities and noted that foraging activity declines with increased predatory risk. Additional evidence suggests that predation also affects habitat selection behavior in both communities. Furthermore, differences in habitat utilization among species which promotes coexistence are related to morphological anti-predator specialization of the species. Predation appears to have shaped behavior and contributed to community structure in similar ways in both communities.

In the current context of escalating climate catastrophes paralleled with depleting energy resources, degrading fresh water supplies and diminishing agricultural lands, there is an increasing preoccupation with the prospects of a fast approaching ecological global crisis. Arid regions, which under normal circumstances are places of acute extremes, are afflicted by these trends more profoundly. Dryland ecosystems are places where survival hangs on a most fragile equilibrium, therefore any anomaly or scarcity can be detrimental to their viability. Alternatively, due to their unique ecosystem properties, not available in other more moderate environments, deserts can represent places of immeasurable potential for a prosperous subsistence. The Negev desert accounts for two thirds of the land area of Israel and is employed as a case study for this exploration. The thesis investigates the following four narratives: FERTILE VISIONS dissects the ethos of blooming the desert and the inherent contradictions of realized utopias. EPHEMERAL FLOWS constructs a broad framework of the Negev’s ecosystem, while mapping the operating forces and their affect on the system’s stability. VITAL SIGNS curates a catalogue of strategies, systems and technologies in the fields of water management, solar energy and controlled environments. Their juxtaposition starts to suggest plausible hybrids. Finally, EFFECTIVE TERRAINS defines design strategies for new models of desert living, based on integrated infrastructural systems. It envisions a prototype for a community planned through the synthetic interweaving of the existing desert ecosystem with water, energy and agricultural production.

Abstract In this dissertation I draw on the Nessana papyri corpus and relevant comparable material (including papyri from Petra and Aphrodito and inscriptions from the region) to argue that ethnic, linguistic and imperial identities were not significant for the self-definition of the residents of Nessana in particular, and Palaestina Tertia in general, in the sixth- to the seventh- centuries AD. In contrast, this dissertation argues that economic considerations and local identities played an important role in people's perceptions of themselves and in the delineations of different social groups. The first chapter, is intended to provide a basis for further discussion by setting out the known networks of class and economics. The second chapter begins the examination of ethnicity, which is continued in the third chapter; but the second chapter concentrates on external definitions applied to the people of Nessana, and in particular on the difference between the attitude of the Byzantine Empire to the village and the attitude of the Umayyad Empire. Building on this ground, the third chapter tackles the issue of ethnicity to determine if it was at all operative in Nessana, determining that though ethnonyms were applied in various cases, these served more as markers of outsiders and were situational. Chapter four moves to the question of language use and linguistic identity, examining the linguistic divisions within the papyri. An examination of the evidence for Arabic interference within the Greek leads to the conclusion that Arabic was the vernacular, and that Greek was used both before and after the Muslim conquest for its connotations of power and imperial rule rather than as a marker of self identity. The conclusions reached in this chapter reprise the discussion of imperial identity and the questions of centralization first raised in chapter two. This return to previous threads continues in chapter five, which deals with the ties between Nessana and neighboring communities and local identities. The chapter concludes that the local village identity was indeed very strong and possibly the most relevant and frequently used form of self-identification. Overall, it appears that many of the categories we use in the modern world are not relevant in Nessana, and that in those cases where they are used, the usage implies something slightly different. / Dissertation

In the current context of escalating climate catastrophes paralleled with depleting energy resources, degrading fresh water supplies and diminishing agricultural lands, there is an increasing preoccupation with the prospects of a fast approaching ecological global crisis. Arid regions, which under normal circumstances are places of acute extremes, are afflicted by these trends more profoundly. Dryland ecosystems are places where survival hangs on a most fragile equilibrium, therefore any anomaly or scarcity can be detrimental to their viability. Alternatively, due to their unique ecosystem properties, not available in other more moderate environments, deserts can represent places of immeasurable potential for a prosperous subsistence. The Negev desert accounts for two thirds of the land area of Israel and is employed as a case study for this exploration. The thesis investigates the following four narratives: FERTILE VISIONS dissects the ethos of blooming the desert and the inherent contradictions of realized utopias. EPHEMERAL FLOWS constructs a broad framework of the Negev’s ecosystem, while mapping the operating forces and their affect on the system’s stability. VITAL SIGNS curates a catalogue of strategies, systems and technologies in the fields of water management, solar energy and controlled environments. Their juxtaposition starts to suggest plausible hybrids. Finally, EFFECTIVE TERRAINS defines design strategies for new models of desert living, based on integrated infrastructural systems. It envisions a prototype for a community planned through the synthetic interweaving of the existing desert ecosystem with water, energy and agricultural production.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

The use of jewelry is just one of many avenues for individual self-expression, but even in the most individualistic society it is also a reflection of certain cultural norms, values, and expectations. This thesis is an analysis of Nabataean jewelry in burial contexts from the three main regions of the ancient kingdom - Medina Selah, the Negev, and Petra – with the aim of reaching a better understanding of Nabataean culture through their jewelry. The types of jewelry, materials used in their construction, and many other variables are compared and reveal unique regional variations within an overall Hellenistic style.

Conservation biologists have used reintroduction as a method to reestablish extirpated species in their native habitat. Three important aspects of a successful reintroduction effort include: (1) a habitat suitability study of the reintroduction area, including effects of migration corridors; (2) identification of possible predators of the reintroduced species; and (3) a post-reintroduction assessment including an evaluation of the species' population dynamics. In this study I examine the suitability of Guadalupe Mountains National Park (GUMO) as a reintroduction area for desert bighorn sheep. The study used landscape metrics to compare GUMO to a nearby mountain range that is currently supporting an estimated population of 400 bighorn sheep. This study identified migration corridors for bighorns throughout the region and evaluated mountain lion (a potential predator of bighorn sheep) numbers either residing in or passing through the park between the years 1997 to 2004. Results on the studies in GUMO revealed 15,884 ha of suitable habitat for bighorn sheep and provided evidence of migration routes between GUMO and neighboring mountain ranges. In terms of potential predators, a minimum of 32 resident and/or transient mountain lions occurred in GUMO over a seven year period, and a minimum of 15 cats used the park in 2002. Based on estimates of individual home range of males and females, GUMO should be able to support four to five individuals. The genetic data indicates a high number of transients or perhaps an unstable population of mountain lions that may be the result of intense hunting pressure of cats in Texas. Finally, my study simulates parameters of the population dynamics of a different species, the Arabian oryx that was reintroduced as three separate populations to the Israeli Negev between 1998 and 2005. I simulated population growth and the effect of migration corridors on species persistence. Results suggest that migration corridors are essential for a self-sustaining viable metapopulation under current natality rates. In the event that natality rates increase (as was evident in a reintroduced population of Arabian oryx in Oman), metapopulation can reach viable size with only two of the release sites (open, flat terrain) connected by migration corridors.

Conservation biologists have used reintroduction as a method to reestablish extirpated species in their native habitat. Three important aspects of a successful reintroduction effort include: (1) a habitat suitability study of the reintroduction area, including effects of migration corridors; (2) identification of possible predators of the reintroduced species; and (3) a post-reintroduction assessment including an evaluation of the species' population dynamics. In this study I examine the suitability of Guadalupe Mountains National Park (GUMO) as a reintroduction area for desert bighorn sheep. The study used landscape metrics to compare GUMO to a nearby mountain range that is currently supporting an estimated population of 400 bighorn sheep. This study identified migration corridors for bighorns throughout the region and evaluated mountain lion (a potential predator of bighorn sheep) numbers either residing in or passing through the park between the years 1997 to 2004. Results on the studies in GUMO revealed 15,884 ha of suitable habitat for bighorn sheep and provided evidence of migration routes between GUMO and neighboring mountain ranges. In terms of potential predators, a minimum of 32 resident and/or transient mountain lions occurred in GUMO over a seven year period, and a minimum of 15 cats used the park in 2002. Based on estimates of individual home range of males and females, GUMO should be able to support four to five individuals. The genetic data indicates a high number of transients or perhaps an unstable population of mountain lions that may be the result of intense hunting pressure of cats in Texas. Finally, my study simulates parameters of the population dynamics of a different species, the Arabian oryx that was reintroduced as three separate populations to the Israeli Negev between 1998 and 2005. I simulated population growth and the effect of migration corridors on species persistence. Results suggest that migration corridors are essential for a self-sustaining viable metapopulation under current natality rates. In the event that natality rates increase (as was evident in a reintroduced population of Arabian oryx in Oman), metapopulation can reach viable size with only two of the release sites (open, flat terrain) connected by migration corridors.

No description available.

No description available.