Surface mining and subsequent reclamation often results in the establishment of large areas of grassland that can benefit wildlife. Grasslands have declined substantially over the last 150 years, resulting in declines of many grassland birds. The dickcissel (Spiza americana), a neotropical migrant, is one such bird whose numbers have declined in the last 30 years due to habitat loss, increased nest predation and parasitism, and over harvest (lethally controlled as an agricultural pest on its wintering range in Central and South America). Reclaimed surface-mined lands have been documented to provide important breeding habitat for dickcissels in the United States, emphasizing the importance of reclamation efforts. Objectives were to understand specific aspects of dickcissel nesting ecology (i.e., nest-site selection, nest success, and nest parasitism, and identification of nest predators) on 2 spatial scales on TXU Energy’s Big Brown Mine, near Fairfield, Texas, and to subsequently provide TXU Energy with recommendations to improve reclaimed areas as breeding habitat for dickcissels. I examined the influence of nest-site vegetation characteristics and the effects of field-level spatial factors on dickcissel nesting ecology on 2 sites reclaimed as wildlife habitat. Additionally, I developed a novel technique to identify predators at active nests during the 2003 field season. During 2002–2003, 119 nests were monitored. On smaller spatial scales, dickcissels were likely to select nest-sites with low vegetation, high densities of bunchgrasses and tall forbs, and areas with higher clover content. Probability of nest success increased with nest heights and vegetation heights above the nest, characteristics associated with woody nesting substrates. Woody nesting substrates were selected and bunchgrasses were avoided. Oak (Quercus spp.) saplings remained an important nesting substrate throughout the breeding season. On a larger scale, nest-site selection was likely to occur farther from wooded riparian areas and closer to recently-reclaimed areas. Nest parasitism was likely to occur near roads and wooded riparian areas. Results suggest reclaimed areas could be improved by planting more bunchgrasses, tall forbs (e.g., curly-cup gumweed [Grindelia squarrosa] and sunflower [Helianthus spp.]), clover (Trifolium spp.), and oaks (a preferred nesting substrate associated with higher survival rates). Larger-scale analysis suggests that larger tracts of wildlife areas should be created with wooded riparian areas comprising a minimal portion of a field’s edge.

Appropriate microclimates are essential for the development of embryos in avian eggs. Physical demands of incubating adults would also be affected by microclimate. The breeding areas of the Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii) overlap with intense solar radiation and the presence of tropical cyclone and they prefer nest structure with vegetation or rock walls, as these may provide concealment to the surrounding weather. The objectives of this study were to examine the effect of nest structure on the nest microclimate and hatching success. In addition to nest structures, the effect of nest materials and parental incubation behavior on microclimate were also investigated. Results showed that the average temperature of vegetation-removed nests was higher than that of the control group. Rock walls seemed to prevent moisture formed from dew and rain. Incubation behavior can prevent eggs from overheating. However, there were no differences in parental thermal behavior and hatching success between nest types. To sum up, vegetation next to the nest can prevent the eggs from overheating while parents were temporarily absent. Parental incubation can insulate the eggs from surrounding weather stresses, and compensate the negative effect of nest structure with harsh conditions.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1962) written by Ken Kesey tells the story at a ward where the patients who reside at the ward are exposed of oppression and humiliation by Nurse Ratched. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: A Play in Two Acts (1963) written by Dale Wasserman is a theatrical play which is based on Kesey’s novel. The purpose of this essay is to argue that Nurse Ratched’s character is pictured as more evil in the novel than the play. In this essay, Ratched’s personality and outer looks was discussed as well as her methods she uses to humiliate and control the inmates. It was argued that Wasserman may have excluded information about Ratched’s character, so the actors have a chance to develop a personal view of Ratched. It was also argued that Ratched may have appeared as unnaturally evil if Wasserman had included all her evil traits, and thus picture her as a larger than life character.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Dept. of Zoology, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-91).

Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1993. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 52-56). Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2007. / "December, 2007." Includes bibliographical references. Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2009. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on August 28, 2009). A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of science in Agricultural and Resource Economics, Rural Economy Department. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

Agricultural grasslands have replaced native Midwestern prairies in the form of pasture, idle cropland and conservation fields. The condition of these cover types directly and indirectly influences the distribution, variety and productivity of avian populations within these landscapes. CP33 habitat buffers are an incentive-based conservation practice specifically designed to increase upland bird habitat and productivity. Landowners are encouraged to remove row crops from production and return them to early successional grassland habitat along the margin of agricultural fields. However, buffers exhibit a high perimeter-to-area ratio, which may increase negative edge effects, thereby creating sink populations. During the 2013 and 2014 breeding seasons, I assessed grassland bird response to CP33 habitat buffers in southern Illinois. Focal species included the northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus), dickcissel (Spiza americana), eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna), field sparrow (Spizella pusilla), indigo bunting (Passerina cyanea), and red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). I used a hierarchical multiscale framework to examine the influence of habitat variables at multiple scales on avian abundance, species richness, and occupancy. I also used this same framework, and logistic exposure modeling, to examine daily survival rates of nests found within CP33 habitat buffers. Multiscale occupancy and logistic exposure models consistently performed better than single-scale models for focal bird species; however, relative importance of local variables and landscape variables differed considerably among focal species. Nest survival rate was not strongly affected by edge effects or edge type. Microhabitat variables were much more influential in predicting nest survival. In my study area, CP33 habitat buffers are unlikely to support source populations for most of the focal grassland bird species I studied. To increase nest survival rates within established CP33 habitat buffers, managers should focus on microhabitat vegetation characteristics. To increase bird occupancy of CP33 habitat buffers in southern Illinois, managers should increase the size of CP33 habitat buffers within a landscape having adequate grassland cover. However, managers should not consider CP33 habitat buffers a panacea for most grassland avian species.

Human beings of all cultures build some form of shelter, and the global distribution of Homo sapiens depends on this basic trait. All great apes (chimpanzee, bonobo, gorilla, and orangutan) build analogous structures (called nests or beds) at least once a day throughout their adult lives, which suggests that this elementary technology was present before the hominid lines separated. This thesis investigates the variability and function of specifically wild chimpanzee shelters. I compared characteristics of chimpanzee nests, nesting trees, nest shape, and architecture in two savanna-dwelling populations on opposite sides of Africa: Fongoli, Senegal, and Issa, Tanzania. Savanna habitats are the most extreme habitats in which chimpanzees survive today, and may represent a similar environment to that in which early hominins evolved in the Plio-Pleistocene (Chapter 2). Investigating variation in nest-building within and between these two extreme habitats made it possible to tackle hypotheses of the shelter function of nests (Chapter 3).The influence of environment, specifically the role of protection from disease vectors and fluctuating temperatures, was assessed through a novel experiment in which I slept overnight in arboreal chimpanzee nests and on the bare earth (Chapter 4). To assess whether or not nests serve as an anti-predation function, I compared nesting in Issa, where predators are abundant, to Fongoli, where they are absent (Chapter 5). I provided further support for the thermoregulatory function of nests by showing that chimpanzees build more insulating nests in adverse weather conditions (Chapter 6).Nest-building is a learned behaviour, but its ontogeny is little known. I investigated social sources of variation in nest building in Fongoli to examine whether sex and age differences exist in nest building duration, nest position, shape and architecture (Chapter 7). Finally, ecosystem engineering is a consequence of animal construction, from ants to humans. I investigated use-wear traces around nests to assess niche construction of nest- building. I showed that chimpanzees repeatedly re-used these specific nest-spots within trees, which are pre-fabricated for future building through repeated pruning and shaping of these structures (Chapter 8).Nest building in great apes may be the foundation of constructivity in hominids. This thesis describes proximate functions and influences on nest-building variation in wild chimpanzees that help to model the evolution of shelter in hominids.