Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 366-391). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Exurban development, consisting of low density residential housing in a rural setting, is steadily increasing in North America. This increase may have negative impacts on the habitat for some species, through the introduction of non-native plants and new predators such as house cats. The northern prairie skink (Plestiodon septentrionalis) is listed as Endangered in Canada occurring only in southwestern Manitoba. The objectives of this study included: a) defining prairie skink microhabitat use on private land according to vegetation, temperature and cover availability, b) determining landowner awareness of prairie skinks on their property, and c) determining how landowner stewardship could be used in skink conservation. Mixed methods strategy of inquiry was utilized and data collection procedures included both quantitative habitat surveys and qualitative landowner interviews. I found that prairie skinks were most often found in prairie habitat, and were found most often in areas with a) high percent artificial cover, b) high leaf litter, and c) more pieces of cover per acre. Landowners most often saw skinks near buildings, in flower beds and in debris piles. Landowner attitudes towards skinks were positive,though willingness may not translate into action.

Exurban development, consisting of low density residential housing in a rural setting, is steadily increasing in North America. This increase may have negative impacts on the habitat for some species, through the introduction of non-native plants and new predators such as house cats. The northern prairie skink (Plestiodon septentrionalis) is listed as Endangered in Canada occurring only in southwestern Manitoba. The objectives of this study included: a) defining prairie skink microhabitat use on private land according to vegetation, temperature and cover availability, b) determining landowner awareness of prairie skinks on their property, and c) determining how landowner stewardship could be used in skink conservation. Mixed methods strategy of inquiry was utilized and data collection procedures included both quantitative habitat surveys and qualitative landowner interviews. I found that prairie skinks were most often found in prairie habitat, and were found most often in areas with a) high percent artificial cover, b) high leaf litter, and c) more pieces of cover per acre. Landowners most often saw skinks near buildings, in flower beds and in debris piles. Landowner attitudes towards skinks were positive,though willingness may not translate into action.

Thesis (M.S.)--Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences Dept., South Dakota State University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available via the World Wide Web.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 1999. / Title from title page screen, viewed July 18, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Roger C. Anderson (chair), George F. Aspbury, Victoria A. Borowicz, Angelo P. Capparella, James Fralish. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 133-140) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, May, 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

a) Basic Problem The main question posed in this research was as follows; where exactly, and in what types of locality have those of French ethnic origin living in the Prairie provinces been most (or least) successful in preserving a distinctive French-Canadian culture. b) Method of Investigation i) The production of detailed population distribution maps showed where, and to what extent, French-Canadians were areally concentrated into distinct group settlements. It is only in such group settlement that such a sub-culture can hope to survive. ii) The varying degree of ethnic homogeneity within the various group settlements was analysed. This study confirmed that the more French Canadians were intermixed with other groups the more susceptible they would be to anglicisation and assimilation. iii) The varying strength of the French-Canadian position was measured by calculating the proportion of French Canadians in each group settlement belonging to a French-language parish - an institution which has played a great role in the cultural survival of the French-speaking minorities. iv) The areally varying strength of French-language education in the Prairie provinces was studied. v) The areally varying degree of access to a French-language newspapers, radio and television was analysed; vi) Population increases and/or decreases among this ethnic group were studied. The extent of these increases and decreases, in both rural and urban areas, affects the strength of this sub-culture. vii) A cartographic description, using the most detailed census data available, was made of those of French ethnic origin who have retained French as their mother-tongue. The retention of French among this group was taken as the key index of assimilation, not least because they have always fervently regarded such linguistic fidelity as the essential basis of their distinctive cultural survival. b) Conclusions i) Neither the province of Quebec, nor the French-Canadian people have ever shown great interest in settling western Canada. ii) A considerable and increasing proportion of French Canadians in the Prairie provinces has become completely assimilated into the English-speaking community. However, within the group settlements the degree to which French has been retained is often high. iii) By far the strongest French-speaking community is situated in south-eastern Manitoba where three large rural groups focus on the unique urban group of St. Boniface. The cultural survival of French-Canadian communities in Alberta and Saskatchewan is much more threatened, either by their cultural isolation from other French-speaking groups, or by the extent to which they have been intermixed with non-French-speaking groups. iv) The key socio-geographic factor in the linguistic assimilation of western French Canadians seems to be the degree to which they are physically intermixed with other groups. This factor emerged as much more important than other considerations such as situation in an urban or rural area, or group settlement size. v) The western French Canadian sub-culture is an extremely "localised" phenomenon. Immediately beyond the "core" areas of the group settlements assimilation becomes very marked, even if a considerable number of French Canadians can still be found. Evidence of assimilation can be found even within the "cores" of some groups. vi) The future survival of this sub-culture depends, among other things, on strengthening French Canadian institutions within the group settlements. This applies particularly to the need to develop genuinely bilingual schools. Also a new form of "group settlement" must be developed to maintain and stimulate French-Canadian institutions and culture among the increasing numbers of Francophones who have left their rural communities for the larger urban areas. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Based on periodic clipping of a fertilized pasture plot in the Peace River region in 1977 and 1979, accumulated dry matter production of a timothy, red fescue and alsike clover mix was found to be linearly related to accumulated transpiration during the active growing season, with a growth/transpiration ratio of 0.026 t ha⁻¹ /(mm H₂O)-The effect of fertilizer level and cutting management on dry matter production is discussed. Energy balance/Bowen ratio measurements of evapo-transpiration (E) in 1977, 1978 and 1979 showed that daytime E can be calculated for energy limiting conditions using the Priestley-Taylor formula with α = 1.26 ± 0.05. Daytime net radiation required in this formula was estimated to within 15%, using the Idso-Jackson longwave radiation equation and daily solar radiation data from a regional climate station 50 km away. During water supply limiting conditions E was found to be linearly related to root zone water storage. Root zone drainage was found to be negligible in this soil, which has a high bulk density subsoil. A simple model for calculating the course of pasture growth during the growing season at Sunset Prairie Community Pasture is described. The model is composed of a single-layer root zone water balance submodel and a relationship between dry matter production and transpiration. The water balance submodel estimates daily transpiration and requires daily values of rainfall, solar radiation and maximum and minimum air temperature. It also requires crop albedo and an estimate of the initial root zone water storage. Estimates of root zone water storage during the three growing seasons agreed well with gravimetric and neutron moisture probe measurements. The model, using the above growth/transpiration ratio, was found to estimate hay growth during the droughty growing season in 1978 to within 15% of measured values. An effective growth/transpiration ratio of 0.013 t ha ⁻¹/mm was required to account for the growth of pasture subjected to a simulated monthly grazing rotation. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

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