Coastal Sage Scrub (CSS) is a low scrubland plant community native to the coasts of California, housing many threatened and endangered species. Due to the invasion of non-native plants, many areas of CSS have type converted to annual grasslands and the fire frequency has accelerated; fire in turn, may facilitate further invasion, leading to a loss of biodiversity. While many studies document post-fire succession in these communities, pre-fire data are rarely available for comparison, especially data on seedling emergence. I analyzed post-fire recovery of a type-converted grassland community, comparing seedling emergence data for the first and third year after fire to the three years preceding the fire. Non-native species abundances declined more after the fire than did native abundances. This pattern was still present in 2015, three years post-fire. Two native species, Amsinckia menziesii var. intermedia (Amsinckia) and Phacelia distans (Phacelia), were subjects of seed addition treatments pre-fire, but I found no evidence that past seeding increased their abundances post-fire. Amsincki did recover to its pre-fire density three years after the fire, while the density of Phacelia declined over 75% in both the year immediately post-fire and three years after the fire. However, a third native species, Lupinus bicolor (Lupinus), was both much more abundant and also more spatially widespread both immediately after the fire and two years later. This supports the hypothesis that Lupinus is stored in the soil seed bank and the fire may have given this species the opportunity to recover by lowering abundances of non-native competitors. This analysis will inform future conservation efforts by improving our understanding of how seed banks impact the post-fire recovery of native species.

Das Buch "Seuils" des französischen Literaturwissenschaftlers Gérard Genette wurde unter dem Titel "Paratexte" ins Deutsche übersetzt. Genette beschreibt den Paratext als "jenes Beiwerk, durch das ein Text zum Buch wird und als solches vor die Leser und, allgemeiner, vor die Öffentlichkeit tritt." (Genette, Gérard: Paratexte. Das Buch vom Beiwerk des Buches. Frankfurt a.M., 2001, S. 10.) In dieser Dissertation werden die Paratexte von 47 Sagenbüchern untersucht. Das Buchkorpus wird nach folgenden zwei Zeiträumen aufgeteilt: a) Buchkorpus mit Sagenbüchern aus dem Zeitraum von 1851 bis 1925. b) Buchkorpus mit Sagenbüchern aus dem Zeitraum von 1946 bis 1998. Die untersuchten Paratexte sind zum Beispiel: Nennung des Herausgebers, Titel, Vorwort, Schrift, Illustrationen und Umschlag. / The book "Seuils" written by the French literature specialist Gérard Genette was translated into German under the title "Paratexte". Genette describes the paratext as "all the ways in which a text makes itself a book and presents itself as such to its readers, and more generally to the public." (Genette, Gérard: Paratexte. Das Buch vom Beiwerk des Buches. Frankfurt a.M., 2001, p. 10.) In this dissertation the paratexts of 47 books of legends are investigated. The corpus is divided into the following two periods of time: a) Corpus containing books of legends from 1851 to 1925. b) Corpus containing books of legends from 1946 to 1998. The analysed paratexts, for example, are: the publisher's name, the title, the preface, the script, illustrations and the cover.

De todas as adaptações que as plantas sofreram durante a evolução, a aquisição do sistema vascular à 400 milhões de anos atrás, foi sem dúvida um evento decisivo para sua bem sucedida existência na terra. A madeira é considerada o mais importante recurso natural de energia renovável e o setor econômico baseado na produção florestal cresce a cada ano. Inúmeros fatores como rápida taxa de crescimento, grande produção de biomassa, adaptabilidade a diversos ambientes e solos, boa qualidade de madeira para produção de uma ampla gama de produtos e presença de celulose de fibra curta, ideal para a produção de papel e celulose, contribuíram para o grande sucesso das espécies de Eucalyptus e tornaram o Brasil o maior produtor mundial de celulose de fibra curta utilizando o eucalipto como matéria prima. Devido à reconhecida importância econômica e também ambiental das árvores, o desenvolvimento do sistema vascular se tornou um importante e fascinante processo biológico para se estudar. No entanto, existe ainda pouco conhecimento sobre os processos celulares, moleculares e bioquímicos envolvidos na formação da madeira. Dessa forma, no presente trabalho foi utilizada a técnica de SAGE (Serial Analysis of Gene Expression) para caracterizar o perfil transcricional do caule de plantas de E. grandis com 6 meses de idade. A partir do sequenciamento de 826 clones, foi possível analisar 2.274 tags/genes, sendo que 989 (43,5%) genes puderam ser identificados e ter uma possível função atribuída. Genes que codificam enzimas e proteínas muito importantes durante o processo de formação da madeira, como aqueles relacionados à biossíntese e deposição da parede celular e organização do citoesqueleto, apresentaram elevada expressão, sendo possível ainda sugerir a ocorrência de possíveis mecanismos comuns de controle transcricional para grupos de genes funcionalmente relacionados. A posterior comparação com as proteínas identificadas por espectrometria de massas através do sistema LC-MS/MS a partir do mesmo material biológico mostrou que muitos desses genes representam também as proteínas mais abundantes. Juntamente com outros projetos que vêm sendo desenvolvidos no laboratório, o presente trabalho contribuiu para a construção de um banco de dados local com informações do transcritoma e do proteoma de diferentes idades e tecidos, fornecendo uma visão global sobre os genes envolvidos no processo de formação da madeira e possivelmente responsáveis pelo rápido crescimento nas espécies de Eucalyptus, indicando importantes alvos para futuros programas de melhoramento. / From the numerous adaptations that plants have developed during evolution, the acquisition of the vascular system some 400 million years ago was been a decisive event for their successful existence on earth. Wood is considered the most important natural resource of renewable energy and the Forest-based economical sector grows every year. Several factors like the fast growth rate, large biomass production, adaptability to a wide range of environments and soils, good wood quality for the production of a wide range of products and the presence of short cellulose fiber, suitable for pulp and paper production, have contributed to the great success of Eucalyptus species making Brazil the main producer of short cellulose fiber using eucalypt as raw material. Due to the recognized economical and also environmental importance of trees, the development of the vascular system became an important and fascinating biological process to study. However, little is known about the cellular, molecular and biochemical processes involved in wood formation. In this way, in the current work SAGE (Serial Analysis of Gene Expression) technique was used to characterize the transcriptional profile in stems of 6 months old Eucalyptus grandis. From the sequencing of 826 clones, it was possible to analyse 2,274 tags/genes, and 989 (43,5%) genes could be identified and to have a possible function attributed. Genes that code for enzymes and proteins important for wood formation process, like those related to cell wall biosynthesis and deposition, and cytoskeleton organization had high expression, making it possible to suggest the occurrence of a common transcriptional control for a few functionally related genes. The posterior comparison with the set of proteins identified by LC ESI-MS/MS from the same biological material showed that some of these genes also represent the most abundant proteins. Taken together with other projects that are being developed in the laboratory, the present work contributed for the construction of a local data-base with transcriptome and proteome information from different ages and tissues, giving a global vision of the genes involved in the wood formation process and potentially responsible for the fast growth in the Eucalyptus species, indicating important targets for future breedings programs.

Greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) currently occupy an estimated 56% of the potential range-wide pre-European settlement habitat. Population declines have been largely attributed to direct habitat loss and fragmentation related to anthropogenic activities that promote wildfires and the subsequent spread of invasive plants. Vegetation manipulations, including the seeding of plant species, such as forage kochia (Bassia prostrata), have been identified as potential strategies to mitigate the risk of wildfire and enhance sage-grouse habitat in areas at risk to wildfires. I evaluated the composition changes that occurred in a lower elevation sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) plant community within the Grouse Creek Watershed in western Box Elder County, Utah, USA, in response to prescribed vegetation manipulations (green-stripping through chain harrowing, juniper mastication, seeding forage kochia, applying Plateau® herbicide) and studied the effect of these changes on sage-grouse habitat-use patterns and vital rates. I monitored 53 radio-collared sage-grouse throughout the Grouse Creek watershed from 2010-2012. Seasonal movements suggested local individual bird adaptations to annual variations in weather and habitat fragmentation. Sage-grouse selected for untreated areas; however, treated areas were used to expand the size of the lek. Untreated areas exhibited a higher percent composition of shrubs compared to areas that were chain harrowed to prepare a seedbed. Sage-grouse nest success and adult male survival rates during this study were relatively low compared to range-wide population estimates. Nest predation was higher for nests located closer to roads. The forage kochia seeded in the firebreaks emerged the season after seeding (2011). Using microhistological techniques, I detected small quantities of forage kochia in sage-grouse fecal pellets. Nutrient analysis confirmed that forage kochia samples collected from the sites exhibited a high protein content and low secondary metabolite content, similar to black sagebrush (Artemisia nova). Although greenstripping with forage kochia in lower elevation sagebrush communities may prove to be a beneficial technique for protecting rangelands from wildfire and provide a dietary source for wildlife, site preparation should be conducted to minimize the impact on existing sagebrush canopy cover habitats. Long-term monitoring should be implemented to determine extended effects of greenstripping treatments on sagebrush habitat and sage-grouse vital rates. Although individual sage-grouse demonstrated local adaptations to fragmentation and seasonal variations in weather, increased fragmentation and climate change in this part of the Great Basin may increase meta-population extirpation risks inhabiting lower elevation sagebrush areas in the Grouse Creek Watershed.

My research focused on common raven (Corvus corax; hereafter raven) winter ecology and removal, and how raven removal aids Greater sage-grouse (Centrocerus urophasiansu; hereafter sage-grouse) populations. Raven winter ecology in the western US has not been described in detail. I researched raven use of landfills for foraging and raven use of anthropogenic structures for roosting, as well as dispersal of ravens in the spring. In all 22% of radio-marked ravens (n=73) used landfills during the day, and 68%(n=73) roosted at anthropogenic roost sites during the evening. Correlations between landfill and roost counts of ravens were stronger (0.4>r<0.7) when the distance between these sites was <15 km, and smaller (r<0.3) when this distance >20 km. In the spring, ravens dispersed, on average, 38 km from landfills where they were caught. Large congregations of ravens at a few sites in winter may present opportunities to initiate raven population reduction methods to alleviate later problems. I analyzed raven survival and behaviour when USDA/APHIS Wildlife Services (WS) removed ravens using DRC-1339 during winter months. The number of ravens killed annually was 7-34% of the local population. Ravens did not avoid landfills, yet they switched roosts more frequently after an application of the toxicant. Raven removal improves sage-grouse nest success; however, data were not available to examine how raven removal improves sage-grouse abundance. I analyzed changes in raven density with regard to WS removal, and then related these changes with changes in sage-grouse lek counts the following year. Raven densities decreased by 50% from 2008-2014 where WS conducted removal programs. Sage-grouse lek counts improved in area where WS lowered raven abundance, in comparison to areas farther away, during the latter half of the study (2013-2015), when WS removal efforts intensified. Thereafter, a 10% decline in raven abundance was associated with a 2% increase in sage-grouse lek counts. Overall, ravens in souther Wyoming used anthropogenic resources during the winter, and removal of ravens at these locations, combined with removal in the spring, minimally impacted raven populations annually and was associated with increases in sage-grouse abundance.

In wildlife management, using cutting edge technology and science to monitor greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) populations, enables land managers to better assess the impact of their management decisions. Having precise counts of sage-grouse lek attendance, and specifically male lek attendance, is an important metric used to evaluate population status and response to conservation actions (Gifford et.al, 2013, Dahlgren et al., 2016). Leks are seasonal breeding sites where males perform a ritualistic courtship dance for females. Our case study examined if a Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) was effective in detecting, and counting, sage-grouse during the lek season (early March to late April). More specifically, this research used a Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) camera (a thermal camera) to detect sage-grouse and determine body temperatures of individual sage-grouse to determine if temperature data can be used to identify displaying male sage-grouse. These images can be used to document the activity and behavior of sage-grouse and can be revisited at future times to document changes in bird numbers as well as perform additional statistical analyses. We conducted 5 flights and on a per-flight basis, we identified an average of 4.4 displaying males, 13.4 non-displaying males, and 5.6 female sage-grouse. We found that the average size and average maximum temperature of the three sage-grouse categories differed where females were smaller with an average body size of 325 cm2, an average maximum temperature of 14.6 C ̊, and a smaller average thermal range of 2.47 C ̊. Non-displaying male body size was approximately 488 cm2, with a maximum average temperature of 17.2 C ̊, and an average thermal range of 4.66C ̊. Displaying male body size was the largest at approximately 655 cm2, an average maximum temperature of 27.5C ̊, with the largest average range of 12.39C ̊. Our study demonstrates that RPA and infrared technology can be used to conduct accurate sage-grouse lek attendance counts. Further, results of this study will also provide a guideline for the use of RPA’s to monitor sage-grouse and other lekking species.

Parker Mountain, is located in south central Utah, it consists of 153 780 ha of high elevation rangelands dominated by black sagebrush (Artemisia nova A. Nelson), and mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. subsp. vaseyana [Rybd.] Beetle) communities. Sagebrush obligate species including greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) depend on these vegetation communities throughout the year. Parker Mountain is owned and managed by Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, Bureau of Land Management, and the United States Forest Service. Land management on Parker Mountain include wildlife conservation and providing sustainable ecosystem services such as livestock grazing. My research described the species composition of the black sagebrush communities, evaluated the long-term vegetation responses to two mechanical (Dixie harrow/Lawson aerator) and one chemical treatment (tebuthiuron), and herbaceous biomass responses to tebuthiuron treatments in mountain big sagebrush communities on Parker Mountain. My results indicated when black sagebrush canopy cover was <20%, average grass canopy cover was highest (13%). When black sagebrush canopy cover exceeded 40%, grass canopy cover was lowest (8%). Forb canopy cover was relatively consistent (5%) across black sagebrush communities with >20% canopy cover. Communities with <20% black sagebrush canopy cover had the lowest forb canopy cover. Tebuthiuron reduced mountain big sagebrush percent canopy cover (>9 years), increased grass canopy cover, and increased forb canopy cover more than the two mechanical brush control methods. Tebuthiuron treatments shifted sites from xeric to more mesic plant communities, which resulted in increased percent forb cover required by greater sage-grouse during late-brooding. Herbaceous biomass increased under tebuthiuron treatments in mountain big sagebrush pastures. Tebuthiuron treatments also reduced live sagebrush canopy cover for at least 9 years.

Large fires (400 ha +) occur about every seven to ten years in the vegetation types located at US Army Garrison Camp Williams (AGCW) practice range located near South Jordan, Utah. In 2010 and 2012, wildfires burned beyond the Camp’s boundaries into the wildland-urban interface. The political and public reaction to these fire escapes was intense. Researchers at Utah State University were asked to organize a system of fuel treatments that could be developed to prevent future escapes. The first step of evaluation was to spatially predict fuel model types derived from a random forests classification approach. Fuel types were mapped according to fire behavior fuel models with an overall validation of 72.3% at 0.5 m resolution. Next, using a combination of empirical and semi-empirical based methods, potential fire behavior was analyzed for the dominant vegetation types at AGCW on a climatological basis. Results suggest the need for removal of woody vegetation within 20 m of firebreaks and a minimum firebreak width of 8 m in grassland fuels. In Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma (Torr.) Little), results suggest canopy coverage of 25% or less while in Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii Nutt.) stands along the northern boundary of the installation, a fuelbreak width of 60 m for secondary breaks and 90 m for primary breaks is recommended.

The greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus; sage-grouse) is the largest grouse species in North America and an indicator species for the condition of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) ecosystems. The Box Elder Sage-Grouse Management Area (SGMA) in northwestern Utah encompasses one of the state’s largest sage-grouse populations. To fill knowledge gaps regarding the population inhabiting the Raft River subunit of the Box Elder SGMA, I captured, radio-marked, and monitored 123 (68 female, 55 male) sage-grouse from January 2012 through December 2013. My purpose was to describe how the seasonal movements, survival, and reproductive rates of this sage-grouse population are effected by small-scale habitat use and breeding season foraging patterns. Sage-grouse in the Raft River subunit have distinct winter and summer ranges, and some travelled long distances annually. Survival rates were similar to other Utah populations and range-wide averages. Nest and brood success rates were above range-wide averages and those reported in the adjacent Grouse Creek subunit of the same SGMA. Sage-grouse in the study area selected habitats with specific vegetation characteristics to fit their seasonal needs. Sage-grouse use sites differed from random sites with greater forb height, grass height, and shrub height and cover. Nest success rates were directly related to selected vegetation, as successful nests were located more often under sagebrush and within greater forb height and cover and grass and shrub height than unsuccessful nests. Brood sites were also greater in forb, grass, and shrub height than other use sites. In March and April of 2013, I located radio-marked sage-grouse at flock browse sites to observe their sagebrush diet selection patterns. Lab analyses showed no differences in nutritional quality or chemical composition between browsed sagebrush plants and non-browsed and random plants. However, browsed black sagebrush (A. nova) was lower in protein and higher in chemical content than browsed Wyoming big sagebrush (A. tridentata wyomingensis). Radio-marked females were frequently observed at sites where black sagebrush was browsed, and one individual chemical was considerably more concentrated in browsed plants associated with females that nested successfully. My research provides useful information regarding the seasonal habitat use patterns and vegetation preferences of sage-grouse in the Box Elder SGMA. To conserve the sage-grouse population in northwestern Utah, management actions must protect the seasonal habitats and vegetation that the species depends on for its productivity and survival.

Concern regarding the effect of energy development on greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) is increasing as the search for fossil fuel intensifies. Sage-grouse may be especially sensitive to energy development because they require large, diverse areas of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitat to complete their life cycle. Additionally, the network of pipelines, roads, and wells required by energy development may fragment sagebrush habitat isolating populations and contributing to genetic drift, inbreeding, local extinction, or rapid divergence. Seep Ridge, located in northeastern Utah, is one area where sage-grouse habitat and energy development plans overlap. Approved leases call for the construction of an additional 4,000 natural gas wells in an area currently occupied by a small sage-grouse population. This research was completed to 1) collect baseline data on the survival, reproductive success and habitat use of the Seep Ridge sage-grouse population, 2) examine sage-grouse habitat use patterns in relation to development, and 3) describe sage-grouse mitochondrial genetic diversity in 3 northeastern Utah populations relative to other parts of the species range. I captured and monitored 16 sage-grouse from the Seep Ridge population in 2007 and 2008. Adult mortality rate of the Seep Ridge population was high (65.2%) and recruitment was low (7.1%) compared to other sage-grouse populations in Utah. Additionally, the monitored sage-grouse used habitats located farther from wells more frequently than habitat located near wells, relative to well spacing. Current habitats occupied by this population do not meet recommended guidelines. No unusual haplotype compositions were observed in the genetic survey of the northeastern Utah sage-grouse populations. However, differences in haplotype composition between the Anthro Mountain and Strawberry Valley populations and other northeastern grouse populations indicate there may be a barrier to gene flow in the area. I also documented that the Seep Ridge population is connected to another population inhabiting Ute Tribal land. This observation suggests that the populations inhabiting Ute Tribal land may constitute a source population to recolonize Seep Ridge during the post-energy development periods. I recommend that mitigation measures incorporate restricting development in breeding habitat, maintaining connections between populations, and actions to reduce adult mortality on the summer range. I also recommend that biologists continue collecting genetic samples from northeastern Utah sage-grouse populations to understand population structure, divergent evolution, and inform decisions concerning translocation