Salinity issues in the Upper Colorado River Basin have been a serious concern to the western United States and northern Mexico. The Colorado River salinity is mainly come from geologic materials located in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Natural weathering and human activities, such as irrigation, accelerate the dissolution of saline materials. Economic damages due to salinity in the Colorado River Basin are estimated at $295 million in 2010, for example, reduced crop yield, plugging of water pipes and fixtures, and ecological health of rivers. In order to manage salinity in the Upper Colorado River Basin, SPARROW model has been applied to simulate salinity sources and transport. However, the model application discontinued during recent past due to lack of data. Given the motivation and importance of salinity issues in the Colorado River Basin, the overall goal of this research is to develop a decision-making framework for an effective salinity management in the Upper Colorado River Basin. First, this research introduced a methodology for reliable analysis of salinity sources and transport in the Upper Colorado River Basin. However, recent decreasing trend of number of monitoring stations may cause increase of model uncertainty. Therefore, a decision-making methodology for an effective water quality monitoring network was developed. From the results of monitoring network analysis, the redundancy or scarcity of monitoring stations in each watershed can be identified under the given operational costs. Finally, salinity management scenarios considering cost and equity were developed. Management options considering cost only can neglect the fairness in the allocation of salinity control responsibilities among stakeholders. To overcome this limitation in management, the methodology developed in this research considers cost of salinity control, equitable distributions among stakeholders, and cost efficiency. The methodologies developed in this research provide a comprehensive decision-making framework for an effective salinity management in the Upper Colorado River Basin. Moreover, this framework is not limited to the management of salinity in the Upper Colorado River only, but also can be applied to other water quality management problems.

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Thesis (M. Sc.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on Jan. 22, 2010). 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 Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta. Includes bibliographical references.

Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on Feb 18, 2010). The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file. Thesis advisor: Dr. Mark R. Ryan and Mike Hubbard. Includes bibliographical references.

The house sparrow, Passer domesticus, is one of the most successful invading bird species in the world. It was introduced to southern Africa around 1900 and has since spread through the region. Its dispersal was characterised by an initial slow phase followed by a rapid increase in the rate of spread. Following 50 years of slow spread, the rate of dispersal accelerated to over 80 km/year. The initial slow rate can be attributed to an Allee effect, defined as "a disproportionate reduction in reproduction below a threshold population density due to reduced probability of finding a mate". The rapid phase involved a combination of long-range jumps (leap-frogging dispersal) and diffusive movement over short distances. Dispersal was significantly faster along railway lines. Introduction of the house sparrow, Passer domesticus, to southern Africa involved unknown numbers of both the domesticus race of Europe and indicus of Asia, resulting in the establishment of a genetically diverse founder population along coastal South Africa. The birds have undergone significant differentiation since introduction about 100 years ago. Significant sexual size dimorphism was detected among southern African house sparrows, especially in flight structures. Males were larger than females in all characters except tarsus and claw length. Overall body size variation was clinaly ordered with a general increase in size with latitude in conformity with Bergmann's rule. Tarsus length also increased southwards, with the longest tarsi in birds of coastal sites in South Africa and the shortest in Zimbabwe. Patterns of variation in morphological characters paralleled climatic trends, especially minimum temperature and humidity. Beak size and shape of Zimbabwean birds appeared to be under the greatest influence of climatic factors. Shorter and more conicaly shaped beaks were selected for in females in Zimbabwe. Natural selection was modifying the morphological characters resulting in adaptive radiation in morphology of southern African populations. Few studies of microevolution (change in morphology over a short period) have been conducted in birds and none in invading bird species in the tropics. A founding population comprising both the Asian and the European races of the house sparrow, P. d. domesticus and P. d. indicus first arrived in Zimbabwe 30 years ago. Because of its recent introduction to Zimbabwe and because of its known potential for rapid adaptation and differentiation elsewhere in its new range, the house sparrow provided the ideal case study in microevolution in tropical Africa. Morphological differentiation in Zimbabwean populations of the house sparrow was analysed to determine temporal variation in local samples and the extent of variation from parent populations of Asia and Europe. Samples collected since arrival in Zimbabwe up to 1980 were compared with those collected from current populations in 1998/1999 to determine local changes over time. The Zimbabwean samples were then contrasted with samples from Asian and European populations to determine the extent of differentiation in the introduced birds of Zimbabwe. Zimbabwean populations had differentiated from their Asian parents in six of the seven morphological characters examined. The greatest differentiation was in beak size and shape for both males and females. Males developed larger beaks and shorter wings than the Asian birds and female beaks became more conical. A large proportion of the potential phenetic diversity of the founding population of both domesticus and indicus genes had been realised in Zimbabwe. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2001.

The potential of fenthion to act as a secondary poisoning hazard to birds of prey was investigated using American kestrels (Falco sparverius) and house sparrows (Passer domesticus) as a representative model of a naturally occurring predator-prey interaction. Kestrels were presented with live sparrows previously exposed to perches containing Rid-A-Bird 1100$ sp circler$ solution (Rid-A-Bird, Inc., Muscatine, IA), 11% fenthion active ingredient, under simulated field conditions. All 14 kestrels tested died following ingestion of fenthion-exposed sparrows. Decreased brain cholinesterase activity and residue analyses of kestrel gastro-intestinal samples confirmed secondary fenthion poisoning. / Prey selection trials were conducted in the laboratory to determine the response of kestrels to a mixed flock of contaminated and uncontaminated sparrows. Kestrels captured fenthion-exposed prey significantly more often (12 out of 15 trials) than normal, unexposed prey. / These results suggest that avian predators and scavengers in the wild are at risk from contact with fenthion-exposed prey in areas where Rid-A-Bird perches are in use.

This thesis investigated the use of song repertoires during territorial defense of the song sparrow, Melospiza melodia. The functional and adaptive significances of repertoires in the order Passeriformes were reviewed. Within the family Fringillidae, an examination of repertoire size and life history features of different species revealed no significant correlations. / Observations of six neighboring song sparrows yielded information about the relative uses of repertoire-dependent and repertoire-independent mechanisms in coordinated song interactions, as well as in signalling agonistic probabilities. The behavior of song switching, independent of the identities of song types, was found to most effectively perform both types of functions. / A series of playback experiments tested and supported the hypothesis that the song sparrow's rate of switching song types increases with agonistic stimulation. Song versatility, rather than switching rate per se, was found to be an appropriate agonistic stimulus.

After many years of neglect, American novelist and short-story writer John Fante is beginning to attract scholarly attention. In the current critical field there is an absence of textual and editorial criticism that needs to be redressed. It is important for Fante criticism to acknowledge the fact that Black Sparrow Press has not only republished Fante, but has re-invented him. Following the example of textual and editorial critics such as Lawrence S. Rainey, Jerome McGann, and George Bornstein, I address Black Sparrow's influence on the institutional, bibliographic, and linguistic codes of the Black Sparrow editions of Fante's work. By focussing on textual and editorial issues, I open up new areas of critical assessment---such as Black Sparrow's influence on critical and popular receptions of Fante. This critical approach allows for a more precise and complete critical understanding of Fante's work.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1997. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [91]-108).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Riverside, 2010. / Includes abstract. Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Title from first page of PDF file (viewed May 14, 2010). Includes bibliographical references. Also issued in print.