Energiflöden mellan terrestra och akvatiska ekosystem har uppmärksammats mycket den senaste tiden. I den här studien undersöker jag betydelsen av ett terrestert djur, älgen (Alces alces), som dör i vattendrag och avger näring till vattnet. Genom litteraturstudier och teoretiska beräkningar uppskattade jag hur vanligt det är att älgar dör i vattendrag och om dessa älgar har någon inverkan på vattendragets totala näringsbudget. Jag fann att drunkning hos älgar tas upp som en parameter för naturliga dödsorsaker i flera artiklar från USA, Canada och Polen. Orsakerna till att älgar drunknar, trots att de är duktiga simmare, kan vara t.ex. att stranden är för brant, att de tvingas ner i vattnet av rovdjur, att skadeskjutna älgar söker sig till vatten på grund av törstkänningar i samband med blodförlust eller att de går igenom svaga isar. Utifrån teoretiska beräkningar fann jag även att en älg som dött i ett vattendrag bidrar till mycket liten del av den totala näringsbudgeten. Min hypotes är att det endast blir en lokal påverkan nedströms djuret. Hur denna påverkan ser ut och om den kommer primärproducenter och fiskar tillgodo är mycket komplext och undersöks inte i denna studie.

Den här avhandlingen belyser hur avverkning och markberedning påverkar markfloran i den svenska barrskogen. Dessutom utvärderas två inventeringsmetoder som används inom växtekologin. Vid arbetet har både rikstäckande inventeringsdata och fältförsök använts och de likartade resultaten tyder på att rikstäckande inventeringar är en underutnyttjad resurs i forskningen. Ju större andel av träden som avverkas desto större blir förändringen av markflorans sammansättning. Vissa arter, som lingon, ljung, etc., verkar dock inte påverkas i nämnvärd omfattning, medan andra, som blåbär, minskar i relation till hur mycket som avverkats. Gräs och mjölkört ökar efter avverkning, dock visar sig vissa gräs och mjölkört inte reagera om inte avverkningen överskrider ett tröskelvärde på ca 80 %. Avverkning har en liten, men signifikant, effekt på antalet arter, medan artomsättning, d.v.s. arters etablering på och/eller försvinnande från provytorna, framförallt påverkas av andel gran innan avverkning, markens produktionsförmåga och först därefter av hur stor andel av träden som avverkas. Det var också uppenbart att markberedning har en stark effekt som skiljer sig från avverkning. Framförallt gynnas björnmossor av markberedning men även vårfryle, kruståtel och mjölkört. Arter som missgynnas av markberedning var bl.a., en levermossa, lingon, väggmossa och kråkbär. I växtekologi är visuell täckningsbedömning, d.v.s. hur stor del av en provyta som täcks av en växtart, och registrering av förekomst/icke förekomst, d.v.s. finns en växtart på en provyta eller inte, de två vanligaste metoderna vid vegetationsinventering. Vid registrering av förekomst/icke förekomst missas upp till en tredjedel av förekomsterna, vanligaste orsaken till missade registreringar verkar vara att man inte upptäcker arten snarare än att den inte kan identifieras. Det var stora variationer mellan arter, där arter med få exemplar på provytan missas oftare. Både den visuella täckningsbedömningen och förekomst/icke förekomst visar sig ha personberoende fel, d.v.s. att olika personer genomgående ger högre eller lägre värden än andra. Trots det personberoende felet visar sig täckningsbedömningar ha ett större informationsvärde än registrering av förekomst/icke förekomst när det gäller att särskilja olika typer av vegetation. Erfarenhet har en förvånansvärt liten effekt på kvaliteten av täckningsbedömningar. / This thesis has two main focuses; first, the response of forest ground layer flora on forestry, mainly harvesting and secondly, the quality of the vegetation assessment methods, cover estimates by eye and presence/absence data. The effect of harvesting intensity was evaluated with survey data from permanent plots as well as vegetation data from a field trial fourteen years after harvesting. Both data sets confirmed that response of ground layer flora increased with increasing logging intensity. Thereby, indicating that survey data is possible to use in research. From the survey data set, existence of a time lag was evident for several species and also a threshold level was evident in cutting intensity needed to affect a number of species. Logging had a modest, but significant positive effect on the change in species number per plot. Species turnover was influenced by the proportion of Picea abies in the tree canopy; site productivity; and logging intensity. In the field trial scarification had a strong effect that was different from the one created by cutting. In plant ecology cover estimate by eye and presence/absence recording are the two most frequent methods used. The methods were evaluated with survey data and a field trial. In the first data set vegetation was recorded independently by two observers in 342 permanent 100-m2 plots. Overall, one third of each occurrence was missed by one of the two observers, but with large differences among species. Species occurring at low abundance tended to be frequently overlooked. Observer-explained variance in cover estimates was <10% in 15 of 17 species. In the second data set, 10 observers independently estimated cover in sixteen 100-m2 plots in two different vegetation types. The bias connected to observer varied substantially between species. The estimates of missing field and bottom layer had the highest bias, indicating that missing layers are problematic to use in analysis of change. Experience had a surprisingly small impact on the bias connected to observer. Analyses revealed that for the statistical power, cover estimates by eye carries a higher information value than do presence/absence data when distinguishing between vegetation types, differences between observers is negligible, and using more than one observer had little effect.

Fjords contain a significant quantity of sediments deposited in coastal zones over the last ~100,000 years. Studies of Northern Hemisphere fjords have shown that a large part of the high concentration of sedimentary organic matter (OMsed) is terrestrial in origin (OMterr), composed of a modern detrital fraction and an old mineral-associated fraction (OMfossil). These results suggest that fjords are disproportionately responsible, on a per area basis, for the burial of organic matter in coastal zones. This study, after a rigorous examination of CuO and GDGT biomarker methods used to quantify terrestrial organic matter in coastal environments, demonstrated this hypothesis in a Southern Hemisphere fjord system, Fiordland, New Zealand. CuO analysis of Doubtful Sound surface sediments indicated a large contribution of vascular plant material to fjord sediments. The BIT Index correlated strongly with both delta13C and C/N values in Doubtful Sound surface sediments, indicated that it may accurately trace the relative proportions of marine and soil organic matter (OMsoil) in Fiordland. However, a detailed analysis of the conversion of the BIT Index to quantitative estimates of terrestrial (soil) organic matter revealed that these values are overestimates. Reconstructions of the BIT Index and tetraethers in cores from two locations on the Louisiana continental shelf demonstrated the influence of the crenarchaeol term on BIT Index-based terrestrial organic matter estimates. The differences in the applicability of the BIT Index to these two coastal environments was most likely due to large seasonal changes in productivity on the Louisiana Continental Shelf as well as higher marine relative to terrestrial inputs. Six cores were reconstructed for contributions from marine OM (OMmar), OMfossil, and OMterrestrial representing the last ~500 years of sedimentation. Spatial variations were larger than temporal variations, owing to negligible development and deforestation in the region. OMterr was the dominant fraction in all but one core, and OMfossil inputs were significant. Additionally, source reconstructions from a variety of biomarkers indicated that Landslides deliver large volumes of detrital organic matter to fjord sediments. These results confirm that fjords bury quantitatively significant volumes of organic carbon on a global scale.

An important step in data processing from terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is georeferencing, i.e. transformation of the scanner data (point clouds) into a real world coordinate system, which is important for their integration with other geospatial data. An efficient approach for this is direct georeferencing, whereby the position and orientation of the scanner can be determined in the field, similarly to the working routine of total stations. Thus the efficiency of the survey can be increased, and the project time and costs reduced. An important factor that affects the results of TLS surveys, especially those with direct georeferencing, is scanner calibration. In the recent years, the method of self-calibration used in photogrammetry has become popular for the recovery of systematic errors in laser scanners. This thesis has two main aims. The first one is to develop an approach for self-calibration of terrestrial laser scanners, which can be made available to users, and apply it to the calibration of a number of pulsed laser scanners in order to get a better insight into the systematic instrumental errors present in these instruments. The second aim is to investigate the possibilities for direct georeferencing in TLS in static applications, with the focus on the use of GPS for this purpose, and to develop a survey system based on the combination of TLS and GPS. An additional aim of the thesis is to make a systematic description of the error sources in TLS surveys, where direct georeferencing is employed. A good understanding of these error sources is necessary to secure the data accuracy. We subdivide these errors into four groups: instrumental, object-related, environmental and georeferencing. We have developed a unified approach for self-calibration of terrestrial laser scanners, where one can introduce stochastic information about all the estimated parameters, which helps in reducing their correlations. In part, it is possible to use direct georeferencing to determine the exterior orientation parameters of the scanner. We applied this approach to the self-calibration of the pulsed scanners Callidus CP 3200, Leica HDS 3000 and Leica Scan Station. The initial assumption was that the scanner systematic instrumental errors, or calibration parameters, were similar to those in a total station. However, other errors not explained by the “a priori” total station error model can be present in the scanners. We revealed two such errors – the scale errors in the vertical angles and horizontal directions in the scanners Callidus CP 3200 and Leica HDS 3000, respectively. Most systematic errors were estimated with relatively high precision and low correlations with other system parameters. We have developed a prototype combined survey system, which allows the user to use GPS for direct georeferencing of the scanner parallel to the scanning. In the current implementation, the system consists of the scanning system Leica Scan Station 2, 2 GPS receivers and antennas from Leica and a number of necessary accessories. The scanner position can be determined from RTK (or possibly Network-RTK) measurements with the accuracy of better than 1 cm, both in plane and height. The position of the backsight target can be determined from post-processing of static GPS measurements with similar accuracy. In order to estimate the accuracy of the combined system and its efficiency in a typical TLS survey, we carried out several test measurements. The results have shown that it is possible to achieve the coordinate accuracy of better than 1 cm at the object distance of up to 50 m. This is comparable to the accuracy of conventional direct georeferencing, i.e. when the scanner is centred over a known point. The time expenses for the test survey of a building located at KTH campus, starting from the planning and finishing with the georeferenced point cloud, were about 1.5 workdays. The time expenses could be reduced further if the system was installed on a moving platform during the fieldwork. Hence, the combined system can be successfully used for the surveys of built environments, e.g. engineering constructions and historical monuments, which can be carried out fast and with high accuracy. / QC 20100806 / 3D laser scanning of engineering constructions and historical monuments

Three species of burnet moths (Zygaena filipendulae, Z. lonicerae and Z. viciae) were studied on the Baltic island Öland, Sweden, in order to reveal the habitat requirements of different life stages. Larvae were found among a higher cover of their most important host plant, Lotus corniculatus, Trifolium medium/pratense or Vicia spp., than were pupae or imagines, and were also observed on plants larger than randomly examined plants. Imagines actively selected nectar plants of Centaurea and Cirsium, growing in sunny conditions, but other red and violet Asteraceae flowers were also favoured. Pupae of Z. filipendulae appeared in taller vegetation than larvae and imagines, probably because the cocoons are spun high on stems of grasses and other plants. The chance of finding such suitable substrates rises with increasing vegetation height. A large scale analysis of occupancy patterns was also made, evaluating the relationship between burnet presence or absence and the area of meadows and pastures within 10 x 10 km grid cells in southern Sweden. All three species showed a positive relationship with increasing area of semi-natural grassland. Thresholds for the amount of habitat, below which the likelihood of occurrence declined more rapidly, could be distinguished around a 40-50 % probability of occurrence. Conservational work should aim at preserving and restoring open and sunny areas, rich in the respective host plants and nectar sources, but vegetation management must be executed with great care or late in the season to not harm unhatched pupae and to maintain substrates suitable for Z. filipendulae pupation.

Denna undersökning gjordes för att studera solitära steklars boplatsval speciellt med avseende på spatiala mönster. Aggregat av lämpliga bohål (bibatterier) tillverkades och gjordes tillgängliga förfrilevande steklar. Resultatet visade att steklar tenderar att anlägga bon i närheten av andra stekelbon. Ingen tendens fanns att anlägga bon i centralt belägna positioner. Steklarna verkar också föredra att anlägga bon till vänster om en tänkt mittllinje på bibatterierna. Aggregation kan vara ett sätt att undgå parasitering och predation vid boplatsen. Om detta orsakade aggregationstendensen var det dock något oväntat att inte också en central tendens kunde påvisas. Att steklarna föredrog bohål i bibatteriernas vänstra del är svårt att förklara.

A solid-phase extraction (SPE) method was developed for the determination of organochlorine pesticides, namely aldrin, alpha-BHC, beta-BHC, delta-BHC, dieldrin, endosulfan I, endosulfan II, endosulfan sulfate, endrin, endrin aldehyde, lindane, heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, 4,4’-DDD, 4,4’-DDE and 4,4’- DDT in water. The effect of extraction conditions, such as the addition of sodium chloride and methanol to the sample prior to loading was studied. The sample was concentrated by a plain polystyrene-divinylbenzene resin, and the extract was eluted by ethyl acetate. Qualification and quantification of the target pesticides were performedby gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS) in the full-scan and selected ion-monitoring mode, respectively, and for better detection of pesticides in field samples the mass spectrometer was altered from electron ionization (EI) to chemical ionization mode (CI). The repeatability of the method for MilliQ-water fortified with pesticides at a level of 0.1 to 0.6 µg/l ranged from 8 to 18%, and the obtained recoveries ranged from 67 to 135%. The method was evaluated for the determination of organochlorine pesticides in fourteen surface- and groundwater samples taken from locations along King Talal Dam, King Abdullah Canal and Zarqa River in the Jordan Valley. The limit of detection of the pesticides residues in 500-ml field water samples ranged from 0.0009 to 15.7 ng/l. The obtained results confirmed the presence of trace amounts of some organochlorine pesticides in the analyzed samples, i.e. lindane and endosulfan compounds.

Phenotypic plasticity, the capacity of a single genotype to exhibit variable phenotypes in different environments, is common in many species. A sample of wild caught Archosargus probatocephalus, also known as sheepshead, from Florida was randomly divided into two treatment groups: one group was fed soft prey, Mercenaria sp. muscle tissue, and the other group was fed hard prey, Mercenaria sp. in the shell, for 365 days. It was hypothesized that the sheepshead fed hard prey would have a thicker tooth enamel layer containing more calcium, and therefore be stronger than the tooth enamel layer of those fed soft prey items. Additionally, the mean functional jaw surface area, the percentage of tooth coverage of functional jaw surface, number of teeth per jaw, correlation between standard length and mean total tooth height, and the combined surface area of the teeth, when compared between the two treatments, should be greater in the hard prey treatment. The seventeen jaws of two prey groups were acquired postmortem and each jaw was divided into four quadrants. The largest tooth in each quadrant was removed from the jaw, longitudinally sectioned, and examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to measure the enamel and dentin layers. Using the SEM backscatter electron detector the elemental composition of the different layers was determined at multiple locations. Finally, data was analyzed using analyses of variance (ANOVA’s) to compare mean tooth height, calcium content in enamel and dentin layers, mean functional jaw number of teeth per jaw, and upper to lower jaw overall enamel and dentin thickness between each treatment. Phenotypic plasticity was identified in three areas: percentage of jaw surface covered by teeth, a positive correlation between total tooth height and enamel height in hard prey treatment, and a positive correlation between total tooth height and soft prey treatment dentin height; but not in the other areas studied. It is apparent that phenotypic plasticity can increase an individual’s ability to survive in a variable food resource environment by changing some aspects of tooth morphology, but the ability to change in response to stimuli was not found in all areas of tooth structure. i

Cercopithecoides williamsi, a Plio-Pleistocene primate, is believed to have been a terrestrial colobine monkey. Dental microwear analysis of C. williamsi specimens from South African cave sites was employed to test these assumptions. Analysis of the features shows that although the microwear signature of C. williamsi is similar to that of folivorous primates, there are also similarities with terrestrial papionins. Overall, the dental microwear analysis demonstrates that C. williamsi could have indeed been a folivorous, terrestrial monkey. A high amount of puncture pits also points to a substantial amount of grit in the diet. Similarities between the microwear features of C. williamsi and Cebus apella indicate that fruit or hard objects could have been a supplemental food of C. williamsi. The consumption of underground storage organs covered in grit would explain the heavy pitting of C. williamsi teeth. Being terrestrial, C. williamsi would have been in direct competition with terrestrial papionins.

Georeferencing is an important task in terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) applications. It means transformation of the 3D data (point clouds) into an external coordinate system so that it can be combined with other spatial data. The aim of this study is to investigate the accuracy and precision of real-time updated free station (RUFS) as a georeferencing method in TLS applications, and to evaluate its efficiency. The RUFS is used in total station surveys, implies determination of the instrument position and orientation based on measurements of two or more backsight targets, whose coordinates are determined with Real Time Kinematic (RTK) GNSS. The field surveying was carried out in May and June 2010. A control point was established based on static GNSS measurements in order to have reference data to evaluate the accuracy of station coordinates. Three different configurations of 10 backsight targets were tested: the targets were evenly spread over the sectors of 200 and 100 gon on one arc and 100 gon on two arcs. The measurements were repeated ten times for each configuration. The precision and accuracy of the station position were then derived by processing the surveying data. The results show that with increasing the number of backsight points from 2 to 10, the planimetric precision of the station position improved from 6 to 3 mm; the height precision was at the level of 3−5 mm. The accuracy of the station position improved from 10 to 2 mm in planimetry, and from 28 to 11 mm in height. The time expense for one set of measurements with RUFS was approximately 15 minutes.