Of all anthropogenic pressures, urbanisation is one of the most damaging, and is expanding in its influence throughout the world. In Australia, 90% of the human population live in urban centres along the eastern seaboard. Before European settlement in the early 1800s, much of the Australia's East coast was dominated by forests. Many of the forest dependent fauna have had to adapt to forest fragmentation and habitat loss resulting from clearing for urbanisation. However, relatively few studies have investigated the impact of urbanisation on biodiversity. This is especially true for the remaining fauna in large metropolitan areas, such as Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The physical and conceptual context of this thesis is the increasing impact of urbanisation and the potentially threatening factors to forest dependent fauna. Bats were selected because they comprise a third of Australia's mammal species, and therefore form a major component of Australia's biodiversity. Very little is known about the ecology and conservation biology of hollow-dependent bats in general, but particularly in urban environments. The study was conducted in Brisbane, south-east Queensland, one of Australia's most biodiverse regions. More than a third of Australia's bat species occur in this region. A large insectivorous bat, the white-striped freetail bat (Tadarida australis), was selected to study two key resources in this urban area - hollow availability and foraging habitat. This thesis also examined if artificial roost habitat could provide temporary roosts for white-striped freetail bats and other insectivorous bats and assessed whether these bat boxes can be used as a conservation tool in urban environments where natural hollow-availability is limited. The white-striped freetail bat is an obligate hollow-dweller and roosted largely in hollows of old or dead eucalypts throughout Brisbane's urban matrix. These roost trees harboured significantly more additional hollow-dependent species compared to control trees of similar age, height, and tree diameter. Roost cavities inside trees often exceeded 30 cm in diameter. Furthermore, maternity colonies used cavities of hollow trunks, which often extended into major branches, to roost in big numbers. Therefore artificial alternatives, such as small bat boxes, may provide temporary shelter for small roosting groups, but are unlikely to be suitable substitutes for habitat loss. Although five bat species used bat boxes during this study, the white-striped freetail bat was not attracted into bat boxes. Roost-switching behaviour was then used to quantify associations between individual white-striped freetail bats of a roosting group. Despite differences in gender and reproductive seasons, the bats exhibited the same behaviour throughout three radio-telemetry periods and over 500 bat-days of radio-tracking: each roosted in separate roosts, switched roosts very infrequently, and associated with other tagged bats only at a communal roost. Furthermore, the communal roost exhibited a hub of socialising between members of the roosting group especially at night, with vocalisation and swarming behaviour not found at any of the other roosts. Despite being spread over a large geographic area (up to 200 km2), each roost was connected to others by less than three links. One roost (the communal roost) defined the architecture of the network because it had the most links. That the network showed scale-free properties has profound implications for the management of the habitat trees of this roosting group. Scale-free networks provide high tolerance against stochastic events such as random roost removals, but are susceptible to the selective removal of hub nodes, such as the communal roost. The white-striped freetail bat flew at high speed and covered large distances in search for food. It foraged over all land-cover types found in Brisbane. However, its observed foraging behaviour was non-random with respect to both spatial location and the nature of the ground-level habitat. The main feeding areas were within three kilometers of the communal roost, predominantly over the Brisbane River flood plains. As the only mammal capable of flight, bats can forage above fragmented habitats. However, as this study showed, hollow-dependent insectivorous bats, including free-tailed bats, are specialised in their roosting requirements. The ongoing protection of hollow-bearing trees, and the ongoing recruitment of future hollow-bearing trees, is essential for the long-term conservation of these animals in highly fragmented landscapes. Furthermore, loss of foraging habitat is still poorly understood, and should be considered in the ongoing conservation of bats in urban environments.

The Gulf of Mexico is home to two of the world?s ten busiest ports by cargo volume, the Port of New Orleans and the Port of Houston; and in 2008, these ports hosted a combined 14,000 ships, a number which is likely only to increase. Past research shows that this increase in shipping worldwide has historically lead to an increase in ambient noise level of 3-5dB per decade. Sperm whales in the Gulf of Mexico are considered a genetically distinct, resident population. They have a preference for the Louisiana-Mississippi Shelf region which directly overlaps with the entrance to the Mississippi and the Port of New Orleans. Disruptions from vessel noise could influence feeding and breeding patterns essential to the health of the stock. Data used in this analysis were collected continuously over 36 days in the summer of 2001 from bottom moored Navy Environmental Acoustic Recording System (EARS) buoys. Results showed a significant difference (P<0.05) in noise level between hours with ships passing and hours without. Metrics for 56 ship passages were analyzed to compare duration of ship passage with duration of maximum received level (MRL) during ship passage. Results of that analysis showed an average ship passage of 29 minutes with average MRL lasting 23% of the ship passage and an average increase of 40dB. Lastly, click counts were made with the Pamguard. Click counts for ship passages were completed for 35 min and 17.5 min before and after the estimated closest point of approach (CPA) for each ship. Results showed a 36% decrease in the number of detectable clicks as a ship approaches when comparing clicks detected at intervals of both 35 minutes before and 17 minutes before the CPA; additionally, 22% fewer clicks were counted 30 min after the ship than 30 min before (results significant at the P=0.01 level). These results indicate a potential change in sperm whale behavior when exposed to large class size vessel traffic (e.g. tankers and container ships) from major shipping lanes. Recommendations for addressing this issue are discussed.

Improvements in GPS tracking technologies have resulted in the collection of high resolution movement datasets for a range of wildlife species. In combination with new high resolution remote sensing products, researchers now have the ability to ask complex questions regarding animal movement in heterogeneous landscapes. However, there currently exists a dearth of analytical approaches to combine movement data with environmental variables. Developing methods to examine wildlife movement-environment interactions are particularly relevant given our unprecedented access to high resolution data; however, the analytical and technical challenges of integrating two disparate data types have yet to be effectively overcome. In the analyses presented in this thesis, I examine current approaches for linking wildlife movement to the physical environment, and introduce a data-driven method for examining wildlife movement-environment interactions. The first analysis consists of a review of existing tools in wildlife movement analysis, specifically tools supported within R statistical software, to highlight any existing methodological opportunities and limitations associated with relating movement to landscape features. The review highlights R’s strengths as an integrated toolbox for exploratory analyses, and the current lack of applications for linking high density telemetry datasets with environmental variables. AdehabitatLT was the most functional package available, offering the greatest variety of analysis options. Due to the comprehensive nature of adehabitatLT, I recommend that future method development be implemented through its package specific framework. Extending the first analysis, the second portion of this research introduces a data-driven method, based in semivariogram modelling, for quantifying wildlife movement patterns relative to linear features. The semivariogram-based method is applied to grizzly bear telemetry data to quantify how grizzly bear movement patterns change in relation to roads. The semivariogram-based method demonstrated that the bears’ spatial scale of response ranged from 35 m- 90 m from roads but varied by age, sex, and season. Applying the scales of response to link near-road movement patterns to survival and mortality, revealed that bears that were killed displayed less-risk adverse movements near roads than bears that survived (i.e., longer step lengths and more day light movements around roads). Given this pattern, my data suggest a minimum vegetation buffer of 90 m to serve as screening cover along roadsides to help mitigate the effects of roads on grizzly bear populations in west-central Alberta, Canada. Through the development of data-driven methods in wildlife movement analysis, I can realize the full potential of high resolution telemetry datasets. Data-driven methods reduce the subjectivity within movement analyses, providing more relevant measures of wildlife response to environment. The semivariogram-based method can identify definitive zones of influence around linear disturbance features in any wildlife system, thereby, providing managers with spatially explicit, data-driven insights to reduce impacts on wildlife in multi-use landscapes. / Graduate

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(工学) / 甲第23871号 / 工博第4958号 / 新制||工||1775(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院工学研究科都市環境工学専攻 / (主査)教授 伊藤 禎彦, 教授 藤原 拓, 教授 越後 信哉 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy (Engineering) / Kyoto University / DGAM

Anthropogenic driven soil erosion has increased drastically within the last few centuries. Accelerated removal of topsoil degrades soil characteristics, decreasing the agricultural capacity to sustain food production for future human generations. In order to reduce sediment erosion to a minimum, soil movement dynamics have to be understood over relevant timescales. Emphasis is required on human land use, which has changed over time, altering erosion and deposition processes in the landscape. This thesis aims to understand the development of erosion with time and studies the effects of the anthropogenic impact on the Earth’s surface. A case study was conducted in the Christina River Basin in south-eastern Pennsylvania (USA) to evaluate the anthropogenic impact on sediment redistribution before and during European colonisation of the US East Coast. The Christina River Basin is focus of the Christina River Basin Critical Zone Observatory, where researchers of many disciplines (e.g. hydrology, geochemistry, geology, biology, geomorphology, soil science) study the interactions of the water, mineral and carbon cycle in relation to different land uses. This site is particularly suitable for this study due to the sudden change in land use with the arrival of European Settlers and the well-recorded history of land use in the area since. Besides sediment processes related to the European colonisation, special emphasis was placed on the last century and the particular impact of land management practices on the landscape. For the approach of this study, upland and depositional sediment profiles, as well as suspended sediment collected from rivers at different times were analysed for radionuclide activity. In particular, a combination of the short-lived radionuclides 7Be, 210Pb, and 137Cs with the long-lived meteoric nuclide 10Be was used to allow detection of sediment erosion as well as tracing of sediment source to streams over different time frames. Natural sediment processes were studied by investigating meteoric 10Be in different upland and valley hollow soil profiles in the Christina River Basin. Natu-ral sediment erosion rates of 17 to 18 mm per 1000 years and soil residence time of 26,000 to 57,000 years in upland sites classify the region to be characterised by slowly eroding soils. Valley hollow study sites indicate an alteration in sediment supply due to climate change within the last 80,000 years. Analysis of meteoric 10Be on suspended sediment in rivers with time (from pre-colonial to present times) and a comparison to the historical background of land use management indicated drastic changes in the sediment sources to the streams during the colonisation of the US East Coast. Such profound changes in the soil movement dynamics can be tied to a complete deforestation of the watershed during that time. However, a slow recovery of sediment sources to pre-colonial conditions within the last 100 years was observed, which may be related to the afforestation in parts of the watershed and change in farming practises. Examination of floodplains in recent history (last 100 years) using 210Pb and 137Cs identified a correlation between changes in land use and floodplain development. In particular, deforestation led to channel migration within the watershed, whereas afforestation reduced the flood magnitude. A discrimination of different sediment sources (agricultural and forest surface, channel migration) was detected on present suspended sediment by using a combination of tracers: 7Be, 137Cs, 210Pb and 10Be. About 50 % of sediment in the stream was attributed to channel migration classifying the stream as relatively unstable, whereas the second major sediment contribution was agricultural soil (32 %). As both sources are closely related to human activity in the study area, appropriate land management practices and stream channel stabilisation are of great importance for a hydro- and morphodynamic balance in future times. Results presented in this study provide evidence of the powerful impact anthropogenic land use has had on sediment movement in the Christina River Basin. More importantly, this study has shown the usefulness of combining long- and short-lived radionuclides to identify soil redistribution at different time periods and scales. Radionuclide data does not only reflect the drastic impact during European colonisation but also detects gradual changes that occur due to human action to limit soil erosion within the last century. This study indicates that some of the best management practices may minimise anthropogenic induced soil erosion, whilst simultaneously signifying the need to further improve land use management and reduce sediment erosion.

Orientador: Sérgio Luis de Carvalho / Resumo: As atividades antrópicas como agricultura, mineração, urbanização e industrialização produzem resíduos que de maneira direta ou indireta acabam chegando até os corpos hídricos, gerando mudanças na qualidade da água dos rios, córregos e lagos. Para quantificar a poluição dessas águas utiliza-se o índice de qualidade da água “IQA” que por meio de análises físicas, químicas e biológicas classifica a qualidade da água como ótima, boa, aceitável, ruim ou péssima. Este trabalho tem como objetivo diagnosticar a influência de atividades antrópicas na qualidade da água da bacia hidrográfica do Córrego das Marrecas – SP, utilizando o Índice de Qualidade da Água – (IQA). Foram analisados cinco pontos ao longo do Córrego das Marrecas – SP durante o período de abril/2017 a março/2018. Em cada ponto de amostragem foi mensurada mensalmente a concentração de oxigênio dissolvido (OD), temperatura, pH, turbidez, sólidos totais (ST), coliformes termotolerantes, demanda bioquímica de oxigênio (DBO), nitrogênio total e fósforo total conforme os métodos para análises de águas potáveis e residuárias – Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater. Foi realizada uma análise descritiva para avaliação dos resultados de média, desvio padrão, valores máximos e mínimos dos parâmetros de qualidade da água monitorados durante o período chuvoso e seco nos cinco pontos de amostragem do Córrego das Marrecas- SP. O cálculo do IQA foi feito por meio do produtório ponderado dos nove parâmetros (pH, tu... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Anthropogenic activities such as agriculture, mining, urbanization and industrialization produce waste that directly or indirectly reaches the water bodies, generating changes in the water quality of these rivers, streams and lakes. To quantify the pollution of these waters, the water quality index "IQA" is used that, through physical, chemical and biological analysis, classifies water quality as optimal, good, acceptable, bad or bad. This work aims to diagnose the influence of anthropic activities on the water quality of the Stream of Marrecas - SP water basin, using the Water Quality Index - (IQA). Five points were analyzed along the Stream of Marrecas - SP during the period from April / 2017 to March / 2018. At each sampling point, the concentration of dissolved oxygen (OD), temperature, pH, turbidity, total solids (ST), thermotolerant coliforms, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total nitrogen and total phosphorus were measured according to the methods for analysis of drinking water and wastewater - Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater. A descriptive analysis was performed to evaluate the results of mean, standard deviation, maximum and minimum values of water quality parameters monitored during the rainy and dry period at the five sampling points of Stream of Marrecas - SP. The calculation of the IQA was done by means of the weighted output of the nine parameters (pH, turbidity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, phosphorus, nitrogen, total solids, thermot... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Snake species are notoriously difficult to study in the field due to their cryptic natural-histories and secretive behaviors. Difficulties associated with detection present challenges estimating parameters including occupancy and abundance, as well as responses to habitat degradation. Our objectives were to use Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT) telemetry to enhance detection of Queensnakes (Regina septemvittata) as compared to traditional capture-mark-recapture (CMR) survey techniques and to examine occupancy and abundance of Queensnakes and Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon) in streams of differing levels of anthropogenic impact within Central Kentucky. During 2013, we captured Queensnakes and implanted them with PIT tags. We detected significantly more tagged snakes using PIT telemetry than visual surveys. We did not observe significant differences in numbers of snakes detected using PIT telemetry at different times of day. We observed relatively high site fidelity of individuals. During 2014, we conducted point-count surveys of Northern Watersnakes and Queensnakes in streams characterized as highly degraded and lightly impaired. We estimated occupancy and conditional abundance among site types. We did not observe significant differences in occupancy or abundance between historically highly-impacted sites and less-impacted sites. We were able to determine significance of some environmental variables influencing detection of snakes.

Previous studies found large biases between individual observational and model estimates of historical ocean anthropogenic carbon uptake. We show that the largest bias between the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) ensemble mean and between two observational estimates of ocean anthropogenic carbon is due to a difference in start date. After adjusting the CMIP5 and observational estimates to the 1791-1995 period, all three carbon uptake estimates agree to within 3Pg of C, about 4% of the total. The CMIP5 ensemble mean spatial bias compared to the observations is generally smaller than the observational error, apart from a negative bias in the Southern Ocean and a positive bias in the Southern Indian and Pacific Oceans compensating each other in the global mean. This dipole pattern is likely due to an equatorward and weak bias in the position of Southern Hemisphere westerlies and lack of mode and intermediate water ventilation.

The simultaneous increase in biological invasions and habitat alteration through the building of coastal infrastructure is playing an important role in reshaping the composition and functioning of nearshore marine ecosystems. This thesis examined patterns of marine invasions across anthropogenic and natural habitats and explored some of the processes that influence establishment and spread of invaders. The goals of this thesis were four-fold. First, I examined the habitat distribution of marine nonindigenous species (NIS) spanning several taxonomic groups and geographical regions. Second, I conducted systematic subtidal surveys in anthropogenic and natural habitats and investigated the distribution of nonindigenous ascidians on Southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Third, I tested methods for in-situ larval inoculations and utilized these techniques to manipulate propagule supply and assess post-settlement mortality of ascidians across habitat types. Fourth, I investigated the role of biotic resistance, through predation by native species, on the survival of ascidian colonies in anthropogenic and natural habitats. Results from this research showed that anthropogenic habitats are hubs for marine invasions and may provide beachheads for the infiltration of nearby natural sites. Specifically, a literature review of global scope showed that most NIS are associated with anthropogenic habitats, but this pattern varied by taxonomic group. Most algal and mobile invertebrate NIS were reported from natural habitats, while most sessile NIS were reported from artificial structures. Subtidal field surveys across both anthropogenic and natural habitats showed that nonindigenous ascidians were restricted largely to artificial structures on Southern Vancouver Island and that this pattern is consistent across their global introduced ranges. Field manipulations using the ascidian Botrylloides violaceus as a model organism, showed that post-settlement mortality is high and that large numbers of larvae or frequent introduction events may be needed for successful initial invasion and successful infiltration of natural habitats. Experiments also showed that predation by native species can limit the survival of B. violaceus in anthropogenic and natural habitats. This dissertation contributes knowledge about the patterns and processes associated with habitat invisibility; provides insight into factors affecting colonization; and supplies valuable information for predicting and managing invasions. / Graduate / 0329

The Indian River Lagoon (IRL) FL, USA, is an Estuary of National Significance due to its economic and high biodiversity. Microbial populations are understudied in the IRL despite their numerous ecological services. A two-year, nineteen-site Lagoon-Wide Survey (LWS) was conducted to provide the first 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing data on the microbiome of the sediment in the IRL and determine how the microbiome changed in response to environmental and anthropogenic factors. The most influential variables that explained the variability between microbiomes were porewater salinity, total organic matter (TOM), and copper (Cu). These results correlated with some of the anthropogenic pressures the IRL faces such as freshwater discharges from St. Lucie Estuary (SLE), trace metal contamination, and the accumulation of fine-grained, highly organic sediment known as “IRL muck” (muck). Research then focused on determining the microbial differences between three sets of sample types: sediment from the IRL versus the SLE; sediment that had three muck characteristics versus those with zero; and high TOM sediment that had high Cu versus high TOM sediment that had low Cu. Differentially abundant prokaryotes between sample types were determined with novel indicator analysis techniques. One technique tested the effectiveness of an indicator list to separate samples based upon the product of the sensitivity and specificity of partitioning around medoids clustering in comparison to metadata classifications. The other technique allowed for the tracking of changes in the entire indicator microbiome. These new indicator analysis techniques were created using the original LWS data and tested to determine how sediment microbiomes responded during two opportunistic surveys: dredging of muck from an IRL tributary (Eau Gallie River) and Hurricane Irma. These studies have filled the knowledge gap regarding the unknown microbiome of the IRL and how sediment microbiomes respond to extreme events such as dredging and a hurricane. They also led to the development of new indicator analysis techniques that can be used by to track changes in the entire indicator microbiome. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2020. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection