Freshwater ecosystems are among the most threatened ecosystems on the planet. In recent years there has been increasing concerns over precipitous declines in population sizes and increasing rates of extinction of native freshwater fauna across North America. Nearly 50% of the mussel species and 25% of the fish species in North America are imperiled. Stream habitat degradation has been cited as the principal cause for declines, with anthropogenic land uses being the leading causes of stream degradation. Species distribution models (SDMs) have become an integral tool in ecological research and conservation planning. SDMs are reliant upon occurrence datasets for the taxa of concern and museum-based information has become a popular source for such data. In the first stage of my research, I developed a centralized database for Kentucky fishes based on museum-based information. Over the course of three years, the SIUC Ichthyology Lab built an occurrence dataset of Kentucky fishes consisting of more than 50,000 records dating back to the 1890s. Each record contains three pieces of information (1) species identification, (2) georeferenced locality, and (3) date of collection. In the second stage of my research, I investigated the use of multiscale landscape data in aquatic species distribution models using a case study of a freshwater mussel. The distribution of Rabbitsfoot (Quadrula cylindrica) in the upper Green River system (Ohio River drainage) was modeled with environmental variables from multiple spatial scales. Four types of landscape environment metrics were used, including: land use/land cover (LULC) pattern, LULC composition, soil composition, and geology composition. The study showed that LULC pattern metrics are very useful in modeling the distribution of Rabbitsfoot. Together with LULC compositional metrics, pattern metrics permitted a more detailed analysis of functional linkages between aquatic species distributions and landscape structure. Moreover, the inclusion of multiple spatial scales was necessary to accurately model the hierarchical processes in stream systems. Geomorphic features played an important role in regulating species distributions at intermediate and large scales while LULC variables appeared more influential at proximal scales. I then further tested the landscape-level approach to aquatic species distribution modeling using a case study of six narrow-range endemic fishes with contrasting biogeographies. Species biogeography did not appear to affect predictive performance and all models performed well statistically. Predictive maps showed accurate estimations of ranges for five of six species based on historical collections. The relative influence of each type of environmental feature and spatial scale varied markedly with between species. A hierarchical effect was detected for narrowly distributed species which were highly influenced by soil composition at larger spatial scales and land use/land cover (LULC) patterns at more proximal scales. Conversely, LULC pattern was the most influential feature for widely distributed at all spatial scales. Lastly, I developed a hierarchical approach to the selection and management of freshwater protected areas in the upper Green River system. By aligning the spatial scales and environmental variables analyzed at each stage in the conservation planning process, from species distribution modeling to reserve selection, I present a more robust methodology to conservation planning compared to traditional approaches. Using models of species richness fitted to landscape attributes, I also provided suggestions for landscape management strategies for each conservation unit. My research comprises the core conservation plan for the focal species in the upper Green River system.

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The threat to biodiversity posed by increasing rates of anthropogenic habitat fragmentation necessitates an understanding of the consequences of spatial pattern for natural communities. Reduction of patch size, loss of habitat, changes in the quantity and proportion of habitat edge, and reduced connectivity among habitats can all shape ecological processes and faunal behavior. Seagrass habitats provide a natural model system for examining spatial inf1uences on marine fauna, but separating the effects of habitat structure, environmental conditions, and spatial pattern is difficult because shoot density, percent cover, and hydrodynamic regime often co-vary with patch size. This study used experimentally manipulated seagrass patches to measure the response of seagrass-associated fauna to patch size and bed fragmentation on the scale of meters. Replicate plots were created by transplanting eelgrass, Zostera marina, at two sites in the lower Chesapeake Bay, USA. Plots were designed to examine effects of patch size and bed fragmentation on the density of epibenthic decapod and peracarid crustaceans (crabs, shrimps, amphipods, and isopods), gastropods, and demersal fish. Densities of most species examined did not vary significantly among fragmented and unfragmented plots, or among plots with differing amounts of habitat area. Furthermore, seasonal edge effects were observed within both fragmented and unfragmented plots for five amphipod crustaceans (Atnpithoe longimana, A. valida, Caprella penantis, Elasmopus levis, and Microprotopus raneyi), the gastropod Mitrella lunata, and blue crab postlarvae, indicating that the processes regulating small-scale distribution within seagrass plots were insensitive to meter-scale habitat patchiness. In addition, two isopods (Edotea triloha and Erichsonella attenuata), the gastropod Nassarius vibex, and the amphipod Erichthonius brasiliensis exhibited edge effects within individual plot types, with few commonalities to suggest that any particular habitat configuration promotes edge effects. In 24 of 27 instances (species - plot type combinations) where effects of plot edges were detected, faunal densities were higher near plot edges than in their interiors. High densities in plot edges were not accompanied by higher overall densities in plots with greater proportions of habitat edges, suggesting that the processes regulating the distribution of individuals among plots are distinct from within-plot processes. Secondary production of epifauna, estimated from size distribution data, was not significantly affected by fragmentation treatments. Although commonly employed faunal categorizations such as body size, mobility, and trophic position did not completely predict response to fragmentation, all of the species exhibiting edge effects were among the smallest and least mobile of those studied. The results suggest that fragmented patches, which are common features of the Chesapeake Bay's seagrass habitat, support a dense faunal assemblage, and that seagrass habitat edges may be zones of enhanced faunal density. Far from supporting a positive influence of seagrass fragmentation, the results indicate that at the scale studied, there is little compensation for habitat loss via enhanced faunal densities in edges. Since fragmented and unfragmented plots support similar faunal densities, total abundances are lower in fragmented plots due to the loss of seagrass area. The mechanisms by which spatial pattern influences faunal dynamics, and the effects of fragmentation at larger scales remain subjects for future research.

Macrofauna-based biocriteria to assess impairment in aquatic communities are well-developed and have been widely accepted as useful for coastal monitoring programs worldwide. Meiofauna-based methods are not as well developed, but meiofauna are intimately associated with sediments through their life cycles and are functionally important. Thus, an understanding of meiofauna relationships with environmental quality is also important. Relationships between the abundance and composition of major meiofauna taxa for two shallow water habitat types (protected, with muddy sediment; exposed, with sandy sediment) were investigated along gradients associated with changing land use, sediment contamination and environmental stressors in Chesapeake Bay. Principal component analysis shows that urbanization, eutrophication and sediment contamination affect shallow water sites in the lower Chesapeake Bay, Virginia ecosystem. Multidimensional scaling ordination of meiofauna community data reveals gradients associated with human activities and major habitat types. Both sediment enrichment (high percent organic carbon and percent nitrogen) and sediment toxicity were associated with shifts in meiofauna community composition in muddy sediment. Benthic Foraminifera, known to be pollution sensitive, were rare or absent in collections from sites with sediment enrichment or toxicity. Nematodes were abundant at a site with enrichment, but not at a site with significant sediment toxicity. Major meiofauna taxa also differed clearly between protected and exposed sites, with greater abundances in collections from mud versus sand sediment. Results of analyses matching biotic to environmental patterns point to the importance of regional historic salinity and chlorophyll-a levels in addition to other habitat properties, including sediment organic carbon, total nitrogen and sediment toxicity as predictors of meiofauna community structure. The Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity (B-IBI) developed for Chesapeake Bay based on macrofauna was negatively correlated with nematode abundance at muddy sites when a site with significant sediment toxicity was excluded. There were no other significant relationships between meiofauna metrics and the B-IBI. The ratio of nematodes to copepods was not effective for discriminating relationships among sites relative to anthropogenic effects.

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学位プログラム名: 京都大学大学院思修館 / 京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(総合学術) / 甲第22610号 / 総総博第10号 / 新制||総総||2(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院総合生存学館総合生存学専攻 / (主査)教授 山敷 庸亮, 准教授 趙 亮, 准教授 竹門 康弘 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Philosophy / Kyoto University / DFAM

Ur ett humanekologiskt helhetsperspektiv belyser detta kandidatarbetet gröna miljöers potential för ett främjande av hållbar utveckling. Byggnadens syfte är att praktiskt beskriva naturkontaktens betydelse för människan, arterna och dess samverkan. Att besöka platsen ska leda till en ökad kunskap till hur kunskap och vetenskap kan främjas genom design och pedagogiska metoder. Detta folkets hus + är en byggnaden i symbios mellan natur och människa. Ett utbildningscentrum med mål att lära ut och observera miljöförändringarnas påverkan på vår miljö. Huvudmålet med Domus Natura är att främja den biologiska mångfalden genom tekniska lösningar integrerade direkt i byggnaden och på sätt åter introducera arter som tidigare funnits i regionen. Erbjuda utbildning, föreläsningar, observationsplatser, säsongsbetonade och dagliga aktiviteter,  evenemang och utställningar. / From a human ecological perspective, this candidate project illuminates green environmental potentials for sustainable developments. The purpose is to practically describe the significance of the nature contact for man, species and its collaboration. Visiting the building will lead to increased knowledge about the impact of science and how it can be shown through design and educational methods. Domus Natura is a building in symbiosis between nature and man. An educational center for teaching and observing the influence of the environmental changes. The main objective of Domus Natura is to promote biodiversity through technical solutions directly into the building. A way to introduce species that previously existed in the region. A center that will offer training, lectures, observation sites, seasonal and daily activities, events and exhibitions.