Les mécanismes expliquant le maintien de la diversité végétale dans les forêts tropicales sont mal connus. Une hypothèse particulièrement étudiée est l’hypothèse Janzen-Connell qui postule que ces mécanismes sont essentiellement causés par les interactions entre les plantes et leurs ennemis naturels, en particulier les organismes pathogènes. Dans cette thèse, nous nous sommes donc intéressés aux agents pathogènes présents dans les sols d’une forêt guyanaise et à leur lien de spécificité avec les plantes. Dans le cas où l’hypothèse Janzen-Connell serait vérifiée, on peut s’attendre à ce que les plantes structurent les communautés de micro-organismes pathogènes. Nos travaux se sont focalisés sur les Oomycètes et en particulier les Phytophthora, pathogènes des arbres très importants, mais nous nous sommes aussi intéressés aux champignons pathogènes. Ainsi, nous avons développé et comparé des jeux d’amorces PCR spécifiques des Phytophthora et des Péronosporomycètes afin d’étudier ces organismes par metabarcoding. Ces amorces ont ensuite servi à étudier la diversité des communautés de Phytophthora dans des échantillons de sols de deux sites forestiers de Guyane Française prélevés au pied d’arbres appartenant à 10 familles végétales. Une faible diversité a été retrouvée, avec seulement 8 taxons en tout, et la très large dominance d’un complexe d’espèces Phytophthora heveae. La structuration par la plante-hôte de ces communautés est plutôt faible. Dans une étude complémentaire, nous avons analysé la diversité des Oomycètes et des champignons pathogènes dans les sols et les litières de six plantations monospécifiques et au sein d’une forêt naturelle de Guyane. La structuration par l’hôte s’est avérée nulle pour les Oomycètes et faible pour les champignons pathogènes. Enfin, nous n’avons pas réussi à déclencher expérimentalement des mortalités ou dépérissements par des Oomycètes sur le wacapou, une espèce d’arbre guyanaise, via des inoculations de sols de forêt. Au final, les résultats de cette thèse ne supportent pas l’hypothèse selon laquelle les Oomycètes seraient d’importants acteurs du maintien de la diversité végétale dans les forêts tropicales. Par ailleurs, ils nous interrogent sur la faible diversité de ce groupe de microorganismes dans les sols et litières dans un hotspot de diversité végétale. / The mecanisms implied in the maintenance of plant diversity in tropical forests are still poorly known. One particularly studied hypothesis is the Janzen-Connell hypothesis, which posits that these mecanisms are essentially caused by the interactions between plant and their natural enemies, including pathogenic organisms. In this thesis, we looked at the pathogenic organisms present in the soils of a Guyanese forest, and the specificity of their interactions withplants. In the case where the Janzen-Connell hypothesis would be verified, we could expect that pathogenic micro-organisms communities would be structured by plants. Our works focused on Oomycetes and especially the Phytophthora, which are very important pathogens of trees, but we also took an interest on pathogenic Fungi. Thus, we developed PCR primer sets specific of the Phytophthora and Peronosporomycete groups, in order to study these organismsthroughmetabarcoding. These primers were then used to investigate the community of Phytophthora in soils sampled from two French Guiana sites, near trees belonging to 10 families. A low diversity was described, with a total of only 8 taxas, and the overwhelming dominance of the species complex P. heveae. A weak host effect was detected. In a complementary study, we looked at the diversity of Oomycetes and Fungi in soils and litters of six monospecific tree plantations and a Guianese natural forest. Structuration by host appeared to be null for Oomycetes and weak for pathogenic Fungi. Finally, we did not success in trying to experimentally provoke, through forest soil inoculations, Janzen-Connell mortalities due to Oomycetes on the Wacapou, a Guianese tree species. In the end, the results of this thesis do not support the hypothesis that Oomycetes may be important agents of the maintenance of tree diversity in tropical forests. Moreover, they bring some questions about the low diversity of this group of micro-organisms in a tree diversity hotspot.

Muitas teorias, englobando diferentes fatores e mecanismos, já foram postuladas para explicar a alta coexistência de espécies arbóreas nos trópicos, a qual permanece como uma questão intrigante e subentendida na ecologia vegetal. O estudo da dinâmica de árvores ao nível populacional contribui e embasa, por sua vez, o entendimento desses fatores e mecanismos atuando ao nível da comunidade. O objetivo geral do presente estudo foi investigar alguns aspectos relacionados com a dinâmica de uma espécie arbórea comum Calophyllum brasiliense Camb.(Clusiaceae) em floresta de restinga alta Ilha do Cardoso, Cananéia, SP. Para isso, além de termos testado se a sobrevivência e o desempenho de suas plântulas estavam relacionados com níveis de herbivoria dependentes da densidade, testamos se a ocorrência da espécie apresentava associação com hábitats de solo e caracterizamos sua distribuição espacial na área de estudo. Na Introdução Geral (Capítulo 1) nós enumeramos as principais teorias já propostas para explicar a alta diversidade tropical, as quais incluem diversos mecanismos atuantes na dinâmica de espécies arbóreas. Tradicionalmente, modelos que focam em fatores dependentes da densidade eram freqüentemente contrastados com modelos baseados na segregação de hábitats e nichos para explicar a coexistência de espécies, ainda que atualmente sabe-se que atuem concomitantemente na estruturação das comunidades. Por esse motivo, os descrevemos em linhas gerais. Apresentamos, também, como o estudo da distribuição espacial de uma espécie pode dar indícios de processos subjacentes responsáveis pelos padrões gerados, os quais devem ser inferidos e posteriormente testados. Adicionalmente, resumimos uma teoria em especial, a qual embasa o capítulo seguinte e foi o ponto inicial dessa dissertação: o Modelo Janzen-Connell. Além de termos explorado brevemente seu contexto conceitual, também revisamos os principais resultados de investigações de seus efeitos em outras áreas de estudo e com diferentes metodologias. Como os dois demais capítulos foram desenvolvidos utilizando a mesma área e espécie de estudo, também incluímos neste capítulo suas respectivas descrições. Para testar o modelo Janzen-Connell (Capítulo 2), nós delineamos um experimento no qual avaliamos os danos por herbivoria, a mortalidade e o desempenho das plântulas de C. brasiliense, sob diferentes tratamentos: proteção contra herbivoria, distância e agrupamento de adultos coespecíficos. Encontramos que os efeitos dependentes da distância e da densidade não atuaram como previsto pela teoria para a espécie de estudo, a qual, apesar de ter sofrido altos danos por herbivoria, mostrou-se tolerante e apresentou crescimento compensatório em resposta a estes. Além de termos proposto que a pressão por seus herbívoros especialistas parece encontrar-se amplamente distribuída na área de estudo, e não agregada ao redor de densidades de coespecíficos, também sugerimos que o micro-hábitat, especialmente a umidade do solo parece ser melhor preditora da sobrevivência da espécie do que a herbivoria. No Capítulo 3, portanto, testamos a ocorrência de associação da espécie com o hábitat de solo, como proposto no capítulo 2. Para isso, adotamos uma abordagem conjunta com o estudo da distribuição espacial, possibilitando a inferência de outros mecanismos possivelmente relacionados com a dinâmica da espécie, além do micro-hábitat. Caracterizamos o padrão de distribuição espacial através do uso de metodologias espaciais de segunda-ordem complementares: K-Ripley e O-ring, e testamos a questão da associação com hábitat a partir de torus translation, uma metodologia relativamente nova que incorpora a autocorrelação espacial entre troncos coespecíficos. Além de detectarmos um padrão de distribuição agregado, com escalas críticas de agregação variáveis entre as classes de tamanho investigadas, encontramos que a espécie apresenta uma associação positiva com o tipo de solo alagável (Neossolo), onde sua densidade relativa foi 30% maior em comparação com os outros tipos de hábitat. Os adultos, além de terem se mostrado positivamente associados a esse solo, também apresentaram uma associação negativa com os solos mais arenosos e menos úmidos. Os jovens, encontrados em relativamente baixa densidade, não mostraram associação com nenhum hábitat de solo. Sugerimos que a tolerância ao encharcamento e à condições anóxicas, bem como a ocorrência de hidrocoria como uma de suas formas de dispersão, os principais fatores favoráveis à sua sobrevivência e rápido desenvolvimento ontogenético nessas condições de solo. Utilizamos informações sobre a ecologia de C. brasiliense já disponibilizadas por outros estudos para inferir ou excluir possíveis fatores relacionados com sua distribuição espacial, e a associação com hábitat e o experimento de herbivoria (Capítulo 2) como testes desses possíveis fatores. Nas considerações finais, reunimos todas as informações propostas e testadas sobre os mecanismos que atuam na dinâmica de C. brasiliense e sugerimos que o padrão espacial agregado detectado para a espécie pode ser decorrente da interação entre três fatores principais: (1) associação diferenciada com ambos tipos de solos, alagáveis e arenosos; (2) ocorrência simultânea e complementar de três agentes dispersores da espécie (vento, morcego e água) e (3) alta competição intra-específica dependente da densidade, ao longo do estágio ontogenético. Finalizamos com a construção de um modelo hipotético acompanhado de predições testáveis sobre a distribuição espacial e dinâmica da espécie. Estes resultados atribuem à ação conjunta de processos bióticos e abióticos a possível resposta para complementarmos o entendimento sobre o padrão espacial encontrado, como já sugerido por outros estudos nos trópicos. / Several theories, including different factors and mechanisms, have been postulated to explain the high tree species coexistence in tropics, which remains an unsolved question that continues to pose a challenge to plant ecologists. Population-level tree dynamics studies contribute to a better understanding of the processes acting on community-level. The aim of the present study was to investigate some aspects related to the dynamics of a common tree species, Calophyllum brasiliense Camb. (Clusiaceae), in a Restinga Alta forest in Ilha do Cardoso, Cananéia, SP. We investigated if seedling survival and fitness were related to density-dependent herbivory, tested if the species presented an association with soil habitats and characterized its spatial patterns distribution in the study area. In General Introduction (Chapter 1) we enumerated the main theories developed so far to explain high tropical diversity, which include many processes acting on the tree species dynamics. Traditionally, models focused on density-dependent factors were frequently contrasted with models based on habitat or niche partitioning, but we know nowadays that both are acting simultaneously to determine community structure. For this reason we described in general lines both models. We also discussed how detected spatial patterns of a species may give account for underlying processes responsible for the generated patterns and the need of experimental tests after such inferences. Additionally, we resumed Janzen-Connell model which embases next chapter and was also the starting point of this dissertation. We did a brief contextualization about Janzen-Connell model and reviewed main results of investigations of its effects in others study areas using alternatives methodologies. As the next two chapters were developed in the same study area and with the same species, we also included their descriptions in the general introduction. In order to test the Janzen-Connell model (Chapter 2), we designed an experiment to evaluate C. brasiliense seedlings survival and fitness under three treatments: protection against herbivory, distance from conespecific adults and tree parental density. We found that the distance and density-dependent effects did not act as predicted by the model for our study species. Despite the high herbivory damages it suffered, its seedlings showed tolerance and compensatory growth responses. We proposed that pressure by host-specific herbivores seems to be widespread in the study area instead of aggregated around conespecific densities. Patterns detected also suggest that soil moisture is a better predictor for the species survival than herbivory. On chapter 3, therefore, we tested if density of this species presented any association with soil habitats, as suggested in chapter 2. We used an approach conjunct with the spatial distribution, permitting the inference of other underlying processes possibly related to the species dynamics besides the micro-habitat. We characterized the spatial distribution patterns using two complementary second-order point pattern statistics, K-Ripley and O-ring, and tested the habitat association using the torus translation procedure that incorporates spatial autocorrelation between conespecific stems. Besides detecting clumped distribution patterns, with variable critic scales with the analyzed size classes, we also detected a positive habitat association with temporally flooded soil (Neossolo), where its relative density was 30% greater comparing to others soils types. Adult stage was also positively associated with Neossolo and, in the other hand, was negatively associated with Espodossolo arênico, which is characterized by lower moisture soil levels. Young stage corresponded to only a quarter of all species stems and did not show any association with soils habitats. We suggest that flooding and anoxic conditions tolerance, as well as the occurrence of hidrocory among its dispersion types, the main factors favorable to survival and fast ontogenetic development in these soil conditions. We used information about C. brasiliense ecology from other studies to infer or exclude possible related factors with its spatial distribution and the habitat association and Janzen-Connell tests to complement these supposed factors. On Final Considerations we synthesize all proposed and tested information about underlying processes acting on C. brasiliense dynamics and suggest that the clumped spatial pattern detected may be an interaction result of three main factors: (1) differential association with both temporally flooded and unflooded soils, (2) occurrence of three simultaneous and complementary seed dispersal agents (gravity, bats and water) and (3) high density-dependent intra-specific competition through ontogenetic stages. We finalize proposing a hypothetic scenario with testable predictions about the species spatial pattern detected to C. brasiliense in the study area. These results attribute to grouping acting effects of both abiotic and biotic processes the possible answer to complement our understanding about tree spatial patterns founded, as suggested by other studies in the tropics.

The aim of this study was to discover if there has been any changes regarding the male ideal in YA literature over time based on the gender related changes that recently have taken place in the Swedish society. The investigation is completed through a comparative analysis of the male characters in Katarina von Bredow’s Syskonkärlek (1991) and Klättra Uppåt (2020) from the female protagonists’ perspective. This is done against the context based of the historic inequality rooted in gender norms together with patterns in romance literature. The female protagonists’ choice of man together with the use of moral characters are the main sources in validating who the ideal male is in each novel. Concepts such as R.W. Connells ‘hegemonic masculinity’ and Thomas Johansson’s theory about demasculinity detects hierarchies among the male characters which are later included in the conclusion. Through the analysis the discovery of some changes are made which states that the fear of femininity has reduced over time and that the use of dominance through anger and violence has become less desirable in men. This change in values could be an effect of the changes in the Swedish society regarding the fact that YA literature often has been put in the position of holding a moral responsibility and therefore is known for depicting contemporary norms and values.

The decline in range and density of frugivorous birds worldwide could have consequences for the functioning of ecosystem processes such as seed dispersal. I endeavoured to determine the effects of bird declines on seed dispersal and assess the current status of dispersal in New Zealand. My first aim was to determine whether decreased bird density can reduce competitive interactions between birds, leading to birds concentrating on higher-reward fruit species. I measured fruit removal rates and fruit preferences of birds in Canterbury forest remnants with high (Hay and Prices) and low (Lords and Kaituna) bird densities. Removal rates of Melicytus ramiflorus and Coprosma spp. were lower at low-bird sites, and the size of this effect was greater for low-reward plant species. Coprosma areolata (a low-sugar fruit) had limited dispersal at Kaituna (59% fruit removed by end of 2012 season), compared with 92% removal at Hay, whereas 99-100% of M. ramiflorus and C. robusta (higher-sugar) fruits were removed at both sites. My second aim was to determine whether seed dispersal by introduced possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) can compensate for bird declines. I analysed seeds present in possum and bird faecal samples collected at Kowhai Bush, Kaikoura. Possums dispersed <3% of the total seeds, much less than bellbirds (21%), silvereyes (16%), song thrushes (33%) and blackbirds (28%). Possums also destroyed approximately 15% of seeds found in faeces, reduced the germination of gut-passed C. robusta seed to half of that from bird faeces (30% vs. 60-70%), and did not swallow fruits any larger than those moved by the much smaller birds (c. 7 mm diameter). My third aim was to determine the relationship between percentage of fruits dispersed and distance from parent tree for three large-seeded trees; Beilschmiedia tawa, Elaeocarpus dentatus, and Prumnopitys ferruginea. I fitted dispersal kernels to the observed dispersal distances out to 50 m for both undispersed whole fruits and seeds consumed by a bird, and found that dispersal quantity below the parent tree strongly underestimates total dispersal quantity. The average percentage dispersed overall was 81% for B. tawa, 75% for E. dentatus and 91% for P. ferruginea, and for all species finding only 11-18% clean seeds under the parent tree would correspond to an overall percent dispersed of at least 50% of the whole seed crop. My final aim was to determine the consequences of dispersal failure for recruitment in three plant species; Elaeocarpus hookerianus, Ripogonum scandens, and C. robusta. I compared the fate of dispersed and undispersed seeds in a manipulative field experiment. Exclusion of mammals plus removal of fruit pulp had the greatest effect on survival, while the combined effects of dispersal failure (under parent, high density, whole fruit) and inclusion of mammals decreased the number of live seedlings present at the final count by 75-92%. Overall, most native plants were receiving adequate dispersal and there was little evidence for strong risks to plant regeneration from dispersal failure, despite the reduced bird densities and ongoing negative effects of introduced mammals in New Zealand.

Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka elevers attityder till litteratur i årskurs 9, i skolan och på fritiden. Metoden som användes var en undersökning där svaren har analyserats utifrån två olika genusteorier, Raewyn Connells teori om maskuliniteter och Yvonne Hirdmans teori om genuskontrakt.   Analysen visar att det finns fyra olika kategorier av attityder till litteratur: den positiva pojken, den negativa pojken, den positiva flickan och den negativa flickan. I undersökningen framkom det inga attityder som var neutralt inställda till skönlitteratur.   Analysen bygger på de resultat som eleverna gav sina svar i enkäten och detta har sedan analyserats. Det har då visat sig att eleverna försökte relatera till de olika regler och paragrafer i relation till sitt kön. Pojkarna försöker framför allt att forma sin egen maskulinitet.   Diskussionen visar att eleverna kan ha bakomliggande problem som påverkar deras attityder till litteratur negativt. Om eleverna har en positiv attityd är en av anledningarna till att den förväntas ha en sådan inställning till litteratur, och de försöker relatera den attityden till sitt kön.

In 2011 the Swedish translation of Jonathan Franzen's novel Freedom was published in Sweden. The novel tells the story of a middle class family, their relatives and friends, set within a context of political events. As well as in the US, the novel was soon praised by Swedish critics as a generation novel, that illustrates "the way we live now". Around that time a debate about family ideals rose in Sweden. The debate pointed towards discourses about family norms, related to motherhood and divorce. Because of the reception of Freedom as depicting a 'typical' family in contemporary culture, Freedom is used as material in this thesis, to study the construction of family ideals. In this study the family ideal is defined as white, middle class and heterosexual, and an intersectional approach as well as Critical Discourse Analysis is used. The aim of this thesis is to study the family ideal as it is reproduced in Freedom, and compare the results to Social Sciences of Gender, Class and Critical Whiteness Studies. The thesis also studies both the American and the Swedish reception of Freedom, in relation to its content. The study found that a traditional family ideal is constructed, through different discourses. The study also found that subject positions in different social categories are constructed in opposition to each other according to gender, class and whiteness norms.

Sammanfattning “Boys” är en webbaserad TV-serie som lades ut på SVT play hösten 2015. Serien följer två killar i 20-årsåldern och deras jakt på kärleken, deras relation till varandra och deras sökande efter en identitet. När serien introducerades fick den motta mycket medial kritik, som förlöjligade serien och deras framställning av maskulinitet. Syftet med denna studie har således varit att undersöka porträtteringen av homosocialitet och maskulinitet i “Boys”. I förlängningen har det även lett till att undersöka relationen mellan det maskulina och det feminina, för att titta på om och hur män kan gestalta femininitet, och vad konsekvenserna av detta i så fall blir. Studien är kvalitativt innehållsanalytisk. Metoden som använts har bestått av analysverktyg från Selby och Cowderys bok “How to study television”, med fokus på narrativanalys, men även med deras termer konstruktion och publik. De huvudsakliga teorier som använts har varit Yvonne Hirdmans teori om genussystemet, Connells teori om maskulin hegemoni samt Birds teori om homosocialitet. Resultaten från studien har varit att framför allt huvudkaraktärerna i serien “Boys” till viss del avviker från den traditionella hegemoniska maskuliniteten, och därmed frivilligt feminiseras. Eftersom att det feminina och allt som kopplats till det kvinnliga könet sorteras med lägre status än det maskulina är detta dels ovanligt, men också en förklaring till varför karaktärerna blev förlöjligade i media.

<p>The purpose of this study is to examine the popular cultural form of television within the field of gender studies. The study focuses on the representation of masculinities in the American television series <em>The O.C. </em>This is done by using textual analysis to gain information from the first and the second season of <em>The O.C. </em>The theoretical framework used is based on Judith Butler and R.W. Connell. The result of the study is that <em>The O.C</em>. can be said to show that alternative masculinities are less worthy and lower in the hierarchy. Another result is that the series is heteronormative.</p>

The present dissertation examines conceptions of masculinity in the works of Theodor Storm, a representative of German Poetic Realism. It shows how variations of masculinities are arranged, constructed and performed in Storm’s novellas within the bourgeois order of the supposedly 'stable' 19th century. The different types of masculinities are viewed and analysed in selected areas, as represented in the following four texts: Schweigen, Der Herr Etatsrat, Ein Doppelgänger and Der Schimmelreiter. Simultaneously, they constitute different research fields within Men's Studies, such as family, body/health, power/violence and also society/"male spaces". The main thesis of the dissertation is that Storm expands contemporary 19th-century perceptions of masculinity and femininity by making traditional gender stereotypes converge in his late novellas. The characters only partially match the bourgeois, bipolar gender model, and masculinity should be understood as a variation rather than as an opposition to femininity. Furthermore, the dissertation proposes that Storm should be considered a precursor to literary modernity to a larger extent than has previously been assumed. Therefore, the dissertation focuses on internal differentiation of the hegemonic bourgeois masculinity typical of the 19th century in Storm's works. Here, free spaces are observed between gender identities traditionally conceived as binary. Using Robert Connell's theoretical concept of hegemonic masculinity as a basis, the relationship between inferior, marginalized masculinities and normative ideals is particularly emphasized. Furthermore, the dissertation analyses the depiction of bourgeois self-conflicts in the text, through which Storm exposes the hegemonic stereotype of masculinity.

The purpose of this study is to examine the popular cultural form of television within the field of gender studies. The study focuses on the representation of masculinities in the American television series The O.C. This is done by using textual analysis to gain information from the first and the second season of The O.C. The theoretical framework used is based on Judith Butler and R.W. Connell. The result of the study is that The O.C. can be said to show that alternative masculinities are less worthy and lower in the hierarchy. Another result is that the series is heteronormative.