Approximately 75% of the avian species in Utah use riparian habitats at some time during their life cycles and at least 80% of this habitat in Utah has been lost or altered since settlement; currently 0.6% of land cover in Utah is considered riparian. In 1992, with the support of Utah Partner's in Flight, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources began a statewide neotropical migratory bird (NTMB) and habitat monitoring program to assess the status of bird populations at 31 sites. Additional sites (up to 52) were added in later years; bird and habitat assessments at 37 riparian sites have been continuously monitored since 1998. Using this long-term dataset, my primary study goals were to: 1) estimate abundance and densities of 38 focal avian species, 2) document and describe changes in riparian vegetation over time, and 3) investigate how these two processes are related by creating bird-habitat association models. Recent results from population trend analyses suggest that the patterns of annual variation and regional synchrony seen in riparian-dependent species groupings may be driven by landscape-wide effects on habitat. I developed riparian-bird habitat association models to better understand these large-scale effects using important variables specific to nine species of interest. I constructed classification and regression trees for three distinct foraging guilds to assess species-specific and community level habitat associations. Variables identified as important predictors of species density varied according to the species of interset. However, the variables selected by the classification models were consistent with each species life history strategies. Model results are intended to provide the framework for the development of management guidelines that will inform terrestrial riparian restoration and conservation efforts in Utah.

The extensive clearing and modification of natural systems from anthropogenic activities is a pressing global concern. Forest habitats and animal communities within forests are among the most highly impacted, globally. Forest destruction has been repeatedly documented as a driver of biodiversity loss. However, little is known about how animal communities respond when altered landscapes are abandoned and left to regenerate into secondary forests. It is thought that the regrowth of secondary forests may help reverse biodiversity loss by restoring habitats to similar conditions as prior to land conversion. Of the forest cover that remains, over half is secondary forest, and in many countries secondary forest cover has been steadily increasing. Therefore, it is important to understand how and if faunal communities recover during secondary forest regeneration. I combined meta-analytic, field-survey-based, and lab-based experimental techniques to determine how amphibians and reptiles respond to habitat change in general, and secondary forest regeneration on landscapes previously cleared for use as pasture. I addressed five specific questions: 1) what are the effects of habitat alteration on amphibians and reptiles?, 2) what are the effects of secondary forest succession on amphibians and reptiles?, 3) what is the relative importance of stochastic and deterministic effects on community assembly during secondary forest succession?, 4) how do amphibian and reptile species composition, probability of occurrence, and species richness change over the course of secondary forest succession?, and 5) is thermal quality of habitat an important mechanism of species response to secondary forest succession? I found that secondary forest has high conservation value for many amphibian and reptile species, environmental changes associated with secondary forest succession have a significant effect on shaping amphibian and reptile community composition, thermal quality is an important mechanism for species response and that strength of response is mediated by species-specific thermal biology. I also highlight the importance of riparian corridors in maintaining species diversity in modified habitats.

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), 64% of primate species are declining in the wild and 49% face a significant risk of extinction. This crisis is largely the result of human activity, including logging, ranching, and hunting. In this study I examine the impacts of the anthropogenic habitat disturbances associated with cattle ranching on a primate community. Research was conducted at the preeminent site for the study of rain forest fragmentation, the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, Manaus, Brazil. I surveyed 8 line transects totaling 13 km that sampled: 1) secondary forest on abandoned cattle pasture,2) selectively logged primary forest, and 3) undisturbed primary forest. Specifically, I tested for edge effects, niche partitioning, and interhabitat differences in population density. Primate presence in edge habitats was negatively related to the amount of fruit consumed, a relationship that was also apparent in the densities of individual species. Four species were more abundant in edge habitats: Alouatta macconnelli (folivore-frugivore), Chiropotes chiropotes (seed predator), Saguinus midas (generalist), and Sapajus apella (generalist); one was less abundant: Ateles paniscus (frugivore); and the last showed no edge-related pattern: Pithecia chrysocephala (seed predator). Niche partitioning was evident in diet and macrohabitat use. In addition, in primary forest there was partitioning along several microhabitat variables. In secondary forest, however, microhabitat partitioning was absent, possibly due to habitat constraints or low encounter rates. Body size was positively related to use of vertical strata in both habitats, hence a combination of body size and competition may drive vertical niche partitioning. Primate characteristics were not related to their presence in selectively logged or undisturbed primary forest, though body size was inversely related to presence in secondary forest. Only the two generalists (Saguinus and Sapajus) heavily utilized secondary forest. The two largest species, Ateles (frugivore) and Alouatta (folivore-frugivore), showed an equal preference for all primary forest (logged and undisturbed) over secondary forest. Chiropotes (seed predator) also preferred undisturbed primary forest while Pithecia (seed predator) was relatively uniformly distributed. / acase@tulane.edu

Conservation biology is primarily concerned with the amelioration of species decline. The Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby (Petrogale xanthopus xanthopus) is a medium-sized Macropod that inhabits the semiarid rangelands of South Australia and New South Wales. Its conservation status is Vulnerable C2a(i). In this study, population modelling, spatially explicit habitat modelling and Population Viability Analysis (PVA) have been used to better understand the factors that affect the abundance and distribution of the P. x. xanthopus in South Australia. The processes that drive the population dynamics of a species operate at different scales. As such this research involves a collection of several inter-related and scale-specific empirical studies that provide insights about the population dynamics of P. x. xanthopus. Each of these studies captures environmental, demographic and behavioural process acting on the population at different scales. These include the analysis of relative abundance data derived from an aerial census, mark recapture sampling of demographic parameters in relation to rainfall patterns and a collection of habitat models derived at different scales using presence-absence data. Spatially explicit PVAs enable the population dynamics of a species to be modelled in space and time. Using these data, a PVA is conducted to explore and rank the importance of the factors that threaten this species and help guide their future monitoring and management. Movement is also a key issue when considering problems such as isolation and inbreeding. Given that little is known about the dispersal behaviour of this species, a range of different dispersal behaviours are also simulated in the PVA using random and non-random mating algorithms, to estimate the potential for inbreeding. / thesis (PhD)--University of South Australia, 2004.

Contexte: La fragmentation des habitats induisant une diminution de leur surface, de leur connectivité et une augmentation de la zone de contact avec d’autres milieux constitue l’une des menaces majeures pour le maintien de la biodiversité. Les effets de la fragmentation ne doivent pas être confondus avec les perturbations transitoires liées à un morcellement de l’habitat par une déforestation récente. Les îlots forestiers du Chaco humide, situés sur des monticules légèrement surélevés par rapport à la savane environnante qui est régulièrement inondée et brûlée, constituent un système naturellement fragmenté propice à l’étude des effets de la fragmentation sensu stricto. Dans ces forêts subtropicales sèches, comme dans la plupart des écosystèmes terrestres, les fourmis constituent l’un des organismes les plus abondants. Objectif: Le but principal de la thèse a été de déterminer, à trois échelles spatiales, les facteurs influençant la structure des assemblages de fourmis terricoles : (1) à l’échelle du microhabitat constitué par la litière de feuilles et la couverture végétale dominée par des broméliacées terrestres ; (2) à l’échelle du fragment forestier dont la surface, la forme et l’isolement est variable ; (3) à l’échelle du paysage, constitué de forêt et de savane, soumis à des feux périodiques, et au niveau duquel nous nous sommes intéressés aux effets de bord se produisant à l’interface entre les deux milieux. Méthode: Le site d’étude est la forêt naturellement fragmentée du Parc national Rio Pilcomayo localisé dans le Chaco humide argentin. Onze fragments forestiers de taille (± 2.5ha, 25ha et 250ha), de forme et de degré d’isolation divers ont été échantillonnés ainsi que la savane environnante, récemment brûlée ou non. La diversité et la densité des fourmis a été quantifiée au moyen d’un protocole standardisé (« protocole A.L.L. ») qui a été préalablement calibré pour en définir la représentativité. Ce protocole consiste en un transect de 200m le long duquel sont placés, à intervalles de 10m, des pièges à fosse et des quadrats délimitant 1m² de litière de feuilles. La faune vivant dans la litière est ensuite extraite au moyen d’un dispositif appelé Winkler. Le calibrage du protocole a été réalisé en suréchantillonnant 8 fois le transect (160 points d’échantillonnage au lieu de 20). Cet échantillonnage quasi exhaustif de 200m² a permis de comparer l’estimation du nombre d’espèces obtenue par le transect standardisé ALL avec sa valeur réelle et d’étudier la distribution des espèces à l’échelle du mètre. Les facteurs du microhabitat les plus susceptibles d’influencer la distribution des fourmis (quantité de litière et densité de broméliacées) ont été mesurés systématiquement le long des transects. Pour l’étude de la distribution des fourmis depuis le coeur d’un grand fragment jusque dans la savane, des transects de 500m ont été utilisés et ont permis de mesurer des effets de bords éventuels. Un total de 800 Winkler et 560 pièges à fosses ont été analysés lors de cette étude. Résultats: Un transect standardisé A.L.L. permet d’obtenir, à partir de 20 échantillons et de méthodes analytiques adéquate, une estimation fiable de la richesse locale au sein de 200m² mais n’est pas toujours représentatif de la fréquence relative des espèces. Au total, 150 espèces de fourmis ont été récoltées dont 130 en forêt et 79 en savane (dont 59 espèces communes aux deux milieux). Au niveau du micro-habitat, on observe pour certaines espèces des pics périodiques d’abondance (maximum tous les 10m) correspondant vraisemblablement à l’emplacement des colonies qui s’espacent pour diminuer la compétition intraspécifique. Associé aux micrconvexités topographiques l’on observe également des pics de densité de broméliacées et de quantité de litière qui favorisent une grande densité d’espèces différentes de fourmis. À l’échelle de l’habitat, les îlots forestiers petits et isolés sont les moins riches, principalement en espèces typiquement forestières. Dans les larges fragments, les espèces typiquement forestières se distribuent indépendamment de la distance les séparant du bord. Quelques espèces typiques de savane pénètrent en bordure de forêt et provoquent une plus grande variabilité de la faune récoltée au sein des quadrats de litière situés à cet endroit. Cependant, aucun pic de diversité correspondant à une zone de superposition d’espèces de bord et de centre n’a été observé au sein des fragments forestiers. Les feux de savane modifient la fréquence relative des espèces les plus communes mais n’affectent pas la richesse globale du milieu et ne pénètrent pas dans la forêt. Conclusions: Le protocole standardisé ALL, utilisé couramment par de nombreuses équipes de chercheurs à travers le monde, mais qui n’avait encore jamais été réellement calibré avant notre étude, apparaît comme une méthode minimale mais suffisante pour déterminer la richesse locale en fourmis d’une forêt du Chaco humide. Ce calibrage a permis, en outre, de mettre en évidence un taux important de renouvellement des espèces à l’échelle du mètre carré. Nos résultats soutiennent l’idée que la disponibilité en ressources favorables, plus que la compétition interspécifique, est un mécanisme majeur structurant les assemblages de fourmis des litières. À l’échelle du micro-habitat, un grand nombre d’espèces de fourmis forestières coexistent dans les zones riches en matière organique associée à la présence de broméliacées qui apparaissent comme un facteur structurant majeur de la distribution des fourmis. Au niveau de la litière, les colonies de différentes espèces ont des aires de fourragement qui se superposent tandis que les colonies de même espèce ont tendance à s’espacer limitant la compétition pour les mêmes ressources. Un effet de bord, lié à des modifications locales des conditions climatiques et de la structure de la végétation, ne se marque pas au niveau de la myrmécofaune dans ce type de milieu, ce qui explique que l’on n’observe pas le traditionnel pic de diversité au niveau de la zone de transition entre deux milieux. Du point de vue de la conservation des espèces, des fragments forestiers de 15ha, bien connectés, apparaissent comme des conditions minimum pour conserver l’ensemble des espèces de fourmis de l’assemblage.

The stretch from the riparian zone of a major river, through the mouth and upstream in tributaries forms a range of differing habitats. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of these different habitats on the riparian frog community in primary rain forest in Borneo; i.e. examine whether any gradients could be demonstrated in terms of species composition, diversity and density of frogs, as well as which environmental characteristics that seem to be of most importance in forming habitats of high conservational value. A major river, Segama, and three of its tributaries were investigated. The surveys were carried out at night by searching for frogs visually and acoustically along the streams, from the shore of the Segama river and 400 metres upstream in the tributaries. In all transects 10 habitat variables were also measured. The results from the study show a significantly lower diversity and abundance of frogs along the shores of Segama and close to the mouths of the tributaries compared to further upstream, and a significant difference in species assemblage. Most species exhibited a negative correlation with the downstream transects or were not found there at all. The habitat characteristics waterfalls and boulders were found to be of most importance for the diversity and abundance of frogs, making these characteristics key components of habitats with high conservational value. Major rivers could also potentially form dispersal corridors for invasive species, which findings of the introduced species Fejervarya limnocharis along the shores of Segama shows.

<p>Locomotion in any environment requires the use of energy to overcome the physical</p><p>forces inherent in the environment. Most large marine vertebrates have evolved</p><p>streamlined fusiform body shapes to minimize the resistive force of drag when in</p><p>a neutral position, but nearly all behaviors result in some increase in that force.</p><p>Too much energy devoted to locomotion may reduce the available surplus necessary</p><p>for population-level factors such as reproduction. The population of North Atlantic</p><p>right whales has not recovered following legal protection due to decreased fecundity,</p><p>including an increase in the intercalf interval, an increase in the years to first calf and</p><p>an increase in the number of nulliparous females in the population. This reproductive</p><p>impairment appears to be related to deficiencies in storing enough energy to meet the</p><p>costs of reproduction. The goal of this study was to determine whether increases in</p><p>moving between prey patches at the cost of decreased foraging opportunities could</p><p>shift these whales into a situation of negative energy gain. The first step is to</p><p>understand the locomotor costs for this species for the key behaviors of traveling and</p><p>foraging.</p><p>This study investigated the cost of locomotion in right whales by recording the</p><p>submerged diving behaviors of free-ranging individuals in both their foraging habitat</p><p>in the Bay of Fundy and their calving grounds in the South Atlantic Bight with a</p><p>suction-cupped archival tag. The data from the tags were used to quantify the oc-</p><p>currence of different behaviors and their associated swimming behaviors and explore</p><p>three behavioral strategies that reduce locomotor costs. First, the influence that</p><p>changes in blubber thickness has on the buoyancy of these whales was investigated</p><p>by comparing the descent and ascent glide durations of individual whales with differ-</p><p>ent blubber thicknesses. Next, the depth of surface dives made by animals of different</p><p>sizes was related to the depth where additional wave drag is generated. Finally, the</p><p>use of intermittent locomotion during foraging was investigated to understand how</p><p>much energy is saved by using this gait. The final piece in this study was to deter-</p><p>mine the drag related to traveling and foraging behaviors from glides recorded by</p><p>the tags and from two different numerical simulations of flow around whales. One, a</p><p>custom developed algorithm for multiphase flow, was used to determine the relative</p><p>drag, while a second commercial package was used to determine the absolute mag-</p><p>nitude of the drag force on the simplest model, the traveling animal. The resulting</p><p>drag estimates were then used in a series of theoretical models that estimated the</p><p>energetic profit remaining after shifts in the occurrence of traveling and searching</p><p>behaviors.</p><p>The diving behavior of right whales can be classified into three stereotyped be-</p><p>haviors that are characterized by differences in the time spent in different parts of the</p><p>water column. The time budgets and swimming movements during these behaviors</p><p>matched those in other species, enabling the dive shapes to be classified as foraging,</p><p>searching and traveling behaviors. Right whales with thicker blubber layers were</p><p>found to perform longer ascent glides and shorter descent glides than those with</p><p>thinner blubber layers, consistent with the hypothesis that positive buoyancy does</p><p>influence their vertical diving behavior. During horizontal traveling, whales made</p><p>shallow dives to depths that were slightly deeper than those that would cause ad-</p><p>ditional costs due to wave drag. These dives appear to allow whales to both avoid</p><p>the costs of diving as well as the costs of swimming near the surface. Next, whales</p><p>were found to glide for 12% of the bottom phases of their foraging dives, and the</p><p>use of `stroke-glide' swimming did not prolong foraging duration from that used by</p><p>continuous swimmers. Drag coefficients estimated from these glides had an average</p><p>of 0.014 during foraging dives and 0.0052 during traveling, values which fall in the</p><p>range of those reported for other marine mammals. One numerical simulation deter-</p><p>mined drag forces to be comparable, while the other drastically underestimated the</p><p>drag of all behaviors. Finally, alterations to the behavioral budgets of these animals</p><p>demonstrated their cost of locomotion constitutes a small portion (8-12%) of the</p><p>total energy consumed and only extreme increases in traveling time could result in a</p><p>negative energy balance. In summary, these results show that locomotor costs are no</p><p>more expensive in this species than those of other cetaceans and that when removed</p><p>from all the other stressors on this population, these whales are not on an energetic</p><p>`knife edge'.</p> / Dissertation

Thesis (M.E.S.)--York University, 2002. Graduate Programme in Environmental Studies. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 121-128). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ71600.

In drylands, it is essential to maximize the coupling of social and ecological systems in order to achieve sustainability, particularly in human dominated landscapes such as cities. The enhanced use of greenspace in cities in drylands provides unique opportunities to maximize the coupling of social and ecological systems. It maintains the functioning of ecological systems while involving civil society in the conservation of biodiversity and improving human wellbeing in urban settings. The provision and access to greenspace in cities is determined by neighborhood design. The access for the human use of greenspace can be enhanced through walkability, or the characteristics of the built environment that influence physical activity. Walkable neighborhoods that provide access to greenspace can be catalysts for activity and health and have the potential to increase the level of conservation support in urban residents. The purpose of this research is to look for wellbeing and conservation synergies between walkable neighborhoods and the enhanced use of greenspace. To accomplish this research, first we assess walkability in the built environment through an interdisciplinary literature review that integrates the findings on walkability from several research domains. We create a conceptual framework that organizes the neighborhood design elements that influence physical activity into nine walkability categories: connectivity, land-use, density, traffic safety, surveillance, parking, experience, greenspace, and community. We call this the Walkability Framework. This analysis allows us to identify gaps and strengths of walkability in the Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) certification system. After a quantitative and qualitative analysis, we propose an enhanced version for walkability that we call LEED-NDW+ (walkability plus). The next step is to test if the Walkability Framework can be used as a model to measure the interactions between the built environment and physical activity. We accomplish this through the use of a questionnaire (N=486) that captures the perceptions, attitudes and behaviors of residents in Tucson, Arizona. Significant correlations between all the walkability categories and physical activity support the use of the framework as a model. We call this the Walkability Model. The final stage of this research uses the Walkability Model to evaluate walkability in four neighborhood design types in Tucson that include traditional development, suburban development, enclosed community, and cluster housing. We then look for wellbeing and conservation synergies between walkable neighborhoods and the enhanced use of greenspace. Results from this study suggest that neighborhoods with a high level of walkability have the potential to enhance the use of greenspace, which in turn provide important wellbeing and conservation synergies that can contribute to healthier communities and increase the support for conservation of biodiversity within and beyond cities. The enhanced use of greenspace maximizes the coupling of social and ecological systems in cities in drylands, which increases resilience in the face of climate change.

<p>A vast range of theoretical and empirical studies now suggests that MPAs can conserve marine biodiversity and, under some circumstances, increase fishery yields. However, despite the importance of pelagic apex predators to ecosystem function, the effectiveness of spatial management for the conservation of pelagic apex predator species is still unknown. I used fishery-dependent logbook and observer datasets to assess fishing effort and both the catch and size of pelagic apex predator species around five different MPAs. The US Hawaii-based deep-set or Atlantic pelagic longline fisheries fish the waters around these MPAs; both of these fisheries have experienced multiple management measures over time to protect species and maximize fishery yield. The MPAs selected for this study range in size, age, level of protection, and reason for establishment. I found that only two MPAs of the five appeared to be benefitting the pelagic apex predator species that I selected: the DeSoto Canyon and East Florida Coast MPAs, both in the Atlantic Ocean. The size of yellowfin tuna around the DeSoto Canyon MPA borders has increased over time, as has fishing effort. In contrast, the size of swordfish has decreased near the boundary of the East Florida Coast MPA, although the catch of swordfish has increased. The increase in catch of smaller swordfish was not a surprise because the East Florida Coast MPA was established around an area that is a nursery habitat for swordfish. These results are promising for the use of static MPAs for the conservation of pelagic apex predators, but three of the MPAs in my study did not show any indication of increased fishing effort, increased catch, or changes in pelagic apex predator size near their boundaries over time. Therefore, the characteristics of the DeSoto Canyon and East Florida Coast MPAs may provide a template for how to best design new MPAs for pelagic apex predators. Both of these MPAs were established with the specific intent of reducing pelagic apex predator bycatch, in areas where there were historically high catch rates. Both areas are relatively large (> 85,000 km2) and are also closed year-round. In combination, these characteristics may provide protection for pelagic apex predators.</p> / Dissertation