The Bechstein’s bat, Myotis bechsteinii, is known as one of Britain’s most elusive mammals. Critical information on the species is lacking, hindering evidence-based conservation and management in a human-dominated landscape. In this thesis, I used a combination of molecular and landscape approaches to assess the genetic health and population genetic structure of M. bechsteinii and understand how the British landscape affects the species habitat and its connectivity. I also aimed to develop new molecular tools, such as non-invasive genetic sampling and molecular ageing, which could then be used to better monitor the species. Data from nuclear markers (microsatellites) showed high levels of genetic diversity and little inbreeding across the species range, though genetic diversity was slightly lower in Britain than in mainland Europe. Bayesian and spatial Principal Components (sPCA) analysis showed a clear separation between British and European populations. This analysis also revealed that in Europe the Italian population south of the Alps was found to constitute a different group from other sites. In Britain, there was genetic structuring between the northern and southern part of the species range. Despite there being little genetic divergence in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences throughout most of Europe, the mtDNA patterns in Britain confirmed this separation of northern and southern populations. Such genetic structuring within Britain — in the absence of any obvious physical barriers — suggested that other features such as landuse may limit gene-flow. To better understand how the species interacts with 4 the British landscape, I used a landscape genetic approach, habitat suitability modelling using presence-only data and a landscape connectivity analysis. The negative association of M. bechsteinii presence with distance from woodland was identified as the main variable determining habitat suitability, while the landscape genetics results highlighted the importance of woodlands for gene flow. M. bechsteinii habitat was highly fragmented and only showed good connectivity if the species was able to disperse over 5,000 m. These results subsequently highlight the importance of woodlands not only for providing suitable habitat, but also in maintaining genetic connectivity between populations. Then, I investigated the use of non-invasive capture-mark-recapture (CMR) and demographic history models to estimate the population size and changes of M. bechsteinii. Bat droppings were collected below roosting sites of a single colony. After species identification, the 123 droppings belonging to M. bechsteinii were genotyped at nine DNA microsatellite loci in order to differentiate all individuals. All microsatellites showed very low amplification rates indicating low quality samples. However, at a larger scale, the use of population demographic models to assess effective population size variation using a dataset of 260 bats of the British population gave an estimate of the effective population size of 6,569 (CI: 5,307-8,006) and suggested that the British population of Myotis bechsteinii is stable and possibly expanding. Finally, I developed an epigenetic assay to estimate the age of individual bats. For this, I measured DNA methylation on bats of known age at seven CpG sites from three genes. All CpG sites from the tested genes showed a significant relationship between DNA methylation and age and provided reliable age estimates. 5 The findings presented in this thesis show that despite exhibiting high levels of genetic diversity throughout its range, the genetic structure, habitat and connectivity of M. bechsteinii populations is highly influenced by woodlands. It also offers a novel method to monitor the species by developing an assay which can provide information on the age structure of an entire colony from a single sampling session. Such approaches are much needed in the field of conservation and could in the future help preserve a wider range of species.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 172-196).

Thesis (M.S.) in Wildlife Ecology--University of Maine, 2002. / Includes vita. Bibliography: leaves 75-79.

This report is not intended to argue how sprawl is to be stopped. Infill development is too limited to support the growth cities are expecting, and with a market of buyers who desire to live outside of the city and own a little piece of the country, can there really be an end to sprawl? Rather, this report identifies a method of sprawling smartly: conservation development. As an alternative to conventional subdivision, conservation subdivision developments perpetually preserve a significant portion— usually half—of the development site as open space. This report examines the conservation subdivision ordinances that municipalities have adopted as an alternative or, in some cases, to replace conventional subdivision regulations, and the strategies they exercise that affect a change in the way we sprawl. / text

<p> The extent of human disturbance is increasing, even in protected areas. I evaluated human disturbance impacts in Murchison Falls Conservation Area (MFCA), Uganda, a park in the Albertine Rift biodiversity hotspot, using two approaches. First, I quantified vegetation patterns and edge effects using remote sensing data in the MFCA interior, a boundary zone, and exterior zone. I observed abrupt changes in productivity between the park and adjacent unprotected areas, indicating a "hard edge", and found evidence of edge effects that extended 4-6 km into MFCA. Second, I evaluated the impact of restored oil pads, roads, the park boundary, and anthropogenic noise on mammal distribution using camera traps and occupancy modeling. Few species avoided, and some were attracted to, more disturbed sites, where restoration may have provided food resources. As human populations continue growing around MFCA and oil production begins, evaluating human disturbance impacts on the landscape will be increasingly important.</p>

<p> Identity and intensity of parasitism have been shown to be correlated to the host genotype at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a genomic region involved in the adaptive immune response. However, the evolutionary mechanisms by which parasites exert a selective force on host immune systems are unknown. This thesis investigates the relationship between parasitism and MHC genotype in two bear populations in Southcentral Alaska. We diagnosed infection using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), targeting the ribosomal subunit of 18S of common blood parasites. Parasitism was detected in half of brown bears and 75% of black bears. We detected <i>Eimeria</i> spp. and several species of apicomplexan and nematode parasites, and we report here the first finding of <i>Trypanosoma cruzi</i> in Alaskan bears. We found no association between MHC genotype and identity or intensity of infection, suggesting that other loci or even non-genetic factors are important covariates in predicting infection status.</p>

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