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  • About
  • The Global ETD Search service is a free service for researchers to find electronic theses and dissertations. This service is provided by the Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations.
    Our metadata is collected from universities around the world. If you manage a university/consortium/country archive and want to be added, details can be found on the NDLTD website.
251

Speech community-based documentation, description, and revitalization: Kari'nja in Konomerume / Kari'nja in Konomerume

Yamada, Racquel-Maria, 1967- 09 1900 (has links)
xxii, 995 p. A print copy of this thesis (with two accompanying DVD videos) is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Since 2005, I have been working with members of the Kari'nja community of Konomerume, Suriname to document, describe, preserve, and revitalize their heritage language, the Aretyry dialect of Kari'nja (Cariban family). Simultaneously, I have worked to develop, pilot, and articulate a model of field research that depends on participation from speech community members. This dissertation combines exposition of this model of field research with presentation of a large body of the results from the application of that new model. Ethnically Kari'nja, Konomerume community members have witnessed a decline in language use in recent generations. Although I work primarily with members of the Konomerume community, a village on the banks of the Wajambo River in Suriname, in recent years, I have expanded my work to include two other communities in the region, Corneliskondre and Kalebas Kreek. My work with Kari'nja community members concerns four broad, interrelated areas of endangered languages research, each described in a section of the dissertation. Following Chapter 1, which provides an orientation to the dissertation as a whole, Chapter 2 reviews strengths and problems with prior models of fieldwork, then proposes a new model of fieldwork with members of Indigenous communities. Chapter 3 demonstrates some of the linguistic results of our work together in Konomerume, offering a more pedagogical overview of some aspects of Kari'nja grammar followed by more academic descriptions of nonverbal predication and an innovative main clause progressive construction. Chapter 4 addresses how documentation can be combined with applied linguistics to support revitalization through formal language teaching. Finally, Chapter 5 describes the documentary corpus that is found in the appendices, explaining procedural steps used in creating the corpus and outlining the actual documentary products that we have produced. The Appendices are the concrete representation of the body of collaborative work that the Kari'nja community and I have done together. They include DVD videos, a substantial collection of transcribed, translated, and grammatically annotated texts in multiple genres, a dictionary, a pedagogical grammar sketch, and a curriculum guide for formal teaching of introductory Kari'nja. / Committee in charge: Spike Gildea, Chairperson, Linguistics; Eric Pederson, Member, Linguistics; Susan Guion, Member, Linguistics; Janne Underriner, Member, Linguistics; Brian Klopotek, Outside Member, Anthropology
252

A Grammar of Bih

Nguyen, Tam 11 July 2013 (has links)
Bih is a Chamic (Austronesian) language spoken by approximately 500 people in the Southern highlands of Vietnam. This dissertation is the first descriptive grammar of the language, based on extensive fieldwork and community-based language documentation in Vietnam and written from a functional/typological perspective. The analysis in this work is supported with illustrations drawn mainly from texts, with examples from elicitation when needed as well. In phonology, Bih is the only mainland Chamic language to have retained all four Proto-Chamic presyllablic vowels. As a result, Bih is the only Chamic language having only primary clusters inherited from Proto-Chamic and lacks the secondary clusters created by a reduction of an original disyllable form in Proto-Chamic, which occur in other languages of the family. In addition to the vowels, Bih retains only six out of thirteen Proto-Chamic presyllable consonants, but it retains all main syllable consonants from Proto-Chamic. In addition, all voiced "aspirated" consonants in Proto-Chamic become voiceless in Bih. This phonological change is common throughout coastal Chamic and it is also shared among Bih and other two highland Chamic languages, Chru and Northern Roglai, but not with Ede. In morphological terms, Bih is an isolating language. Words are mostly monosyllabic, although there are a number of disyllable or trisyllable words with the fossilized prefixes pa- or ma- or both. Without inflection on verbs, like other mainland Southeast Asian languages, Bih includes a set of particles functioning as grammatical markers. In fact, many Bih words function as either a full lexical verb or particle depending on their syntactic behaviors. The fundamental mechanisms of Bih syntax are clause-chaining and verb serialization. Most grammatical forms develop from serial verb source constructions. Another feature of great areal typological interest is the topic and focus distinction system of Bih, which, in combination with word order alternations, indicates the discourse status of a referent: whether it is new and/or important in the discourse, or the speaker's evaluation of whether or not a referent is accessible to the mind of the hearer, or whether it contradicts a presupposition or expectation on the part of the hearer or of people in general. Bih has a very interesting obviative-like system, which uses one third person pronoun form to refer to the character whose point of view is being represented and another for all other third persons.
253

Analýza obchodu papoušků chráněných konvencí CITES mezi EU a třetími zeměmi / Analysis of the trade of parrots protected by CITES convention between EU and third countries

JURDÁKOVÁ, Jiřina January 2012 (has links)
This thesis deals with international trade in species of parrots covered by CITES convention between European Union and third countries. The trade has been done for 2004-2010, EU annual reports were used as a basic source. Import and export data has been assessed separately. Numbers of traded specimens have been evaluated for both of these two categories. Main countries of import and export, source and purpose of trade were also identified. Subsequently, trends have been statisticaly analysed. It was found, that the trend of import of parrots specimens to EU during that period was declining, although the trend between 2006-2010 was slightly increasing. The trend of export of specimens was increasing.
254

Assessing the Effects of Institutional and Spatial Arrangements in Analytical and Computational Models of Conservation

January 2013 (has links)
abstract: This work is an assemblage of three applied projects that address the institutional and spatial constraints to managing threatened and endangered (T & E) terrestrial species. The first project looks at the role of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in protecting wildlife and whether banning non–conservation activities on multi-use federal lands is socially optimal. A bioeconomic model is used to identify scenarios where ESA–imposed regulations emerge as optimal strategies and to facilitate discussion on feasible long–term strategies in light of the ongoing public land–use debate. Results suggest that banning harmful activities is a preferred strategy when valued species are in decline or exposed to poor habitat quality. However such a strategy cannot be sustained in perpetuity, a switch to land–use practices characteristic of habitat conservation plans is recommended. The spatial portion of this study is motivated by the need for a more systematic quantification and assessment of landscape structure ahead of species reintroduction; this portion is further broken up into two parts. The first explores how connectivity between habitat patches promotes coexistence among multiple interacting species. An agent–based model of a two–patch metapopulation is developed with local predator–prey dynamics and density–dependent dispersal. The simulation experiment suggests that connectivity levels at both extremes, representing very little risk and high risk of species mortality, do not augment the likelihood of coexistence while intermediate levels do. Furthermore, the probability of coexistence increases and spans a wide range of connectivity levels when individual dispersal is less probabilistic and more dependent on population feedback. Second, a novel approach to quantifying network structure is developed using the statistical method of moments. This measurement framework is then used to index habitat networks and assess their capacity to drive three main ecological processes: dispersal, survival, and coexistence. Results indicate that the moments approach outperforms single summary metrics and accounts for a majority of the variation in process outcomes. The hierarchical measurement scheme is helpful for indicating when additional structural information is needed to determine ecological function. However, the qualitative trend between network indicator and function is, at times, unintuitive and unstable in certain areas of the metric space. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Applied Mathematics for the Life and Social Sciences 2013
255

L’occitan alpin d’Usseaux, description d’une langue en danger et en contact avec deux aires dialectales (francoprovençale et piémontaise), et sous l’influence de deux langues standards (français et italien) / The occitan alpine language of Usseaux, description of an endangered language, in contact with two dialectal areas (francoprovençal and piémontese), and under the influence of two standard languages (French and Italian).

Amaro, Lucie 06 December 2014 (has links)
Cette thèse présente une description morphosyntaxique du parler occitan alpin du village d’Usseaux situé dans le Haut Val Cluson, en Italie, dans la province de Turin. La langue y est décrite dans une perspective synchronique, mais se base en partie sur des études diachroniques des parlers voisins et majoritairement sur une étude de corpus. La thèse comprend également une partie sociolinguistique importante qui entraînera une réflexion plus large sur la diversité linguistique, les langues en danger et en contact, et la méthodologie de terrain. Elle comprend également une esquisse phonologique du parler, ainsi qu’une réflexion sur la graphie. La problématique principale, au delà de la description, consiste à montrer que ce parler situé en périphérie d’un espace linguistique, s’il est indéniablement un parler occitan, présente de nombreux traits le rapprochant des parler d’oïl et du francoprovençal, plutôt que des parlers occitans « centraux » tels que le provençal et le languedocien. / This thesis presents a morphosyntactic description of the Alpine Occitan language spoken in Usseaux, a small village located in Val Chisone (Italy, Province of Torino). The language is described following a synchronic perspective, but is also partly based on diachronic studies of neighbouring villages and valleys, and mainly on a corpus analysis. The thesis also describes the sociolinguistic profile of Usseaux’s speech community, leading to some thoughts about linguistic diversity, endangered languages and fieldwork. It also presents a phonological sketch, as well as a chapter on the written form of the language. The main issue of the thesis is to show that this language, which is located at the periphery of a linguistic area, is undeniably a variety of Occitan, but shows many common traits with the oïl language and with Francoprovençal as compared with more ‘central’ varieties of Occitan like Provençal and Languedocian.
256

Comportamento vocal em Trichechus manatus manatus

UMEED, Rebecca 29 July 2016 (has links)
Submitted by Irene Nascimento (irene.kessia@ufpe.br) on 2017-04-10T17:33:58Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Rebecca.pdf: 2809397 bytes, checksum: 577bc3b65e83574e500de63184e3c8bb (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-04-10T17:33:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 1232 bytes, checksum: 66e71c371cc565284e70f40736c94386 (MD5) Rebecca.pdf: 2809397 bytes, checksum: 577bc3b65e83574e500de63184e3c8bb (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-29 / FACEPE / O peixe-boi marinho, Trichechus manatus manatus, é uma das subespécies mais ameaçadas no nordeste do Brasil, e foi classificado como em perigo de extinção no país. O conhecimento da comunicação de peixes-boi marinhos ainda está na etapa de infância, porém estudos tem demonstrado o uso de vocalizações como um método de reconhecimento individual e comunicação em outras espécies de peixes-boi. Os estudos incluídos nesta dissertação foram realizados no Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamíferos Aquáticos (CMA), localizado na Ilha de Itamaracá, no nordeste do Brasil. Seis tipos de vocalizações foram identificados: duas destas vocalizações, squeaks e screeches foram comuns às fêmeas, machos e juvenis. A estrutura de squeaks foi diferente entre animais de sexos e faixa etárias diferentes e a estrutura de screeches foi diferente apenas entre animais de faixa etária diferente. Experimentos de playback demonstraram um aumento nas vocalizações dos peixes-boi após reprodução de estímulos vocais quando comparado ao estímulo controle. Isso sugere que os peixes-boi marinhos utilizam vocalizações como um método de comunicação. Estes resultados introduzem a possibilidade de utilizar as vocalizações de peixes-boi marinho na identificação e no monitoramento não-invasivo desses animais na natureza, onde a identificação de idade ou sexo é difícil por causa da turbidez da água e a timidez da espécie. O padrão de comportamento, também, foi descrito para os peixes-boi marinhos em cativeiro: sete categorias comportamentais foram identificadas. Diferenças sexuais e etárias foram identificadas no uso dessas categorias. Experimentos de playback foram realizados utilizando estímulos de jangada motorizada, catamarã, lancha e controle de silêncio, para identificar preliminarmente os efeitos que o ruído de barcos tem no comportamento e na vocalização de peixes-boi juvenis. Respostas comportamentais e vocais ocorreram aos estímulos de barcos, tendo a jangada motorizada provocado uma reposta mais intensa nos peixes-boi juvenis. Os resultados deste estudo sugerem a limitação no uso de jangadas motorizadas em áreas de ocorrência de peixes-boi. / The Antillean manatee, Trichechus manatus manatus, is one of the most endangered species in North-eastern Brazil and has been classified as under threat of extinction (MMA 2014). Knowledge on the acoustic communication of Antillean manatees is still in its infancy, however studies have demonstrated the use of vocalizations as a method of individual recognition and communication in other manatee taxa. The studies included in this paper were performed at the Centro Nacional de Pesquisa e Conservação de Mamiferos Aquáticos (CMA), located on the Itamaracá Island, North-eastern Brazil. Six types of vocalizations were found to be produced by the manatees included in the study, with two of these calls, squeaks and screeches found to be common to females, males and juveniles. Vocalization structure was found to demonstrate gender and age differences for squeaks and only age differences for screeches. Playback experiments showed an increase in manatee vocalizations following the playback stimuli, which suggests the use of vocalizations as a method of communication in T. manatus manatus. These results may introduce the possibility of using vocalizations in the identification and passive and active non-invasive monitoring of manatees in the wild where sex or age identification can be difficult due to water turbidity and discrete nature of the Antillean manatees. Manatee behavioral patterns were also investigated using scan and focal behavior observations: seven behavior categories were identified for the manatees included in this study. Both gender and age differences were found in the use of these behavior categories. Playback experiments using motorized jangada, catamaran, fishing boat and control stimuli were carried out to preliminarily identify the effects of boat noise on juvenile manatee vocal and postural behavior. Responses to boat noise stimuli were demonstrated in vocal and postural behavior, with the motorized jangada stimuli eliciting the greatest response from juvenile manatees. The results of this study suggest the limitation of the use of motorized jangadas in wild areas of known occurrence of Antillean manatees in Brazil.
257

Documentation et description du maya tenek / Documentation and Description of Maya Tének

McCabe Gragnic, Julie 12 December 2014 (has links)
L’objectif premier de cette thèse est de contribuer à la documentation et à la description d’une langue indigène en danger de disparition au Mexique et parallèlement, à sa revitalisation, en apportant aux locuteurs de cette langue des outils pour l’enseignement et la transmission de la langue.La langue étudiée dans cette thèse est le tének (parfois écrit teenek ; connu également comme le huastèque/wastek) – une langue maya parlée dans l’Etat de San Luis Potosí au Mexique. Bien qu’elle ne soit pas officiellement reconnue comme étant en danger d’extinction à court terme, le destin du ténekdemeure toutefois incertain dans le moyen terme. Ce fait est dûment démontré dans la première partie de lathèse, où l’on remet en question la classification des langues dites en voie de disparition, en révélant l’étendue du risque encouru par beaucoup d’autres langues indigènes.Les locuteurs de maya tének sont séparés des autres locuteurs de langues mayas par plus de 700km,tout en étant en contact avec des locuteurs de langues indigènes d’autres familles de langues mésoaméricaines(notamment uto-aztèque et otomangue). Cette situation ambivalente d’isolement endogène etde contact exogène fait de la documentation du tének contemporain un sujet d’étude particulièrement intéressant du point de vue typologique. Son isolement par rapport aux autres langues mayas contribue àfaire du tének une langue conservatrice maintenant certains liens privilégiés avec le proto-maya, mais par ailleurs, ce même isolement, associé au contact avec d’autres langues méso-américaines non maya, a conduit le tének à innover et à évoluer de manière originale, par rapport aux tendances typologiques de son groupe phylogénétique. Un exemple d’une innovation marquante de ce genre est, sur le plan morphosyntaxique, le système de l’inverse, fondé sur une hiérarchie de marqueurs personnels – un paramètre typologique original, qui a été développé par le tének comme une innovation périphérique, et qui s’avère unique à l’intérieur de la famille maya. Un autre exemple est la classification des substantifs, qui diffère de celle des autres langues mayas. La complexité de la structure verbale tének nous fournit également de nombreux traits intéressants : elle se manifeste par des marqueurs d’aspects primaires(accompli, inaccompli, etc.) et également d’aspects secondaires (exhaustif, intensif, résultatif, etc.), plusieurs marqueurs antipassifs (dont un est utilisé pour exprimer la réciprocité, ce qui est un phénomène plutôt inhabituel pour une langue maya), et plus d’un moyen pour exprimer le passif et la voix moyenne.Toutes ces caractéristiques sont examinées en détail dans la deuxième partie de cette thèse, en fondant l’argumentation sur des données de première main, collectées sur le terrain dans le cadre de ce projet, à la fois sous forme d’élicitation, de collecte et de transcription de mythes et textes oraux.La troisième et dernière partie de la thèse est dédiée à la présentation de certains outils et méthodes de documentation originaux et participatifs, qui ont servi non seulement pour le travail de terrain, mais également dans des ateliers organisés afin de collecter des données pour ce projet aussi bien que pour fournir aux locuteurs et/ou aux enseignants du tének des moyens de lutter contre la disparition de la langue et la détresse pédagogique due au manque de moyens pour se former sur leurs langues autochtones.Certains des résultats obtenus grâce à ces méthodes sont également présentés ici. Cette partie de la thèse examine aussi la façon dont l’éducation bilingue et interculturelle au Mexique travaille à la protection des langues natives mexicaines. / The principal objective of this thesis is to document and describe an endangered indigenous language of Mexico and, in parallel, to provide tools to its speakers for the teaching and transmission of said language, thereby contributing to efforts for its revitalisation.As documented within the thesis, Tének (sometimes written Teenek; also known by thename Huastec/Wastek) is a Mayan language spoken in the state of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, and although it is not officially recognised as being in any particular danger of extinction, its destiny is quite uncertain in the mid-term. This is duly demonstrated within the first part of the thesis, thereby questioning the classification of endangered languages, and revealing the extent to which manymore languages are at risk than apparent.The Maya Tének are separated from the other Mayan language speakers by more than 700km, but are in close contact with indigenous language speakers of other origins (namely Uto-Aztec and Otomanguean). This configuration of isolation/contact creates, typologically speaking, aparticularly interesting object of study. Its isolation from the other Mayan languages means thatTének is and has remained a conservative language displaying close links with the proto-language,yet this same situation of isolation, coupled with its contact with languages of other origins, hasforced Tének to innovate and to evolve in other ways. One such example is the classification of nouns which differs from other Mayan languages. Another Tének development is its morphological inverse system based on a hierarchy of person markers which is unique within the Mayan family.The complex verb structure of Tének also presents some interesting features : it has both primary aspect markers (completive, incompletive, etc.) and secondary aspect markers (exhaustive,intensive, résultative, etc.), several antipassive markers (one of which is used to express reciprocity,which is in itself unusual for a Mayan language), more than one way to express the passive as well as the middle voice. All of these features are examined in detail within the second part of this thesis based on original materials collected in the field within the framework of this project both via elicitation and the collection and transcription of stories.The third and final part of the thesis is dedicated to the presentation of some of the original and creative documentation methods and tools used both for fieldwork and in organised workshop sessions in order to collect data for this project as well as to provide means by which the speakersand/or teachers of Tének can fight against the loss of the language. Some of the results of the work accomplished via these methods are presented here too. This part of the thesis also takes a look at how bilingual and intercultural education in Mexico is shaped and the actions taken toward protecting Mexican native languages.This thesis was developed as an experimental project in documentary linguistics; this particular paradigm of linguistics is revealing itself to be more and more important as languages continually disappear but remains as yet a little explored domain within the field of linguistics inFrance.
258

Aspects of the population ecology, habitat use and behaviour of the endangered Knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis Boulenger, 1900) in a residential marina estate, Knysna, South Africa: implications for conservation

Claassens, Louw January 2018 (has links)
The Knysna seahorse Hippocampus capensis is South Africa’s only endemic seahorse species, and is found in only three adjacent estuaries along the southern coast. The conservation of this endangered species is important on a national and international level. This study presents the first research on this species within the Knysna estuary since 2001 and specifically focuses on aspects of its ecology within a residential marina estate (Thesen Islands Marina). The physico-chemical and habitat features of the marina were described and the population ecology, habitat use, and behaviour of the Knysna seahorse were investigated. Physico-chemical conditions within the western section of the marina, characterised by high water current velocities, were similar to that of the adjacent estuary. The eastern section of the marina was characterised by lower water current velocities and higher turbidity. Four major habitat types were identified within the marina canals: (I) artificial Reno mattress (wire baskets filled with rocks); (II) Codium tenue beds; (III) mixed vegetation on sediment; and (IV) barren canal floor. Seahorse densities within the marina were significantly higher compared to densities found historically within the estuary. Highest seahorse densities were specifically found within the artificial Reno mattress structures and within the western section of the marina. Seahorse density varied spatially and temporally and the type of habitat was an important predictor for seahorse occurrence. An experimental investigation found that H. capensis chooses artificial Reno mattress habitat over Zostera capensis when given a choice. GoPro cameras were used successfully to investigate daytime seahorse behaviour within the Reno mattress habitat. Seahorses were more active during the morning, spent most of their time (> 80 %) feeding, and morning courting behaviour for this species were confirmed. However, during the summer holiday period (mid-December to mid-January) few seahorses were observed on camera, which suggests that the increase in motor boat activity and the related increase in noise had a negative effect on H. capensis feeding and courting behaviour. The marina development, and in particular the Reno mattresses, created a new habitat for this endangered species within the Knysna estuary. In addition to the protection and restoration of natural habitats in which H. capensis is found, the conservation potential of artificial structures such as Reno mattresses should be realised.
259

The conservation status of some unique plant communities in the Eastern Cape

Everard, David Alexander 14 March 2013 (has links)
In response to a growing concern over the rising rates of extinction of the world's plants and of habitat destruction, studies of Southern African threatened plants were initiated in the 1970's. These studies, which have largely concentrated on Western Cape flora, led to the publication of "Threatened Plants of Southern Africa" by Hall et al., 1980, which attempted to list as many threatened or possibly threatened species as possible. It was however marred by a lack of recent herbarium records and detailed studies from many parts of the region, the Eastern Cape being one of these. In order to extend these detailed studies to gain a clearer picture of the numbers of threatened species in the Eastern Cape and evaluate the conservation status of Eastern Cape vegetation this project was initiated. Initially lists of possibly threatened and endemic taxa of the Eastern Cape were compiled from various sources. These listed taxa were then checked against herbarium records, all available information being filled onto index cards for filing purposes. This paper-based filing system was then transferred into a computer-based data bank to facilitate the efficient storage and retrieval of information. Results from this data bank show that there are 662 variously threatened plant taxa in the Eastern Cape, many of which fall into temporary categories which need to be clarified by investigation in the field. Primarily based on the above results, a table ranking the various vegetation types into an order of priority for investigations about conservation requirement was developed.Subtropical Thicket was found to be the vegetation type in most need of investigation and so an extensive phytosociological survey was carried out in the Valley Bushveld which forms the major portion of Subtropical Thicket in the Eastern Cape. Twelve sites were sampled for floristic and environmental variables along a rainfall gradient of between 300 mm yr⁻¹ and 1 000 mm yr⁻¹ and along a longitudinal gradient from the Buffalo River in the east to the Gamtoos-Kromme complex in the west. Floristic data W(re analysed using multivariate techniques of classification and ordination. A classification by two-way species indicator analysis revealed the Valley Bushveld to consist of two orders of thicket, the Kaffrarian Succulent Thicket containing the two suborders, Inland Succulent Thicket and the Coastal Succulent Thicket and the Kaffrarian Thicket containing Coastal Kaffrarian Thicket and Inland Kaffrarian Thicket. Ordina tion by detrended correspondence analysis also grouped sites according to these vegetation categories in a sequence along one axis, to which the rainfall gradient could be related. Variables such as diversity indices, numbers of endemics, numbers of threatened taxa and structural features were also extracted from the data and these were correlated with environmental variables by multiple regression analysis. Species richness and the percent woody component w\!re positively correlated with rainfall while endemism and percent succulent component were strongly negatively correlated with rainfall. Most of the other relationships were explained by interrelationships with rainfall. Finally the sites were evaluated according to floristic criteria indicative of conservation value. The Coastal Succulent Thicket appeared to have the highest conservation value mainly owing to high endemism, while Inland Kaffrarian Thicket was also important as it supports a high number of species. The thickets with high conservation value are therefore the thickets of coastal areas in the western parts of the Eastern Cape which receive a low rainfall and the thickets which receive a rainfall in excess of 800 mm. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in
260

Modelling dispersal processes in impala-cheetah-lion ecosystems with infection in the lions

Mbava, Willard January 2016 (has links)
The study involved the predator-prey interaction of three species namely the predator (Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus), the super-predator (Lion Panthera leo), and their common prey (Impala Aepyceros melampus). The study area is the Kruger National Park. The predator being an endangered species, faces a survival problem. It is frequently killed by the super-predator to reduce competition for prey. The super-predator also scares away the predator o_ its kills. The prey forms the main diet of the predator. The plight of the predator motivated the author to formulate disease and reaction-diffusion models for the species interactions. The purpose of the models were to predict and explain the effect of large competition from the super-predator on the predator population. Important parameters related to additional predator mortality due to presence of super-predator, the disease incidence rate and induced death rate formed the focal points of the analysis. The dynamics of a predator-prey model with disease in super-predator were investigated. The super-predator species is infected with bovine Tuberculosis. In the study, the disease is considered as biological control to allow the predator population to regain from low numbers. The results highlight that in the absence of additional mortality on the predator by the super-predator, the predator population survives extinction. Furthermore, at current levels of disease incidence, the super-predator population is wiped out by the disease. However, the super-predator population survives extinction if the disease incidence rate is low. Persistence of all populations is possible in the case of low disease incidence rate and no additional mortality imparted on the predator. Furthermore, a two-species subsystem, prey and predator, is considered as a special case to determine the effect of super-predator removal from the system, on the survival of the predator. This is treated as a contrasting case from the smaller parks. The results show that the predator population thrives well in the total absence of its main competitor, with its population rising to at least twice the initial value. A reaction-diffusion three-species predator-prey model was formulated and analysed. Stability of the temporal and the spatio-temporal systems, existence and non-existence of stationary steady state solutions were studied. Conditions for the emergence of stationary patterns were deduced. The results show that by choosing the diffusion coeffcient d2 > _D 2 suffciently large, a non-constant positive solution is generated, that is, stationary patterns emerge, depicting dispersal of species. Predators were observed to occupy habitats surrounding prey. However, super-predators were observed to alternate their habitats, from staying away from prey to invading prey habitat. In the investigation, strategies to determine ways in which the predator species could be saved from extinction and its population improved were devised, and these included isolation of the predator from the super-predator.

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