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<p> Energy-budget calculations and equilibrium model estimates of evaporation from a lichen-dominated upland site in the Hudson Bay low-lands are presented. The energy budget calculations reveal that the lichen surface is relatively resistant to evaporation with an average of only 54 percent of the daily net radiation being utilized in the evaporative process. Equilibrium estimates of evaporation consistently overestimate actual evaporation by 5 and 8 percent for hourly values and daily totals respectively. A simple model, a function of the equilibrium model, is derived from a comparison of actual and equilibrium evaporation. The only inputs required for the model are net radiation, soil heat flow and screen temperatures. Tests of the model indicate that it will predict actual evaporation within 5 percent and that it can probably be applied to any high latitude surface which exhibits a relatively large resistance to evaporation.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Depuis le début des années 1960, la croissance de l'albacore fait l'objet d'une attention particulière tant dans le domaine de la recherche que pour la gestion des pêcheries. Dans l'océan Indien, la gestion du stock d'albacores, sous la juridiction le Commission Thonière de l'Océan Indien (CTOI), souffre de nombreuses incertitudes associées à la courbe de croissance actuellement considérée. En particulier, des lacunes subsistent dans notre connaissance des processus biologiques et écologiques élémentaires régulant la croissance. Leur connaissance est pourtant fondamentale pour comprendre la productivité des stocks et leur capacité de résistance à la pression de pêche et aux changements océanographiques en cours. À travers la modélisation, cette étude se propose d'améliorer les connaissances actuelles sur la croissance de la population d'albacore de l'océan Indien et de renforcer ainsi les avis scientifiques sur l'état du stock. Alors que la plupart des études sur la croissance de l'albacore s'appuient sur une seule source de données, nous avons mis en œuvre un modèle hiérarchique Bayésien qui exploite diverses sources d'informations sur la croissance, i.e. des estimations d'âge obtenues par otolithométrie, des analyses de progressions modales et les taux de croissance individuels issus du marquage-recapture, et intègre explicitement des connaissances d'experts et les incertitudes associées à chaque source de données ainsi qu'au processus de modélisation. En particulier, le modèle de croissance a été couplé un à modèle d'erreurs dans les estimations d'âge par otolithométrie apportant une amélioration significative des estimations d'âge et des paramètres de croissance en résultant et permettant une meilleure évaluation de la fiabilité des estimations. Les courbes de croissances obtenues constituent une avancée majeure dans la représentation du patron de croissance actuellement utilisé dans les évaluations de stock d'albacore. Elles démontrent que l'albacore présente une croissance en phases, caractérisée par une forte accélération en fin de phase juvénile. Cependant, elles n'apportent aucune information sur les mécanismes biologiques et écologiques à l'origine de ces phases de croissance. Afin de mieux comprendre les facteurs impliqués dans l'accélération de la croissance, nous avons mis en œuvre un modèle bio-énergétique s'appuyant sur les principes de la théorie des bilans dynamiques d'énergie (DEB). Deux hypothèses apparaissant comme les plus pertinentes ont été testées : (i) une faible disponibilité alimentaire liée à une forte compétition inter et intra-spécifique chez les jeunes albacores formant des bancs et (ii) un changement dans le régime alimentaire des adultes s'accompagnant de la consommation de proies plus énergétiques. Il apparait que ces deux hypothèses sont susceptibles d'expliquer, au moins partiellement, l'accélération de la croissance. / Since the early 1960s, the growth of yellowfin has been enjoyed a particular attention both in the research field and for fisheries management. In the Indian Ocean, the management of yellowfin stock, under the jurisdiction of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), suffers from much uncertainty associated with the growth curve currently considered. In particular, there remain gaps in our knowledge of basic biological and ecological processes regulating growth. Their knowledge is however vital for understanding the stocks productivity and their resilience abilities to fishing pressure and oceanographic changes underway.Through modelling, this study aims to improve current knowledge on the growth of yellowfin population of the Indian Ocean and thus strengthen the scientific advice on the stock status. Whilst most studies on yellowfin growth only rely on one data source, we implemented a hierarchical Bayesian model that exploits various information sources on growth, i.e. direct age estimates obtained through otolith readings, analyzes of modal progressions and individual growth rates derived from mark-recapture experiments, and takes explicitely into account the expert knowledge and the errors associated with each dataset and the growth modelling process. In particular, the growth model was coupled with an ageing error model from repeated otolith readings which significantly improves the age estimates as well as the resulting growth estimates and allows a better assessment of the estimates reliability. The growth curves obtained constitute a major improvement of the growth pattern currently used in the yellowfin stock assessment. They demonstrates that yellowfin exhibits a two-stanzas growth, characterized by a sharp acceleration at the end of juvenile stage. However, they do not provide information on the biological and ecological mechanisms that lie behind the growth acceleration.For a better understanding of factors involved in the acceleration of growth, we implemented a bioenergetic model relying on the principles of Dynamic Energy Budget theory (DEB). Two major assumptions were investigated : (i) a low food availability during juvenile stage in relation with high intra and inter-specific competition and (ii) changes in food diet characterized by the consumption of more energetic prey in older yellowfin. It appears that these two assumption may partially explain the growth acceleration.

Les modifications environnementales qui affectent aujourd'hui les milieux marins recouvrent des problématiques scientifiques et sociétales majeures, d'autant que ces changements devraient s'accélérer au cours du 21ème siècle. Comprendre et anticiper la réponse de la biodiversité marine à ces changements représente un enjeu scientifique d'actualité. Les approches biogéographiques et macroécologiques constituent un cadre scientifique dans lequel il est possible d'étudier, de décrire, et de comprendre les motifs de distribution des espèces à large échelle et d'estimer leur évolution possible face aux changements environnementaux. C'est notamment le cas dans l'océan Austral où les effets du changement climatique se font déjà sentir et où les modifications environnementales associées pourraient avoir des effets profonds sur la structure et le fonctionnement des écosystèmes. Malgré de récents efforts d'échantillonnage, nos connaissances sur la distribution des espèces dans l’océan Austral comptent encore de nombreuses lacunes attribuables au caractère récent des découvertes, à l'isolement et à l'éloignement de cet océan d'accès difficiles. Dans ce contexte, les objectifs de cette thèse consistaient à mieux comprendre les motifs de distribution d'espèces à l’échelle de l’océan Austral, à mettre en évidence les facteurs qui en sont à l’origine et enfin, à évaluer l’impact du changement climatique sur leur distribution. Pour cela, différents types de modèles de niche écologique (MNE) ont été employés. Les échinides (oursins), organismes communs des communautés benthiques de l’océan Austral ont servi de modèle d'étude pour ce travail. / Current environmental changes, which impact marine environments, cover major scientific and societal issues, especially as these environmental changes are expected to accelerate along the 21st century. Understanding and forecasting the response of marine biodiversity to these changes is a pregnant scientific issue. Biogeographic and macroecological approaches provide a scientific framework for that purpose. They allow describing and understanding species distribution patterns at large spatial scale as well as estimating their potential shift with regards to environmental change. This is particularly true in the Southern Ocean, where the effects of climate change are already occurring and where environmental changes could have a deep and manifold impact on the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems. Despite recent sampling efforts, our knowledge of the Southern Ocean species distributions still faces many shortcomings due to the rather recent discovery of this ocean, its isolation and remoteness along with difficult access conditions. In this context, the aims of this thesis are to better understand the factors that drive species distribution patterns at the Southern Ocean scale, and to assess the impact of climate change on their distribution. For this purpose, different types of Species Distribution Models (SDM) have been used. Echinoids (sea urchins), which are common organisms of benthic communities in the Southern Ocean, have been used as a biological model for this work.

This project describes a portion of a long-term study of the behavioral ecology of sea otters. Sub-studies of this project include the development of an individual recognition program for sea otters, the construction of male sea otter activity and energy budgets, and the assessment of male sea otter territory quality. The Sea Otter Nose Matching Program, or "SONMaP", was developed to identify individual sea otters in Simpson Bay, Prince William Sound, Alaska, using a blotch-pattern recognition algorithm based on the shape and location of nose scars. The performance of the SONMaP program was tested using images of otters collected during the 2002-03 field seasons, and previously matched by visually comparing every image in a catalog of 1,638 animals. In 48.9% of the visually matched images, the program accurately selected the correct image in the first 10% of the catalog. Individual follows and instantaneous sampling were used during the summers of 2004-06, to observe male sea otter behavior. Six behaviors (foraging, grooming, interacting with other otters, patrolling, resting, and surface swimming) were observed during four time periods (dawn, day, dusk, night) to create 24-hr activity budgets. Male sea otters spent 27% of their time resting, 26% swimming, 19% grooming, 14% foraging, 9% patrolling and 5% interacting with other otters. Field Metabolic Rate (FMR) was estimated by combining the energetic costs for foraging, grooming, resting, and swimming behaviors of captive otters from Yeates et al. (2007) with these activity budgets. "Swimming" accounted for the greatest percentage (43%) of energy expended each day followed by grooming (23%), resting (15%), feeding (13%) and other (5%). With a peak summer sea otter density of 5.6 otters km-2, the low percentage of time spent foraging indicates that Simpson Bay is below equilibrium density. Territory quality was assessed for male sea otters using four attributes: territory size, shoreline enclosure, accessibility, and number of females observed feeding in each territory. Each attribute was coded with a score of 0-2, and total quality scores ranged from 0.14-1.96 (0.9 + 0.61 SD). High quality territories had large areas, moderate shoreline enclosure, high accessibility, and many foraging females.

The sources and sinks of energy for transient waves in the Martian atmosphere are investigated, applying diagnostic techniques developed for the analysis of terrestrial baroclinic waves to output from a Mars General Circulation Model. These diagnostic techniques include the vertically averaged eddy kinetic energy and regression analysis. The results suggest that the primary source of the kinetic energy of the waves is baroclinic energy conversion in localized regions. It is also shown that there exist preferred regions of baroclinic energy conversion. In addition, it is shown that downstream baroclinic development plays an important role in the evolution of the waves and in the baroclinic energy conversion process. This is the first time that evidence for downstream baroclinic development has been found for an atmosphere other than the terrestrial one.

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The urban landscape-heat-health relationship was explored using a model of human thermal comfort (as energy budget) modified to incorporate varying urban landscape. Census Tract-level energy budget was modelled in Toronto during four extreme heat events. Energy budgets (~+80 W m-2) and heat-related ambulance calls (~+10%) increased during heat events and were positively correlated, albeit with some event-to-event fluctuation in relationship strength. Heat-related calls were negatively correlated to canopy cover. “Cooling” design strategies applied to two high-energy budget Census Tracts nearly neutralized (~–25 W m-2) thermal comfort and increased canopy cover (500–600%), resulting in an estimated 40–50% reduction in heat-related ambulance calls. These findings advance current understanding of the urban landscape-heat-health relationship and suggest straightforward design strategies to positively influence urban heat-health. This new high-throughput, Census Tract-level thermal comfort modelling methodology incorporates the complexities of the urban landscape has relevance to landscape architecture, urban design, and public health.

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No description available.