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Appendix 4.4 removed due to copyright restrictions: Suepaul, R.B., Alley, M.R., Jansen van Rensburg, M., 2010, Salt gland adenitis associated with bacteria in blue penguins (Eudyptula minor) from Hauraki Gulf (Auckland, New Zealand). Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 46(1) : 46-54. / According to the New Zealand Threat Classification, little blue penguin (LBP) (Eudyptula minor) populations are under ‘gradual decline’. Although long-term data are available for some mainland populations, the status of LBP on offshore islands remains largely unknown. Most studies have focussed on breeding success and foraging ecology. However, there is a paucity of data pertaining to diseases and parasites, and the potential effects of these factors on LBP health, reproductive success and survival. To date, the LBP population on Tiritiri Matangi Island, Hauraki Gulf, Auckland, New Zealand, has only been monitored periodically, despite the island being an important habitat for LBP throughout their annual cycle. The overall aim of this study was to examine the relative importance of parasites and disease in relation to key aspects of LBP life-history, including: the annual cycle; reproductive success; energetic demands, immunity; and mortality. During 2006 and 2007, the reproductive success of LBP on Tiritiri Matangi Island was investigated with respect to lay date, nest site attributes, parental quality and ectoparasite loads. A nest treatment experiment was conducted to explore flea (Parapsyllus longicornis) and tick (Ixodes eudyptidis) effects on breeding success. Overall reproductive output was low, estimated at 33.3%, with an average of 0.67 chicks fledged per pair. Lay date and body condition (BC) appeared to be the main drivers of reproductive success, with early breeders fledging significantly more chicks than late breeders. Increased BC improved reproductive success. Although late breeders exhibited higher BC scores, increased chick mortality indicated that late nests face a reproductive trade-off. Treatment did not prove effective in reducing ectoparasite loads and there was no correlation between ectoparasite abundance in the nest and reproductive success. Throughout their geographic distribution, penguins are host to a range of ectoparasites. Using Ixodes eudyptidis ticks as indicators, ectoparasite-host dynamics were investigated over the course of one year, in relation to LBP life stages, body condition (BC) and haematological parameters. To investigate the presence of vector-borne diseases, blood parasite prevalence was determined using molecular techniques and microscopy. Tick load exhibited significant seasonal variation, being highest during periods of increased host availability i.e. moult and breeding. However, these increases in abundance were not associated with body condition or decreased reproductive success of adults. Nonetheless, LBP exhibited seasonal fluctuations in haematological parameters, with decreases in white blood cell concentrations during periods of increased energy demands and high tick loads. Blood parasite prevalence was low (<1%), determined to be Plasmodium sp. infection. No other blood parasites were found. These results indicate that the lifecycle of I. eudyptidis is tightly linked with that of its LBP hosts, and that infested individuals exhibit physiological responses to tick load. LBP exhibit annual fluctuations in mortality and experience periodic mass mortalities. To examine factors associated with mortality, post-mortems were conducted on 32 LBP from the Hauraki Gulf. Additionally, 128 LBP necropsy records were obtained from the National Wildlife Database (HUIA) for the period spanning April 1993-January 2009, and the causes of mortality were reviewed. Starvation and disease accounted for the highest mortality levels, with 65% of deaths attributed to either one or both of these factors. Furthermore, there was a strong association between starvation and parasites. Parasitic disease and diseases of uncertain aetiology were the most common disease types. In all age groups, the likelihood of infectious, non-infectious and disease of unknown aetiology was significantly higher in LBP that harboured one or more parasite species. Results from this study suggest that starvation and disease, including parasites, are significant factors associated with mortality of LBP in New Zealand, as has been found in Australian LBP populations. Parasites and disease are increasingly recognised as a challenge to the conservation of wildlife, and information regarding endemism of pathogens and parasites within populations is vital for determining ecosystem health, and identifying aberrant diseases.

The management of wildlife tourism has been dominated by ideologies informed by western colonialism and its values of nature. These ideologies, made transparent through communicative and interpretative discourses, influence the way management policies and practices are devised and enacted. The inherent scientific and utilitarian views are supported by a doctrine of separation. This is apparent in the dualism posed, and enacted, between nature and culture that sees humans as being the sole carriers of culture that separates them from the uncultured and uncivilised world of nature into which all other animals, and certainly untamed wildlife, belong. It justifies the use of non-humans for human purposes and continues to allow us to treat non-human animals and other forms of nature in often abominable ways. This thesis investigates two situations in which wildlife tourism occurs in Australia. Fraser Island and Penguin Island are two wildlife tourism destinations on opposite sides of the continent with very different wildlife but some very similar issues. From these two contexts data was collected through interviews, focus groups, participant observation, and from literary and documentary sources. Understanding the empirical data collected from these case studies is facilitated through a social constructionist view of discourse analysis that allows an unpacking of the messages and a stance from which to challenge the dominant ideologies that frame management and interaction. In the thesis I demonstrate that anthropology, in its incarnation as environmental anthropology and as a team player in a necessarily interdisciplinary approach to understanding and resolving environmental issues, has much to offer. This engagement has the potential to enhance not only the sustainable future of naturebased activities like wildlife tourism but also the relevance of anthropology in the postcolonial contemporary world. The need for a holistic framework encompassing all the stakeholders in any wildlife tourism venture is proposed. This approach to wildlife tourism is best serviced by examining perspectives, values and concerns of all members of the wildlife tourism community at any given destination. It is only through this type of holistic and situated focus that we can hope to effectively understand, and then manage, in the best interests of all parties. More specifically, and finally, I argue for a rethinking of the way wildlife tourism interactions are managed in some settings. The ideology of separation, enacted both conceptually and physically to create maintain boundaries, is demonstrated through the two case studies and the ways in which interactions between humans and wildlife are currently managed. An alternative is posed, that by reconstructing management in settings where wildlife tourists may be more accepting of their own responsibility towards nature, a model can be developed that allows people and wildlife to co-exist without ‘killing’ the natural instincts of either.

Institutional and epistemological differences between science and management present a challenge to the implementation of sustainable environmental management. Environmental problems are complex and require at least multidisciplinary, but most effectively transdisciplinary approaches for learning, understanding, decision-making and problem solving. This means building bridges between institutional and epistemological differences. The role of system dynamics modelling in integrating environmental science and management is examined in this thesis. An action research methodology is adopted where, over cycles of case studies, the practical application of system dynamics modelling is evaluated. The role of system dynamics modelling in the management of coastal sand dunes, tourism, threatened species management and water management is explored in the case studies. It has been found that system dynamics modelling is a potentially powerful tool for integrating environmental science and management, principally assisting communication between scientists and management stakeholders. System dynamics group model-building, in particular, has the potential to facilitate stakeholder learning and assist stakeholders to think holistically about the complex systems they are trying to manage. It was also found that engaging stakeholders in system dynamics group model-building process is difficult. A model of factors influencing the adoption of system dynamics group model-building has been developed from this research. The model can be applied to assess the suitability of potential case studies and identify potential weaknesses that need to be addressed if the approach is to succeed.

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<p>Traditional cooking using biomass is associated with adverse health consequences, local environmental degradation, and regional climate change. Improved stoves (ICS; liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), biogas, electric, efficient biomass) are heralded as a solution, but their adoption and use remains low. In the first chapter, I report on a series of pilot programs that utilized the marketing mix principles of promotion, product, price and place to increase stove sales in rural Inia. We found that when given a choice amongst products, households strongly preferred an electric stove over improved biomass-burning options. Households clearly identified price as a significant barrier to adoption, while provision of discounts (e.g., rebates given if households used the stove) or payments in installments were related to higher purchase. Collectively, these pilots point to the importance of continued and extensive testing of messages, pricing models, and responses to different stove types prior to scale-up. Thus, a one-size-fits-all approach will be unlikely to boost ICS adoption. </p><p>In the second and third chapters, I analyze the impact of mainly improved stove use on social, environmental, and health outcomes in rural India- first in a sample of biogas stove users in Odisha, India, and next with households in the Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. In both settings, ICS use was associated with reduced use of firewood, substantial time savings for primary cooks, and significant reduction in exposure to particulate matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in household air. I find that ICS users in Odisha spend reduced time in the hospital with acute respiratory infection and reduced diastolic blood pressure, but no relationship with other health measurements. </p><p>In the third chapter, I also find significant reduction in exposure to personal air pollution. Using temperature sensors as objective stove use monitors for all stoves and heaters we find that households underreport use of improved and traditional stoves. </p><p>These papers provide encouraging evidence of potential for adoption of clean stove and a suite of benefits from clean stove use; however, in order to achieve recommended levels of air pollution additional policies may be needed.</p> / Dissertation

The Dolores River in Utah and the Virgin River in Nevada are ecosystems under pressure from increased groundwater withdrawal due to growing human populations, climate change and introduced species such as Tamarix spp. (tamarisk). Tamarisk is reputed to take excessive water from its environment. Controlling tamarisk is of concern in the western United States where plants grow quickly in already fragile and diminishing riparian areas. For this reason, biologic control beetles Chrysomelidae: Diorhabda carinulata were released to weaken the tamarisk population, thus reducing its water use. The studies for this dissertation were conducted between 2010 and 2011. We quantified tamarisk water use over multiple cycles of annual defoliation using sap flow measurements, leaf area index (LAI), well data, allometry and satellite imagery from EOS-1 Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) sensor. Study objectives for the Virgin River were to measure evapotranspiration (ET) before beetles ever arrived and to examine the effects on tamarisk ET in the year after beetle arrival. This site showed plant ET from sap flow averaged about 4.3 mm m⁻² leaf day⁻¹ in 2010. In 2011, ET from sap flow averaged 6.4 mm m⁻² leaf area day⁻¹ pre beetle arrival, but dropped to 3-4 mm m⁻² leaf area day⁻¹ after beetle arrival. Stand level ET measured by MODIS was 2.2 mm d⁻¹ in 2010 and approximately 1.5 mm day⁻¹ when beetle arrival was measured in 2011. Significant visual change was apparent as the trees senesced. Results showed the first year of beetle arrival resulted in reduced ET but did not result in significant water savings. We also compared the reaction of the newly defoliated (in 2011) Virgin River site to the long-term defoliated (since 2007) Dolores River site to explore if all beetle invasions were created equal. This paper views the two sites as fairly extreme examples of tamarisk stand reaction to the beetle. While no mortality was reported at the Dolores River site, the site is much older, less photosynthetically active and covers far less ground when compared to the younger tamarisk monoculture on the Virgin River. Pre-beetle arrival Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) values were higher on the Virgin River than on the Dolores River. Beetle arrival at each site was captured with Landsat NDVI and a reduced NDVI signal (13% drop in NDVI at Dolores River, 5% drop at Virgin River) was seen after beetle arrival.

Accurate models of aerosol transformation including partitioning between the gas- and particle-phase are needed for estimating their effects on climate and air quality. In this thesis, the process of partitioning between phases and its determining factors are introduced and investigated. Three studies assess: the accuracy of estimation methods for aerosol component volatility and its effect on particulate concentration and composition; the consistency of different solutions to models of particle-phase diffusion; and, a method to analytically solve particle-phase diffusion. These studies contribute to the ongoing effort of improving aerosol models, such that their wide-ranging effects can be accurately estimated.

<p> Frequent droughts are common and extreme precipitation is a normal weather pattern for the Navajo country and has been for almost 6000 years. The Navajo do not abandon the often that drought stricken areas demonstrating their ability adapt to extreme weather conditions. For almost 300 years, the Navajo, while in a state of constant warfare with many different surrounding peoples, continued to develop and grow as a tribe, while living off of livestock, farming and hunting. Currently open for public review and comment is a new proposed Navajo Rangeland Improvement Act of 2014. It is the people, the tribal citizen&rsquo;s needs that need administration.</p><p>

Terrestrial ecosystems are essential to human well-being, but their future remains highly uncertain, as evidenced by the huge disparities in model projections of the land carbon sink. The existence of these disparities despite the recent explosion of novel data streams, including the TRY plant traits database, the Landsat archive, and global eddy covariance tower networks, suggests that these data streams are not being utilized to their full potential by the terrestrial ecosystem modeling community. Therefore, the overarching objective of my dissertation is to identify how these various data streams can be used to improve the precision of model predictions by constraining model parameters. In chapter 1, I use a hierarchical multivariate meta-analysis of the TRY database to assess the dependence of trait correlations on ecological scale and evaluate the utility of these correlations for constraining ecosystem model parameters. I find that global trait correlations are generally consistent within plant functional types, and leveraging the multivariate trait space is an effective way to constrain trait estimates for data-limited traits and plant functional types. My next two chapters assess the ability to measure traits using remote sensing by exploring the links between leaf traits and reflectance spectra. In chapter 2, I introduce a method for estimating traits from spectra via radiative transfer model inversion. I then use this approach to show that although the precise location, width, and quantity of spectral bands significantly affects trait retrieval accuracy, a wide range of sensor configurations are capable of providing trait information. In chapter 3, I apply this approach to a large database of leaf spectra to show that traits vary as much within as across species, and much more across species within a functional type than across functional types. Finally, in chapter 4, I synthesize the findings of the previous chapters to calibrate a vegetation model's representation of canopy radiative transfer against observed remotely-sensed surface reflectance. Although the calibration successfully constrained canopy structural parameters, I identify issues with model representations of wood and soil reflectance that inhibit its ability to accurately reproduce remote sensing observations.