Primula elatior represents a promising model for addressing the role of phenotypic plasticity vs. genetic basis of traits in populations differentiated along altitudinal gradients. Phenotypic plasticity is mainly exhibited by the extensive variability of the leaves. Genetic structure of P. elatior populations has been poorly studied so far, the first insights suggested potentially large intraspecific genetic variation. Therefore, the first aim of this study was to reveal the genetic structure as well as morphological and cytological variation of P. elatior populations in the central Europe and compare those to another two intraspecific taxa from the southeastern Europe. Further, I selected three target mountain regions to address the role of altitudinal differentiation for structuring genetic diversity. Finally, I evaluated the status of the putative endemic species Primula elatior subsp. corcontica from the Krkonoše Mts. Microsatellite analyses, multivariate morphometrics and flow cytometry were employed to evaluate variation of P. elatior populations. I identified six major genetic groups by genotyping 12 nuclear microsatellite loci in the study area of central and southeastern Europe with the clear separation of subp. intricata. Focused on the central Europe, three well-defined genetic groups...

Magister Scientiae (Biodiversity and Conservation Biology) - MSc (Biodiv and Cons Biol) / Areas of high biodiversity and complex species assemblages are often difficult to manage and to set up meaningful monitoring and evaluations programmes. Mountain Fynbos is such an ecosystem and in the Cape of Good Hope (part of the Table Mountain National Park) plant biodiversity over the last five decades has been in decline. The reasons are difficult to speculate since large herbivores, altered fire regimes and even climate change could be contributors to this decline which has been quantified using fixed quadrats and standard cover-abundance estimates based on a Braun-Blanquet methodology. To provide more detailed data that has more resolution in terms of identifying ecological processes, Fixed-Point Repeat Photography has been presented as a management “solution”. However, photography remains a difficult method to standardize subjects and has certain operational limitations.

In March 2002, The Nature Conservancy purchased a 9,000-acre tract of land on and near Warm Springs Mountain in Bath County, Virginia. The purpose of this paper is to examine community-based conservation strategies utilized by The Nature Conservancy in two well-established Virginia reserves to determine the effectiveness of those strategies in the protection of Warm Springs Mountain. The Conservancy's previous work on Virginia's Eastern Shore and in the Clinch Valley of southwest Virginia reveals the organization's transition from a strategy of mere land acquisition to the use of community-based conservation in an effort to involve local citizens and promote a proper balance between economics and the environment. The community-based conservation model developed by TNC on the Eastern Shore and utilized further in the Clinch Valley works well for ecoregions that fit a particular typology. The paper discusses the differences between that typology and the factors affecting the protection of Warm Springs Mountain. In addition, the paper outlines the lessons TNC learned from both positive and negative experiences in the two earlier preserves and proposes how these lessons can be applied to the Warm Springs Mountain Preserve. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

Equine sarcoid was diagnosed in the Cape mountain zebra (CMZ) population at the Gariep Nature Reserve (GNR) located in the southern Free State Province of South Africa in 1996. The course of the disease outbreak over the period from 1996 to 2003 is retrospectively described from data gathered during that time. In total, data from 39 affected animals was gathered during the study period. The average population size during the outbreak was 69 individuals. The initial prevalence was 9.4% in 1996. When ompared to the neighbouring domestic horse population, where no cases of equine sarcoid had been noted, the CMZ population showed a high prevalence of sarcoid for reasons unknown at the time. To mimic dynamics in a natural ecosystem with predators, it was decided to remove sarcoid-affected zebra from the population during 1996 and 1997. No sarcoid cases were seen in 1998 and 1999. After thoroughly examining the population in 2000, seven new sarcoid cases were found. Given the endangered status of the CMZ, no further affected animals were culled and a decision was made to study the disease more intensively, with emphasis on epidemiology, aetiology, clinical appearance and pathology, and treatment options as well as to investigate the genetic status of the population and the possibility of a genetic predisposition to the development of equine sarcoid. Prevalence of sarcoid cases in the Gariep CMZ population increased to 24.7% in 2002. Incidence varied between 4.65-17.6% during the study period with higher incidence rates recorded towards the second half of the study period. No sexual predilection was established. Sarcoids were not seen in animals younger than three years of age. Of the affected individuals, 64.1% had a single lesion and no animal had more than four lesions. Sarcoids were mostly of the fibroblastic (57%), verrucose (16%), and nodular (10%) types or a combination of these. The majority of lesions in males occurred in the inguinal area (55.17%), whereas the majority of lesions in females occurred on the head and neck (41.38%). Because treatment trials were conducted in a number of affected individuals, there were not many untreated control animals in which to study the rate of growth of the tumours, but the average annual increase in lesion size in untreated animals was found to be as much as 260%, becoming so large as to mechanically impede movement. During the study period, known sarcoid-related mortalities numbered four, while nine animals were euthanased for humane reasons, and ten other animals having been identified once with sarcoid were not seen again and presumed dead. / Dissertation (MSc (Veterinary Science))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Paraclinical Sciences / MSc / unrestricted

The Swedish Tourist Association, STF, is an organization which strives to make the Swedish nature more accessible to people. Since its founding, STF has been a key player in the development of the tourism in the Swedish mountain regions. Today the organization have 44 mountain cabins along the Swedish mountain range, and a majority of the huts are completely off-grid with no other connection to them but hiking trails. To accommodate for the needs of hikers and skiers throughout the year, the huts need electricity for lighting and in many cases cash registers and satellite modems to run small shops selling simple commodities. Many of the huts use solar energy combined with lead acid batteries, but not all of them can make it through the year without the use of a backup gasoline generator. This master thesis analyzes the different energy systems of four huts run by STF and using solar radiance data from PVGIS to calculate whether or not they are self-sufficient throughout the year using only solar energy. In the cases where the huts were found not to be self-sufficient, suggestions on actions that STF could implement to optimize the systems were found. For two out of the four huts, the thesis found that they were not self-sufficient, but after optimizing the energy systems with new energy saving appliances as well as tilting the solar panels between the winter and summer seasons, all four huts were found to be able to reach self-sufficiency.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Several attempts have been made to assess the impact of post-fire soil erosion; however, erosion occurs as a result of the complex interplay between many factors, such as climate, land cover, soil and topography, making precise estimation difficult. Additionally, these factors are far from constant in space and time, and often interact with one another. To assess the impact of wildfire on soil erosion and factors influencing its variability, the post-fire soil erosion response of two mountainous headwater sub-catchments namely Langrivier and Tierkloof, with different vegetation cover in the Jonkershoek Valley was examined using a systematic approach that combines efforts in field and laboratory work, spatial analysis and process-based numerical modelling. Geospatial modelling shows high spatial variability in erosion risk, with 56 % to 67 % of surfaces being highly susceptible excluding rock cover. The model highlights the importance of terrain and vegetation indices, with predicted erosion being more severe on steep slopes with lower vegetation cover. / 2021-08-30

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Adam Emmer: Dynamic of evolution and hazardousness of lakes in the Cordillera Blanca (Peru) Abstract: High mountain environment of the Cordillera Blanca (Peru) is undergoing prespicious (goe)environmantal changes such as glacier retreat and associated formation and evolution of lakes. Glacial lakes may represent a threat for the society in case of sudden release of (part of) retained water ("glacial lake outburst flood"; GLOF). Reliable identification of hazardous lakes is a key persumption of effective GLOF risk management. The fundamental part of this thesis lies in creation of new method for assessing susceptibility of lakes to outburst floods, reflecting regional specifics of these events in the study area (preconditions, causes and mechanisms) and unsuitability of existing approaches revealed in previous research. Newly created method take into account five scenarios of GLOFs, which are assessed separately, using the combination of decision trees allowing integration of qualitative and quantitative characteristics (an overall number of 17 characteristics of the dam, lake and lake surrounding enter the assessment procedure). Thus, identification of specific causes and mechanisms is enabled. The method was verified by assessing susceptibility of 20 lakes, of which 10 produced GLOFs in past (pre-flood...

Considerable research on ticks has been done since it was discovered that the Rocky Mountain wood tick, Dermacentor andersoni Stiles, was a principal vector of Rocky Mountain spotted fevero Additional disease agents of man are also transmitted by D. andersoni. This tick and a closely related species, Dermacentor parumapertus Neuman, occur commonly in Utah. The two species are often closely associated, although D. andersoni is believed to occur in the mountains, whereas D. parumapertus is in the desert valleys. Diseases affecting animals in nature are transmitted by ticks of both species. Consequently, any interaction between the two may be influential in the maintenance of diseases in nature communicable to man and his domestic animals.

This research developed a novel workflow for combining different types and scales of data to understand the development of small, steep, and sheltered glacial forefields across space and time using the Avalanche glacier of the Selkirk Range, BC as a case study. As glaciers recede, symbiotic geomorphological and ecological feedback loops determine the ecological succession in recently deglaciated terrain, which can in turn effect landform stability and water quality downstream. In order to describe emergent land cover patterns in the forefield, this research uses Corenbilt’s (2007) fluvial biogeomorphic succession (FBS) framework to interpret a century of land cover changes. To do so, an experimental protocol was developed that combined remotely sensed data – repeat photographs, historic air photographs, satellite imagery, and digital elevation models – and data collected in-situ using a photo transect method. Analysis of more than a century of photographs determined that the Avalanche glacier is receding at a slower rate than has been observed in the region’s larger glaciers, subsequently leading to a slower rate of forefield habitat expansion. Still, all four stages of fluvial biogeomorphological succession were found across the Avalanche glacier’s forefield. It was found that in the Avalanche forefield, terrain age seems to place a limit on which successional stage is possible at any given location within the forefield, but topographic features like slope angle seemed to influence succession patterns within areas that had the same terrain age. Further research is needed to see whether these findings are consistent for similar steep, small, and sheltered glaciers in the region. / Graduate