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Understanding how wildlife utilize habitat at varying scales is important for understanding and predicting potential impacts of landscape changes (e.g., habitat loss and fragmentation, restoration efforts, climate change, etc.) and in determining effective strategies for conservation and management. This research examines fine-scale and landscape-level habitat use of black bears in Canyon de Chelly National Monument (CACH), Arizona, USA in the context of large-scale landscape change. Currently, CACH is undergoing a large-scale restoration effort to remove all of the non-native Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) and tamarisk (Tamarix ramosissima and T. chinensis) within the monument. As black bears rely on the Russian olive as a primary food source, a major goal of this research was to evaluate how bears currently use this resource and how its removal might affect bear habitat use and bear-human interactions within the monument. I developed a model of 3rd order (fine-scale) black bear habitat use in CACH using an occupancy modeling approach. Model results indicated that fine-scale habitat selection by bears in CACH is being driven by the presence of non-native Russian olive as well as native food sources. Thus availability of native foods may be sufficient to maintain the bear population in CACH, and bears may quickly adapt to the loss of the non-native food source. Similarly, results showed that bears avoid human areas and farmsteads and prefer higher elevations, suggesting that once olive is removed in the lower canyons near human areas, bear-human interactions may become less of a problem over the long term. I also developed a model of 2nd order (landscape-level) habitat use and evaluated movement patterns of black bears in CACH using location data collected from GPS collars. Model results showed that bears selected areas with higher tree canopy cover and terrain ruggedness, indicating that forest cover and escape cover are primary factors driving black bear habitat selection at the landscape scale in this region. Movement patterns revealed large mean daily movements and low average turning angles, indicating long, linear movements designed to take advantage of the mosaic of available habitats and food resources available over larger areas. I extracted DNA from hair samples collected throughout the study area to examine genetic variability and population structure of black bears in the region. Analyses revealed a relatively healthy, panmictic population across the wider landscape. No substantial genetic structuring was observed in multiple analyses, though I did find evidence of a slight isolation-by-distance pattern within the population. Measures of both current (Nb = 24) and long-term (Ne = 579) effective population size indicated a relatively high number of breeders in the current population and a sufficient amount of gene flow within the larger "superpopulation" to maintain long-term genetic viability. I focused the final portion of my dissertation research on understanding the factors that influence stakeholder acceptance capacity for black bears, which plays a central role in contemporary wildlife management issues, including human-wildlife conflict. I used data from telephone interviews of 1,546 residents in Virginia to develop conceptual models of black bear acceptance capacity at both county and state levels. Model results suggested that more deep-seated and less easily influenced factors (e.g., values and risk perceptions) are at the heart of stakeholder attitudes and perceptions of wildlife, making influencing these perceptions more difficult. Agencies can indirectly affect these attitudes and perceptions, however, by targeting more potentially pliable factors related to wildlife acceptance capacity such as knowledge, personal experience with wildlife, and trust in management agencies. / Ph. D.

Master of Regional and Community Planning / Department of Architecture / Huston Gibson / National monument to national park re-designation can be identified as a controversial issue that poses an array of implications for surrounding communities. These perceived implications have the ability to create or change policies, regulations, economic development, marketing, quality of life and other direct or indirect impacts to communities. In 2010, Grand Junction, Colorado proposed re-designation of the Colorado National Monument to a national park. The community expressed split views on the issue expressing concerns on issues such as the preservation, traffic, regulated uses, restrictions, government imposition, property values, infrastructure, costs, economic prosperity and other impacts that might occur from re-designation. A multiple case study was conducted in order to determine if there were any significant impacts to other communities that had gone through similar re-designation efforts. The Community Capital Framework was used in determining the assets investigated for the years of 2000 and 2010. The findings of this study suggest that there are no substantial apparent impacts within the locations of past re-designation. Grand Junction had somewhat parallel findings to the other sites, even without the presence of re-designation. Suggesting, the re-designation efforts should be focused less on the community impacts and more on the short-term vs long-term park/monument effects.

Boechera is a large genus of flowering plants whose taxa are found primarily in North America. Boechera vivariensis (S.L. Welsh) W.A. Weber (the Park rockcress) is restricted to the Uintah Basin on Weber sandstone substrates in the vicinity of Dinosaur National Monument and Blue Mountain. The nomenclature of Park rockcress is significantly impacted by the discovery that the type collections of the taxon represent a rare, apomictic diploid resulting from the hybridization between B. thompsonii and an undescribed sexual diploid (to be called Boechera caeruleamontana sp. nov. Allphin and Windham). As a result, greater information is needed regarding how B. vivariensis and B. caeruleamontana. are distributed geographically in the region of Dinosaur National Monument and surrounding areas. Thus, we performed genetic analyses on leaf samples taken from over 50 individuals at known sites of B. vivariensis throughout its geographic range. Individuals from each site were also compared morphologically. We also compared associated plant communities at each site and characterized the soils. In our thorough sampling, we did not pick up B. vivariensis. All individuals sampled belonged to B. caeruleamontana, suggesting that most individuals previously assigned to B. vivariensis, are actually representative of B. caeruleamonanta. Populations of B. caeruleamontana were genetically diverse compared to other Boechera species, most likely indicative of its insect pollination strategy. However, all populations had lower heterozygosity than expected based upon Hardy-Weinberg expectations. Reproductive and genetic data indicated that populations are showing signs of inbreeding. The population at Jones Hole Fish Hatchery was most unique genetically, morphologically, and reproductively.

abstract: This thesis explores the independent effects of the manipulation of rocks into alignments, prehistoric farming, and season on soil properties in two areas with a history of prehistoric agriculture in central Arizona, Pueblo la Plata within the Agua Fria National Monument (AFNM), and an archaeological site north of the Phoenix basin along Cave Creek (CC). Soil properties, annual herbaceous biomass and the physical properties of alignments and surface soils were measured and compared across the landscape, specifically on: 1) agricultural rock alignments that were near the archaeological site 2) geologically formed rock alignments that were located 0.5-1 km away from settlements; and 3) areas both near and far from settlements where rock alignments were absent. At AFNM, relatively well-built rock alignments have altered soil properties and processes while less-intact alignments at CC have left few legacies. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Biology 2011

A Fremont site distribution model for the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument during the period A.D. 500—1050/1100 posits that the Fremont subsistence strategy (seasonal mobility with dependence on both agriculture and hunting/foraging) is reflected by a site pattern of low-investment, seasonal or short-term habitation sites and isolated storage facilities at "lowland" elevations, and high-investment, long-term residence sites at "upland" elevations (McFadden 1998, 2000). This research assesses the model to evaluate its general precision, looking particularly at its success in modeling site locations for long-term residential versus seasonal/short-term habitation sites. A database including more than 400 Fremont sites was created to evaluate the model. Data variables examined in this thesis included elevation, distance-to-water, and primary landform. Analysis of the elevation data demonstrates that the McFadden model does not fit the actual distribution of Fremont sites identified from survey. Further analysis also established that distance-to-water is not an effective variable in accurately modeling Fremont site patterning over this region. The association between functional site types and primary landforms, however, does appear to more accurately reflect site distribution as observed on the ground. Based on these results, a new model for Fremont site distribution in the upper Escalante River drainage is proposed.

The present work is a general survey of the vegetation of the Utah portion of the Dinosaur National Monument with special emphasis on some of the ecological aspects of the area. The vegetation ranges from xerophytic plant communities of the lower elevations to mesophytic communities of the higher elevations. Hydrophytic plant communities are also present to a limited extent along the Green River and where seeps or springs arise. Soils vary from fine clay to coarse gravel. The dividing lines between formations is often marked by extreme differences in soil type. During the author's first collecting trip into the Monument in April 1955 the possibility of correlations between geological formations and vegetation was suggested by the occurrence of certain plant species on some of the formations. The presence of a well defined geological section in a relatively short distance makes it possible to determine if such correlations exist.

Understanding the movements and behavior of hawksbi1l sea turtles is vital to their protection, but existing data on these subjects are insufficient. The objectives of this study were 1) to monitor internesting movements and surfacing behavior of hawksbill sea turtles nesting at Buck Island Reef National Monument, St. Croix, and 2) to describe post-nesting movements of Buck Island hawksbills. Surfacing behavior and presence or absence of tagged turtles W(> :-t' monitored 24 hr a day by a computerized tracking system using pulse-coded transmitters. Internesting and post-nesting movements were tracked using satellite transmitters on the ARGOS system. No clear trends were apparent in total time spent at the surface. either during an internesting interval or when comparing day and nigh~ behavior; behavior was turtle and interval-specific (n=3). The number of times a turtle surfaced over an internesting interval also varied among turtles, but all turtles surfaced more frequently at the end of an internesting interval (P < 0.05). No differences were found in the number of times turtles surfaced during the day versus night, with the exception of one turtle which surfaced more frequently during the daytime. Comparisons of day and nighttime activity among turtles revealed that surfacing behavior was similar among the turtles studied with the exception of one turtle that spent significantly more time at the surface than the other turtles during both day and night. Internesting movements were found to be extensive for 2 of 3 turtles tracked t with turtles moving from 197 km to 845 km from Buck Island. The third turtle remained within 1 km of Buck Island. Tagged turtles left the Buck Island vicinity immediately after nesting for the season. Two turtles tracked with pulse-coded transmitters through the end of their nesting effort were last heard less than 24 hr after laying their last nest. Satellite tagged turtle T3, tracked for 10 months, traveled between the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico for 3 months, then became resident off the southern coasts of St. Thomas and St. John, USVI. Turtle T3 left this area occasionally on short-duration excursions, but always returned. Satellite tagged turtle T8, tracked for 1.5 months, moved to Puerto Rico immediately after completing nesting for the season, and was subsequently located off the coast of the Dominican Republic t St. Vincent (The Grenadines), and the northern coast of Venezuela. A third turtle (TIl) was located only once after laying her last nest; at the island of Anegada, BVI. Frequent failure to receive locations from satellite transmitters that were known to be attached and functional suggests that turtles may not stay at the surface long enough for transmissions to reach the ARGOS satellites. / Master of Science