Characterization of smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) interaction with native species assemblages, especially salmonids, in lakes throughout BC is prerequisite to identification of high-risk systems warranting on-going monitoring. Therefore this project addresses the following issues: How does smallmouth bass (SMB) trophic profile overlap with native species and does it vary across time and space? Schoener’s index of dietary overlap was not significant between SMB and rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss; α=0.406, 0.257), or cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkia; α=0.145, 0.29). Prey fish levels (Ei =35.4%) and the total energetic density (14.91±4.74J/g) of the cutthroat trout diet from Weston Lake (SMB free) were significantly higher compared to the diet of cutthroat trout from Cusheon Lake (Ei =3.3% and 7.69±1.93J/g) where non-native SMB have been introduced. Within the Vancouver Island study lakes, gut-content analysis revealed available signal crayfish serve as an important prey resource in the SMB diet (Ei =34%). What capacity do SMB have to take advantage of seasonal pulses of forage? SMB displayed the ability to rapidly (within 24hrs.) alter their diet and consumption levels (4.7 times higher) to maximize on pulses of rainbow trout fry following a stocking event. SMB did not spatially overlap with spring peaks in salmonid fry runs in the Okanagan lakes, as water temperature remained around the 10°C threshold when SMB are not yet active. Kokanee (Oncorhynchus nerka) fry did however make up Ei =83% of the yellow perch (Perca flavescens) diet. SMB are thriving in locations suspected to be on the limit for their environmental suitability through increased size at age for SMB in the Cariboo region in order to adapt to a longer (by 62 days) winter starvation period. SMB are a generalist predator able to adapt and thrive in very different systems; high vs. low productivity, few or many fish species, crayfish or no crayfish. The likely impacts of this in BC could include shifts in the diet of other fish species and increased costs associated with only stocking larger catchable sized trout in lakes containing non-native SMB. Policy recommendations based on our findings are that SMB introductions into systems that have rainbow/cutthroat trout are likely to cause the highest impacts on our native fisheries in BC if the systems are; highly productive, contain a high diversity of small bodied fish and invertebrate species, lack signal crayfish and large lakes with predominant littoral zones and complex shorelines. / Graduate / 0793 / 0329 / 0792 / mbeck@uvic.ca

Detta arbete ska ge oss en insyn i hur samarbete och samspel mellan förskollärare och modersmålspedagoger sker i förskolan. / The purpose of the study is to examine pedagogue’s awareness of environment, interactions and working methods in the work of multilingual children. The study can give us knowledge about the work that is in the process of multilingual children. The study may also give us an idea of how cooperation takes place between preschool teachers and the native language teachers in the work of multilingual children. The study has given us a deeper knowledge of the interaction between native language educators, children and preschool teachers. The importance of the preschool teacher´s skills and awareness for the children´s language development and the cooperation between preschool teachers, native language teachers and children are also important to this study. Therefore it is important to see how the interaction contributes to multilingual children´s development in preschool. In this study we have also received native language teachers and preschool teacher´s perspective why the native language is important for bilingual children. The research method we chose for our study was the qualitative method. The qualitative method indicated how researchers can obtain the raw data. Four preschool teachers and three native language educators were interviewed (Denscombe, 2009). The result revealed that the cooperation between pedagogues, pedagogues working methods and its conditions played a role in how the two parties were working along with multilingual children. The result also presented that preschool teachers and native language teachers both strive to have a good cooperation with each other. In our study, we assumed Vygotsky's sociocultural theory which involves educators should use communication and collaboration to help bilingual children develop their language.

<p> Individual burials are always representative of both individuals and collective actors. The physical remains, material culture, and represented practices in burials can be used in concert to study identities and social personas amongst individual and collective actors. These identities and social personas are the result of the interaction between agency and structure, where both individuals and groups act to change and reproduce social structures. </p><p> The three burials upon which this study is based are currently held in the collections of the Milwaukee Public Museum. They are all indigenous burials created in Wisconsin in the 19^th century. Biological sex, stature, age, and pathologies were identified from skeletal analysis and the material culture of each burial was analyzed using a Use/Origin model to attempt to understand how these individuals negotiated and constructed identities within a colonial system.</p>

<p> Alaska Native populations have undergone relatively rapid changes in nearly every aspect of life over the past half century. Overall lifestyles have shifted from subsistence-based to wage-based, from traditional to Western, and from self-sustainability to reliance on Outside sources. My research investigates the effects of these changes on health and well-being. The literature appears to lack concern for and documentation of Native peoples' perceptions of the changes in food systems and effects on their communities. Additionally, there is a lack of studies specific to Alaska Native individual perceptions of health and well-being. Therefore, my research aims to help identify social patterns regarding changes in the food that individuals and communities eat and possible effects the changes have on all aspects of health; it aims to help document how Alaska Native individuals and communities are adaptive and resilient; and it aims to honor, acknowledge, and highlight the personal perspectives and lived experiences of respondents and their views regarding food, health, and community well-being. </p><p> I conducted interviews with 20 Alaska Native participants in an effort to document their perspectives regarding these changes. Many themes emerged from the data related to subsistence, dependency, and adaptation. Alaska Natives have witnessed what Western researchers call a "nutritional transition." However, Alaska Native participants in my research describe this transition as akin to cultural genocide. Cut off from traditional hunting and fishing (both geographically and economically), Alaska Natives recognize the damage to individual and community health. Studies attribute rising rates of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and mental illness to the loss of culture attached to subsistence lifestyles and subsistence foods themselves. Alaska Natives report a decrease in cultural knowledge and traditional hunting skills being passed to the younger generations. Concern for the future of upcoming generations is a reoccurring theme, especially in regard to dependence on market foods. When asked what changes should be made, nearly all respondents emphasized education as the key to cultural sustainability and self-sufficiency. The changes sought include means and access to hunting and fishing. This is seen as the remedy for dependence on Outside resources. From a traditional Alaska Native perspective, food security cannot be satisfied with Western industrial products. </p><p> When considering Arctic community health and cultural sustainability, food security must be considered in both Western and Indigenous Ways. Control over local availability, accessibility, quality, and cultural appropriateness is imperative to Native well-being. Many participants point to differences in Western and Native definitions of what is acceptable nourishment. Imported processed products simply cannot fully meet the needs of Native people. Reasons cited for this claim include risky reliance on a corporate food system designed for profit with its inherent lack of culturally-appropriate, nutrient-dense, locally controlled options. Respondents are concerned that junk food offers dependable, affordable, available, and accessible calories, whereas traditional foods often are not as reliably accessible. Based on these findings, I named the concept of "nutritional colonialism." </p><p> Respondents expressed a desire to return to sustainable and self-sufficient subsistence diets with their cultural, emotional, social, spiritual, and physical benefits. Although they expressed concern regarding climate change and environmental pollutants, this did not diminish the significance of traditional foods for respondents.</p>

The introduction of trout has been implicated in the declines in native fish fauna in New Zealand and worldwide. Since the introduction of brown (Salmo trutta) and rainbow (Oncorhynchus mykiss) trout to New Zealand in 1867, their distribution has spread and they have been implicated in the fragmentation of native fish distributions, particularly native non-migratory galaxiids. However, in the Upper Waimakariri basin the co-occurrence of trout and galaxiid populations is relatively common, even in streams where trout reach sizes known to be piscivorous. To investigate mechanisms that may regulate trout and galaxiid co-occurrence, I investigated differences in antipredator behaviour and growth rate between stream types with varying levels of trout presence. Using quantitative survey data collected between 1997 and 2006, I found that trout abundance was low and varied annually in frequently disturbed sites compared their high abundance in stable streams. This finding was used to classify streams into three population types, barrier (trout absent), disturbed (trout presence intermittent) and sympatric (constant trout presence). Using this classification, I tested the effects of trout chemical cues on galaxiid activity and refuge use in artificial channels. There were no differences in activity or refuge use between trout odour and there were no effects of population type or galaxiid size during both the day and the night. Using otolith weight-fish length relationships in galaxiids collected from each population type, I found that galaxiid growth rate was higher in disturbed streams than in stable streams either with or without trout. An experiment manipulating trout size and presence, over two months in a natural stream, found galaxiids from treatments without trout grew slower than those with trout. Slow growth rates in galaxiids above trout-migration barriers and in sympatry, combined with low growth rates in treatments without trout suggest that the mechanisms that regulate galaxiid growth are more complex than previously thought.

Cat ownership in Australia is declining compared to an increasing trend of cat ownership in the United Kingdom, United States and Europe. The decline in Australia may be linked to concerns over perceived impacts of cat predation and an associated dislike of cats. However, while there are numerous studies on feral cats and their impacts on declining native fauna, the impact of pet cats on suburban wildlife or fauna in remnant bushland is relatively unknown although there is a wide perception of risk. The primary aim of this thesis was to apply the precautionary principle to the question of the putative impact of pet cats on the abundance and diversity of small mammals in urban bushland adjacent to low-density suburbia in the City of Armadale, a municipality on the south-east fringe of Perth, Western Australia. At the time of writing, Western Australia is yet to introduce state legislation governing cat control although many local councils within the state have either implemented or are in the process of implementing cat regulations. The precautionary principle was deemed an ideal approach to this question, because it provides a rationale for deciding on possible actions where both the potential risk to environmental values and the uncertainty about possible impacts are high. In such cases the precautionary principle requires two broad lines of action: firstly, detailed consultation with stakeholders to determine their perceptions of risk and the actions they are prepared to take to reduce it and, secondly, research to reduce uncertainty. With regard to stakeholder consultation, local residents were surveyed in regard to their attitudes and current cat husbandry practices. A substantial proportion of respondents within this municipality believed cat regulations were necessary (75% of owners and 95% of non-owners). At least 70% of both owners and non-owners agreed with the propositions that cats not owned by licensed breeders should be desexed, local councils should restrict the maximum number of cats that can be owned on one property and that pet cats entering nature reserves are harmful to wildlife. Most (c.85%) cat owners agreed that they would license their cats if that became compulsory. Although fewer owners (c.60%) were prepared to keep their cats on their property at all times to protect wildlife, over 80% were willing to confine their cats at night if it was required. Owners seemed to be substantially motivated by the value of these measures in reducing injury to cats and facilitating the return of lost animals rather than concern over wildlife protection. Attempts to reduce uncertainty involved (i) assessing roaming patterns of pet cats to determine the sizes of appropriate buffer zones around nature reserves, and (ii) determining species diversity, species richness and abundance of small mammals in remnant bushland adjacent to sub-divisions with varying regulations governing cat husbandry. Radio tracking results to assess cat roaming patterns showed substantial variation in home range size between cats in high density suburbia (ranged between 0.01 ha – 0.64 ha) and those in low density suburbia (ranged from 0.07 ha – 2.86ha). Larger home range sizes of cats in the rural areas (up to 2.9 ha) suggest buffer zones of up to 500 metres around nature reserves are needed to exclude almost all roaming cats. The abundance and species richness of small mammals were investigated in four areas of remnant bushland. Two were adjacent to subdivisions where cat ownership was unrestricted, one next to a subdivision where cat ownership was prohibited and the remaining one next to a subdivision where compulsory night curfew and bells on pet cats were enforced. No definitive evidence of predatory impact by pet cats on the small mammals was found. Mammal species diversity was not significantly different between sites and species richness and absolute abundance were not higher in sites where cats were restricted. Vegetation comparisons showed significant differences in the structure and species composition of the vegetation between most sites and the mammal species richness and abundance appeared linked to ground cover density in the various sites. This factor, not cat restrictions, appeared to be the primary determinant of species richness, species diversity and absolute numbers of small mammals in these sites. This study in the City of Armadale has shown that the implementation of proposed cat legislation must have a “whole of ecosystem” approach, i.e. protecting identified remnant bushland containing biodiversity from threatening processes such as plant disease and inappropriate fire, especially arson, as well as possible predations from pet cats. Habitat restoration and protection may be more important conservation activities than regulation of cats. Regulation of cats can be done at differing levels of intensity and cost, bearing in mind that this community is receptive to regulation of some aspects of cat ownership. Community education on the values of cat confinement in regards to cat welfare might increase chances of compliance.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: A, page: 2622. Advisers: Frederick Hoxie; Kathryn Oberdeck. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 275-293) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Alister Cumming.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Antoinette Gagne.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Jim Cummins.