No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The Canadian province of Nova Scotia has an abundance of lakes impacted by multiple stressors, including acidification, lakewater calcium (Ca) decline, climate change, and fish introductions. In spite of this, little is known about long-term trends in aquatic biota, especially microfaunal communities that are useful indicators of lake trophy. This thesis helps address this knowledge gap by providing information on the ecological distribution and long-term dynamics of Cladocera in softwater lakes in Nova Scotia using their subfossil remains preserved in lake sediments. Based on a surface sediment survey of 49 lakes, Cladocera in Nova Scotia are mainly structured along gradients of maximum lake depth and dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Daphnia (generally considered sensitive to low pH and [Ca]) were common in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, but were rare in southwestern Nova Scotia in both modern and pre-industrial sediments, although some lakes exhibited declines in Daphnia since pre-industrial times. The most notable example of this is Lake George (Kings County), where a striking decline in Daphnia, likely a result of declining [Ca], resulted in a marked increase in estimates of past algal production. In Kejimkujik National Park, which has experienced declines in pH and [Ca] since pre-industrial times, significant reductions in chydorid relative abundances were observed, as well as significant increases in the jelly-clad planktonic cladoceran species Holopedium. Cladoceran assemblages in lakes near Yarmouth have also changed significantly since pre-industrial times, but showed no consistent regional trends in the direction of cladoceran species shifts, reflecting the influence of local anthropogenic stressors. An extreme example of this is Trefry Lake, which was treated with copper sulphate in 1938 to remove the native fish community and provide better stocking conditions for brook trout. Copper sulphate treatment resulted in significant and permanent changes to the aquatic food web inferred from a strong decline in the body size of Bosmina. Collectively, these results suggest that many aquatic ecosystems in Nova Scotia are in a state of flux as a result of multiple anthropogenic stressors, and Cladocera subfossils can be effective for inferring the food web implications of these stressors. / Thesis (Ph.D, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2012-08-14 09:39:27.617

The purpose of this study was to investigate the economic feasibility of alternative crop rotations and to determine the economic implications of including forages and livestock during the transition to organic agriculture in Nova Scotia. The rotation systems were distinguished by: (i) frequency of forage in the rotation, (ii) source of nutrient supply, and (iii) type of farming operation. The economic analysis was divided in two parts. The first part analysed data from a four-year crop rotation experiment, using enterprise budgeting and statistical methods to compare differences among rotations under different treatments. The second part involved the development of a multi-period linear programming (LP) model to simulate a commercial operation. / The results from the statistical analysis suggest that crop enterprise net returns tended to be higher in forage-based rotations and in the livestock systems compared to cash crop rotations and the stockless system. Results from the LP model suggest that including forages and beef cattle during the transition to organic agriculture can provide considerable economic benefits, especially when crops were grown under ruminant compost.

In this thesis I ask: "What are Nova Scotia women's narratives concerning authority in their education? Does 'shyness' come into play in these educational narratives? What are the ways in which these women accepted and/or resisted authority?" This research grows from my position as an academic initiate, and my experiences of "growing up girl" in Nova Scotia. Using a qualitative feminist methodology, I interviewed three women who moved through the Nova Scotia educational system. Here I situate their stories in relation to scholarly work on authority and the context of class, race, and gender in Nova Scotia, and explore the strategies the women undertook to enact agency in their educational lives. These narratives provide rich perspectives on power, agency, and authority as they are lived in local contexts, and point to a need for more educational stories to be told by women of all backgrounds in Nova Scotia and beyond.

This thesis is a study of the roles of agricultural extension workers in Nova Scotia based on the workers views of their particular jobs. An attempt is made to identify the various activities of the workers, find out who determines their program and if they are doing the things they think they should be doing. The data for the study was obtained from responses to a questionnaire by three types of workers -Agricultural Representatives, Home Economics Representatives and Subject Matter Specialists who are permanently employed by the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture and Marketing. The three types of workers agree that they are conforming to their expected roles but there are certain areas within the general scope of their work where they would like to change emphasis. The guidelines set up when the agricultural extension service was established in 1926 still apply today although there have been changes in methods and additions to staff. All workers agreed that they had not received adequate training in their formal education to do the specific tasks required by their job but they felt competent on the basis of the training they have and the experience gained. They feel programs in in-service training can best help them overcome deficiencies in past training. Agricultural Representatives and Subject Matter Specialists base their programs on needs identified by themselves and organized groups of farmers while Home Economics Representatives tend to determine their own program with some indication that farm women should have more effect on their program plans. While the Agricultural Representative wants to plan programs based on needs in his area, the Subject Matter Specialist would tolerate province-wide programs designed to increase the overall agricultural production. Agricultural Representatives and Subject Matter Specialists work mainly with those farmers having relatively high gross incomes since these are generally the ones who are most able to follow recommended practices. Home Economics Representatives work mainly with farm families where there is a low gross income and with non-farm groups. All workers generally agree that 'job security', 'freedom' in program planning, the 'satisfying experience' of doing extension work, the 'recognition' they get for their work, their 'office facilities' and the 'prestige' of their position are important reasons why they like their job. They do not like administering policies, the many night meetings and the fact that they have little chance to 'specialize'. The workers believe they have a very good relationship with farm people and organizations but they feel they can do their best job by being better acquainted with individuals and getting their support for programs. There is a fair degree of role concensus among the three types of workers but because of differences in their jobs they differ in some areas of role perception. There is general agreement of the importance of their roles as applied to functions of the extension service. Their present performance is based on tradition as well as direction from above and, except for a few instances, they want to change their role performance. This is indicated most strongly as they perform the roles of 'student', 'administrator', 'organizer of events', 'organizer of groups', 'consultant', 'program planner', 'program evaluator', 'public relations officer', 'trainer of leaders' and 'service agent'. They would especially increase the time they spend on 'public relations', 'program evaluation' and 'program planning'. The Agricultural Representative would spend less time in his role as a 'source of information' while the other workers would spend more time on this role. 'Farm visits' by extension workers and 'demonstrations' are the best methods of communicating new ideas to farmers according to Agricultural Representatives and Subject Matter Specialists. Least effective are 'commercial sources', 'newspapers', 'telephone calls' and 'circular letters'. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.