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Climatic changes have induced striking altitudinal and latitudinal vegetation shifts throughout history. These shifts will almost certainly recur in the future; threatening other flora and fauna, and influencing climate feedback loops. Changes in the spatial distribution of vegetation are most conspicuous at physiognomically distinct ecotones, particularly between the subalpine forest and alpine tundra. Traditionally, ecological research has linked abiotic variables with the position of this ecotone (e.g., cold temperatures inhibit tree survival at high elevations). Thus, the prevailing assumption states that this ecotone is in equilibrium or quasi-equilibrium with the surrounding physical environment and that any dynamic shifts express direct linkages with the physical environment. This dissertation employs a landscape ecology approach to examine the abiotic and biotic ecological mechanisms most important in controlling tree establishment at this ecotone. The study site is on the western slopes of Mount Rainier, which was severely burned by a slash fire in 1930. Therefore, a crucial underlying assumption is that the ecological mechanisms controlling tree establishment are similar at disturbed and undisturbed sites. I exploited the use of 1970 CORONA satellite imagery and 2003 aerial photography to map 33 years of changes in arboreal vegetation. I created detailed maps of abiotic variables from a LIDAR-based DEM and biotic variables from classified remotely sensed data. I linked tree establishment patterns with abiotic and biotic variables in a GIS, and analyzed the correlations with standard logistic regression and logistic regression in the hierarchical partitioning framework at multiple spatial resolutions. A biotic factor (proximity to previously existing trees) was found to exert a strong influence on tree establishment patterns; equaling and in most cases exceeding the significance of the abiotic factors. The abiotic setting was more important at restricted spatial extents near the extreme upper limits of the ecotone and when analyzing coarse resolution data, but even in these cases proximity to existing trees remained significant. The strong overall influence of proximity to existing trees on patterns of tree establishment is unequivocal. If the underlying assumption of this dissertation is true, it challenges the long-held ecological assumption that vegetation in mountainous terrain is in equilibrium with and most strongly influenced by the surrounding physical environment.

Rivers around the world are under increasing pressure from a variety of human activities. Effective management of riverine landscapes requires an ecosystem approach and one that recognises the complex interactions between their physical, chemical and biological components. Perceptions of pattern and process are central to our understanding of riverine landscapes. Pattern and process operate over multiple scales to produce heterogeneous mosaics of landscape patches that change over time. Hierarchical patch dynamics provides a useful approach to unravel pattern and process at multiple scales in riverine landscapes. This thesis adopts a hierarchical patch dynamics approach to investigate floodplain sediment and nutrient dynamics within the Barwon-Darling River in South Eastern Australia. The flow regime of the Barwon-Darling River is highly variable. As a result, it has a complex channel cross section featuring inset-floodplain surfaces that occur at multiple elevations within the channel trough. These surfaces formed the focus of this study. The texture of inset- floodplain surface sediments displays a patchy spatial distribution and one that did not reflect lateral or longitudinal gradients within this floodplain landscape. Rather a sediment textural patch mosaic was identified. Nutrient concentrations associated with the surface sediments of the inset-floodplains were also shown to vary significantly resulting in a nutrient patch mosaic. This spatial nutrient mosaic was enhanced by factors including the surface elevation of the floodplain surface. Sediment and nutrient exchange between the river channel and inset-floodplain surfaces was measured during several flows in 2001, 2002 and 2005. Pin and sediment trap data showed that significant quantities of sediment were exchanged between the river channel and floodplain surfaces during inundation with both cut and fill processes occurring. Patterns in sediment exchange appear to be related to local sediment supply and seasonal sediment exhaustion, rather than the top down geomorphic constraints considered. These material exchanges resulted in a change to the spatial configuration of the sediment textural patch mosaic. Distinct new sediment textural patches were created following inundation, while other patches were lost post inundation and other patches changed sediment textural character to move into pre-existing patches. Thus a truly dynamic sediment textural mosaic exists within this floodplain landscape. Nutrient concentrations associated with floodplain sediments also changed over time. While nutrient concentrations increased after the December 2001 flow event, they generally decreased after the March 2002 event, highlighting their dynamic nature over time. The spatial distribution of nutrient concentrations also varied over time, with a 40 percent change to the nutrient mosaic as a result of the March 2002 flow event. In addition to the influence of the changing physical template (sediment texture mosaic), nutrient concentrations were shown to be influenced by rainfall processes on non flooded surfaces, and also a number of top-down constraints and bottom-up influences operating over multiple spatial scales. Overall, the inset-floodplains studied in this thesis acted primarily as sediment and nutrient sinks, and were a source for dissolved nutrients. Nutrient exchange was associated with the exchange of sediments in this riverine landscape, over both inter-flow and decadal timescales. It was demonstrated that water resource development within the catchment reduced the number, magnitude and duration of flow events down the Barwon-Darling River and as a result reductions in the exchange of sediment, associated and dissolved nutrients between inset-floodplains and the main river channel were calculated. The greatest reductions were with the release of dissolved nutrients (42-25 percent) and the exchange of sediment and associated nutrients from high level surfaces (43 percent). Effective conservation and management of riverine ecosystems must occur at the correct scale. This study identified potential nutrient hotspots at several scales in the Barwon-Darling floodplain landscape that could be targeted by management. The low predictability of the location of nutrient hotspots at the inset-floodplain scale over time means that environmental flows should be targeted at high level surfaces (<25 000 MLD-1) that provide long term sources of carbon to the river channel. Conserving flows of this magnitude will also reinstate flow variability, an important facet of the Barwon-Darling River?s hydrology that has been changed by water resource development. The research presented in this thesis highlights the importance of not only considering pattern and process at multiple scales, but also the way in which these processes influence landscape patterns over time, leading to the identification of the appropriate scales that can best be targeted for the conservation of these systems.

Results from archaeological survey provide new insights into the origins of variation among the prehistoric Native American societies that occupied the Chickasawhatchee Swamp of southwestern Georgia. Through macroregional comparison, these insights are broadly applicable to the Eastern Woodlands societies that existed across the southeastern U.S. between A.D. 150 and 1600. Theoretical frameworks concerning landscape ecology, inter-regional exchange, and agency and structure provide the organizing structure for a multi-scalar view of change that contradicts earlier models.Within the Chickasawhatchee Swamp, survey, mapping, and excavation data present a complex regional settlement system. Within the swamp, a few large settlements were occupied for the long-term, in spite of the absence of monumental architecture. Smaller surrounding sites were periodically abandoned. At the swamp's edge, several subregions were organized around civic-ceremonial mound sites. At these edges, mound sites and surrounding subregions were abandoned simultaneously. Instead of being driven by changes in political complexity, residential mobility cycles were consistent through time and related to the region's heterogeneous landscape.Macroregional spatial data comparing mound locations through time support data from the Chickasawhatchee Swamp and confirm hypotheses relating mound construction and transitional landscapes. New data emphasize continuity in inter-regional exchange networks and contradict earlier views in which the emergence of hierarchical political structures were a transformational process that fundamentally altered Eastern Woodlands political economies. Temporal continuity and spatial variation are instead most evident.

FundaÃÃo Cearense de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Cientifico e TecnolÃgico / Em ambientes savÃnicos, a variaÃÃo na densidade de Ãrvores, devido à maior disponibilidade de umidade no solo, resulta em uma paisagem espacialmente heterogÃnea e altamente dinÃmica no tempo e no espaÃo. Assim, constituem locais ideais para testar o modelo de dinÃmica de manchas em metacomunidades. Comunidades ecolÃgicas podem ser vistas como sistemas dotados de mecanismos de autocontrole. Assumir as comunidades vegetais como sistemas implica em aceitar que elas obedecem a regras comuns que regem quaisquer tipos de sistema, seja ele biolÃgico ou nÃo. Dessa forma, as comunidades vegetais devem apresentar trÃs premissas principais: (1) apresentar caracteres estruturais e funcionais, ou seja, à possÃvel distinguir os elementos que a compÃem, descrever seu arranjo no tempo e espaÃo e identificar as interaÃÃes entre eles; (2) nÃo ser uma coleÃÃo desorganizada de elementos, mas ao contrÃrio, a maneira como as espÃcies co-habitam està estruturada de forma organizada no tempo e espaÃo e (3) ser uma construÃÃo decorrente da atuaÃÃo de processos temporais que atuam mantendo certa estabilidade temporal. Baseado nessas premissas analisou-se a dinÃmica espaÃo-temporal de parÃmetros estruturais (densidade e biomassa) da comunidade e de populaÃÃes presentes em um fragmento de caatinga visualmente conservado. As anÃlises foram realizadas em uma parcela permanente de 1 hectare, instalada na Reserva Natural Serra das Almas, CearÃ, em dois tempos distintos (2002 e 2008). Verificou-se que o nÃmero de espÃcies, a composiÃÃo e a densidade total do sistema foram praticamente constantes no intervalo de tempo analisado. Com isso, o tamanho das populaÃÃes pouco alterou e a estrutura da comunidade manteve-se estÃvel. Diante disso, a comunidade apresentou padrÃes de co-ocorrÃncia bem definidos, com tendÃncia de estruturaÃÃo por competiÃÃo de espÃcies. Espacialmente, ocorreram diferenÃas entre locais (parcelas) vizinhos, onde a composiÃÃo de cada um definiu quais apresentavam maior ou menor dinamicidade. O aumento considerÃvel da biomassa total da parte aÃrea, potencialmente resultante de regeneraÃÃo antrÃpica, demonstra que a comunidade analisada encontra-se em estado intermediÃrio da fase de regeneraÃÃo. Com base na heterogeneidade espacial registrada verifica-se que o que o modelo de dinÃmica de manchas pode ser testado em pequena escala para avaliar a dinÃmica da vegetaÃÃo de caatinga e, conseqÃentemente, inferir sobre a capacidade de suporte do sistema aos efeitos antropogÃnicos e distÃrbios climÃticos / In the savanna environments, the variation in the density of the trees, due to a greater availability of the humidity in the soil, results in a heterogeneous and highly dynamic landscape in time and space. So, they constitute ideal places for testing the patch dynamics model in metacommunities. Ecological communities can be seen as an endowed system of auto-control mechanism. Taking on the vegetable communities as systems, it implies in accepting that they obey the common rules which govern any types of system, either they are biological or not. This way, the vegetable communities must present three main premises: (1) presenting structural and functional characters, in other words, it is possible to distinguish the elements which are composed, describing its arrangement in time and space and identifying the alterations among them; (2) not being a disorganized collection of elements, but, on the other way round, the manner in which species cohabit is structured in the organized form in time and space and (3) being a building resulting from the acting of the temporary processes which maintain certain temporal stability. Based on these premises, it was analyzed the spatio-temporal dynamics of the structural parameters (density and biomass) of the community and present populations in a fragment of the conserved vegetation. The analyses were done on a permanent plot of 1 hectare, installed in the Serra das Almas Natural Reservation, Ceara, in two distinct times (2002 and 2008). It was verified that the number of species, the composition and the total density of the system were practically constant in the interval of analyzed time. Therefore, the size of the populations was little altered and the communityâs structure maintained stable. In the face of this, the community presented welldefined standards of co-occurrence, with tendency of structure for species competition. Spatially, occurred differences among neighbor places (plots), where the composition of each one defined which of them presented greater or smaller dynamicity. The considerable increase of the total above-ground biomass, potentially resulting from the antropic regeneration, demonstrates that the community analyzed finds itself in an intermediary state of the regeneration phase. Based on the spatially registered heterogeneity, it is verified that the patch dynamics model can be tested in small scale for evaluating the vegetation dynamics and, consequently, inferring on the capacity of the system support to the anthropogenic effects and climatic disturbances

Understanding energy fluxes within and between floodplain water bodies, and between rivers and their floodplains is essential for comprehending the dynamics of modern, altered river systems. Floodplain aquatic invertebrates may move between habitats deliberately (through emergence and dispersal) or through passive transport during flooding. This movement may represent a significant flux of energy and an essential food web subsidy. I assessed the usefulness of the stable isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen (D and 18O respectively) for identifying the origins and movements of macroinvertebrates in Mississippi River floodplain water bodies. I sampled water and invertebrates from the Mississippi River, intermittent and permanent floodplain wetlands, and tributaries during 2007 and 2008. Results showed consistent relationships between δD and δ18O signatures in invertebrate tissues and their home water bodies. I also investigated whether δD and δ18O could be used as a multivariate "fingerprint" to trace a captured invertebrate back to its environment of origin. Results showed that δD can be a useful tracer of the movement of floodplain invertebrates in some cases, although δ18O is likely not suitable for that purpose.

I confronted empirical habitat data (1994-2004) and population data (1988-2005) with ecological theory on habitat dynamics, recruitment, survival, and dispersal to develop predictive relationships between landcover variation and population dynamics. I focus on Florida Scrub-Jays, although one chapter presents a model for the potential influence of habitat restoration on viability of the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. Both species are unique to Florida landscapes that are dominated by shrubs and grasses and maintained by frequent fires. Both species are declining, even in protected areas, despite their protected status. I mapped habitat for both species using grid polygon cells to quantify population potential and habitat quality. A grid cell was the average territory size and the landcover unit in which habitat-specific recruitment and survival occurred. I measured habitat-specific recruitment and survival of Florida Scrub-Jays from 1988-2008. Data analyses included multistate analysis, which was developed for capture-recapture data but is useful for analyzing many ecological processes, such as habitat change. I relied on publications by other investigators for empirical Florida Grasshopper Sparrow data. The amount of potential habitat was greatly underestimated by landcover mapping not specific to Florida Scrub-Jays. Overlaying east central Florida with grid polygons was an efficient method to map potential habitat and monitor habitat quality directly related to recruitment, survival, and management needs. Most habitats for both species were degraded by anthropogenic reductions in fire frequency. Degradation occurred across large areas. Florida Scrub-Jay recruitment and survival were most influenced by shrub height states. Multistate modeling of shrub heights showed that state transitions were influenced by vegetation composition, edges, and habitat management. Measured population declines of 4% per year corroborated habitat-specific modeling predictions. Habitat quality improved over the study period but not enough to recover precariously small populations. The degree of landcover fragmentation influenced mean Florida Scrub-Jay dispersal distances but not the number of occupied territories between natal and breeding territories. There was little exchange between populations, which were usually further apart than mean dispersal distances. Florida Scrub-Jays bred or delayed breeding depending on age, sex, and breeding opportunities. I show an urgent need also for Florida Grasshopper Sparrow habitat restoration given that the endangered bird has declined to only two sizeable populations and there is a high likelihood for continued large decline. A major effect of habitat fragmentation identified in this dissertation that should apply to many organisms in disturbance prone systems is that fragmentation disrupts natural processes, reducing habitat quality across large areas. Humans have managed wildland fire for > 40,000 years, so it should be possible to manage habitat for many endangered species that make Florida's biodiversity unique. This dissertation provides methods to quantify landscape units into potential source and sink territories and provides a basis for applying adaptive management to reach population and conservation goals.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T19:31:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2985.pdf: 1080161 bytes, checksum: 6f77b3c4bacbb6a36ca073cc541e5909 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-04-29 / Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais / To understand the effects of spatial heterogeneity on the processes that determine the distribution of organisms in low-order streams, in the present study we asked the following question: do the composition and spatial arrangement of leaf litter patches at the scale of streambed landscapes influence the structure and composition of aquatic macroinvertebrate communities? We evaluated substrate organization in two distinct phases: an initial description of the streambeds using landscape ecology techniques, and a second, experimental phase studying the response of aquatic macroinvertebrates to manipulated distributions of the substrate. The results of the descriptive phase showed the importance of leaf litter substrate influencing taxon richness, diversity, evenness, and abundance; further, the division of the habitat in patches was also important to structure the macroinvertebrate communities. The experimental manipulation showed that resource aggregation influences the colonization of the community, mainly in the early periods (8 days). In general, the influence of resource spatial distribution had different effects between the two approaches used, probably due to differences in patch size and quality. The results of the present study can contribute to a better comprehension of the mechanisms structuring the communities of aquatic macroinvertebrates, and to the improvement of sampling techniques and stream restoration projects. / Para tentar entender como a heterogeneidade espacial influencia os processos que determinam a distribuição de organismos em riachos de baixa ordem, o presente estudo teve como objetivo responder a pergunta: a composição e o arranjo espacial das manchas de folhas na escala de paisagens de fundos de riachos influenciam a estrutura e a composição das comunidades de macroinvertebrados aquáticos? Avaliamos a organização dos substratos em duas fases distintas: uma descrição inicial dos ambientes a serem estudados por meio de técnicas de ecologia de paisagem e uma segunda fase experimental, estudando a resposta dos macroinvertebrados aquáticos a distribuições manipuladas do substrato. Os resultados da fase descritiva nos deram indícios da importância da proporção do substrato detritos influenciando a riqueza, diversidade, equitabilidade e abundância; além disso, a divisão do habitat em manchas também parece ser importante para a estruturação da comunidade dos macroinvertebrados. A manipulação experimental permitiu inferir a influência da agregação dos recursos nos processos de colonização da comunidade, principalmente nos períodos iniciais (oito dias). De maneira geral, a influência da distribuição de recursos teve resultados diferentes para as duas abordagens utilizadas, provavelmente devido a diferenças no tamanho e na qualidade das manchas. Os resultados do presente estudo podem contribuir para uma maior compreensão sobre os mecanismos de estruturação de comunidades de macroinvertebrados aquáticos, subsidiando a melhoria das técnicas de amostragem e projetos futuros de restauração dos riachos.

Dans les systèmes lotiques, la végétation aquatique se développe en formant des taches générées par des rétroactions échelle-dépendantes. Les plantes modifient l'environnement physique (i.e. organismes ingénieurs), induisant des rétroactions positives dans les taches et négatives à côté, ce qui conduit à la formation de patrons réguliers. Ces rétroactions échelle-dépendantes ne permettent d'expliquer que l'expansion latérale des taches, mais pas leur développement longitudinal. L'objectif était d'étudier les processus qui induisent des rétroactions pour les plantes et les conséquences pour la dynamique des taches. Des mesures de l'hydrodynamique, des caractéristiques des sédiments et de la morphologie des plantes ont été faites in situ le long de taches de longueur croissante. Les résultats ont démontré qu'une longueur minimale est nécessaire pour induire une réduction de la vitesse du courant et une accumulation de sédiments fins dans les taches. L’ensemble conduit à des changements des concentrations en nutriments dans l'eau interstitielle au delà d’une certaine longueur de tache, consistant en une accumulation d'ammonium et une diminution des nitrates. La hauteur des plantes est liée à la longueur de la tache selon un modèle quadratique, suggérant l’existence d’une rétroaction négative au delà d’une longueur seuil, probablement due à la concentration élevée en ammonium qui peut être toxique pour les plantes. Les longueurs au delà desquelles ont lieu des changements des processus biogéochimiques et des rétroactions négatives sont plus faibles dans l’écosystème avec le niveau de nutriments le plus élevé. Enfin, les modifications de l'habitat induites par les taches dépendent des caractéristiques des plantes et des taches. Ces modifications induites par les plantes ont des effets en cascade sur les processus biogéochimiques et la croissance des plantes, avec des conséquences pour la dynamique des taches et le fonctionnement de l'écosystème / Submerged aquatic vegetation often grows in lotic systems in patches generated by scale-dependent feedbacks. As ecosystem engineers, plants modify the physical environment triggering positive feedbacks within the patch and negative feedbacks alongside the patch, resulting in regular pattern formation. These scale-dependent feedbacks enable to explain only the lateral expansion of patches, but not their longitudinal development. The objective was to study the processes that trigger positive and negative feedbacks for plants along patches and the consequences for patch dynamics. In situ coupled measurements of hydrodynamics, sediment characteristics, and plant morphology were performed along patches of increasing length. The results demonstrated that a minimum patch length was needed to induce in-patch velocity reduction and fine sediment accumulation. As a consequence of these modifications, patch length influenced the nutrient concentrations in interstitial water of the in-patch sediment, this effect being observed only over a certain threshold length. Over this threshold length, the sediment presented an accumulation of ammonium and depletion of nitrates. Plant height was related to patch length by a quadratic relationship, suggesting that negative feedbacks occur over a certain patch length, probably due to the high ammonium concentration that can be toxic for plants in the range measured. The threshold lengths over which patches influence the biogeochemical processes and negative feedbacks occur were reduced in the ecosystem presenting the highest nutrient level. The results also demonstrated that the physical habitat modifications induced by patches depend on the plant traits and patch characteristics. The plant-induced modifications of the physical habitat have cascading effects on the biogeochemical processes and plant growth, which depended on the environmental conditions, with consequences for patch dynamics and ecosystem functioning