A growing body of work reveals that animal-mediated pollination is negatively affected by anthropogenic disturbance. Landscape-scale disturbance results in two often inter-related processes: (1) habitat loss, and (2) disruptions of habitat configuration (i.e. fragmentation). Understanding the relative effects of such processes is critical in designing effective management strategies to limit pollination and pollinator decline. I reviewed existing published work from 1989 to 2009 and found that only six of 303 studies separated the effects of habitat loss from fragmentation. I provide a synthesis of the current landscape, behavioral, and pollination ecology literature in order to present preliminary multiple working hypotheses to explain how these two landscape processes might independently influence pollination dynamics (Chapter 2). Despite the potential importance of independent effects of habitat fragmentation, effects on pollination remain largely untested. Studies designed to disentangle the independent effects of habitat loss and fragmentation are essential for gaining insight into landscape-mediated pollination declines. I also found that the field of landscape pollination ecology could benefit from quantification of the matrix, landscape functional connectivity, and pollinator movement behavior. To test the hypothesis that pollinator movement can be influenced by landscape configuration, I translocated radio-tagged hummingbirds across agricultural and forested landscapes near Las Cruces, Costa Rica (Chapter 3). I found return paths were on average more direct in forested than in agricultural landscapes. In addition, movement paths chosen in agricultural landscapes were more forested than the most direct route suggesting that hummingbirds avoided crossing open areas when possible. To determine if differences in pollinator movement translated to differences in plant reproduction, I tested the relative importance of landscape composition versus configuration on the reproductive success of Heliconia tortuosa, a hummingbird-pollinated forest herb (Chapter 4). I used a stratified random sampling design to select sites across orthogonal gradients in patch size, amount of forest, and elevation. I tested four landscape change hypotheses (i.e., local, landscape composition, landscape fragmentation, and fragmentation threshold). I found that Heliconia reproduction supported both the local site and landscape fragmentation hypotheses. Seed set increased with increasing forest patch size independent of amount of forest in the surrounding landscape. I also found that increasing patch size positively influenced the relative abundance of pollinators. The observed differences in seed set likely resulted from differences in hummingbird movements (Chapter 3) and/or abundance under different landscape configurations. / Graduation date: 2013

Pericopsis elata is an African forestry species commercialized under the vernacular names afrormosia or assamela. It is one of the principal species commonly exploited for timber in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in a lesser extent in Cameroon and Congo. In view of its sustainable resource exploitation, the species is in centre of numerous polemics notably in the European Union. It is one of the rare commercialized species that produce wood, since 1992, as listed in the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) annex II specifying that “the exploitation of afrormosia necessitate the deliverance and a prior presentation of exploitation permit”. The most important reserves of afrormosia are found in DRC. This doctoral thesis presents the ecology of this particular tree and its behaviour regarding forestry exploitation. It allows to inform the international organisms such as CITES as well as the national policy-makers on the vulnerability of afrormosia and to propose appropriate measures that can avoid future unsustainable/unregulated exploitation activities/Pericopsis elata est une espèce forestière africaine commercialisée sous les noms d’afrormosia ou d’assamela. Elle est une des principales espèces exploitées pour le bois d’œuvre en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) et dans une moindre mesure au Cameroun et au Congo. Elle est au centre de nombreuses polémiques, notamment dans l’Union européenne, en ce qui concerne la durabilité de son exploitation. C’est une des rares espèces commerciales productrice de bois d’œuvre listée, depuis 1992, dans l’Annexe II de la CITES (Convention sur le commerce international des espèces en danger d’extinction) qui spécifie que « L'exportation d'un spécimen d'une espèce inscrite à l'Annexe II nécessite la délivrance et la présentation préalables d'un permis d'exportation ». Les plus grandes réserves d’afrormosia se trouvent en RDC. Cette thèse de doctorat porte sur l’écologie de cet arbre et sur son comportement vis-à-vis de l’exploitation forestière. Elle permet d’informer les organismes internationaux comme la CITES et les décideurs nationaux sur la vulnérabilité de l’afrormosia et de proposer des mesures à prendre pour que l’espèce ne soit pas menacée par une exploitation mal conduite et non régulée / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

The play, Madagascar Mayhem, was devised as a means of developing ecological understanding about rain forest preservation and educating and expanding upon the use of drama as it relates to environmental education. By being involved in and learning about issues addressed in the play's content, students learned about how their actions may have a positive impact on rain forest preservation, the biodiversity of Madagascar, its agricultural loss and the movement to protect it.