Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio University, August, 2003. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-122)

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Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Few studies utilise modern species distribution data and modeling to make predictions for examining potential fossil localities. Instead, species distribution modeling is often used for palaeoenvironmental interpretations. Using palaeoclimate data to model potential past distributions for a species provides a prediction showing areas where its fossil remains may be found. In this study, the current, Last Glacial Maximum, and Last Interglacial potential distributions of the arid steppe-obligate saiga antelope (Artiodactyla: Bovidae, Saiga tatarica) were modeled using the species distribution model Maxent. Few fossil records exist, but available fossil locality records were used to validate both palaeo models, resulting in speculative predictions about where the saiga may have lived. Known fossil localities of saiga from the Last Glacial Maximum time period were located within predicted moderately suitable environments, while four of seven Last Interglacial fossil localities were located within predicted moderately suitable environments, suggesting that models can accurately identify areas where fossils for the saiga can be found. Specifically, these models suggest saiga fossils may be located in northwestern and northeastern China, the western and central regions of the Middle East, and southern Alaska. The predicted areas in northeastern China are of particular interest because saiga fossils have not been identified in this region, but some palaeontologists theorize that northeast China may have been suitable for saiga in the past. The models lend credence to this argument.

Factors affecting juvenile survival are poorly known in the world’s most northern antelope, the endangered saiga (Saiga tatarica), yet they are fundamental for understanding what drives population change. For saiga neonates monitored in Sharga Nature Reserve, western Mongolia, during 2008–2010, male and single calves were heavier than those of female and twins, respectively. However, there was no significant difference in seasonal and annual survival rate between male and female or singletons and twins. Litter size and birth mass varied among years, and there was a negative relationship between these variables. Multiple regression models suggest that summer precipitation in previous years and spring mean temperature explained inter-annual variations in twinning rate, and mortality was highest during summer. Covariates providing the best model fit included year, litter size, and body weight, suggesting that environmental conditions influence twinning rates and body mass may play a key role in neonate survival rate in the first year. We identified 3 sources of mortality – predation by raptors, foxes (red and corsac, Vulpes vulpes and V. corsac), and lynx (Lynx lynx). Most predation was by raptors, such as golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) and cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus). Our results point to both environmental and biotic factors affecting juvenile survival.

The objective of this thesis is to reveal that, despite the nigh-messianic image Tōyama Mitsuru (1855-1944) had among rightists and militarists for his staunch expansionist beliefs during the Taishō period (1912-1926), he was a rather inconsequential, boorish figure who had little impact on Japan’s political or economic spheres. Like Saigō Takamori (1828-1877), Tōyama also wished to see Japan colonize East Asia and gain military strength comparable to any Western nation; it was this type of thinking that Tōyama would promulgate in order to gain popularity and influence, and many of his contemporaries would thus view him as a disciple of Saigō’s teachings. However, it is my belief that Saigō and Tōyama differed greatly in terms of character and respectability, as Saigō gained influence through steadfast devotion to his superiors and teaching others of maintaining moral integrity, whereas Tōyama opted to use violence as a means of expressing his own opinions. The difference between the two men will become more apparent as I carefully analyze and interpret ten key points in Dai Saigō Ikun (“The Great Saigō’s Dying Instructions”), which best exemplify the opinions and thoughts of both Saigō Takamori and Tōyama Mitsuru, as Saigō’s Ikun and Tōyama’s subsequent criticisms were seen by many to perfectly represent the core ideologies of what both men believed in. Comparisons will be made from the intonations of both the points and their accompanying criticisms, and it will become evident that Tōyama’s personality differed considerably from Saigō’s in terms of directness and reservation (or lack thereof). I will examine the backgrounds of both men as well as that of Saiga Hiroyoshi (1891-1947), who contributed as publisher of the Dai Saigō Ikun and was himself a follower of Saigō’s beliefs. By examining his words and analyzing the conduct he displayed throughout his life, my thesis will disprove the illusion of Tōyama Mitsuru’s philanthropy and will show that, despite the abundance of books published that portray him as a selfless hero and how popular he became among right-wing advocates, he was an unsophisticated individual whose crude behavior served only to fuel the propaganda of Japanese militarism through justifying Japan’s colonization efforts into East Asia, which ultimately proved to be his sole goal in life.