A population of spotted-tailed quolls Dasyurus maculatus was studied for three years (2002-2004) in the lower catchment of the Jacobs River, in the Byadbo Wilderness Area of southern Kosciuszko National Park, south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Survey and monitoring of quoll latrine sites and prey populations, dietary analysis and live-trapping was carried out for one year before and two years after the widespread wildfires of January 2003, which had a very high impact on the study area. Survey for spotted-tailed quoll latrine sites was successful in locating a total of 90 latrine sites in the Jacobs River study area over the three years of the study. These were found throughout all parts of the topography among large, complex granite outcrops and along rocky sections of riparian habitat. After the fire in 2003, lower numbers of latrines were in use than observed pre-fire, and there was a lower level of usage (number of scats) of individual latrines. Continued monitoring in 2004 revealed that many latrines that had become inactive in 2003 following the fire were re-activated in the second breeding season following fire. 1466 spotted-tailed quoll scats were collected from latrines and live-trapped quolls over the three years of the study. Hair analysis from scats identified twenty-two different species of mammal in the diet of the spotted-tailed quoll from the Jacobs River study area, representing the majority of all prey identified (98.5% occurrence) and contributing almost all of the biomass consumed (99.6%). Medium-sized mammals were the most important prey category, followed by small mammals, large mammals (most likely taken as carrion) and non-mammalian prey (birds, reptiles, insects and plants). Brushtail possums were the most important single prey item by both frequency of occurrence and percentage biomass in all years, followed by lagomorphs (rabbits and hares), Rattus spp., and swamp wallabies. There was a significant difference in the composition of the diet by major prey category across the years of the study as a result of the fire, indicated by a shift in utilisation of food resources by quolls in response to significant changes in prey availability. Monitoring of prey populations revealed that brushtail possums, lagomorphs and bandicoots were all significantly less abundant in the study area in the winter directly following the fire, followed by a significant increase in abundance of lagomorphs, but not of possums, in the second winter after the fire. Quolls adapted well to this altered prey availability. While there was a significant decrease in occurrence of brushtail possum in scats after the fire, significantly more scats contained hair of lagomorphs, to the point where almost equal proportions of lagomorphs and possum hair occurred in scats by the winter of 2004. Other fire-induced changes to the diet were evident, such as a significant drop in the occurrence of small mammals in scats for both winters after the fire, and a peak in occurrence of large mammals in the winter directly following the fire that strongly suggests there was a short-term increase in the availability of carrion. A large, high-density population of spotted-tailed quolls was live-trapped and marked during the winter breeding season of 2002. Twenty-two quolls (13 male and 9 female) were present in the study area in 2002, and subsequent trapping over the 2003 and 2004 winter breeding seasons following the fire revealed that the high-intensity wildfire did not result in the extinction of the local population. There was evidence of a small, short-term decline in the number of quolls present in the study area in the 2003 breeding season, with 16 individual quolls captured. Males were outnumbered two-to-one by females, due either to mortality or emigration. Trapping in 2004 showed a recovery of the population to numbers exceeding that observed prior to the fire, with 26 individuals captured (16 male, 10 female), most likely as a result of immigration. There was some evidence that recruitment of young from the post-fire breeding season in 2003 was reduced because of the fire. This study took advantage of an unplanned wildfire event to monitor the response of a population of spotted-tailed quolls and their prey. In this regard it was fortuitous since it has been recognised that the use of replicates and controls in the study of the impacts of wildfire on such species is likely to be logistically impossible. Consequently, the effects of fire on forest and woodland fauna such as the spotted-tailed quoll are poorly understood, with many authors expressing concern that, potentially, wildfires are likely to be highly detrimental to resident quoll populations. The results of this study, however, concur with the few other studies in which forest mammal populations have been monitored before and after wildfire in suggesting that wildfires may not be as destructive to fauna as that imagined. The results of this work will provide information to assist in the preparation of management strategies for the species, such as recovery plans, as well as information for land managers preparing management plans, including fire management plans, for habitats in which spotted-tailed quolls are found throughout their range.

Increased afforestation and protective legislation in the latter half of the 20th Century allowed the British pine marten Martes martes population to recover from near extinction. Although still largely confined to northern Scotland, the marten population is expanding its size and range by utlising coniferous plantation forests which have become increasingly available. However, little is known about the marten’s ecology in plantation forestry, and less about how they may adapt to changing silvicultural trends. This study investigated aspects of pine marten ecology within Morangie forest, a managed plantation in NE Scotland, with the ultimate aim of formulating management guidelines for modern plantation forests. During the course of the study 11 pine marten were radiotracked and their home ranges mapped to examine marten-habitat associations at several spatial scales. Compositional analysis of habitat based on dominant vegetation type showed that martens established their home ranges in areas dominated by mature forest, whilst showing relative avoidance for open heath moor and grazed pasture. Within home ranges, foraging martens utilised patches of graminoid vegetation, such as those typically associated with Microtus voles, in areas with little or no tree canopy cover. These findings provide unequivocal evidence that fine-scale patches of non-forested habitat provide crucial foraging resources for marten, and therefore ought to be provisioned for in forest management plans. To assist the implementation of these requirements in forest planning, a model was developed to predict the fine scale distribution of Microtus-rich foraging habitat for marten using GIS-based habitat variables that are routinely available to forest managers: topographic wetness index, stand tree height and stand basal area. Management recommendations of ways to improve wind-firm plantation forests as habitats for pine marten are provided. To augment the investigation of marten spatial ecology, the diet of martens was examined seasonally through the analysis of contents from c. 2450 scats, 86 % of which were genetically identified as being pine marten in origin. Marten diets displayed marked seasonality, but small mammals, berries and small birds were the principal foods consumed based on both frequency of occurrence and estimated weight of biomass ingested. Comparison of the relative composition of small mammal species in the diet with those available in the environment revealed that marten displayed an indisputable preference for Microtus voles. Such habits demonstrate that the niche of Scottish martens has diverged from those in mainland populations which predominantly prey upon Clethrionomys voles. A comparison of the marten’s winter diet with those found in studies at similar latitudes (58°N) demonstrated that the Scottish diet was more similar to diets at more southerly latitudes as they contained more fruit and fewer large mammals than typically boreal diets. Investigation of inter-annual variation of the marten’s spring diet from five successive years revealed that Microtus were consistently the most important prey species in the diet each year. Indirect evidence of the relative abundance of Microtus suggested that Microtus populations were non-cyclic. Findings are discussed with reference to the unique ecological circumstances confronting marten in the Scotland; typical of insular populations the UK has a depauperate native fauna in comparison with mainland Europe, in addition to this, mild climatic conditions, particularly over winter, and a historically fragmented landscape appear to have allowed the niche of the Scottish marten to diverge from that considered typical elsewhere in its range. The Scottish marten is dependent on both forested and open habitats, and is both a Microtus specialist and trophic generalist.

Au cours des années soixante et soixante-dix, des mouvements de contestation sociale, politique et culturelle voient le jour dans différents pays occidentaux. Les nombreuses similitudes que présentent ces mouvements, en dépit de leur éloignement géographique, conduisent à s’interroger sur la circulation de pratiques et d’idées contre-culturelles. La présente étude apporte une pierre à cet édifice en construction à travers l’analyse de la partie graphique de la revue « satirique et neurasthénique » El Papus, qui voit le jour le 20 octobre 1973. Le parti pris dans cette étude est de considérer que la contre-culture ne se manifeste pas uniquement dans sa dimension underground et que des formes d’expression empruntent les circuits de production et de diffusion classiques. Pour atteindre l’objectif assigné dans ce travail, le concept de « contre-culture » sera le point de départ de notre réflexion. Nous retracerons dans la première partie le contexte de diffusion de la contre-culture en Espagne et proposerons des pistes de réflexion pour comprendre comment les collaborateurs de El Papus se sont familiarisés avec de nouvelles idées et esthétiques venues de l’étranger, et tout particulièrement de France et des États-Unis. L’analyse que nous proposons dans la deuxième partie reposera sur un double objectif : montrer dans quelle mesure El Papus présente les caractéristiques esthétiques de la contre-culture (transgression, laideur et « mauvais goût »), et mettre en lumière la façon dont les collaborateurs de la revue se sont appropriés trois sources d’inspiration esthétique : la revue satirique française Hara-Kiri, le magazine américain Mad, et la bande dessinée underground américaine également. / During the Sixties and the Seventies several social, political and cultural movements appear in different Western countries. The many similarities that these movements shared in spite of the geographical distance among them lead to wonder about the flows and exchanges of countercultural ideas and practices. This study adds its bit by means of the analysis of the « satirical and neurasthenic » magazine El Papus, which is born the 20th October 1973. The stance in this study is to consider that counterculture does not manifest only in its underground dimension and that some expression forms use classical production and distribution circuits. In order to attain the aim assigned to this work the concept of « counterculture » will be the starting point of our analysis. In the first part, we will explore the context of counterculture circulation in Spain and will propose clues to understand how El Papus cartoonists had access to the new ideas and aesthetic features coming from abroad, particularly from France and the United States. The analysis that we propose in the second part will have a double aim: to show how El Papus presents the aesthetic features belonging to counterculture (transgression, ugliness and « bad taste ») and demonstrate how the magazine cartoonists had three sources of aesthetic inspiration: the French satirical magazine Hara-Kiri, the American magazine Mad and also the American underground comic strip scene. / Durante los años sesenta y setenta en diferentes países occidentales aparecen movimientos de contestación social, política y cultural. Las numerosas similitudes entre ellos, a pesar de la distancia geográfica que los separaba, suscitan reflexiones sobre la circulación de prácticas e ideas contraculturales. El presente estudio es una contribución a este edificio en construcción a través del análisis de la parte gráfica de la revista « satírica y neurasténica » El Papus, que aparece por primera vez el 20 de octubre de 1973. Este estudio considera que la contracultura no se manifiesta únicamente en su dimensión underground y que ciertas formas de expresión circulan a través de vías de producción y de difusión clásicas. El concepto de « contracultura » será el punto de partida de nuestro estudio. En la primera parte expondremos el contexto de difusión de la contracultura en España y propondremos pistas de reflexión para entender cómo los colaboradores de la revista llegaron a conocer las nuevas ideas y estéticas provenientes del extranjero, en particular de Francia y Estados Unidos. El análisis de la segunda parte tendrá un doble objetivo: mostrar en qué medida El Papus presenta las características estéticas de la contracultura (transgresión, fealdad y « mal gusto ») y poner de relieve de qué manera los colaboradores de la revista se apropiaron de tres fuentes de inspiración estética: la revista satírica francesa Hara-Kiri, la americana Mad y también el cómic underground americano.

This study focuses on Bruegel's parodic legacy in the picaresque tradition. It is based, on the one hand, on visual rhetoric, visual parody, and the poetics of epideictic rhetoric; and, on the other, on the interaction between epideictic rhetoric's salient features and the Bruegelian themes of camivalisation, the satirising of human folly, and the ontic order of the World Upside Down topos as organising principles. The relationships between the above themes are chronologically traced in various disguises in pictures by representative picaresque artists from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries: i.e., in Bruegel, Steen, Hogarth, Daumier, and Grosz. Each of these picaresque artists battled with their own times, parodying the paradigmatic targets of the high mode, in both social and genre hierarchy, and in doing so revealed the complexities of the above themes at work within an ever changing context-bound rhetoricity. / Art History, Visual Arts & Musicology / Thesis (D.Litt. et Phil.)

This study focuses on Bruegel's parodic legacy in the picaresque tradition. It is based, on the one hand, on visual rhetoric, visual parody, and the poetics of epideictic rhetoric; and, on the other, on the interaction between epideictic rhetoric's salient features and the Bruegelian themes of camivalisation, the satirising of human folly, and the ontic order of the World Upside Down topos as organising principles. The relationships between the above themes are chronologically traced in various disguises in pictures by representative picaresque artists from the sixteenth to the twentieth centuries: i.e., in Bruegel, Steen, Hogarth, Daumier, and Grosz. Each of these picaresque artists battled with their own times, parodying the paradigmatic targets of the high mode, in both social and genre hierarchy, and in doing so revealed the complexities of the above themes at work within an ever changing context-bound rhetoricity. / Art History, Visual Arts and Musicology / Thesis (D.Litt. et Phil.)