The critically endangered blue-eyed black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons) is one the leaststudied day active lemurs because of the recent rediscovery and limited distribution. This thesis examined the habitat use, reproductive parameters and the population viability of the blue-eyed black lemur population at Ankarafa Forest, Sahamalaza-Iles Radama National Park, Madagascar. The main aim was to gather fundamental information on the natural history of the blue-eyed black lemur and to propose conservation approaches for both the species and its habitat. Data were collected over 14 month-period between 2006 and 2008. Six groups of the blue-eyed black lemur were studied, four of which were collared and two uncollared. Ankarafa Forest, the largest forest blocks of the Sahamalaza-Iles Radama National Park, is dominated mainly by Mangifera indica, Garcinia pauciflora, Sorindeia madagascariensis, Grangeria porosa, Bambou sp. and Mascarenhasia arborescens species. The forest is vulnerable to degradation by both anthropogenic activities and abiotic factors. The population density of the blue-eyed black lemur at Akarafa Forest was estimated to be 97.3 individuals km-², with group size ranging from 4 to 11 individuals. The home range use and day path length of the blue-eyed black lemur varied seasonally. The lemur occupied a larger home range in the dry season than in the wet season. The age of first reproduction in the blue-eyed black lemurs is about 3 years. They bear offspring seasonally (late August-October), all adult females in groups bred and females produce singletons offspring. Females were dominant over males. The sex-ratio at birth was male-biased but not significantly different from 1:1. Females were the primary caretakers of infants but group members other than the mother also provided alloparental care. For the first 3 weeks of life, infants were carried constantly on their mothers’ bellies. Infants developed independent locomotion and fed on solid food by 10 weeks. Increased probability of extinction, as shown by population viability models of the blue-eyed black lemur population, is affected by various of their reproductive parameters. However, these do not account for changes in their primary habitat forest. The latter is under increased human pressure and continues to decline in area. Education awareness and community involvement are required if the habitat and the blue-eyed black lemur are to survive. Findings of this study serve not only important data to understand the life history of the blue-eyed black lemur but also suggest conservation approaches for both the species and its natural habitat. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

To assess the status of a rare plant species, we must first understand the factors that affect the size of populations and their numbers. In this thesis, I study processes affecting plant species prosperity on local scale (paper 1), factors influencing species distribution in landscape and ability of species to colonize new habitats (paper 2) and species traits responsible for gene flow between established populations (paper 3). Since I work with rare plants, I also aim to turn theoretical knowledge into practical recommendations for nature conservation (paper 4) to help effectively preserve rare and endangered species. In the first 3 papers, I work with two rare fern species restricted to serpentine rocks, Asplenium adulterinum and A. cuneifolium, in a study system covering 10 × 10 km. I found that both species are long living (several decades) and in the study region, populations are in a good state and slowly growing. Even very small populations (10 individuals) have quite high chance to survive. In both fern species, I found dispersal limitation, which might be surprising regarding huge production of small spores in ferns (paper 2). The species differ in ploidy and thus, also mating system. A. adulterinum is tetraploid and its main breeding system is intragametophytic selfing. A. cuneifolium is...

A produção de energia elétrica é uma atividade de grande importância no planejamento do crescimento de qualquer economia no mundo. O Brasil possui, em relação a outras nações, a vantagem de poder planejar sua matriz energética utilizando grandes quantidades de fontes primárias renováveis. Uma delas, focalizada neste trabalho, é a biomassa gerada pelo setor sucroalcooleiro, a qual, através da cogeração, pode contribuir significativamente para o fortalecimento da matriz brasileira. Apesar de há muito tempo disponível, observa-se que esta fonte tem sido subutilizada para a geração comercial de energia elétrica. A reformulação do Programa de Incentivo às Fontes Alternativas de Energia (PROINFA), instituído pelo Governo Federal em 2002, e o surgimento do mercado de créditos de carbono, impulsionado pelo Protocolo de Kyoto, reverteram este quadro, fazendo com que a biomassa da cana-de-açúcar fosse utilizada de forma mais intensa, tornando-se um importante componente na matriz energética brasileira. Esta dissertação analisa os custos do processo de geração de energia a partir da biomassa, dando especial atenção à cogeração com bagaço de cana-de-açúcar. A análise se processou após a coleta de dados em quatro usinas que utilizam o bagaço de cana-de-açúcar como combustível para a geração de energia elétrica, cujo excedente é vendido para a concessionária local. Os resultados de custos da amostra das empresas analisadas indicam que a geração de energia elétrica por meio do bagaço de cana tornou-se um produto técnica e economicamente viável e atrativo para elas. Conclui-se, ainda, que os custos da energia assim produzida tendem a cair com a curva de aprendizado e o aumento natural da escala de produção. / The production of electricity is an activity of great importance for the planning of growth of any economy in the world. When compared to other nations, Brazil has an advantage in this activity, which is the possibility of planning its energy matrix by using renewable primary sources on large scale. Among these renewable primary sources this essay focuses the biomass generated by the sugar-alcohol sector which may contribute through cogeneration, on a significant basis for the strengthening of its energy matrix. However, it is observed that despite having been available for a long time, this biomass has not been fully used for commercial generation of electricity. The reformulation of the Program of Incentive to the Alternative Sources of Energy (PROINFA Programa de Incentivo às Fontes Alternativas de Energia) created by the Federal Government in 2002, and the arouse of the carbon credit market, boosted by the Kyoto Protocol, reversed the situation, so that the sugar cane biomass started being used on an intense level, becoming an important component for the energy in Brazil. The present essay analyzes of the costs in the process of generating energy through biomass, with special attention to the cogeneration by using the sugar cane pulp. The analysis is based on data collected in four power plants which use sugar cane pulp as fuel for the generation of electricity and sell the excess to the local energy company. The result of costs of the samples from the analyzed power plants shows that the generation of electricity by using sugar cane pulp became technically and economically viable for them and attractive to the investors. Moreover, it is concluded that the costs of generation through the use of sugar cane pulp tend to fall according to the level of apprenticeship and the natural rise in the production scale.

Snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) are being harvested in unprecedented numbers in the United States (US) to meet the needs of international markets. Over three million live snapping turtles from farm and wild caught stock were exported from the US to Asia in 2012-14 alone. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, records indicate that 29,860 snapping turtles were commercially harvested between 2000 and 2015. Size limits are often used to regulate harvest pressure in snapping turtles and other game species. I analyzed the historic harvest of eleven US states to test the efficacy of minimum-size limit regulations at reducing commercial harvest pressure. Further, I conducted a four-year mark-recapture study on three Virginia waterways that have each experienced a different level of historic commercial harvest. As part of the larger mark/recapture project, I conducted radio telemetry on 23 turtles to examine seasonal, body size, and sex-specific effects on home range size of snapping turtles in a lotic system. I incorporated survival and growth rates from this study, demographic rates from the literature, and state-collected harvest rates into a hybrid age/stage population matrix model to estimate the population growth rate at three harvest levels (0%, 21%, 58%) that were estimated based on annual commercial landing reports on file with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. I used the model to test population viability under multiple size limit regulations, and used sensitivity analyses to identify adult stages most critical to the overall population growth rate. Based on model estimates, size-limits were effective at reducing harvest by 30-87% in years with high harvest pressure. However, most size limit regulations result in the removal of larger breeding adults, which has been shown to be detrimental to long term population viability. Based on radio-telemetry data, I found evidence that snapping turtles utilize lotic and lentic habitats differently, which can have implications for management of this iconic species. Matrix population modelling predicted that population densities at the moderate and high harvest site were reduced by 47% and 62%, respectively, when compared to the no harvest site. Model results indicate that, while an increase to the minimum-size limit in 2012 protected a larger portion of the population, that the commercial harvest of snapping turtles in the Commonwealth of Virginia is not sustainable under current state regulations. Our analysis suggests that minimum-size limits of 35.6 cm curved carapace length or greater will maintain viable populations by protecting a larger portion of reproducing snapping turtles within a population.

The sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) reaches the northern periphery of its distribution in south-central Sweden, where small, isolated relict populations occur in pine heath forests on sandy sediments. Modern forestry and fire suppression have reduced the amount of suitable open habitat for the species in this area and seem to be important for its decline. Main objectives of this thesis were to evaluate the efficiency of different management strategies, and if the sand lizard can function as an umbrella species for biodiversity conservation. Over a 16-year period, the estimated annual numbers of adult females in each of two study populations fluctuated between 23 and 3. Simulations of stochastic future population growth showed that the risk of extinction was highly dependent on population growth rate, which in turn was strongly affected by juvenile survival as indicated by elasticity analysis. Simulations of population growth for 50 years showed that the quasi-extinction risk (threshold ≤ 10 females) was > 56% for patches ≤ 1 ha; which is the observed average size of suitable habitat for inhabited patches during a 10-year period. In managed metapopulation networks with highly co-fluctuating local populations, among-population dispersal was not important to reduce extinction risks over a 50-year horizon. In the field the preferred microhabitat of sand lizards was successfully restored using tree felling and patch-soil scarification. The lizards gradually colonized the restored patches, and 16 years after restoration, sand lizards where mainly found there. Pine-heath area, and patch area within individual pine heaths, were of major importance for long-term population persistence at regional and landscape scales, respectively. Analyses of nested species subsets and an umbrella index suggest that the sand lizard can be a useful cross-taxonomic umbrella species on both scales for other red-listed species.

Eastern Sand Darter (Ammocrypta pellucida) is listed as Threatened under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. Canadian populations are declining primarily due to the siltation of sandy depositional areas, the preferred habitat of the species. Little other relevant biological information is available for most Canadian populations and only limited information is available for populations in the United States. To supplement the paucity of information, this study collected biological information on A. pellucida during field surveys in 2006- 2007 from 10 sites located around the Big Bend Conservation Area in the lower Thames River, Ontario, Canada. Collected data were used to estimate critical life history traits including: longevity, fecundity, clutch size and number, growth, survival, age-at-first-maturity and cohort age structure. Longevity was 3+ years, with age-at-first-maturity being 1+ for both sexes. A minimum of 2 clutches, were laid per year with an average clutch size of 71 eggs. Average density within in the study area was 0.36 ± 0.11 A. pellucida/m². Quantitative comparison of lower Thames River biological information with a more southerly A. pellucida population in the Little Muskingum River, Ohio, demonstrated little latitudinal variation between the populations. Data comparison suggests that localized environmental factors are affecting biological characteristics, in particular water temperature that may be controlled by differences in riparian cover and/or groundwater input. Field derived life history information was used to create a Leslie matrix model which was used for population viability analysis. Perturbation analyses of reproductive scenarios involving changes in clutch numbers and size and age-at-first maturity found large variations in the finite rate of population growth. Elasticity analyses further indicated that 0+ survival and 1+ fertility were the limiting life history parameters. Thus allowing fish to survive until first reproduction would have the largest overall impact on improving population viability. Inclusion of environmental stochasticity in the model facilitated estimation of extinction probabilities in the range of 0.13 to 0.21 within 100 years. Based on the above, it is recommended that management activities for protection and restoration of A. pellucida focus on habitat protection of nursery and spawning areas.

Eastern Sand Darter (Ammocrypta pellucida) is listed as Threatened under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. Canadian populations are declining primarily due to the siltation of sandy depositional areas, the preferred habitat of the species. Little other relevant biological information is available for most Canadian populations and only limited information is available for populations in the United States. To supplement the paucity of information, this study collected biological information on A. pellucida during field surveys in 2006- 2007 from 10 sites located around the Big Bend Conservation Area in the lower Thames River, Ontario, Canada. Collected data were used to estimate critical life history traits including: longevity, fecundity, clutch size and number, growth, survival, age-at-first-maturity and cohort age structure. Longevity was 3+ years, with age-at-first-maturity being 1+ for both sexes. A minimum of 2 clutches, were laid per year with an average clutch size of 71 eggs. Average density within in the study area was 0.36 ± 0.11 A. pellucida/m². Quantitative comparison of lower Thames River biological information with a more southerly A. pellucida population in the Little Muskingum River, Ohio, demonstrated little latitudinal variation between the populations. Data comparison suggests that localized environmental factors are affecting biological characteristics, in particular water temperature that may be controlled by differences in riparian cover and/or groundwater input. Field derived life history information was used to create a Leslie matrix model which was used for population viability analysis. Perturbation analyses of reproductive scenarios involving changes in clutch numbers and size and age-at-first maturity found large variations in the finite rate of population growth. Elasticity analyses further indicated that 0+ survival and 1+ fertility were the limiting life history parameters. Thus allowing fish to survive until first reproduction would have the largest overall impact on improving population viability. Inclusion of environmental stochasticity in the model facilitated estimation of extinction probabilities in the range of 0.13 to 0.21 within 100 years. Based on the above, it is recommended that management activities for protection and restoration of A. pellucida focus on habitat protection of nursery and spawning areas.

Of the seven pelican species found world wide, only the Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and the Pink-backed Pelican (P. rufescens) are found in Africa. The KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa supports only one breeding site for each of these species, and both sites represent the southern most breeding colonies for the two species in the eastern region of Africa. These nesting sites fall within the Greater St Lucia Wetland Park, and are afforded a degree of protection, but the same is not true for their foraging and dispersal ranges, and this is a cause for concern. Considerable amounts of data have been collected relating to the status, distribution and breeding efforts of these two species in north eastern KwaZulu-Natal. These data have been collected in a variety of ways by a large number of people. Part of this work represents an attempt to collate and summarise these data to produce an estimation of the status, distribution and breeding success of these species, and to evaluate any trends in their demography. For this south eastern region of Africa I estimated the population for the Great White Pelican to range between 6000 and 9000 individuals, and the Pink-backed Pelican to range between 600 and 900 individuals. Pelicans are highly mobile birds, and this allows them to move considerable distances when they forage, disperse or migrate. They are also long-lived birds with few natural predators. The two pelican species in south eastern Africa have been poorly studied and little is known about their movements, population dynamics and causes of mortality. Habitat change poses a potential threat to pelicans in north eastern KwaZulu-Natal, and habitat loss could drive these species out this region to areas north of South Africa. Much of this north eastern region of KwaZulu-Natal is under threat, mainly through the actions of man. Many areas are naturally unsuitable for pelican foraging, while others are vital to the survival of both species. This study includes an attempt to assess the movements of these two species in south eastern Africa, and to assess the relative importance and condition of the potential pelican habitat in the north eastern KwaZulu-Natal region, focusing particularly on Lake St Lucia and the Pongolo River floodplain. All this is necessary to produce a baseline from which long term predictions of potential pelican species survival can be made. In the absence of documented life tables and environmental variability data, a range of parameters was modelled to generate population viability analyses to simulate possible scenarios. These extinction models show the outcomes of both the deterministic and the stochastic processes. An attempt was also made to identify the factors that impact most severely on the persistence of these two species. The models were most sensitive to variation in survivorship in the first year of life and to the frequency of catastrophes. Changes in these parameters had the greatest effect on extinction risk. In January 2004 Lake St Lucia was reduced to a fraction of its normal capacity as a result of a severe drought in this region of KwaZulu-Natal. After rains in the area the lake level rose and then fluctuated considerably over the next 24 months. During this time the mouth of the estuary into the sea was closed. Great White Pelican numbers and lake levels were monitored throughout this period. This part of the study relates the changes in population numbers to the lake conditions, and highlights the importance of the lake to this avian species. It uses lake levels as a proxy for the conditions of wetlands in the Lake St Lucia region. It also addresses the implications of these relationships to the management strategy of the lake and the conservation of some avifauna. To identify conservation concerns for the Great White and Pink-backed Pelicans it was necessary to generate these baseline estimations. Although much of this information is uncertain for these two species, an attempt has been made here to predict the persistence of these species in north eastern KwaZulu-Natal and to highlight the conservation issues related to their future. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006

A produção de energia elétrica é uma atividade de grande importância no planejamento do crescimento de qualquer economia no mundo. O Brasil possui, em relação a outras nações, a vantagem de poder planejar sua matriz energética utilizando grandes quantidades de fontes primárias renováveis. Uma delas, focalizada neste trabalho, é a biomassa gerada pelo setor sucroalcooleiro, a qual, através da cogeração, pode contribuir significativamente para o fortalecimento da matriz brasileira. Apesar de há muito tempo disponível, observa-se que esta fonte tem sido subutilizada para a geração comercial de energia elétrica. A reformulação do Programa de Incentivo às Fontes Alternativas de Energia (PROINFA), instituído pelo Governo Federal em 2002, e o surgimento do mercado de créditos de carbono, impulsionado pelo Protocolo de Kyoto, reverteram este quadro, fazendo com que a biomassa da cana-de-açúcar fosse utilizada de forma mais intensa, tornando-se um importante componente na matriz energética brasileira. Esta dissertação analisa os custos do processo de geração de energia a partir da biomassa, dando especial atenção à cogeração com bagaço de cana-de-açúcar. A análise se processou após a coleta de dados em quatro usinas que utilizam o bagaço de cana-de-açúcar como combustível para a geração de energia elétrica, cujo excedente é vendido para a concessionária local. Os resultados de custos da amostra das empresas analisadas indicam que a geração de energia elétrica por meio do bagaço de cana tornou-se um produto técnica e economicamente viável e atrativo para elas. Conclui-se, ainda, que os custos da energia assim produzida tendem a cair com a curva de aprendizado e o aumento natural da escala de produção. / The production of electricity is an activity of great importance for the planning of growth of any economy in the world. When compared to other nations, Brazil has an advantage in this activity, which is the possibility of planning its energy matrix by using renewable primary sources on large scale. Among these renewable primary sources this essay focuses the biomass generated by the sugar-alcohol sector which may contribute through cogeneration, on a significant basis for the strengthening of its energy matrix. However, it is observed that despite having been available for a long time, this biomass has not been fully used for commercial generation of electricity. The reformulation of the Program of Incentive to the Alternative Sources of Energy (PROINFA Programa de Incentivo às Fontes Alternativas de Energia) created by the Federal Government in 2002, and the arouse of the carbon credit market, boosted by the Kyoto Protocol, reversed the situation, so that the sugar cane biomass started being used on an intense level, becoming an important component for the energy in Brazil. The present essay analyzes of the costs in the process of generating energy through biomass, with special attention to the cogeneration by using the sugar cane pulp. The analysis is based on data collected in four power plants which use sugar cane pulp as fuel for the generation of electricity and sell the excess to the local energy company. The result of costs of the samples from the analyzed power plants shows that the generation of electricity by using sugar cane pulp became technically and economically viable for them and attractive to the investors. Moreover, it is concluded that the costs of generation through the use of sugar cane pulp tend to fall according to the level of apprenticeship and the natural rise in the production scale.

Abstract Many plant species inhabiting the seashore meadows of the Bothnian Bay, especially early successional ones, have become threatened. Isostatic land uplift creates virgin land for early successional species to colonise. However, at the same time it gradually elevates the habitat and eventually makes the habitat unsuitable for them. Disturbances of the waterfront may slow down succession and create new empty sites. In order to persist on the shores, pioneer species have to be able to colonise new sites by seeds, vegetative propagules or growth. In this thesis I studied the status of an endangered early successional grass species, A. fulva var. pendulina, at the Liminka Bay. According to a matrix population model based on eight years of observations (1992–1999), the population seemed not to be in immediate danger of extinction. However, simulations based on four-year field observations (2000–2003) indicated that if the current trend continues, the species will decrease considerably in area in the next 30 years. In the field studies no seedlings or viable seeds of A. fulva were found. In spite of this, high genotypic diversity was found in the A. fulva population, suggesting that sexual reproduction has taken place at some time during the history of the population. Analysis of the population structure revealed a low level of genotypic differentiation between subpopulations and significant sub-structuring within subpopulations. The overall pattern of genetic variation suggests that the population has characters of both stepping-stone and metapopulation models. The results of the study on the ability of a seashore plant Potentilla anserina ssp. egedii to change its allocation of resources to sexual and vegetative reproduction according to competitive stress implied that the species can modify the allocation of resources to different life-history traits. For a plant living in disturbance-prone environment, it may be beneficial to be able to rapidly track the competition-free space formed by disturbances by changing its reproductive pattern. Management studies on three endangered seashore plant species showed that deterioration of suitable habitats of A. fulva and Primula nutans var. jokelae could be slowed down by management, and the vegetative and/or sexual reproduction of these species was enhanced. However, in the case of Puccinellia phryganodes, no positive response to management was observed.