Thesis (M.S.)--Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College. / Prepared through the facility of the Oklahoma Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, Stillwater ... [et al.]. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-65).

There is little information published on red sorrel (Rumex acetosella L.), a perennial weed that is considered a serious problem in wild blueberry production. Hexazinone, a photosystem II inhibitor, has been used in wild blueberry fields for more than 30 years. Hexazinone efficacy on red sorrel has declined over time. Therefore, a two year study was conducted to examine hexazinone alternatives that can be sprayed in wild blueberry fields. Red sorrel ramets from mature blueberry fields were tested to determine whether long-term spraying of hexazinone selected for resistant red sorrel. The results show that hexazinone+rimsulfuron/nicosulfuron may be a alternative for hexazinone. Red sorrel from some blueberry fields is hexazinone-resistant and the resistance is caused by a Phe255 to Val mutation in the psbA gene.

Animals living in groups are frequently exposed to conflicts of interest which can escalate into aggression. Aggressive interactions may be a means to resolve incompatibility among objectives. Nevertheless, aggression may undermine the benefits of group living by disrupting the relationships between opponents. Thus, conflict management mechanisms have evolved to cope with the potential damage brought about by aggressive interactions. The aim of my thesis was to investigate the mechanisms to prevent aggressive escalation and to mitigate its negative consequences in 2 communities of wild spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi yucanensis). I also examined the factors, such as relationship characteristics, affecting the occurrence of these mechanisms. Spider monkeys live in communities with a high degree of fission fusion dynamics in which individuals frequently split and merge into subgroups of variable composition. The implications of this social system for conflict management were also explored. To characterise spider monkeys’ social relationships, two components were identified and labelled compatibility and risk. These components were further related to relationship characteristics, such as kinship, sex combinations, and tenure in the community. Kin had more compatible relationships than non kin, but there was no difference for risk. Male-male dyads were characterised as being significantly more compatible and riskier than either female-female dyads or male-female dyads. Furthermore, individuals with longer tenure had riskier relationships than individuals with shorter tenure. Among the post-conflict management mechanisms spider monkeys did not engage in reconciliation, redirected aggression, or bystander affiliation. However, an option afforded by their high degree of fission fusion dynamics was used in the aftermath of aggression. Fission from former aggressors was more likely to occur within one hour of the aggressive conflicts than in control periods. Furthermore, individuals sharing riskier and less compatible relationships had significantly shorter latencies to fission compared to those with less risky and more compatible relationships. These patterns suggest that fission may function to reduce the possibility of renewed aggression and cope with increased post-conflict anxiety. Indeed, anxiety levels were higher in the recipients of aggression during the first 5 post-conflict minutes compared to baseline levels. Whereas fission may be a mechanism to cope with the negative consequences of aggressive escalation, fusion of subgroups could lead to uncertainty and hostility. Indeed, aggression increased in the first five post-fusion minutes compared to baseline levels. There was also an increase in post-fusion friendly behaviours, which may function as signals of good intentions. This view was confirmed as post-fusion aggression was reduced when friendly behaviours took place. In addition, shorter latencies of post-fusion aggression and friendly behaviours were found between individuals with riskier relationships compared to those with less risky relationships. Prevention of aggressive conflicts may also be achieved by adjusting subgroup size to the availability of feeding resources thereby reducing competition. The effectiveness of this flexible adjustment was demonstrated during a period of drastic reduction in food sources caused by two consecutive hurricanes at the field site. Mean subgroup size and fusion rates were significantly reduced in the post-hurricane compared to pre-hurricane periods. Hence, my thesis adds to the study of social relationships and conflict management in non-human animals by making several contributions. I provided the first evidence of relationship components in new world monkeys. I then examined the potential of fission-fusion dynamics as a means to manage conflicts among community members. I was the first demonstrating that fission is a post-conflict mechanism. Fission from the former aggressor was especially used by individuals with riskier and less compatible relationships. Subgroup fusion increased aggressive conflicts, especially between individuals with riskier relationships, but post-fusion friendly behaviours reduced them. The effectiveness of fission-fusion dynamics in conflict management was further demonstrated by how the spider monkeys coped with the potential increase in conflict among community members due to a dramatic reduction in food supplies due to two hurricanes. Overall, spider monkeys appear to deal with conflicts using the full range of the flexible social options afforded by their social system.

Coincident with human activity in recent decades, human-associated microorganisms have arrived to the Antarctic region, possibly linked to increasing presence of scientific bases and ship-borne tourists. In the Arctic, humans have been present for a very long time, and the few parts of the Arctic without human activities is decreasing with time. The studies in this thesis investigate the occurrence of different pathogens in Antarctic and Arctic wildlife, especially in birds. The first study shows the existence of Enteropatogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) in Antarctic fur seals. The EPEC isolates were so called atypical EPECs, carrying the eae gene but lacking the bfp gene. This is the first record of a diarrheogenic E. coli in wild animals in the Antarctic. The second study displays that spreading of antibiotic resistance mechanisms appears to be much more efficient than previously was known. Enterococcus faecium isolated from Alaskan birds showed high resistance to vancomycin and teicoplanin, but also to ampicillin and ciprofloxacin. These isolates also carried vanA genes and the virulent esp gene, which places the isolates in the clinical clone CC17 and indicates the isolates had a human origin. Bacteria from birds that reside in the Bering Strait region in the third study, demonstrates that only six of 145 E. coli from 532 birds had reduced antibiotic susceptibility. Despite this, selective screen on E. coli showed only four ESBL-producing isolates. The four E. coli isolates carried CTX-M genes. One isolate belonged to the E. coli O25b - ST131 genotype, which is a successful clone with a global spread. In the fourth study, 123 seawater samples and 400 fresh penguin feces were analyzed. From these, 71 E. coli strains were isolated and only one E. coli from penguins was resistant to one antibiotic (cloramfenicol), whereas in E. coli from seawater, resistance against ampicillin, tetracycline, streptomycin and trim-sulfa were detected. E. coli carrying ESBL type CTX -M genes were also detected and Multilocus Sequencing Typing (MLST) showed six different sequence types (ST) previously reported in humans: ST131, ST227, ST401, ST410, ST685 and ST937. In the short time interval between the second study (2005) and the third study (2010) in relation to the fifth study (2012) we found a dramatic increase in antibiotic-resistant genes in the Arctic region. Enterococci, E. coli, and Kl. pneumoniae carried antibiotic resistance genes to an extent and variety not previously reported. E. coli from Arctic birds showed resistant to 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 different antibiotics. Resistant gene type vanA was confirmed in enterococci and ESBL genes type TEM, SHV and CTX-M in E. coli and Kl. pneumoniae was detected. Multilocus Sequencing typing (MLST), indicating that both E. coli and Kl. pneumoniae carrying ESBL markers that connects them to the humans. In summary, the combined studies strengthen that bacteria that cause infections in humans could spread to relatively pristine environments. We concluded that human and associated antibiotic-resistant bacteria has reached a global level, then we showed that ESBL- carrying bacteria circulating nowadays also in the last ESBL-free continent, Antarctica.

This research traces the emergence of wild plant food production during the Late Prehistoric Period (4500 to 200 BP) on the Canadian Plateau. It builds upon ecological-evolutionary perspectives offered by theories of people-plant interactions and models of plant food production. From this, it derives a general model of wild plant food production outlining the components of such systems, the conditions favouring their development, and the consequences and correlates of these activities. This general model is expanded and made specific to the Canadian Plateau through ethnographic, ethnobotanical, ecological and archaeological evidence for root resource use by the Secwepemc (Shuswap) and other Interior Salish peoples. The implications of these findings for reconstructions of Late Prehistoric culture change are discussed. The study has two components. It begins by demonstrating that historically, the Interior Salish peoples were not plant collectors, "adapting to" the environment, but plant food producers who "domesticated" the landscapes of the region. Ethnobotanical evidence indicates the Secwepemc managed. processed and stored a variety of plant resources to increase their productivity and availability. These actions ensured surpluses for overwintering, reducing the threat of recurrent seasonal resource stress. Root foods were particularly important. At least 20 species were regularly harvested and stored. Practices associated with harvesting were essentially horticultural and acted at the species, population and landscape levels to increase the density and distribution of targeted species. The productivity of root resources was also increased through processing in earth ovens. An experimental reconstruction of an Interior Salish ii earth oven found pitcooking increased the energy value of balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata), a former root staple, by 250 percent. Balsamroot contains inulin, a complex carbohydrate indigestible in its raw form. The second component of this study traces the beginnings of these wild plant food production systems through the archaeology of earth ovens. The discussion begins with Komkanetkwa, a traditional root gathering ground of the SeC\\<"epemc located near Kamloops, British Columbia, where investigations identified the remains of 170 earth ovens, II of which were excavated. Similar data from four additional root processing locales, including the Upper Hat Creek Valley, Oregon Jack Creek and Potato Mountain on the Canadian Plateau and the Calispell Valley on the Columbia Plateau, are also presented. Analysis of site types and distributions, the structure and content of earth ovens and radiocarbon age estimates associated with them reveals root food production began approximately 3100 years ago on the Canadian Plateau. The broad pattern of root resource use, consistent with ethnographic expectations, is well-developed after 2500 BP and persists until historic times. Radiocarbon age estimates (n=30) indicate a peak in activity developing between 2250 and 1750 BP. A review of the paleoenvironmental and culture-historical context identified the conditions, consequences and correlates of these processes. The catalyst for the development of these strategies was a dramatic decline in temperatures approximately 3900 years ago. This ushered in a 2000-year period recognized as the coldest and wettest stage of the Holocene, one characterized by long, cold winters. Under these conditions, wild plant food production represents a risk reduction strategy developed by peoples of the Canadian Plaeeau to cope with the uncertainty of seasohnal and annual environmental variation and prolonged periods of resource scarcity. In sum, earth ovens are the archaeological manifestations of fundamental shift in the process of people-plant interactions -- the transition fro foraging to wild plant food production which occurred on the Canadian Plateau at least 3100 years ago. This transition represents the adoption of strategies designed to ensure the productivity and availability of plant resources, particularly storable carbohydrates derived from roots, for overwintering. / Graduate / 0473

Captive carnivores pose a challenge for conservationists and institutions alike, presenting many problems that range from diseases to poor welfare and unsuccessful breeding. Available databases of captive populations are rich sources of information that can help determine which factors can affect breeding success and the real potential of these populations in conservation programmes. Some species, such as tigers Panthera tigris, seem to preserve in captivity the same reproductive parameters seen in wild animals, making captive individuals extremely useful in the research of reproductive biology, that can be applied in evolutionary and physiological studies of the order Carnivora. Specific reproductive characteristics, mainly connected with the altriciality of the young, can make some species more prone to lose young in captivity than others, and these factors must be taken into consideration when developing ex situ conservation programmes. Infant mortality in captivity seems to be primarily caused by inadequate maternal behaviour, which can be connected to biological factors as well as to individual characteristics such as origin and rearing methods. Maternal infanticide, either passive or active, is also affected by biological and ecological characteristics of the species, and there may be an effect of the origin of the females, i.e. if they were wildcaught or captive-born. Housing conditions and individual history affect infant mortality, with females that suffered transfer between institutions exhibiting lower breeding success. Also, institutions with thriving research programmes presented higher infant mortality overall, independently of their latitude or management system, which can indicate an effect of human interference. Further research, both in the wild and in captivity, is needed to fully understand the factors affecting breeding success of captive carnivores.

Until now, the horse was one of the few members of the British Late Pleistocene and Holocene fauna which had yet to be fully investigated. In this thesis, chronological, palaeoecological and morphological data based on direct investigations of British and European fossil and sub-fossil horses are presented. The time-frame encompasses the latest certain wild horses in Britain and continental Europe through to the early diversification of domestic types, and thus spans the interval from c. 15,000-2,000 years before present (BP). The gazetteers presented are the result of a thorough survey and intensive study of all relevant British (as well as selected continental) collections of fossil and sub-fossil horse material. Furthermore, the incorporation into this project of a radiocarbon accelerator dating programme has provided 45 new, direct horse dates from 31 British/Irish sites. A systematic review of all new and previously obtained dates reveals a complex pattern of chronological and geographical distribution for horses during the study interval. These data are interpreted with reference to known climatic and environmental events which are detailed. Further investigations are presented which reveal the ecological reactions of wild horses to underlying environmental factors such as climate change and vegetational succession. Questions of body size variability as well as taxonomic and relationship issues are addressed by means of a detailed morphological investigation. Cranial and postcranial measurements are employed to expose variation and diversification of size and form among wild and domestic animals of three key periods: Mid-Devensian, Late Glacial/early Post Glacial, middle to later Post Glacial. In addition, body size comparisons are made between British and continental horses for each episode. Finally, there is discussion of alternative ways of revealing relationships between ancient and modern horses. In particular, molecular evidence is reviewed with the aim of assessing its value to taxonomic, morphological and chronological studies

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Thesis (M. Env. St.)--University of Adelaide, Mawson Graduate Centre for Environmental Studies, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-117).