There is a growing concern among both scholars and laymen for the diminishing resources of the world. This thesis examines the political geographic implications of transnational resource management. The hypothesis is a dual one: firstly, that man's past and present uses of transnational resources have led, in some cases, to the necessity for international political control, and secondly, that problems related to transnational resource management have been, for the most part, ignored by political geographers, but should be the subject of future research. The use of three transnational resources is reviewed: the blue whale, the North Pacific salmon, and the polar bear. Through an examination of the past uses of the blue whale, and the International Whaling Commission's lack of legislative powers, a case is built supporting the hypothesis. This case is further supported by the past uses of the North Pacific salmon, and the on-going dispute between the American and Japanese governments. Lastly, the Federal Provincial authority established to regulate the hunting of polar bear adds further support to the hypothesis. A brief look back into the discipline establishes this thesis as part of the environmental concerns within geography, and the material presented in the text clearly shows the political geographic implications of the problems of transnational resource management. The results of the inquiry would suggest that there is a need for further political geographic research on similar topics, and that man's past and present uses of transnational resources have, in fact, led to the necessity for international political control for these resources at least. There is, however, no claim made to the feasibility of such an international authority. The urgency for enforceable legislation is, nevertheless, clearly evident. / Arts, Faculty of / Geography, Department of / Graduate

Biodiversity monitoring and predictions of species occurrence are essential to develop outcome-oriented conservation management plans for endangered species and assess their success over time. To assess distribution and patterns of habitat use of large mammal assemblages in Thailand, with a focus on the endangered dhole (Cuon alpinus), I first implemented a long-term camera-trapping project carried out with park rangers from October 2003 through October 2007 in Khao Yai National Park. This project was extremely successful and may serve as a regional model for wildlife conservation. I found significantly lower relative abundance indices for carnivore species, and collectively for all mammals compared to data obtained in 1999–2000, suggesting population declines resulting from increased human activity. I integrated this data into maximum entropy modeling (Maxent) to further evaluate whether ranger stations reduced poaching activity and increased wildlife diversity and abundances. I then conducted a focused camera trap survey from January 2008 through February 2010 in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary to gather critical baseline information on dholes, one of the predator species that seemed to have declined over time and that is exposed to continued pressure from humans. Additionally, I led a collaborative effort with other colleagues in the field to collate and integrate camera trap data from 15 protected areas to build a country-wide habitat suitability map for dholes, other predators, and their major prey species. The predicted presence probability for sambar (Rusa unicolor) and leopards (Panthera pardus) were the most important variables in predicting dhole presence countrywide. Based on my experience from these different field ecological surveys and endeavors, it became clear that local people's beliefs may have a strong influence on dhole management and conservation. Thus, I conducted villager interview surveys to identify local attitudes towards dholes, document the status of dholes in wildlife sanctuaries adjacent to Cambodia, and determine the best approach to improve local support for dhole conservation before proceeding with further field studies of the species in Thailand. A photograph of a dhole was correctly identified by only 20% of the respondents. My studies provide evidence that some protected areas in Thailand continue to support a diversity of carnivore speices of conservation concern, including clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa), dholes, and small felids. However, dholes' impact on prey populations may be increasing as tiger (Panthera tigris) and leopards are extripated from protected areas. The next step in dhole conservation is to estimate the size and stability of their fragmented populations and also focus on maintaining adequate prey bases that would support both large felids and dholes.

The Thung Yai Naresuan (East) Wildlife sanctuary (TYNE) is clarified as the Tiger Conservation Landscape of Global Priority and also a stronghold for other endangered and threaten species. Although, UNESCO designated this area, the cores of the Western Forest Complex (WEFCOM), as a Natural World Heritage Site in 1991, this wildlife has been threatened by habitat alteration, prey depletion, and direct killing. Yet, the information on impact of human activities and wildlife status that is needed to guild forest authorities to develop conservation strategies remains challenging. The goal of this dissertation was to increase understanding of tiger, other main predators, prey status, and also impact of human activities in the sanctuary. In the TYNE, the globally endangered species were observed including Asiatic Elephant (Elephas maximus), Tiger (Panthera tigris), Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus), Dhole (Cuon alpines), and Malayan Pangolin (Manis javanica). Spatially explicit capture-recapture approach estimated tiger density at 1.4-1.6 tigers/100 km2 and leopard density at 0.7-0.8 leopards/100 km2, which indicates that there might be 27±10 tigers (95% CL range from 11-46) and around 12±4 leopards (95% CL range from 8-19) roaming in the area around 1,596 km2 in TYNE. The large predators like tigers, leopards, and dholes co-occurred in the area with the combination of both spatial and temporal partitioning due to differences in predator and prey activity and low overlap in space use correlated to their prey preferences. Prey availability, human settlement areas, and human disturbance activities are the key limiting factors for their distribution and space-use. The habitat use of tiger and leopard demonstrated that the population distribution was limited in the central to the eastern part of the TYNE, while the local people occupied the west with high disturbance activities. The activities by local people in TYNE were varied and the impacts of the disturbance were complex. Slash and burn, livestock, tree cutting, and poaching appeared to be the major influence wildlife abundance and habitat around the settlement areas. The results of this study stress the need for the further conservation and management to maintain wildlife distribution and populations in the future. Better scientific understanding of wildlife biology, ecology, and social sciences would help to deal with the conservation and management issues facing the local communities and natural resources in Thung Yai Naresuan (East) Wildlife Sanctuary.

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No description available.

Cephalopods provide forage to a wide range of predators in marine food-webs. Despite their ecological importance, a basic understanding of the mechanisms controlling predation risk and demand is lacking. This is true of one of the most common species of squid found in the northwest Atlantic, the longfin inshore squid (Loligo pealeii). In this dissertation, I address this shortcoming by investigating the role that size and behavior play in influencing squid’s vulnerability to predation. I used long-term food habits, population survey, and commercial landings data, to quantify size-based patterns of predation respective to 25 species of predators. Additionally, I estimated the amount of overlap between predatory consumption and the fishery catch for squid by size. I found that finfish and elasmobranchs generally consumed juvenile and sub-adult squid, while marine mammals primarily targeted adults. Consequently, marine mammals had the highest overlap with the fishing industry for squid size resources. Although large squid were not common in predator diets, predators did not appear to be gape-limited when feeding on squid. This suggested that other factors, including behavior, were important in shaping size-based patterns of predation. I used a laboratory-based approach to quantify attack and capture behaviors towards squid by two predators representing contrasting foraging tactics. Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) and summer flounder ( Paralichthys dentatus) were chosen as cruising and ambush predators, respectively. Patterns in attack rates suggested that size-selection on squid was constrained by passive processes rather than active choice in both predators. Size-dependent profitability functions were calculated by combining capture success rates, handling times, and relative prey mass, and determined that bluefish was the more efficient predator of squid. Lastly, I evaluated the occurrence and effectiveness of anti-predator responses used by squid in the presence of bluefish and flounder. Squid behavior depended on the type of predator present, and the survival value of primary and secondary defense behaviors differed during interactions with each predator. The results of this project are intended to improve the quality of management of squid and their predators by providing a better understanding of predator-prey interactions in the northwest Atlantic.

No description available.

No description available.

Information is a prerequisite for effective management of wildlife habitat. In response to the need for management-oriented information regarding the suitability of an area as wildlife habitat, a new methodology was developed and demonstrated. This methodology involved the conceptual development of a dynamic classification approach. The proposed methodology sought to avoid many of the problems inherent in conventional. classification due to the inflexibility of the latter technique. Using dynamic classification methodology, an entit;y is described with respect to 1 or m.ore attribute axes relevant to the objectives of the specific cl.assificat:ion effort. Attribute axes may represent naturally occurring (i.e., physical and theoretically empirical) attributes or synthetic attributes such as suitability for some purpose. To demonstrate conceptual utility, an original computerized cellular mapping system was developed to display information graphically. Maps of habitat suitability and other habitat-related information were produced for a total of 5 wildlife species on 3 study areas in Virginia. Within this demonstration, levels of habitat attributes subject to change over time were estimated from forest stand. data predicted with a modified Markov chain algorithm. Performance of the prediction program was determined from a 40 year hindcast procedure. Conceptual validity of a dynamic classification approach was examined using epistemological arguments. The computer mapping package was found to be an effective vehicle for displaying information derived from dynamic classification. The vegetation prediction system appeared to be a feasible technique for predicting certain wildlife habitat attributes which are dynamic over time. It was concluded that dynamic classification was conceptually valid and is an effective methodology for producing information specific to the objectives of a given classification effort. Although conclusions: were based on an application of dynamic classification in a wildlife management context, it was speculated that the overall concept of dynamic classification may have additional utility in other fields within the natural sciences. / Ph. D.

This thesis describes the wildlife resources of Senegal and a systems approach to how those resources can be managed. Based upon my 20 years experience in the Forest Service and the National Park Service, I made investigations through the literature, courses, seminars, conferences and interview in the United States and Senegal. The aim of the investigations was to gather wildlife resource-based data from Senegal, Africa, the United States, and other countries. This thesis is an effort to synthesize what is known about the forests and wildlife of Senegal and to describe a wildlife resource management system. The system is hypothesized to be a basis for organization, operations, and planning for the long-range management of the wildlife resources in the forests and shrublands of Senegal. The project described the country area. It described 4 key subsystems of the greater system to show what resources exist, and what is a system, and how a single pattern of analysis and design can result in efficiencies and increase productivity. The key subsystems are: (1) an Elephant Subsystem, (2) the National Park Subsystem, (3) a Hunting Areas Subsystem, (4) a Nature-Based Tourist Subsystem. The emphasis in each is on wildlife resources management. It is believed that most ideas developed in this study could be applied in the 8 Sahelian nations of West Africa and other African countries. / Master of Science