Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Eco-restoration'

Ecological conservation and restoration in the anthropocene must struggle with overlapping drivers of biodiversity and cultural loss; ruptures of the ecological environment mirror ruptures of human relationships with nature. And yet technology cannot remove humans from nature; technological and infrastructural reconfigurations of nature create new vulnerabilities and risks for humans and ecosystems alike. How can conservation and restoration science productively grapple with complex infrastructure systems and decision-making processes as biophysical and social drivers of ecosystem change? Using dam removals in the USA and in the Mid Columbia River region of the Pacific Northwest, this dissertation develops a conceptual framework for Social, Environmental, and Technological Systems (SETS), and applies it at three spatial and temporal scales to the practice of dam removal as a river restoration strategy. Drawing upon existing data sets, as well as biophysical, document, survey, and interview data this dissertation addresses how dam removals have functioned in the context of the social histories of river restoration programs, examines how these restoration programs must continue to renegotiate the human relationships with nature through the infrastructure systems that enable certain forms of existence while precluding others. Of particular interest is how restoration programs have increasingly functioned to deliver novel infrastructure solutions, while ignoring longer-term changes in ecological structure and function due to infrastructure development; in other words, the infrastructural work of restored ecosystems, and the infrastructural blind spots of restoration programs. How restoration planning considers, or does not consider, infrastructural blind spots, is indicative of not only the biophysical drivers of threatened and endangered species loss, but also the political dynamics of decision making at large, and the power-knowledge relationships constituting legitimate and relevant knowledge in the decision making space. In the Pacific Northwest, there appears to be a tipping point of social convention in centering treaty rights and obligations vis-a-vis ongoing processes of colonization and institutionalized scientific expertise. Ecological restoration will only be successful if it addresses both engineered infrastructures and social justice.

To reverse the emergency environmental degradation of Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China, the localgovernment enforced a new developing project – Eco-migration, which aims at bothenvironmental restoration and poverty alleviation. Within ten years’ time, more than 400,000 ruralresidents were relocated. Through professional training and labor transportation, the financialcondition was largely improved. The annual income of these eco-migrants was highly raised from0.2 USD a day in 2000 to 3.51 USD a day in 2010. From the environmental perspective, morethan 70 percent of the sandy wasteland was restored. The vegetable coverage jumped up to 75percent, comparing to 30 percent in 2000. Through field study, the feedbacks from theseeco-migrants were collected. Eco-migrants were highly satisfied with the economic andenvironmental improvement. However, there are lots of improvements can be done. In one word,that’s the way the government trying to achieve the goal of sustainable development, whichproviding valuable experience for future.

Industrialization brought about dramatic changes in many major cities around the world, including Johannesburg. However, rapid technological advancements have resulted in the abandonment of many industrial sites often within the confines of expanding cities as is the case with the old Johannesburg Gasworks. The repercussions of the hazardous industrial processes of the past are still present on the site in the form of pollution. This, together with South Africa’s lack of protection of our industrial heritage, has awoken the fear that these post- industrial artefacts might be in danger of becoming extinct if their value is not recognised. This dissertation aims to investigate the potential of redundant industrial sites like the old Johannesburg Gasworks to mitigate the environmental and social issues resulting from the past in an attempt to reintegrate the site back into the surrounding urban fabric. Through the understanding and application of environmental and heritage theories, this dissertation hopes to find a means of using architecture as a tool to mediate the dichotomous relationship between industry and nature, resulting from an exploitative world view, and inspire a new archetype for industrial architecture, that is able to inspire mutually beneficial relationships between industry and nature, whilst creating a didactic and dialectical relationship between the existing industrial heritage of the past and the envisioned contemporary architecture of the future.
Mini Dissertation MArch(Prof)--University of Pretoria, 2018.
Architecture
MArch(Prof)
Unrestricted

Looking over a tidal wetland, the tidal network characterised by its intricate system of bifurcating, blind-ended tidal courses clearly stands out from the overall landscape. This tidal landform exerts a fundamental control on the morphology and ecology within the tidal environment. With today’s recognition of the ecological, economical and societal values provided by tidal wetlands, which has been notably reflected in the development of restoration management strategies across Europe and USA, there is a need to fully understand the nature and development of tidal networks as well as their relationships with associated landforms and biotic components (e.g. vegetation), to eventually guarantee the success of current and future restoration practices. Accordingly, this research aims to bring further insights into the bio-physical controls on the geomorphology of tidal networks. To this end, a combination of remote sensing, modelling and field activities was employed. A geo-spatial analysis was performed at Queen Mary, University of London (UK), to address the variability of tidal network patterns. A series of network scale morphometric variables was extracted using airborne LiDAR data among selected tidal networks across the UK depicting different planview morphologies, and supplemented with the collection of corresponding marsh scale environmental variables from published sources. Multivariate statistics were then performed to characterise the variability of tidal network patterns and identify the inherent environmental controls. The analysis has revealed that every network type can be characterised based upon measures of network size and complexity, with each network pattern depicting proper morphometric aspects. Particularly, the stream Strahler order and the median depth of the network main channel have the highest discriminating weight on the patterns investigated. High correlation between the latter variable and network main channel width has revealed that linear, linear-dendritic and dendritic networks followed a transitional gradient in their aspect ratio approximated by a power law and thus are seen to depict similar erosional processes. To the contrary, meandering networks clearly depart from this relationship, and show particular segregation in their aspect ratios with respect to dendritic networks. Globally, differentiation on network morphometric properties has been linked to environmental conditions specific to the marsh physiographic setting within which a tidal network develops. Conceptually, tidal networks seem to adapt to marsh environmental conditions by adopting suitable morphologies to drain their tidal basin effectively. An eco-geomorphic modelling framework was developed at University of Trento (Italy), to address tidal network morphological development. In line with current theories as well as modelling advances and challenges in the field of tidal network ontogeny, emphasis was thus placed on the investigation of tidal channel formation and evolution in progressive marsh accretional context. Under these environmental conditions, tidal network development can be ascribed to the combination of two channel-forming processes: channel initiation results from bottom incisions in regions where topographic depressions occur; channel elaboration results from differential deposition, contributing to the deepening of the tidal channels relative to the adjacent marsh platform. Further evolutionary stages including channel reduction proceed from the horizontal progradation of the marsh platform which may lead eventually to channel infilling. Moreover, both qualitative and quantitative results allude to an acceleration of the morphological development of the synthetic tidal networks with increasing sediment supply. These different observations thus emphasise the prevalence of depositional processes in shaping tidal channels. In a second stage, the investigation was extended to the role of the initial tidal flat morphology as an inherent control on tidal network development, by considering different scenarios of topographic perturbations, which has revealed its legacy on tidal network morphological features. Modelling experiments have also acknowledged salt marsh macrophytes as a potential control on network evolution depending on their biomass distribution within the tidal frame. However, tidal channel morphodynamcis appears to be sensitive to the way biomass growth is mathematically parameterised in the model. In view of the current challenges in transcribing mathematically such a dynamic process and the relevance of bio-physical interactions in driving salt marsh and tidal network evolution, a field survey was conducted in a temperate salt marsh in the Netherlands, as part of the mobility to UNESCO-IHE (Netherlands) in partnership with University of Antwerp (Belgium), to assess vegetation distribution and productivity in the tidal frame. Particularly, emphasis was placed on extending investigations on the possible presence of relationships involving vegetation properties in different climatic and ecological conditions from those characterising these previously documented relationships. Regression analysis has revealed that biomass growth can be expressed as a linear function of marsh relative elevation, providing therefore direct empirical validation for corresponding assumptions reported in the literature and used in the present modelling framework; surprisingly, that increase did not correlate with an increase in species richness and diversity. Analysis of likely associations between vegetation morphometrics and total standing biomass yielded only a single linear relationship linking the latter variable to stem height. In truth, these observations may bear reconsiderations on the global validity of the assumptions used in the formulation of some eco-geomorphic processes which are applied in the study and prediction of wetland resiliency facing climate change.

The main argument of this dissertation is that the White Mountain Apache Tribe's appropriation of ecological restoration played a vital role in reinstituting control over knowledge production and eco-cultural resources on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in the second half of the twentieth century. As a corollary, I argue that the shift in knowledge production practices from a paternalistic foundation to a community-based approach resulted in positive consequences for the ecological health of the Apachean landscape and Apache culture. The democratization of science and technology on the reservation, therefore, proved paramount to the reestablishment of a relatively sustainable Apache society. Beginning with the Indian New Deal, the White Mountain Apache slowly developed the capacity to employ ecological restoration as an eco-political tool to free themselves from a long history of Euro-American cultural oppression and natural resource exploitation. Tribal restoration projects embodied the dual political function of cultural resistance to and cultural exchange with Western-based land management organizations. Apache resistance challenged Euro-American notions of restoration, nature, and sustainability while maintaining cultural identity, reasserting cultural autonomy, and protecting tribal sovereignty. But at the same time, the Apache depended on cultural exchange with federal and state land management agencies to successfully manage their natural resources and build an ecologically knowledgeable tribal workforce. Initially adopting a utilitarian conservation model of land management, restoration projects aided the creation of a relatively strong tribal economy. In addition, early successes with trout, elk, and forest restoration projects eventually granted the Tribe political leverage when they sought to reassume control over reservation resources from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Building on this foundation, Apache restoration work significantly diverged in character from the typical Euro-American restoration project by the 1990s. While striving toward self-sufficiency, the Tribe hybridized tribal cultural values with Western ecological values in their restoration efforts. These projects evolved the tripartite capacity to heal ecologically degraded reservation lands, to establish a degree of economic freedom from the federal government, and to restore cultural traditions. Having reversed their historical relationship of subjugation with government agencies, the Apache currently have almost full decision-making powers over tribal eco-cultural resources.
Ph. D.

Over the years, every major city turns into a knot of intractable problems: overpopulation, traffic jams, environmental degradation. Some countries make a faster conversion from an industrial development to an information growth phase, than the infrastructural changes take place. Therefore, environmental design and construction would not be short-termed, but rather will be the long-term targets for all the groups associated with the construction. The healthy living is one of the most important reasons to start a complicated long-term reconstruction of eco-cities. Successful ecological reconstitution requires a knowledge about already implemented exemplary solutions. For this purpose, the dissertation analyzes the basic ecological problems of settlements, analyzing the examples of approaches to improve the environmental performance of cities on the reference of foreign experience and creates criteria and principles for designing urban structures for healthy living in CR.

Looking over a tidal wetland, the tidal network characterised by its intricate system of bifurcating, blind-ended tidal courses clearly stands out from the overall landscape. This tidal landform exerts a fundamental control on the morphology and ecology within the tidal environment. With today’s recognition of the ecological, economical and societal values provided by tidal wetlands, which has been notably reflected in the development of restoration management strategies across Europe and USA, there is a need to fully understand the nature and development of tidal networks as well as their relationships with associated landforms and biotic components (e.g. vegetation), to eventually guarantee the success of current and future restoration practices. Accordingly, this research aims to bring further insights into the bio-physical controls on the geomorphology of tidal networks. To this end, a combination of remote sensing, modelling and field activities was employed. A geo-spatial analysis was performed at Queen Mary, University of London (UK), to address the variability of tidal network patterns. A series of network scale morphometric variables was extracted using airborne LiDAR data among selected tidal networks across the UK depicting different planview morphologies, and supplemented with the collection of corresponding marsh scale environmental variables from published sources. Multivariate statistics were then performed to characterise the variability of tidal network patterns and identify the inherent environmental controls. The analysis has revealed that every network type can be characterised based upon measures of network size and complexity, with each network pattern depicting proper morphometric aspects. Particularly, the stream Strahler order and the median depth of the network main channel have the highest discriminating weight on the patterns investigated. High correlation between the latter variable and network main channel width has revealed that linear, linear-dendritic and dendritic networks followed a transitional gradient in their aspect ratio approximated by a power law and thus are seen to depict similar erosional processes. To the contrary, meandering networks clearly depart from this relationship, and show particular segregation in their aspect ratios with respect to dendritic networks. Globally, differentiation on network morphometric properties has been linked to environmental conditions specific to the marsh physiographic setting within which a tidal network develops. Conceptually, tidal networks seem to adapt to marsh environmental conditions by adopting suitable morphologies to drain their tidal basin effectively.An eco-geomorphic modelling framework was developed at University of Trento (Italy), to address tidal network morphological development. In line with current theories as well as modelling advances and challenges in the field of tidal network ontogeny, emphasis was thus placed on the investigation of tidal channel formation and evolution in progressive marsh accretional context. Under these environmental conditions, tidal network development can be ascribed to the combination of two channel-forming processes: channel initiation results from bottom incisions in regions where topographic depressions occur; channel elaboration results from differential deposition, contributing to the deepening of the tidal channels relative to the adjacent marsh platform. Further evolutionary stages including channel reduction proceed from the horizontal progradation of the marsh platform which may lead eventually to channel infilling. Moreover, both qualitative and quantitative results allude to an acceleration of the morphological development of the synthetic tidal networks with increasing sediment supply. These different observations thus emphasise the prevalence of depositional processes in shaping tidal channels. In a second stage, the investigation was extended to the role of the initial tidal flat morphology as an inherent control on tidal network development, by considering different scenarios of topographic perturbations, which has revealed its legacy on tidal network morphological features. Modelling experiments have also acknowledged salt marsh macrophytes as a potential control on network evolution depending on their biomass distribution within the tidal frame. However, tidal channel morphodynamcis appears to be sensitive to the way biomass growth is mathematically parameterised in the model. In view of the current challenges in transcribing mathematically such a dynamic process and the relevance of bio-physical interactions in driving salt marsh and tidal network evolution, a field survey was conducted in a temperate salt marsh in the Netherlands, as part of the mobility to UNESCO-IHE (Netherlands) in partnership with University of Antwerp (Belgium), to assess vegetation distribution and productivity in the tidal frame. Particularly, emphasis was placed on extending investigations on the possible presence of relationships involving vegetation properties in different climatic and ecological conditions from those characterising these previously documented relationships. Regression analysis has revealed that biomass growth can be expressed as a linear function of marsh relative elevation, providing therefore direct empirical validation for corresponding assumptions reported in the literature and used in the present modelling framework; surprisingly, that increase did not correlate with an increase in species richness and diversity. Analysis of likely associations between vegetation morphometrics and total standing biomass yielded only a single linear relationship linking the latter variable to stem height. In truth, these observations may bear reconsiderations on the global validity of the assumptions used in the formulation of some eco-geomorphic processes which are applied in the study and prediction of wetland resiliency facing climate change.

碩士
國立臺灣大學
地理環境資源學研究所
91
After Taiwan’s joining the WTO, globalized economy would occupy most of the market of the aquaculture and agriculture of Taiwan by the low price resulted from low cost of production. According to this, the lands used by those primary industries would turn into derelict lands. The derelict lands would become a pressure to push the government to release these lands for exploitation. Although these lands fall into disuse, they are recovering from the impacts of human activities before and on the way back to natural condition. The release would be a crisis for the environment of Taiwan. However, the lands are not affordable because of the depression of Taiwan now. Therefore, derelict lands would be the main landscape of rural areas in Taiwan. Besides leaving the lands unused, we can try to reconstruct the ecological functions of the lands to provide more living spaces for human beings and other creatures, turning the economic crisis of the aquaculture and agriculture of Taiwan into a turning point of the environment. The study would review the problems encountered and experiences accumulated during the process of the establishment of Fu Bao Eco-Park and provide a new model for the coexistence and flourishing between human beings and environment. The model would also be a reference for others trying to establish an eco-park. Then, the study will provide some suggestions for the industrial, community and environmental planning of future Fu Bao Eco-Park, based on the model and the resources of local industries, community and environment, turning the resources of the aquaculture and agriculture, edged out by the globalized economy, into other kinds of resources lived on by local people and creating another living space for the environment of Taiwan.

碩士
臺灣大學
森林環境暨資源學研究所
97
Recently, debris flows resulted from Chi-Chi Earthquake in 1999, Typhoon Toraji and Nali in 2001, have caused severe damages to Taiwan, especially in the central area. Rehabilitation work was undergoing by the authorities who invested a lot of money and resources. Part of the work adopted ecological techniques to reconstruct the facilities, such as the articulated blocks bank, gabion and geogrid walls, by following the "local material was first chosen to utilize" principle to reduce the usage of concrete. Among these facilities, some of them was made by plantation wood and had suffered from Typhoon Mindulle in 2004. However, there are less studies focusing on the design, following monitor, and assessment, and vegetation restoration of the ecological engineering cases by using wooden materials in Taiwan. In this study, by collecting explicit data though investigation, hopefully the results can increase confidence in using wooden ecological engineering to common populace. This study analyzes several kinds of wooden ecological works, including decay level, the following displacement, carbon sequestration, and the coverage of plants after construction. These cases which include check dams, retaining walls, and revetments were constructed by the Forest Bureau, Water and Soil Conservation Bureau, and the Experimental Forest of National Taiwan University in Yilan and Nantou County, respectively. The investigation results showed that after the following typhoons and heavy rain attacks, the residual strength of wooden structures remains in well condition. Despite part of them may decay more seriously, the monitored point displacement was slightly, and indicated that wooden structures were still in stability. Meanwhile, replacement of traditional RC structure by wooden ecological engineering not only is helpful to carbon sequestration which can effectively reduce the emission of carbon dioxide, but also favors to plants growth. The results also show that it benefits to vegetation restoration, and can also make the structure assimilate to the environment. This research indicates many advantages of wooden ecological engineering, and provides a key reference to set the design regulations and rules in the future.

Indigenous values, epistemologies, and indicators have always been ways of teaching and learning about change, and planning for the future. Indigenous food systems are central capacities supporting social-ecological resilience and resistance. Settler-colonialism and environmental degradation are two drivers of rapid and cumulative change over the past century that are at the root of health challenges experienced by Indigenous people and impacts to Indigenous food systems. Indigenous food sovereignty is a framework many Indigenous communities have been working within to support the restoration of Indigenous food systems, knowledges, and relationships to land in this time of resurgence. Recent scholarship highlights the importance of biocultural and culturally grounded values frameworks, aligning with Indigenous epistemologies, for measuring social-ecological resilience and resistance. Indigenous scholars and communities are also calling for more respectful and meaningful research practices in alignment with Indigenous priorities and worldviews. The Neskonlith Band’s Switzmalph community near Salmon Arm, British Columbia, has been working towards restoring Secwépemc plants and food systems through land-based education projects and collaboration in multi-scalar partnerships. This study highlights two cultural concepts or values related to Secwépemc food systems restoration and land based education in Switzmalph and Secwépemc territory more broadly, and their role in guiding future pathways and multi-scalar relationships supporting Secwépemc food systems restoration. This study also highlights the role of storytelling as a method and context for teaching and learning about cultural concepts and values in land-based settings. This study discusses the importance of process-oriented approaches to research for demonstrating how Indigenous ways of knowing can guide ongoing and embodied applications of ethical frameworks. The results of this work highlight the importance of culturally-grounded values in measuring, guiding, and reflecting on change, as well as the vital importance of Indigenous ways of knowing in guiding ethical research processes, and participatory and community-led research throughout all stages of research design.
Graduate

For centuries the wellbeing of rural communities has depended on the health and resilience of local food systems. Over the last century many factors have contributed to declines in the availability and use of important traditional foods. In this thesis I have used black huckleberry (Vaccinium membranaceum) as a case study through which I explore the varying roles humans play in influencing the health of a wild forest food. Black huckleberry is one of the most sought after wild berries in British Columbia (BC). Over the past few decades huckleberry pickers and forest managers have expressed concerns over the decreasing quality and availability of these berries. To understand the different roles humans play in the ecology of black huckleberry I interviewed 17 long-time huckleberry pickers and participated in berry picking trips – in the East Kootenay region of southeastern BC. I also reviewed the academic literature on huckleberry ecology. I found that huckleberry pickers have a deep knowledge of factors affecting the health of huckleberry patches. They identify both shifting social-economic and ecological conditions in their local forests as intrinsically linked with declining huckleberry availability and health. In contrast, the scientific literature primarily focuses on ecological conditions and forest management practices, ignoring or downplaying the relationship of berry pickers to huckleberry ecology and overall quality. There are significant cultural differences between the berry pickers’ and the scientists’ views of the factors impacting the health of the berry patch. I argue that an effective approach to addressing the problem of declining quality and availability must include the valuable insights berry pickers have on how social-ecological factors affect berry health.
Graduate

abstract: Desert environments provide considerable challenges to organisms because of high temperatures and limited food and water resources. Accordingly, desert species have behavioral and physiological traits that enable them to cope with these constraints. However, continuing human activity as well as anticipated further changes to the climate and the vegetative community pose a great challenge to such balance between an organism and its environment. This is especially true in the Arabian Desert, where climate conditions are extreme and environmental disturbances substantial. This study combined laboratory and field components to enhance our understanding of dhub (Uromastyx aegyptius) ecophysiology and determine whether habitat protection influences dhub behavior and physiology. Results of this study showed that while body mass and body condition consistently diminished as the active season progressed, they were both greater in protected habitats compared to non-protected habitats, regardless of season. Dhubs surface activity and total body water decreased while evaporative water loss and body temperature increased as the active season progressed and ambient temperature got hotter. Total body water was also significantly affected by habitat protection. Overall, this study revealed that, while habitat protection provided more vegetation, it had little effect on seasonal changes in surface activity. While resource availability in protected areas might allow for larger dhub populations, unprotected areas showed similar body morphometrics, activity, and body temperatures. By developing an understanding of how different coping strategies are linked to particular ecological, morphological, and phylogenetic traits, we will be able to make more accurate predictions regarding the vulnerability of species. By combining previous studies pertaining to conservation of protected species with the results of my study, a number of steps in ecosystem management are recommended to help in the preservation of dhubs in the Kuwaiti desert.
Dissertation/Thesis
Doctoral Dissertation Biology 2017

Yeung, Chung Wing.
Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-156).
Abstracts in English and Chinese.
Acknowledgements --- p.i
Abstract (English) --- p.iii
Abstract (Chinese) --- p.vi
Contents --- p.vii
List of Tables --- p.xii
List of Figures --- p.xii
Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction
Chapter 1.1 --- Ecological and economic importance of coral reef habitats --- p.1
Chapter 1.2 --- D egradation of coral reefs --- p.2
Chapter 1.2.1 --- Natural recovery --- p.3
Chapter 1.2.2 --- Restoration of disturbed reefs --- p.3
Chapter 1.2.2.1 --- Whole colony transplantation --- p.4
Chapter 1.2.2.2 --- Fragment transplantation --- p.4
Chapter 1.2.2.3 --- Coral nursery --- p.5
Chapter 1.3 --- Studies on octocorals --- p.6
Chapter 1.3.1 --- Functional ecology of octocorals --- p.7
Chapter 1.3.2 --- Biodiversity of octocorals in Hong Kong --- p.9
Chapter 1.3.3 --- Threats on octocorals in Hong Kong --- p.10
Chapter 1.4 --- The focus and significance of the present study --- p.12
Chapter 1.4.1 --- "Lobophytum sarcophytoides, the study organism" --- p.14
Chapter 1.4.2 --- Objectives --- p.15
Chapter 1.5 --- Thesis Outline --- p.16
Chapter Chapter 2 --- Seasonal Variation and Size-dependent Eco-physiological Performances of the Soft Coral Lobophytum sarcophytoides
Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.19
Chapter 2.1.1 --- Damage recovery --- p.20
Chapter 2.1.2 --- Photosynthetic activity --- p.21
Chapter 2.1.3 --- Reproductive biology --- p.22
Chapter 2.1.4 --- Growth rate --- p.23
Chapter 2.1.5 --- Significance and objectives --- p.23
Chapter 2.2 --- Study Sites --- p.24
Chapter 2.2.1 --- Lan Guo Shui (LGS) --- p.24
Chapter 2.2.2 --- Tolo Harbour (MSL) --- p.25
Chapter 2.3 --- Methodologies --- p.27
Chapter 2.3.1 --- Sample collection --- p.27
Chapter 2.3.2 --- Treatment of samples --- p.27
Chapter 2.3.3 --- Health condition --- p.28
Chapter 2.3.4 --- Damage recovery --- p.29
Chapter 2.3.5 --- Growth rate --- p.29
Chapter 2.3.6 --- Photosynthetic activity --- p.30
Chapter 2.3.7 --- Reproductive biology --- p.30
Chapter 2.3.8 --- Statistical Analysis --- p.31
Chapter 2.4 --- Results --- p.32
Chapter 2.4.1 --- Acclimation of transplanted corals --- p.32
Chapter 2.4.2 --- Health condition --- p.33
Chapter 2.4.3 --- Growth rate --- p.34
Chapter 2.4.4 --- Photosynthetic activity --- p.38
Chapter 2.4.5 --- Damage recovery --- p.39
Chapter 2.4.6 --- Reproductive biology --- p.40
Chapter 2.5 --- Discussion --- p.41
Chapter 2.5.1 --- Diurnal expansion and contraction of colonies --- p.41
Chapter 2.5.2 --- Size fluctuation of the colonies --- p.42
Chapter 2.5.3 --- Possible factors for the high initial mortality of corals --- p.43
Chapter 2.5.4 --- Causes of bleaching and the harmful effects --- p.44
Chapter 2.5.5 --- Energy allocation between reproduction and growth --- p.47
Chapter 2.5.6 --- Quick healing of cut fragments and its ecological implication --- p.48
Chapter 2.5.7 --- Choice of suitable fragment size for nursery use --- p.49
Chapter 2.5.8 --- Suitable season for conducting the experiment --- p.50
Chapter 2.6 --- Summary --- p.51
Chapter Chapter 3 --- Effects of Temperature on the Health Condition and Photosytnthetic Activity of the Soft Coral Lobophytum sarcophytoides
Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.69
Chapter 3.2 --- Methodologies --- p.73
Chapter 3.2.1 --- Sample collection --- p.73
Chapter 3.2.2 --- Experimental set-up of aquaria for growing corals --- p.73
Chapter 3.2.2.1 --- Temperature experiment I --- p.74
Chapter 3.2.2.2 --- Temperature experiment II --- p.74
Chapter 3.2.2.3 --- Temperature experiment III --- p.76
Chapter 3.2.3 --- Health condition --- p.76
Chapter 3.2.4 --- Photosynthetic activity --- p.77
Chapter 3.2.5 --- Statistical analysis --- p.78
Chapter 3.3 --- Results --- p.79
Chapter 3.3.1 --- Temperature experiment I --- p.79
Chapter 3.3.1.1 --- Health condition --- p.79
Chapter 3.3.1.2 --- Photosynthetic activity --- p.80
Chapter 3.3.2 --- Temperature experiment IIA --- p.81
Chapter 3.3.2.1 --- Health condition --- p.81
Chapter 3.3.2.2 --- Photosynthetic activity --- p.83
Chapter 3.3.3 --- Temperature experiment IIB --- p.84
Chapter 3.3.3.1 --- Health condition --- p.84
Chapter 3.3.3.2 --- Photosynthetic activity --- p.85
Chapter 3.3.4 --- Temperature experiment III --- p.85
Chapter 3.3.4.1 --- Health condition --- p.85
Chapter 3.3.4.2 --- Photosynthetic activity --- p.86
Chapter 3.4 --- Discussion --- p.87
Chapter 3.4.1 --- The effect of acclimation --- p.87
Chapter 3.4.2 --- Temperature tolerance range of L. sarcophytoides --- p.90
Chapter 3.4.3 --- Indicators of coral health --- p.92
Chapter 3.4.3.1 --- Photosynthetic activity --- p.92
Chapter 3.4.3.2 --- Colony contraction --- p.94
Chapter 3.4.3.3 --- Bleaching --- p.95
Chapter 3.4.3.4 --- Algal overgrowth --- p.97
Chapter 3.4.3.5 --- Attachment of transplanted corals --- p.99
Chapter 3.5 --- Summary --- p.100
Chapter Chapter 4 --- Reproductive Biology of Lobophytum sarcophytoides
Chapter 4.1 --- Introduction --- p.114
Chapter 4.2 --- Methodologies --- p.117
Chapter 4.2.1 --- Study site --- p.117
Chapter 4.2.2 --- Sample collection and treatments --- p.117
Chapter 4.3 --- Results --- p.119
Chapter 4.3.1 --- Gametogenic development: Size changes --- p.119
Chapter 4.3.2 --- Gametogenic development: Developmental stages --- p.120
Chapter 4.3.2.1 --- Oogenesis --- p.120
Chapter 4.3.2.2 --- Spermatogenesis --- p.121
Chapter 4.4 --- Discussion --- p.122
Chapter 4.4.1 --- Unusual oogenic development pattern in L sarcophytoides --- p.122
Chapter 4.4.2 --- Possible effect of lack of a temperature cue on gametogenic development --- p.123
Chapter 4.4.3 --- Alternative explanation: Energy allocation --- p.126
Chapter 4.5 --- Summary --- p.128
Chapter Chapter 5 --- Summary and Perspectives --- p.137
References --- p.143