Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Ecology and Biodiversity'
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Figuerola, Balañá Blanca. "Biodiversity and Chemical ecology in Antarctic bryozoans = Biodiversitat i ecologia química de briozous antàrtics." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/129165.
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The current thesis covers two important and poorly known aspects of Antarctic bryozoans: biodiversity and chemical ecology. The comparative analyses of diversity carried out here (Chapters 1 and 2) between Antarctica and the last separated fragments of Gondwana support the hypothesis of the sequential separation of Gondwana. We discuss that the high number of species from the Argentine Patagonian (AP) region shared with Antarctica found in our study question the real extent of Antarctic isolation for cheilostome bryozoans. The presence of shared common bryozoan species between these two regions may also be explained by the free migration of marine organisms in and out of the Polar Front, via the deep abyssal plains and the potential passive northwards transport of larvae (or perhaps even adults) to considerable distances, via the branch of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) flowing northward along the continental shelf of Argentina, the Falkland/Malvinas Current. The role of the Scotia Arc and other dispersal pathways, like eddies of ACC, and human dispersal mechanisms, may increase the bryozoan connection found between the Antarctica and the AP region. Also, our studies (Chapters 1 and 2) are among the first characterizations of the bryozoan communities, mainly at the slope, from the AP region, and from the Southern Ocean (SO), specially the Weddell Sea. The bathymetric distribution from the AP region and the SO found in our studies fits well with the limits of the continental shelf, the slope and the deep sea. Interestingly, our research also shows an expansion in the known distribution of diverse bryozoan species from the AP region and the SO. Our results stress the importance of taxonomical studies in these scarcely explored regions, reporting a high number of new genera and species, and new records too. Among the new species found in our study, a bryozoan of the genus of Reteporella characterized by rare giant spherical avicularia is described in Chapter 3, leading us to discuss which are the potential roles of the avicularia. Since the studied bryozoan communities, below areas affected by local disturbances (iceberg scours and anchor ice), are mainly subject to biotic factors such as competence and predation, the evolution has favoured the development of chemical mechanisms in benthic organisms, which have also been investigated here (Chapters 4 and 5). Our studies are among the first reports on chemical ecology of Antarctic bryozoans. In order to study these chemical interactions, new adapted protocols were designed using sympatric and abundant predators. Our findings demonstrate the importance of diverse chemical ecology mechanisms against competence and predation in Antarctic bryozoans. Most bryozoan species tested here display cytotoxicity and/or repellent activity against the sea urchin Sterechinus neumayeri and the amphipod Cheirimedon femoratus, respectively (Chapter 4). In Chapter 5, our results demonstrate that bryozoans seem to be readily defended against at least one of the two abundant predators, Odontaster validus and C. femoratus. The intra- and interspecific variability in bioactivity suggest an adaptive response to diverse abiotic and biotic factors, presence of microorganisms and/or genetic variability. The general trend in our study indicates the presence of a combination of both chemical and physical defensive mechanisms in most bryozoan species, suggesting complementary traits. In general, these results lead to the conclusion that this phylum is very active with extended repellent activities.Aquesta tesi cobreix dos aspectes importants i poc coneguts dels briozous antàrtics: la biodiversitat i l'ecologia química. L'anàlisi comparatiu de diversitat realitzat aquí (Capítol 1 i 2) entre l'Antàrtida i altres zones geogràficament properes recolzen la hipòtesi de la separació seqüencial de Gondwana. Es discuteix que l'elevat nombre d'espècies de la regió de la Patagònia argentina (PA) compartides amb l'Antàrtida qüestiona el grau real d'aïllament de l'Antàrtida en briozous queilostòmats. Els nostres estudis (Capítols 1 i 2) són també una de les primeres caracteritzacions de les comunitats de briozous, principalment del talús, de la regió de la PA, i de l' Oceà Austral, especialment el Mar de Weddell. Els nostres resultats remarquen la importància dels estudis taxonòmics en aquestes regions escassament explorades, incloent un gran nombre de nous gèneres i espècies, i noves cites. Entre les noves espècies trobades en el nostre estudi, es descriu un briozou del gènere Reteporella caracteritzat per una rara aviculària esfèrica i gegant, portant-nos a reconsiderar quines són les possibles funcions de l'aviculària (Capítol 3). Com les comunitats estudiades de briozous, per sota de les zones afectades per pertorbacions locals (erosió per icebergs), estan subjectes principalment a factors biòtics com la competència i la depredació, l'evolució ha afavorit el desenvolupament de mecanismes químics de protecció (Capítols 4 i 5). Els nostres estudis són dels primers en ecologia química de briozous antàrtics. Els nostres resultats demostren la importància de diversos mecanismes d'ecologia química contra la competència i la depredació en briozous antàrtics. La majoria de les espècies de briozous mostraven activitat citotòxica i/o repel•lent contra l'eriçó de mar Sterechinus neumayeri i l'amfípode Cheirimedon femoratus, respectivament (Capítol 4). En el capítol 5, totes les espècies de briozous estudiats mostraven activitat de repel•lència alimentària contra almenys un dels dos depredadors abundants considerats, l'estrella de mar Odontaster validus i l'amfípode Cheirimedon femoratus. La tendència general en el nostre estudi indica la possessió d'una combinació de mecanismes físics i químics en la majoria de les espècies, fet que suggereix estratègies complementàries.
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Mackey, Robin L. "Disturbance and biodiversity." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/NQ66170.pdf.
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Prendergast, John Richard. "Biodiversity hotspots in Britain." Thesis, Imperial College London, 1994. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.300123.
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Mata, Luis. "Heteroptera ecology, biodiversity and conservation = Ecología, biodiversidad y conservación de heterópteros." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/128959.
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Heteropteran bugs make an important contribution to the hyperdiversity of insects. As with other insect taxa, the proper species identification of heteropteran bugs requires diagnostic dichotomous keys. Faunistic studies can considerably benefit from the use of in-situ photographic records and biodiversity web resources, these two new taxonomical tools have the potential to expedite conservation-oriented research and engage the general public in the conservation of nature.
Faunistic syntheses such as catalogs and datasets are essential for documenting where species occur and how they are distributed, and may effectively contribute to overcome the ‘Wallace shortfall’ associated with large scale distributional data. The establishment of a research-oriented ‘Heteropteran Bug Monitoring Scheme’ may prove to be an effective faunistic tool that guarantees the constant flow of fine-grain, high-value species data. The gap between taxonomy and conservation may be bridged by explicitly coupling faunistic survey efforts to the monitoring of state variables relevant to ecological research.
The hierarchical view is an approach to quantitative ecology with the potential to simultaneously account for the stochasticity associated with the ecological and observation processes. Multi-species site occupancy models are effective quantitative tools that estimate species-specific probabilities of detection and occurrence, from which the size of the community (ie, species richness) may also be estimated. One important advantage of multi-species site occupancy models is the ease by which covariates are specified into the linear predictors of both the ecological and observation process levels.
Bayesian methods are powerful inferential tools for the conduction of quantitative research. Estimation of a given parameter under a Bayesian approach results in a posterior probability distribution that provides not only the mean but most importantly its associated uncertainty. The Bayesian mode of inference allows researchers to focus on effect sizes rather than statistical significance. Results from Bayesian analyzes can be communicated clearly and effectively to conservation policy-makers.
Species are imperfectly detected. The methods we use to survey insects are important sources of uncertainty that must be taken into account when studying their patterns of occupancy and species richness. Survey protocols should be specifically designed to include spatial and/or temporal replicates from which detection data can be estimated.
Heteropteran bugs, as a group, are relatively common across spatial extents, and their communities, as observed at fine grains of resolution, include many rare species that are difficult to detect. The assumption that this pattern holds at bioregional or even larger spatial extents requires more empirical investigation. A properly replicated study, resolved at the municipality or shire level, could contribute to address this gap in knowledge.
Novel grassland ecosystems supporting ruderal or spontaneous vegetation are rich depositories of heteropteran bug biodiversity. In urban landscapes, oldroughs and unmanaged urban herbaceous margins may play an important role in the conservation of heteropteran bug species and other insect taxa. Within urban green areas such as golf courses, the complexity of the vegetation structure has a positive effect on heteropteran bug species richness and the species-specific occurrence probabilities of most species.
Heteropteran bug species respond to the surrounding landscape. In viticulture landscapes, the proportion of natural habitat surrounding vineyards has a positive effect on mean herbivorous guild-level probability of occurrence. This positive effect is more uncertain for the predatory-guild. In the urban landscapes, species richness of both herbivores and predators decreased along a gradient of increasing urbanization. Almost all species were ‘urban avoiders’, experiencing on average very large decreases in their probabilities of occurrence along the urbanization gradient.
Heteropteran bugs in the Iberian Peninsula have a low probability of being detected. This probability varies markedly from family to family and from species to species. Macroecological variables have positive (area, altitudinal range, mean annual temperature and population density) or negative (mean annual precipitation) effects on the mean heteropterofauna detection probability. Methodologies that explicitly account for the observation process may prove fundamental for disentangling which components of species distributions at large bioregional scales are a consequence of imperfect detection as opposed to true patterns of occupancy.Los heterópteros contribuyen de forma importante a la hiperdiversidad de los insectos. La elaboración de claves dicotómicas actualizadas, ajustadas a la región de estudio y basadas en caracteres de fácil observación, facilita la correcta identificación de los ejemplares. Los estudios faunísticos pueden beneficiarse considerablemente de la existencia de registros fotográficos in-situ y recursos electrónicos de registro de la biodiversidad, ya que ambas herramientas taxonómicas tienen el potencial de favorecer la investigación dirigida a la conservación, así como de implicar al público general en dicho proceso. Las síntesis, los catálogos y las bases de datos faunísticas son esenciales para registrar la ocurrencia y distribución de las especies. La utilización conjunta de estos recursos junto con variables ambientales relevantes para la ecología es clave para acortar la distancia que existe entre ciencias como la taxonomía y la conservación. La visión jerárquica supone una aproximación a la ecología cuantitativa, que tiene el potencial de incluir la estocasticidad asociada a los procesos ecológicos y de observación humana de la naturaleza. Los “modelos de ocupancia de lugar multiespecíficos (msSOM)“ suponen herramientas quantitativas efectivas para estimar la probabilidades de detección y ocurrencia específicas de especies y lugares, así como el tamaño de la comunidad. Los métodos bayesianos de inferencia estadística son herramientas poderosas para realizar análisis cuantitativos. La estimación de los parámetros viene asociada a su incertidumbre y al cálculo del “tamaño del efecto”. Y los resultados pueden comunicarse de forma clara y efectiva a los responsables de desarrollar políticas de conservación. Los heterópteros son detectados de forma imperfecta. Una buena fuente de incertidumbre depende de los métodos que utilicemos para muestrearlos, por lo que debe tenerse en cuenta el proceso de observación a la hora de analizar patrones de ocupancia y riqueza específica. Los protocolos de muestreo deberían estar diseñados de forma que incluyan réplicas espaciales y/o temporales que permitan calcular la detectabilidad. Los insectos heterópteros son relativamente comunes a lo largo de grandes áreas, y sus comunidades incluyen especies raras sólo detectables a pequeña escala. La asumpción de este patrón para la escala bioregional y superiores requiere mayor investigación. Los sistemas herbáceos noveles con vegetación ruderal o espontánea contienen una gran diversidad de insectos heterópteros. Como parte del paisaje urbano, los márgenes herbáceos y otras formaciones poco o nada gestionadas representan zonas importantes para conservar la diversidad de heterópteros y otros insectos. En cuanto a zonas verdes urbanas, como los campos de golf, la complejidad en la estructura de la vegetación tiene un efecto positivo en la biodiversidad de insectos. Los heterópteros se ven influenciados por el paisaje. En paisajes vitivinícolas, la ocurrencia de insectos herbívoros está favorecida por la proporción de hábitat natural favorable. En paisajes urbanos, la urbanizacion tiene un efecto negativo en la presencia de herbívoros y predadores. Ambos estudios, a partir de análisis distintos, convergen hacia una única conclusión.
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Glücksman, Edvard. "Taxonomy, biodiversity, and ecology of Apusozoa (Protozoa)." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2011. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b96f9e28-e7ea-494a-9dad-bcb844e28c53.
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Apusozoa (Protozoa) is a phylum of heterotrophic gliding zooflagellates of unknown taxonomic affiliation, commonly observed in environmental samples. Almost nothing was previously known about the diversity and ecology of apusozoan species though, as bacterivores, they are probably important functional constituents within microbial assemblages. We explored apusozoan morphological and genetic diversity, ecology, and related methodological questions. By culturing environmental material from a range of habitats, we isolated and maintained monocultures of both previously described apusozoan orders, Apusomonadida (apusomonads) and Planomonadida (planomonads). For planomonads, we present a revised taxonomy based on morphology, ultrastructure, and 18S rDNA genetic differences. We describe nine new species and new genera Nutomonas and Fabomonas, and demonstrate ITS2 rDNA secondary structure analysis for species delineation. During our culturing effort, we also isolated two genotypes of a previously unknown flagellate group, shown here to belong to a novel third apusozoan order, Mantamonadida. We designed molecular probes specific to all three orders and applied them to environmental DNA, detecting novel 18S and ITS1 rDNA lineages in a range of habitats. We mined publically available metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequence databases using 18S rDNA of described species as seeds, identifying hundreds of sequences with affinities to all three orders. Phylogenies featuring newly retrieved lineages with previously described species suggest that direct sequencing of transcriptomic material is more effective than amplification-dependent methods at detecting rare cells in mixed microbial assemblages. Finally, to test potential future applications of our newly isolated strains, we ran microcosm experiments examining the effect of protozoan (Cercozoa) grazing on the structure of bacterial assemblages, demonstrating that closely related and morphologically similar species can have different impacts on their prey base. Taken together, by combining traditional culturing and modern molecular methods, this thesis drastically improves our understanding of apusozoan diversity and sets the scene for future work using next-generation sequencing and ecologically driven functional experiments.
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Diaz, Porras Daniel F. "Historical urban ecology, green spaces and biodiversity." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2013. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/5214/.
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Marí, Marí Teresa. "Changes in soil biodiversity and activity along management and climatic gradients." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Lleida, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/457976.
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Els anomenats “rangelands” són àrees sense cultivar, àmpliament pasturades per animals domèstics i salvatges, actualment amenaçats pels canvis climàtic i en l’ús del sòl. Els microorganismes del sòl tenen un paper clau tant en la descomposició com en diversos processos de l’ecosistema, fet pel qual composició i funció de la comunitat microbiana han estat utilitzats durant molt temps com a índexs de fertilitat del sòl.
Els rangelands europeus i africans comparteixen un origen antropogènic comú, però el clima i la gestió del sòl els afecten d’una manera diferent. És per això que aquesta tesi pretén analitzar la comunitat microbiana d’ambdós tipus d’ecosistemes, per tal d’observar els efectes d’algunes de les amenaces comunes des d’una perspectiva més global.
Mentre que la sobrepastura va demostrar tenir l’efecte més perjudicial sobre la funció microbiana en sòls kenyans, es va trobar un efecte més fort del clima sobre els prats europeus. Els fongs i els bacteris van covariar al llarg de gradients altitudinals i climàtics, però la comunitat bacteriana va mostrar una recuperació més ràpida després de les pertorbacions biològiques i físico-químiques del sòl.
Aquest conjunt d’estudis afegeix nous coneixements sobre l’estructura i funció dels rangelands africans i europeus, i convida a explorar noves línies de recerca que incloguin tant bacteris com fongs alhora d’estudiar la comunitat microbiana del sòl.Los llamados "rangelands" son áreas sin cultivar, ampliamente pastoreadas por animales domésticos y salvajes, actualmente amenazados por los cambios climático y de uso del suelo. Los microorganismos del suelo tienen un papel clave tanto en la descomposición como en diversos procesos del ecosistema, por lo que composición y función de la comunidad microbiana han sido utilizados durante mucho tiempo como índices de fertilidad del suelo. Los rangelands europeos y africanos comparten un origen antropogénico común, pero el clima y la gestión del suelo les afectan de una manera diferente. Es por ello que esta tesis pretende analizar la comunidad microbiana de ambos tipos de ecosistemas, a fin de observar los efectos de algunas de las amenazas comunes desde una perspectiva más global. Mientras que el sobrepastoreo demostró tener el efecto más perjudicial sobre la función microbiana en suelos kenianos, se encontró un efecto más fuerte del clima sobre los prados europeos. Los hongos y las bacterias covariaron a lo largo de gradientes altitudinales y climáticos, pero la comunidad bacteriana mostró una recuperación más rápida después de las perturbaciones biológicas y físico-químicas del suelo. Este conjunto de estudios añade nuevos conocimientos sobre la estructura y función de los rangelands africanos y europeos, e invita a explorar nuevas líneas de investigación que incluyan tanto bacterias como hongos en el estudio de la comunidad microbiana del suelo.
Rangelands are uncultivated areas extensively grazed by wild and domestic animals, currently threatened by land use and climatic changes. Soil microorganisms play a key role in decomposition and several ecosystem processes and the composition and function of the microbial community have been long used as indices of soil fertility. African and European rangelands share a common anthropogenic origin, but climate and management affect them in a different way. That is why this thesis aimed to analyze the microbial community of both in order to observe the effects of some common threats from a more global perspective. While overgrazing proved to have the most detrimental effect on the soil microbial function in Kenyan soils, a stronger effect of climate was found to affect European grasslands. Fungi and bacteria co-varied along altitudinal and climatic gradients, but the bacterial community showed a fast recovery after biological and soil physico-chemical disturbances. This group of studies adds new knowledge on the structure and function of the African and European rangelands, and invite to explore new lines of research including both fungal and bacterial consortia when studying the soil microbial community.
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Griffin, Neil John. "Harvest ecology and biodiversity of South African Porphyra." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10564.
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Bibliography: 140-161 leaves .Porphyra (Bangiales, Rhodophyta) is the world's most valuable maricultured seaweed, due to its high value as a food crop. The vast majority of Porphyra in South Africa belongs to P. capensis, a morphologically and ecologically plastic taxon apparently endemic to the region. There is no demand for P. capensis as a food crop, as it is unsuitable for the market, and there are no records of its customary use locally. Porphyra capensis is however a potentially highly valuable fodder for the mariculture of abalone (Haliotis midae), and pressure to harvest it has recently increased. This study aims to assess the potential for harvest of Porphyra on the south-western shores of South Africa. There are two main thrusts to this work. The fIrst thrust examines Porphyra as an ecological entity in the region. The second thrust reassesses the taxonomy of Porphyra species in the region.
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Ieraci, Luciano A. "Spatial intermittency, biodiversity, and multifractals." Thesis, McGill University, 2000. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=33411.
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Ecosystems involve highly non-linear interactions between species and their environments over wide ranges of scales. These interactions give rise to population number densities that are highly intermittent in both space and time. The simplest hypothesis about the variability of individual density fields is that they are scale invariant in space-time. For some cases, such as plankton, this has been demonstrated empirically. In addition, at a fixed space-time location there is a well-established information theory approach for treating the density statistics for different species. In this "species space", there are already two scaling biodiversity models: the (mono) fractal model and the lognormal model.The simplest treatment combining real and species space scaling is obtained by considering an anisotropic multifractal cascade in a (5-D) species-space-time space. With the help of a unique data base involving nearly three hundred different species densities, each over a spatial range of approximately 40, 0.5m x 0.5m samples from six underwater sites in the Saint Lawrence Estuary, this simple "superscaling" model is tested. It is shown that the scaling of all species densities is compatible with a "bilinear" multifractal model, where an "elliptical dimension" parameter characterises the anisotropy of species-real space. This information is then used to numerically simulate the spatial variability of joint species densities, and it is discussed how this framework can be used to define scale invariant measures of biodiversity.
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Lacap, Donnabella Castillo. "Biodiversity and ecology of geothermal springs in the Philippines." Thesis, Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2007. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B38224185.
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Rominger, Andrew Rominger. "The Statistical Mechanics of Biodiversity." Thesis, University of California, Berkeley, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10150924.
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Since at least the time of Darwin biologists have searched for a simple set of universal governing mechanisms that dictate the dynamics of biodiversity. While much progress has been made in understanding system-specific processes and in documenting the context-dependent roles of such mechanisms as competition and facilitation, we still lack a universal governing rule set. The goal of understanding and predicting biodiversity dynamics comes at a critical moment when human systems are disrupting those very dynamics. In this thesis I approach this long-standing problem with the hypothesis that general patterns in biodiversity emerge from a combination of the statistical mechanics of large systems and the unique non-equilibrium dynamics imparted to biological systems by their evolutionary history. Statistical mechanics provides the key analytical approaches to abstracting the complex details of biodiversity into general macroscopic predictions that I show receive support from empirical data. However, key deviations from the simplest statistical mechanics of biodiversity reveal the key role of biological evolution in driving systems away from the idealized steady state predicted by statistical mechanics.
In Chapter 1 I expand a branch of non-equilibrial statistical mechanics, known as super statistics, to explain previously unaccounted for wild fluctuations in the richness of taxa through the Phanerozoic marine invertebrate fossil record and show how this non-equilibrium is driven by clades' punctuated exploration of their adaptive landscapes. This theory provides a novel explanation for deep time diversity dynamics invoking emergence of lineage-level traits as the drivers of complexity via the same mechanisms by which complexity emerges in large physical and social systems. In the context of fossil diversity I show how this complexity arises naturally from the uniquely biological mechanisms of punctuated adaptive radiation followed by long durations of niche conservatism, and thus identify these mechanisms as sufficient and necessary to produce observed patterns in the fossil record. I test this theory using two seminal fossil datasets.
In Chapter 2 I use the chronosequence afforded by the Hawaiian Islands to capture evolutionary snapshots of arthropod communities at different ages and stages of assembly to understand how the history underlying an assemblage determine its contemporary biodiversity patterns. I apply static ecological theory of trophic networks based on statistical mechanics to these rapidly evolving ecosystems to highlight what about the evolutionary process drives communities away from statistical idealizations. This study indicates that rapid assembly from immigration and speciation in young ecosystems and extinction in old ecosystems could drive observed patterns.
In Chapter 3 I highlight and explain the computational requirements to testing one statistical theory of biodiversity—the Maximum Entropy Theory of Ecology—with real data and make those test available in a stream-lined framework via the R package meteR that I authored.
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Evans, James Philip Martin. "Biodiversity conservation and brownfield sites : a scalar political ecology?" Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2003. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/185/.
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This thesis develops a multi-scalar political ecology of biodiversity conservation on brownfield sites in Birmingham, U.K. While urban brownfield biodiversity is increasingly recognised as a valuable resource, political pressure to develop such spaces is also growing. Forty-five interviews were conducted with practitioners and policy makers, supported by genealogical and discursive analyses of a range of texts, to interrogate this tension. Common discourses structuring ecological, conservation and planning activities are traced across national and international levels, to contextualise the formulation and implementation of biodiversity action plans at the local level. Because urban landscapes are characterised by disequilibrium, planning policies and ecological models under-represent the worth of these spaces. The mediation of these discourses through local networks of actors engaged in the biodiversity action plan process is explored socially and geographically. A scalar political ecology of urban planning is developed through the consideration of wildlife corridors, and a case study of a specific brownfield site. The thesis offers an integrative analysis of socioecological transformation, and urban ecological governance. It is argued that while the BAP process has the potential to reconfigure urban geographies, it is currently sterile because such forms of sustainable governance contradict the dominant ‘scalar fix’ of capitalism.
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Chivers, Adam John. "The biodiversity and ecology of Senghor Seamount (NE Atlantic)." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2015. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=227185.
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Seamounts are often typified by highly rich and diverse communities of predominantly large suspension feeding organisms such as gorgonian and antipatharian corals, which are often the focus of seamount research. By comparison few studies have focused on the more enigmatic but no less important infauna. The study of Senghor Seamount, which is located near to the Cape Verde Archipelago in the NE Atlantic, sought to address this knowledge gap and provides the very first quantitative and systematic analysis of a seamount macrofaunal community. In addition to the investigation of seamount macrobenthic community characteristics, the response of the community to a range of environmental variables was also determined. In particular, the potential effect of topography-flow interactions upon the macrobenthic community was investigated. In order to achieve these objectives a Multicorer (MUC) was used to quantitatively sample four transects on the seamount from summit (~100 m) to base (~3300 m) depths. There were a number of key findings. The hydrodynamic regime was found to be particularly complex and was a result of a number of interacting flow components. This was found to alter sediment characteristics and may have also resulted in an alteration of the downward particulate organic carbon flux. Consequently, inter-transect variation of community characteristics was observed at some depth ranges. Depth, and the environmental variables which covary with this gradient, was also found to dominantly structure the community on Senghor Seamount. However, any explanation for the variation of community characteristics on the seamount may be highly multivariate and further biological and environmental observations would be required to adequately resolve these patterns.
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Gari, Josep A. "The political ecology of biodiversity : biodiversity conservation and rural development at the indigenous and peasant grassroots." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.365588.
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Peet, Nicholas B. "Biodiversity and the management of tall grassland in Nepal." Thesis, University of East Anglia, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.267318.
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鄭遠技 and Yanna. "Biodiversity, ecology and taxonomy of saprobic fungi on palm fronds." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2001. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31242595.
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Yanna. "Biodiversity, ecology and taxonomy of saprobic fungi on palm fronds /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 2001. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk:8888/cgi-bin/hkuto%5Ftoc%5Fpdf?B2295630x.
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Kimble, Matthew Sidney. "Variation of aquatic and terrestrial riparian biodiversity in response to watershed condition /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/5527.
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Flombaum, Pedro. "The effect of biodiversity on ecosystem functioning: The Patagonian steppe as a model." View abstract/electronic edition; access limited to Brown University users, 2008. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3318318.
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Francis, Anthony P. "Biodiversity of plants: Broad-scale patterns and mechanisms." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/28984.
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One of the most obvious patterns in ecology is the geographic variation in species richness over broad spatial scales. However, despite observations of these patterns of richness for two centuries, mechanisms for the patterns remain controversial. This thesis is a study of the broad-scale biodiversity patterns of plants and the potential mechanisms behind those patterns.
Richness-climate relationships often account for >80% of the spatial variance in richness. However, it has been suggested that richness-climate relationships differ significantly among geographic regions, and that there is no globally consistent relationship. Since there is little point in arguing about mechanisms before the patterns they predict have been documented, I investigated the global patterns of species and family richness of angiosperms in relation to climate.
One hypothesized mechanism that predicts strong and consistent richness-climate patterns is the Physiological Tolerances hypothesis. This hypothesis predicts that the number of species found in a given location is a function of the number that can tolerate the climatic conditions in that place. Using global angiosperm family richness distributions and climatic data to estimate the climatic tolerances of plant families, I examined the relationships of potential family richness patterns to both climatic gradients and observed patterns of family richness. Observed family richness was not strongly related to potential family richness. However, both richness and potential richness were related to climate, but in different ways. Potential family richness necessarily sets an upper limit on observed richness levels, but observed richness did not generally reach that limit. In other words, there are generally many more species that can tolerate the climate in a particular area than actually occur there.
A second hypothetical mechanism predicting strong consistent richness-climate patterns, the Energy-Diversity or Species-Energy hypothesis, suggests that for a species to persist in an area, there must be sufficient energy available in that area to support enough individuals of that species to maintain a viable population. Thus species richness will depend upon the number of individuals, which in turn depends upon energy availability. Using tree counts from 15 forest sites along a latitudinal gradient running from James Bay, Canada to Costa Rica, I tested whether a series of direct correlative links existed from climate to tree density to tree species richness. Despite a positive (but not statistically significant) correlation between AET and richness, the tree density per site was negatively correlated with energy. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
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Karlson, Mårten. "Ecology, Transport Infrastructure and Environmental Assessment." Licentiate thesis, KTH, Miljöbedömning och -förvaltning, 2013. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-123562.
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Transport infrastructure has a wide array of effects on ecological processes. These effects benefit certain species and might enhance or accelerate ecological processes such as colonization and dispersal, but as well extinction. The overall impact on biodiversity is however negative and several authors conclude transport infrastructure to have detrimental effects on terrestrial and aquatic communities. Planning and construction of transport infrastructure is in the EU to be preceded by an environmental assessment process, with the overall aim to prevent rather than repair potential unintended negative effects. This thesis presents two studies on transport infrastructure effects on biodiversity in the context of environmental assessment. The first study reviewed how and how sufficiently biodiversity aspects were accounted for in environmental assessment of transport infrastructure projects and plans, and identified opportunities to improve concurrent practice. The first study concluded that the treatment of biodiversity aspects has improved over the years, but that the low use of quantitative impact assessment methods, the treatment of fragmentation and spatial and temporal delimitation of the impact assessment study area remain problematic. The second study assessed the impact of the Swedish road network on biodiversity by use of existing landscape ecological metrics and GIS. The second study reconnects to the shortcomings in environmental assessment practice identified in the first study, by discussing the utility of the method in terms of applicability in environmental assessment processes. The second study identified nature types and species adversely exposed to transport infrastructure effects, and concluded that sound methodologies for biodiversity assessment can be developed using existing tools and techniques. In sum, transport infrastructure influence vast areas of the surrounding landscape, and this is not accounted for in planning and design of new transport infrastructure due to shortcomings in current environmental assessment practice. Existing tools and techniques could be used to address several of these shortcomings, and an increased use of quantitative analysis of transport infrastructure effects on biodiversity would add significantly to the quality of impact predictions and evaluations.QC 20130612
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Ruiz, Jaen Maria. "The Relationship between Biodiversity and Ecosystem Function in Tropical Ecosystems." Thesis, McGill University, 2011. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=104676.
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Experimental studies, in temperate grasslands, assessing the role of biodiversity and its effects on ecosystem functioning have generally shown that a decline in species number has negative effects on ecosystem functioning. Even though, this relationship has been intensively studied in the last ten years, little is known about it in complex and hyperdiverse tropical ecosystems and where species diversity is not manipulated. My research examines the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in natural tropical forests with a special focus on scale. This research centers on field studies. The field studies address the relationship between natural tree biodiversity and aboveground biomass, as the ecosystem function of interest, in forest plots of similar physiognomy but different species composition. Specifically, I explored the following questions: (1) How can the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning be detected in a naturally varying environment and space?, (2) How can different measures of diversity (species versus function) explain tree carbon stocks?, (3) Can we confound the effect of species diversity on tree carbon storage with that of forest structure?, (4) How does this relationship change with different spatial scales?, and (5) Can we extrapolate the results of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning found in experimental plantations to natural forests? Overall, my thesis has found that environmental factors related to topography, soil physical factors, and nutrients have little effect on aboveground biomass in tropical ecosystems. Species richness alone cannot be used as a predictor for aboveground biomass, however, if reduced to functional types, its explanatory power increases. Functional traits can be useful to unveil the relationship of aboveground biomass and tree diversity, by reducing species to functional types. Forest structure correlates strongly with aboveground biomass independently of scale, but forest structure is interlinked with species functional traits. Finally, we have to be cautious in extrapolating results found in experimental plantations to natural forests.Des études expérimentales qui ont été effectuées dans des systèmes expérimentaux herbacés du milieu tempéré afin d'évaluer le rôle de la diversité biologique et ses effets sur le fonctionnement de l'écosystème ont généralement pu montrer que le déclin dans le nombre d'espèces a un effet négatif sur le fonctionnement de l'écosystème. Même si cette relation a été étudiée de façon intensive au cours des dix dernières années, très peu est encore connu à ce propos dans les écosystèmes tropicaux, beaucoup plus complexes et mégadiversifiés. Mes travaux de recherche examinent la relation entre diversité biologique et fonction de l'écosystème dans les forêts naturelles tropicales, en mettant l'emphase sur la question d'échelle. Cette recherche est basée sur une approche de terrain, en opposition avec une approche théorique. L'approche de terrain aborde la relation entre la diversité biologique à l'état naturel et les fonctions d'écosystème dans des parcelles forestières de physionomies similaires mais d'une composition en espèces différente. De façon plus spécifique, j'explore les questions suivantes : (1) Comment la relation entre diversité biologique et fonction d'écosystème peut-elle être détectée dans un environnement et un espace naturel changeant?, (2) Comment différentes mesures de diversité (espèces vs fonction) expliquent-elles les stocks de carbone dans les arbres?, (3) Pouvons-nous confondre l'effet de la diversité en espèces sur l'entreposage du carbone dans les arbres avec l'effet de la structure de la forêt? (4) Comment cette relation change-t-elle avec différentes échelles spatiales? (5) Pouvons-nous extrapoler les résultats obtenus dans des plantations expérimentales aux forêts naturelles dans les tropiques en ce qui a trait à la relation entre biodiversité et fonction d'écosystème? Ainsi, ma thèse montre que pour les écosystèmes tropicaux, les facteurs environnementaux tels que ceux reliés à la topographie, les facteurs physiques et les nutriments des sols ont peu d'effet sur l'entreposage du carbone dans les arbres. De plus, la richesse en espèces ne peut pas à elle prédire de l'entreposage de carbone dans les arbres, cependant lorsque celle-ci est divisée par types fonctionnels, sa puissance explicative augmente. Les traits fonctionnels peuvent donc être utiles pour révéler une relation entre le stockage du carbone et la diversité en arbres en réduisant les espèces en des types fonctionnels. La structure de la forêt est le moteur principal du stockage arboricole du carbone indépendamment de l'échelle, par contre cette dernière est reliée aux traits fonctionnels des espèces. Finalement, nous avons pu montrer que la prudence est de mise en ce qui concerne toute possible extrapolation de résultats provenant de plantations expérimentales à des forêts naturelles dans les tropiques.
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Dibog, Luc. "Biodiversity and ecology of termites (Isoptera) in a humid tropical forest." Thesis, Imperial College London, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.322058.
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Dyson, Kirstie Elizabeth. "Biodiversity and ecosystem processes in heterogeneous environments /." St Andrews, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/698.
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Perez, Jaime Abraham. "PATTERNS AND DRIVERS OF ANT BIODIVERSITY ALONG URBANIZATION GRADIENTS." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1591823939916649.
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Llorens, Marès Tomàs. "Connecting biodiversity and biogeochemical role by microbial metagenomics." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Barcelona, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/327597.
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The main objective of this PhD dissertation was to unveil the links between biogeochemistry and microbial diversity using metagenomics functional potential as a proxy to connect a mechanistic perspective with whole-system ecology. In order to explore the potential and limitations of metagenomics, two contrasted and widely studied lacustrine ecosystems with global ecological interest were selected. First, the Banyoles karstic system, a mirror to the past sulfurous and anoxic (euxinic) conditions where three lakes provide different euxinic situations where reduced compounds and sulfate were highly available: Lake Cisó, a small eutrophic lake with high carbon inputs, permanent anoxia and high euxinia; Lake Vilar, a meromictic mesotrophic lake; and Lake Banyoles basin CIII, a meromictic deep oligotrophic basin. And second, the ultraoligotrophic Lake Redon under three different limnological situations: the slush, an oxygenated environment with labile carbon from algal exudates; the epilimnion oxygenated layer with low availability of reduced compounds; and the hypolimnion, a dark layer under the influence of the mineralization microbial processes from the sediment. The previous knowledge on the biogeochemistry, ecology and functioning of these ecosystems, offered an excellent framework to connect the biodiversity and biogeochemical role by microbial metagenomics. The results showed higher bacterial novelty in the hypolimnia of euxinic lakes with Elusimicrobia and Chloroflexi harbouring the highest number of novel 16S rRNA gene sequences. The potential for dark carbon fixation in these lakes was tentatively assigned to Hydrogenophilales (Thiobacillus-like) and Gallionellales (Syderoxidans-like) via the Calvin cycle, Bacteroidales, Campylobacterales and Desulfarculales through the Arnon cycle, and Desulfobacterales via the reductive acetil-CoA cycle. If the findings from sulfurous lakes are equivalent to ancient oceans, Gallionellales may have played an important role in the biogeochemistry of the iron cycle, a low contribution of nitrification and archaea was probably accounting for the nitrogen cycle, Campylobacterales may have acted as the main players of denitrification, and Bacteroidales may have been main players for dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium mainly in organic carbon-rich zones. The acquisition of laterally transferred genes offering new functional alternatives, was key in order to explain the ecological success of the recurrent green sulfur bacteria bloom in Lake Banyoles basin CIII. The drivers for such horizontal gene transfer were potentially phages. In the slush of the high-mountain Lake Redon, the community composition shift from winter to spring was characterized by a decrease in bacterial diversity, dominance of Bacteroidetes and consistent increases in bacterial abundance and production. The potential for nitrification in Lake Redon was mainly found in the slush and hypolimnion by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria. Lower abundances of nitrification genes were found in the epilimnion. Planktonic microbial communities of Lake Redon showed a higher genomic potential for assimilatory pathways (nitrite, phosphate and sulfate) than those from the Banyoles area. Overall, our analyses provide a new view on the well-known biogeochemical functioning of karstic and alpine lakes. Even with the limitations of metagenomics and annotation, we used the previous knowledge on the ecology of the lakes to prove that metagenomics is a very accurate way to unveil the links between functional potential and microbial biodiversity of any given ecosystem. We identified bacterial populations as potential key stone species of biogeochemical processes and provided new hypothesis to be further tested both through experimental approaches and detailed quantification of matter and energy fluxes.L'objectiu principal d'aquesta tesi és explorar els vincles entre la biogeoquímica i la diversitat microbiana, mitjançant la metagenòmica com a eina per determinar el potencial funcional de les comunitats i connectar la perspectiva mecanicista amb l’holística en l'estudi dels ecosistemes. Per tal d'explorar el potencial i les limitacions de la metagenòmica, es van seleccionar dos ecosistemes lacustres contrastats i àmpliament estudiats amb interès ecològic global. En primer lloc, el sistema càrstic de Banyoles, un equivalent de les condicions sulfuroses i anòxiques (euxíniques) en l'inici de la vida a la Terra, seleccionant tres llacs que proporcionen diferents situacions limnològiques amb alta disponibilitat de compostos reduïts i sulfat: el Llac Cisó , un petit llac eutròfic amb importants entrades de carboni orgànic, anòxia permanent i alta euxinia; el Llac Vilar, un llac mesotròfic i meromíctic; i la cubeta CIII del llac Banyoles, una cubeta profunda, oligotròfica i meromíctica. I en segon lloc, l’ultraoligotròfic Llac Redon en tres situacions limnològiques diferents: les capes de granissat (slush), un ambient oxigenat amb carboni làbil procedent d’exsudats d'algues; la massa d'aigua oxigenada de l’epilímnion amb baixa disponibilitat de compostos reduïts; i l'hipolímnion, una massa d'aigua en foscor sota la influència de processos microbians de mineralització que es donen en el sediment. El coneixement previ de la biogeoquímica, ecologia i funcionament d'aquests ecosistemes, ha ofert un excel·lent marc per a establir els vincles entre biodiversitat microbiana i funció biogeoquímica mitjançant una aproximació metagenòmica. En conjunt, aquesta tesi proporciona una nova visió sobre el funcionament biogeoquímic de llacs càrstics i alpins. Tot i les limitacions intrínseques a la metagenòmica i al procés d'anotació gènica, hem utilitzat els coneixements previs sobre l'ecologia dels llacs per demostrar que la metagenòmica és una eina molt precisa per donar a conèixer els vincles entre el potencial funcional i la biodiversitat microbiana de qualsevol ecosistema. S'han identificat les poblacions bacterianes potencialment responsables dels processos biogeoquímics i es proporcionen noves hipòtesis que hauran de ser comprovades mitjançant enfocaments experimentals i de quantificació dels fluxos de matèria i energia implicats.
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Karlson, Mårten. "Road Ecology for Environmental Assessment." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Mark- och vattenteknik, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-176399.
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Transport infrastructure is closely linked to several politically relevant sustainability issues, and since 1985 a formalized environmental assessment process is linked to planning and construction of new roads and railways in the EU (EU directives 85/337/EEC and 2001/42). The aim of the environmental assessment process is to think in advance; to identify, predict and evaluate significant environmental changes resulting from a proposed activity, in order to adjust the proposed activity accordingly and to avoid unnecessary and unexpected consequences. Biodiversity is a component of sustainable development that is in many ways affected by road and railway construction, but which has been challenging to fully account for within the environmental assessment process. This thesis presents four studies on the role of biodiversity in environmental assessment of road and railway plans and projects. Paper I presents the state of the art of road and railway impacts on ecological patterns and processes sustaining biodiversity, and reviews the treatment of biodiversity in a selection of environmental assessment reports from Sweden and the UK. Paper II presents a quantitative assessment of the impact of the Swedish road network on birds and mammals, and how fragmentation and road disturbance might affect a selection of ecological profiles. Paper III demonstrates how scientific models, data and knowledge can be mobilized for the design and evaluation of railway corridors, and Paper IV analyses how habitat connectivity, as a prerequisite of genetic exchange, relates to landscape composition and size and number of fauna passages. The results from Paper I show that road and railway impacts on biodiversity need to be addressed at every level of planning; from corridor alignment in the landscape to utilization and maintenance. The review of environmental assessment reports shows that the treatment of biodiversity in environmental assessment has improved over the years, but that problems with habitat fragmentation, connectivity and the spatial delimitation of the impact assessment study area remain. The results from Paper II identify natural grasslands and southern broadleaved forest, prioritized habitat types important for biodiversity, to most likely be highly affected by road impacts, and suggest road disturbance to have a high impact on overall habitat availability. The results from Paper III demonstrate how the landscape specific distribution of ecological and geological resources can be accounted for in railway corridor design, and potentially lead to more resource efficient outcomes with less impact on ecological processes. The results from Paper IV indicate that the several small fauna passages would increase connectivity more across a barrier than the construction of a single large. Effective barrier mitigation will also depend on the selection of focal species and the understanding of how the focal species perceive the landscape in terms of resistance to movement. This thesis demonstrates how quantitative assessment can benefit biodiversity impact analysis and address issues such as habitat connectivity and fragmentation, which have been difficult to account for in environmental assessment. It is recommended that biodiversity impact analysis moves towards an increasing use of quantitative methods and tools for prediction, evaluation and sensitivity analysis. Future challenges include verification and calibration of relevant spatial ecological models, and further integration of road ecology knowledge into road and railway planning.QC 20151103
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Wong, Yim-wah, and 黃炎華。. "Ecology and biodiversity of a degraded landscape: Lamma Island, Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1999. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3123947X.
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Cornelius, Nils. "Biodiversity and ecology of benthic foraminiferans from the Antarctic deep sea." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.416476.
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Aung, Swe. "Biodiversity, systematics and ecology of nematode-trapping fungi from Hong Kong." Thesis, Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2009. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B41634214.
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Al-Khayat, Jassim Abdulla A. A. "Biodiversity and biology of salt marsh and mangal Brachyura in Qatar." Thesis, Bangor University, 1996. https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/biodiversity-and-biology-of-salt-marsh-and-mangal-brachyura-in-qatar(ff9d667e-8d07-469e-938f-f07db75d64fa).html.
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Although there have been comprehensive ecological surveys of impacted mangal and salt marshes in the Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia, no data exists regarding the mangal or salt marshes fauna of Qatar, where recent replanting has expanded the area of mangal . The first aim of the present investigation was, to study the biodiversity of the Brachyura and fish living within these habitats quantitatively together with relevant features of the abiotic and biotic environments of natural, replanted mangal and salt marsh so that the progress of recolonisation of the new habitat could be evaluated. Measurements of sediment organic matter, grain size and moisture content indicate that natural mangrove areas have the finest grain size and highest organic and moisture contents while planted mangrove areas have a higher mean grain size, but lower organic and moisture content. Mean soil water pH within the natural mangrove areas was 7.21, in planted mangrove areas slightly higher with a value of 7.55, and 7.53 at the salt marsh, while sea water pH was 7.91 - 8.30. Differences in brachyuran species in planted and natural mangrove areas were found, but biodiversity was similar in salt marsh and natural mangrove areas. Nasima dotilliformis was the only species not to occur at any planted mangrove site, while Serenella leachii was missing from natural mangrove. Four crabs Nasima dotilliformis, Metopograpsus messor, Eurycarcinus orientalis, and Macrophthalmus depressus dominated natural and planted mangroves and salt-marsh, extending through the upper intertidal. Ilyoplax frater, Manningis arabicum, Macrophthalmus depressus occur in the mid intertidal zone. On the lower intertidal zone the two dominant species in all areas were M. depressus and Metaplax indica. In planted mangrove areas where sandy sediment dominates Scopimera crabricauda occurs between the upper intertidal to mid intertidal zone. Fish surveys indicate that Ablennes hians, Gerres oyena, Hemiramphus marginatus and Liza macrolepis, enter mangroves using these as nursery areas and significant differences occurred between sites demonstrating that mangrove areas, especially pneumatophores, form a special habitat for these small fish. The first zoeal larval stage for 6 common intertidal crabs is described, and new generic diagnoses are erected for Paracleistostoma arabicum and Cleistostoma kuwaitense, crabs belonging to the Camptandriinae. A modified key based on Manning and Holthuis (1981) is constructed to separate these from other members of the subfamily. The biological characteristics of 5 species of crab were monitored during a monthly sampling programme over the period June 1993-1994 including carapace widthweight relationship, size frequency, sex-ratio and breeding biology. Male: female ratios differed, indicating spatial and temporal variations by size-classes and season. The ovigerous females of N. dotilliformis and S. leachii were encountered over 7 months while those of M. depressus were seen almost throughout the year. Metopograpsus messor were ovigerous over a5 month period and E. orientalis over 6 months. From size frequency modes and data on recruitment and ovigerous females it appear that late spring and summer is the ecologically-active season. The mouthparts of 6 species of the family, Ocypodidae, 2 species of the family Grapsidae and 1 species of Xanthidae are described. These crabs were observed and collected from mangrove sites mud and saltflats between the midlittoral intertidal zone and supralittoral fringe. Detail of the mouthpart structure reveal differences between deposit feeders with spoon-tipped setae in sandy habitat dwellers and plumose setae in mud feeders, while spinose setae occur in omnivorous and carnivorous species. Scanning Electronic Microscope studies of the structure of proventriculus of these crab species again revealed different structures related to the type of feeding and particular type of sediment in which deposit feeding crabs live. In conclusion this study has demonstrated that mangrove in Qatar whether natural or planted acts to conserve species and enhance diversity and abundance. As yet recently planted mangroves (10 y) have not reached the full brachyuran diversity seen in natural mangroves, and present work demonstrates that this is only likely to occur when full physical habitat comparability with natural mangroves is attained.
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Stockan, Jennifer A. "Impacts of riparian buffer strips on biodiversity." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2013. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=211222.
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Buffer strips alongside watercourses are now a widely accepted method of reducing nutrient and sediment run-off from agricultural land thereby improving water quality and meeting policy goals. However, this change in land use may have consequences for riparian biodiversity which have yet to be fully understood. This study investigated the impact of buffering on various aspects of biodiversity by comparing three types of margins in three river catchments in north east Scotland. Margins were categorised as unbuffered (open and unfenced), buffered (fenced-off vegetated) and wooded (long established woody vegetation - fenced and unfenced). Components of biodiversity studied included vegetation patterns, and the abundance, diversity, movement and assemblage composition of ground-dwelling arthropods focussing primarily, though not exclusively, on ground beetles (Coleoptera, Carabidae). This study further considered management options which may improve or enhance biodiversity. Evidenced changes in vegetation were associated with soil parameters (including decreasing pH), channel morphology, decreasing light availability and tree canopy cover, and bryophyte abundance along a successional gradient from unbuffered-buffered-wooded sites. Buffered and wooded sites showed lower activity density and species richness of ground beetles, but while one measure of functional diversity was high for wooded sites, buffered sites were found to have significantly lower values. Both species and trait assemblage structure of ground beetles were influenced by soil and vegetation, but also by features of buffer strip design such as width, length and age. Active management of sites through grazing or cutting increased ground beetle abundance, particularly hygrophilous species, but did not affect diversity. Radiotracking showed increased movement of ground beetles was correlated with intensity of grazing. Few truly riparian plant or arthropod species were identified indicating the process of buffering essentially 'terrestrialises' the riparian margins. The presence of a tree canopy layer appears to be the key instigator of change in soil conditions with vegetation and arthropods responding accordingly. Therefore planting and maintaining trees in buffer strips could be crucial to ensuring that functional diversity and associated ecosystem services are maintained. Active management through grazing or cutting could help in this regard. The results from this study suggest that rather than buffering all riparian margins within catchments, it is fundamentally important for biodiversity to maintain a mosaic of different successional stages and a diversity of habitats.
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Roche, David. "Biodiversity: Its Measurement and Metaphysics." University of Sydney. Unit for the History and Philosophy of Science, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/819.
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Biodiversity is a concept that plays a key role in both scientific theories such as the species-area law and conservation politics. Currently, however, little agreement exists on how biodiversity should be defined, let alone measured. This has led to suggestions that biodiversity is not a metaphysically robust concept, with major implications for its usefulness in formulating scientific theories and making conservation decisions. A general discussion of biodiversity is presented, highlighting its application both in scientific and conservation contexts, its relationship with environmental ethics, and existing approaches to its measurement. To overcome the limitations of existing biodiversity concepts, a new concept of biocomplexity is proposed. This concept equates the biodiversity of any biological system with its effective complexity. Biocomplexity is shown to be the only feasible measure of biodiversity that captures the essential features desired of a general biodiversity concept. In particular, it is a well-defined, measurable and strongly intrinsic property of any biological system. Finally, the practical application of biocomplexity is discussed.
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Ho, Wai-hong, and 何偉康. "Biodiversity, ecological and ultrastructural observations of Fungi on wood submerged in tropical streams." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1998. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31237010.
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Sun, Yanan. "Biodiversity and phylogeny of coral-associated polychaetes." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2011. http://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_ra/1278.
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Tunison, Robert. "Average Taxonomic Distinctness as a Measure of Global Biodiversity." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1535635897703678.
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Dymond, Crewenna Isabel. "A multiple scale approach to investigating relationships between biodiversity and wilderness quality." Thesis, University of Leeds, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.250976.
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Bennett, Sophie Louisa. "The invertebrate biodiversity of differently aged arable farmland hedgerows under environmental stewardship." Thesis, University of Lincoln, 2016. http://eprints.lincoln.ac.uk/23690/.
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Hedgerows have been a feature of the British countryside for many centuries and their value to wildlife particularly in farmed areas is long acknowledged. But farmland hedgerows experienced dramatic decline in the 20th century and efforts to halt this decline have been a focal point for agri-environmental activities, with hedge planting and management amongst the most popular options amongst farmers. Despite restoration of many thousands of kilometre of hedgerow under environmental stewardship, the rate of hedgerow loss exceeds the current rate of replacement. Information regarding the ‘performance’ of hedgerows as habitat for a range of wildlife is not lacking, although there is less current information regarding the biodiversity of the woody hedgerow itself as opposed to the grassy hedge bottom; I examine both elements of the hedgerow. There is less current information regarding invertebrates than for birds, plants or mammals. A lack of general monitoring has produced a deficit of knowledge of the role farmland hedgerows currently play in maintaining invertebrate biodiversity and what agri-environmental options have achieved. My objective was to compare and contrast the invertebrate faunas of hedgerows relatively newly-planted under agri-environmental schemes with existing hedgerow stock in order to investigate the biodiversity gains achieved by creation of new habitat. While it was true that overall the diversity of mature hedgerows was greater than that of new hedgerows, for some taxa newer hedges were ‘preferred’. There was evidence for the value of even relatively immature (~10 year-old) hedgerow habitats to overall invertebrate diversity. I did not use a single taxonomic group such as butterflies to ‘indicate’ diversity, but instead chose to take a view of the broad spectrum of invertebrates collected from both the hedge bottom and hedge top based on higher taxon approaches (notably order), which have been proposed as an adequate means of rapidly assessing the diversity of agricultural land. A suite of habitat variables including botanical diversity at hedge bottom and top, structural features including the height, width and density of vegetation, as well as weather data were recorded. While weather will always have the ultimate decisive influence on invertebrate activity, structural elements such as the sward height at hedge bottom and the density of the canopy are important to the invertebrate assemblage. As hedgerow conservation and management become increasingly important in the light of continuing declines, the ability to evidence the effects of interventions efficiently will be crucial. This research underscores the ongoing need for monitoring of hedgerow creation in order to verify whether biodiversity gains are achieved.
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Faul, Andre Karel. "Biodiversity enhancement in Cape Flats urban habitats." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/2823.
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Thesis (MSc (Conservation Ecology and Entomology))--University of Stellenbosc, 2005.Biodiversity is under enormous pressure from an increasing human population. Urbanisation, agriculture, and mining are just some of the factors responsible for the continuous degradation of the natural environment. Of these, urbanisation is one of the leading factors of diversity loss. To address this problem, it is necessary to understand the relationship between biodiversity and urban areas, as well as the relationship between society and biodiversity. This study focuses on these relationships and suggest ways in which urban biodiversity can be maximised without compromising on development. In order to create an urban environment that successfully supports maximised biodiversity, new methods and ideas must be developed to promote the protection of urban ecosystems. The Cape Floristic Region in South Africa is a good example of an area that requires immediate action in order to prevent enormous losses in biodiversity. Data have shown drastic decreases in natural vegetation cover in this area, and with its close to 9000 species, of which approximately 60% occurs nowhere else in the world. This state of affairs should be regarded as a serious crisis. This study consists of three main parts, the first being a literature review on the current relationships between the urban environment, society, and biodiversity. The second and third parts report on two empirical investigations on the campus of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Stellenbosch in the City of Cape Town. The first of these investigates the possibility of using spirituality connected to nature as a promotional tool for conservation through rehabilitation or restoration of damaged urban vegetation habitats. For this purpose students’ and staff members’ opinions of the urban nature at the campus were tested. In the second investigation the options of restoring biodiversity to the campus was considered by exploring the best options available for rehabilitation while taking the current biodiversity status on and around the premises into account. This was carried out through three smaller projects that included the physical reintroduction of plant species, vegetation analysis, and bird identification and attraction. The response of employees and students at the Faculty of Health Sciences was found to be in favour of restoring vegetation and animal life to the campus. This is supported by a belief that their attitude towards their work would improve with improved natural surroundings. Initial rehabilitation attempts highlighted the complexity of rehabilitation practices by bringing forward challenges and problems experienced with the reintroduction of plant species. Despite these problems, increased plant diversity in experimental areas showed the possibility of successfully completing the project. Biodiversity analysis showed that methods of controlling vegetation used by the university are doing more harm than good, as it results in indigenous vegetation being displaced by exotic vegetation. This study introduces a number of questions regarding the relationship between urbanisation and biodiversity and to what extent the two should be linked. Hopefully it is a step in the direction towards marrying the urban and natural environment, and to create a sustainable urban environment where society no longer sees nature as something outside the city boundaries.
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Schäfer, Martina. "Mosquitoes as a Part of Wetland Biodiversity." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Populationsbiologi, 2004. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-4670.
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Wetlands contain both aquatic and terrestrial environments which generates high biodiversity. However, they are commonly associated with mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), and mosquitoes are usually regarded as negative by humans because they can cause nuisance and transmit diseases. This thesis aimed to clarify the association between mosquitoes and wetlands and to achieve a more balanced view of biodiversity in wetlands by including mosquito diversity. Studies on adult mosquito diversity and assemblages were performed in 18 wetlands spread over Sweden. The Swedish mosquito species were organized in ten functional groups based on four life-history characteristics. This classification was used as an additional diversity measurement and as a tool for presentation of mosquito data. Mosquito diversity showed several of the well-established diversity patterns such as a latitudinal gradient, a species-area relationship and a distribution-abundance relationship. In a landscape perspective, diversity of both mosquitoes and dytiscids (Coleoptera: Dytiscidae) were positively influenced by a high proportion of permanent water and a high amount of open areas, indicating co-varying diversity patterns. Mosquito assemblages in the Nedre Dalälven region were mainly structured by the extent of flooded areas and wetland type (wet meadow, swamp and bog). In addition to the influence of the proportion of temporary wetlands at a local scale, the proportion of forest gained importance at larger spatial scales and in relation to dispersal distances of species. In southern Sweden, mosquito faunas differed between natural and constructed wetlands, partly reflecting differences in wetland size. In an experiment, different responses of two co-occurring mosquito species to rapid larval habitat desiccation indicate that weather conditions after a flood could influence mosquito assemblages. The conclusions of this thesis provide suggestions on how to construct and position wetlands for increased insect diversity, and indicate that low abundance of major nuisance species might be crucial for acceptance of wetlands near human settlements.
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Hotaling, Scott. "GENETIC PERSPECTIVES ON BIODIVERSITY IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN ALPINE STREAMS." UKnowledge, 2017. http://uknowledge.uky.edu/biology_etds/44.
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In alpine regions worldwide, climate change is dramatically altering ecosystems, affecting biodiversity across habitats and taxonomic scales. For streams, the associated recession of mountain glaciers and snowfields, paired with altered precipitation regimes, are driving shifts in hydrology, species distributions, and basal resources – often threatening the very existence of some habitats and biota. Globally, alpine streams harbor particularly substantial species and genetic diversity due to significant habitat insularity and environmental heterogeneity: however, anthropogenic warming threatens to homogenize habitats through the reduction of the cryosphere, thereby reducing biodiversity from micro- to macroscopic organisms and genes to communities. Still, alpine stream biodiversity, particularly in North America, is poorly understood, making it difficult to predict future changes without baselines for comparison.
For my dissertation, I used genetic tools to assess biodiversity in alpine streams of the central Rocky Mountains in North America. Here, I begin by reviewing the current state of alpine stream biology from an organismal perspective. Next, I provide two perspectives on macroinvertebrate diversity. The first, a population genetic comparison of three highly similar species, is followed by a fine-scale genomic study of one species, Lednia tumana. I follow these largely macroinvertebrate-centric chapters with a modern synthesis of the microbial ecology of mountain glacier ecosystems. Finally, I conclude with a study of microbial diversity that addresses how microbial diversity is shaped by geography, habitat, and hydrological source in North America.
Collectively, this research refines existing themes in alpine stream biology by revealing unexpected differences in population genetic patterns among closely related species, the influence of recent deglaciation on population genetic structure and demographic history of a threatened stonefly, and clarification of the environmental drivers shaping microbial diversity.
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Donlan, Charles Joseph. "On the ecology of invasive species, extinction, ecological history, and biodiversity conservation." PURL Connect to full text. Access to electronic version of some theses may be restricted, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1813/8423.
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Hunt, Robert. "Liberation Ecology of the Border Wall| Biodiversity in the Age of Biopolitics." Thesis, Prescott College, 2018. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10689661.
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Conservationists have detailed the potential impacts of the Border Wall on wildlife. The issue with this assertion is that little direct measurements of such impacts have been actually made. To determine the current state of the Wall’s impacts, if any, I have used phenomenology to ascertain the structure and apparent impacts of the Wall. My measurements of the elements of the Wall’s security footprint seem to indicate a potential for impacting wildlife and their habitats, especially if it is to be expanded beyond its current deployment. What I did discover is the full human impacts of the Wall, and these may supersede wildlife impacts and render conservation efforts moot. Conservation of wildlife will need to address the human ecology of the Wall in order to build truly sustainable successes in preservation and restoration projects.
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Ngobo, Nkongo Martine P. "Ecology and socio-economic importance of short fallows in the humid forest zone of Southern Cameroon." Thesis, Bangor University, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.250738.
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Small, Emma Clare. "The biodiversity and population of carbid beetles (coleoptera, carabidae) in fragmented urban habitats." Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.289261.
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Fabricius, Christo 1956. "The impact of land use on biodiversity in xeric succulent thicket, South Africa." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9512.
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Bibliography: leaves 100-114.Human-induced land management practices are key factors which influence the dynamics of landscapes, land elements and biotic communities in Xeric Succulent Thicket, a notoriously fragile and low resilience ecosystem in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. In its natural state this vegetation type is characterized by a continuous mosaic of clumps of diverse woody shrubs in a matrix of grass, hardy dwarf shrubs and bare ground. When indigenous herbivores are replaced by domestic livestock at unsustainable stocking rates, the ratio of clump to interclump areas decreases. This has impacts on biodiversity at the landscape level, and affects the composition and species richness of plant, arthropod and reptile communities and fungal symbionts. The study has two main objectives: 1) to detennine the local-level effects of different types of land use on biodiversity in Xeric Succulent Thicket; and 2) to better understand the factors which affect biodiversity in different taxonomic groups and at different spatial scales, so that the preservation function of protected areas could be enhanced. The key questions which are addressed in the thesis are what does 'biodiversity' mean, and what are its different dimensions in Xeric Succulent Thicket; what roles do protected areas and other lands play in preserving biodiversity, how are different taxonomic groups affected by different types of land use; and how can biodiversity be monitored and measured? . The regional 'conservation landscape' is seen as the protected area plus the land immediately adjoining it, and is viewed as an integrated mosaic of anthropogenic landscapes (land management units), land elements (patches within landscapes). producer communities (assemblages of interacting plant species), consumer communities (assemblages of interacting herbivores and predators) and soil microorganisms. From a process point of view, the research relates the intensity of disturbance, mainly as a result of herbivory, to landscape complexity, the structure of land elements, and the species richness of producers and consumers within land elements. The patterns which emerge are interpreted in the context of ecosystem functioning, from the point of view of a practicing conservation biologist.
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Smith, Kate. "Biodiversity of the invertebrate communities associated with intertidal mussel beds on rocky shores." Thesis, Bangor University, 2001. https://research.bangor.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/biodiversity-of-the-invertebrate-communities-associated-with-intertidal-mussel-beds-on-rocky-shores(48485c79-2e4c-48d7-93c9-60b67d78e30f).html.
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The invertebrate communities associated with intertidal mytilid mussel species were investigated on a variety of wave-exposed rocky shores around the coasts of the British Isles, Irish Republic (Mytilus edulis) and Chile, South America (Perumytilus purpuratus). A total of 192 different taxa were identified in Mytilus edulis beds at various rocky shore sites in the British Isles and Irish Republic, while 35 taxa were identified to higher taxonomic levels in Perumytilus purpuratus beds in Chile, South America. Significant small-scale spatial variations in community structure were observed at two locations in Wales, while significant large-scale spatial variations in community structure were observed within mussel beds both in the British Isles and Irish Republic and in Chile. Additionally, the communities associated with M. edulis and P. purpuratus differed significantly, when compared at the same taxonomic levels. The structure of the invertebrate communities associated with M. edulis populations showed significant intra-annual variation, while those associated with M. edulis and P. putpuratus displayed significant inter-annual variation. The spatial and temporal variation observed in the structure of the invertebrate communities associated with intertidal mussel beds were deemed to be the result of a variety of natural processes, along with stochastic events. Variation in measured environmental factors in the mussel beds did not fully account for the observed variation in community structure, although some factors, such as mussel density were shown to have some structuring effect. It is concluded that the structure of the invertebrate communities associated with intertidal mussel on rocky shores are highly variable, both spatially and temporally. However, a small subset of taxa often display the same multivariate patterns as the entire data set; a phenomenon which could be utilised in any monitoring or impact studies involving mussel communities.
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Carter, Charlotte Emily. "Assessing the interaction between landscape characteristics and biodiversity." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2014. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/66477/.
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Severe declines in biodiversity have been attributed to anthropogenic changes in the composition and structure of our landscapes. Predicting the impact of landscape change on biodiversity is essential to halt further declines. In this thesis butterflies were used as indicators of biodiversity, and spatial assessments of butterflies were summarised at 1 km scale across Warwickshire to assess whether landscape characteristics can be used as surrogate measures of butterfly distribution and community measurements. When determining the optimal scale (grain size) for capturing landscape patterns, a grain size of 25 m was found most appropriate for maximising landscape discrimination and detecting landscape patterns which occur within the perceptual range of butterfly species. Utilising a grain size of 25 m landscape metrics measuring the composition, connectivity and structure of the 1 km landscapes, were extracted from the Land Cover Map 2000 (LCM) and the Warwickshire Phase 1 Habitat map (PH1). Logistic regression analysis based on landscape metrics created predictive models of butterfly distribution for all species and species grouped by their ecological attributes (EAGs). Model performance was improved when the landscape metrics were considered in a combined landscape model, and different combinations of landscape parameters were important for the EAGs. Models derived from the PH1 were most accurate in predicting observed presence-absence and were successfully transferred when tested using temporally independent data. The models were also successfully transferred to collected butterfly data which was spatially and temporally independent. This data was also collected alongside information on the local habitat such as vegetation composition. Probability of butterfly occurrence derived from the presence-absence models was successfully related to butterfly community characteristics and measures of local habitat quality. To conclude developed models provide indications of habitat suitability, which together with successful transfer demonstrates their potential for identifying biodiversity hotspots and facilitating targeted conservation efforts.
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Bourguignon, Thomas. "The Anoplotermes group in French Guiana :systematics, diversity and ecology." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/210132.
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Les termites forment un groupe animal important en milieu tropical, où leur richesse spécifique est plus élevée que dans n’importe quel autre écosystème. Ils se nourrissent de matière organique végétale à différent état de décomposition, du bois dur à la matière organique minérale du le sol. Cette diversification du régime alimentaire ne se produit que chez les Termitidae, parfois appelés « termites supérieurs », alors que les autres familles se nourrissent exclusivement de bois ou d’herbe. Les termites humivores sont extrêmement abondants en Amérique du Sud et en Afrique tropicale, mais sont relativement peu étudiés par rapport aux termites xylophages. C’est particulièrement vrai pour le groupe Anoplotermes, qui représente le groupe de termites le moins bien connu. Ce travail vise à faire la lumière sur l’écologie et la diversité de ce groupe strictement humivore, et comprend les sections suivantes :(1) Des échantillonnages standardisés dans sept sites de Guyane Française ont révèle, avec quelques exceptions, que les termites xylophages sont relativement peu spécialisés à un site. Au contraire, les espèces du groupe Anoplotermes, ainsi que les termites humivores en général, sont spécialisés à un type de forêt. Cette spécialisation contribue plus que probablement à la diversification écologique, et donc, à une augmentation de la richesse spécifique des termites humivores. (2) En utilisant les ratios d’isotopiques δ13C et δ15N, nous avons aussi trouvé qu’il existe une spécialisation des espèces le long d’un gradient d’humification chez le groupe Anoplotermes, de l’interface entre le bois pourri et le sol au sol pauvre en matière organique. Donc, au moins deux facteurs favorisent la richesse spécifique du groupe Anoplotermes dans le sol, malgré le manque d’évidence pour une séparation spatiale et temporelle entre les espèces. Cette spécialisation spécifique réduit la compétition interspécifique aux espèces se nourrissant de matière organique au même état de décomposition. (3) Ce mécanisme n’est probablement pas restreint aux espèces du groupe Anoplotermes et le ratio isotopique δ15N varie considérablement entre les termites humivores de manière générale. Les termites humivores comptent des espèces avec des régimes alimentaires différents ne partageant pas toujours les mêmes niches écologiques. Cette diversification du régime alimentaire ne c’est pas produit de manière aléatoire durant l’évolution des termites et les espèces proches tendent à se nourrir du même substrat. (4) Au niveau intraspécifique, il semble que la compétition contraigne la dynamique des colonies. En effet, chez A. banksi, nous avons trouvé que les nids matures sont surdispersés. Les nouveaux nids se trouvent principalement à une certaine distance des nids établis, plus particulièrement dans les trous laissés par les nids morts. Si ce patron est le résultat d’une sélection des sites de nidification, ou plutôt d’une exclusion compétitive reste sujet à discussion, mais met néanmoins en évidence la présence de compétition chez les termites humivores du groupe Anoplotermes. (5) Au vu de la richesse spécifique locale du groupe Anoplotermes, le nombre d’espèces décrites reste remarquablement bas. Après inspection du matériel type, seuls 30 espèces du groupe se sont avérés valides en Amérique du Sud, alors que 80% des espèces que nous avons collectées sont nouvelles pour la science. Cette disproportion entre ce qui est connu et la diversité réelle du groupe, met en évidence le besoin de réaliser des études supplémentaires pour améliorer la connaissance de ce groupe peu connu, le groupe Anoplotermes.Doctorat en Sciences
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Toly, Noah J. "From parks to pills a political ecology of biodiversity conservation in Costa Rica /." Access to citation, abstract and download form provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company; downloadable PDF file 0.88 Mb., 299 p, 2006. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3205437.
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