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Kaky, E. "Species distribution modelling of Egyptian plants under climate change." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/52119/.
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It is thought that climate change will have a major impact on species distributions by changing the habitat suitability for species. Species distribution modelling is a modern approach to assess the potential effect of climate change on biodiversity. We used 11 environmental variables with the MaxEnt algorithm to model the distributions of 114 Egyptian medicinal plant species under current conditions, then projecting them into three different future times (2020, 2050, and 2080) under two different climate-change emission scenarios (A2a and B2a), under two hypotheses about the capability of the species for dispersal (unlimited and no dispersal). Species richness maps for current and future times were produced. We tested the value of Egypt’s Protected Areas under climate change by estimating the species richness inside and outside under each scenario. We assessed Egyptian medicinal plants based on IUCN Red List categories and criteria, and then used the SDMs for conservation planning with and without consideration of socioeconomic factors using Zonation software. The A2 emission scenario was more harmful than B2 under all assumptions. Species richness inside Protected Areas was significantly higher than outside for all models. Based just on the records, between 75% and 90% of species could be classified as Least Concern, according to the assumptions made. Similarly, based on SDMs all species could be classified as LC at the current time, whilst in the future under climate change, up to 18% of species face the risk of extinction, depending on assumptions and based on the absolute time gap between the two future times. Based on 10 years, most species were assigned as Least Concern. Areas within PAs were no better in conservation prioritization value than area outside when socioeconomic costs (especially the Human Influence Index) were taken into account. Species distribution models appear to be extremely useful for conservation planning under climate change, particularly when only sparse data are available. Socioeconomic information adds a new dimension to conservation planning, which is actually misleading and incomplete without it.
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Baldridge, Elita. "A data-intensive assessment of the species-abundance distribution." Thesis, Utah State University, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3700756.
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The hollow curve species abundance distribution describes the pattern of large numbers of rare species and a small number of common species in a community. The species abundance distribution is one of the most ubiquitous patterns in nature and many models have been proposed to explain the mechanisms that generate this pattern. While there have been numerous comparisons of species abundance distribution models, most of these comparisons only use a small subset of available models, focus on a single ecosystem or taxonomic group, and fail to use the most appropriate statistical methods. This makes it difficult to draw general conclusions about which, if any, models provide the best empirical fit to species abundance distributions. I compiled data from the literature to significantly expand the available data for underrepresented taxonomic groups, and combined this with other macroecological datasets to perform comprehensive model comparisons for the species abundance distribution. A multiple model comparison showed that most available models for the species abundance distribution fit the data equivalently well across a diverse array of ecosystems and taxonomic groups. In addition, a targeted comparison of the species abundance distribution predicted by a major ecological theory, the unified neutral theory of biodiversity (neutral theory), against a non-neutral model of species abundance, demonstrates that it is difficult to distinguish between these two classes of theory based on patterns in the species abundance distribution. In concert, these studies call into question the potential for using the species abundance distribution to infer the processes operating in ecological systems.
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Pinkerton, Jeramy John. "Predicting the Potential Distribution of Two Threatened Stream Fish Species in Northeast Ohio." The Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1461189304.
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Syfert, Mindy Mardean. "Species distribution modelling using presence-only data : applications in ecology and conservation." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2014. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.648801.
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Cardoso, C. A. B. "The quantification of aggregation intensities in mapped point patterns." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.375242.
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Talley, Brooke Lee. "Host-Pathogen Ecology: Effects of Species Ecology and Environmental Factors on the Intensity and Distribution of Disease Among Illinois Amphibians." OpenSIUC, 2014. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/dissertations/855.
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The worldwide decline of amphibians is due to several interacting factors that vary in their involvement and severity according to species, geography, environment, and individual response (Wake and Vredenburg 2008; Gahl et al. 2011). One of those threats has caused population declines globally (Stuart et al. 2004), Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which is the fungal pathogen that causes chytridiomycosis in amphibians (Berger et al. 1998; Longcore et al. 1999). Bd's effects are not completely known since some areas of the world have been studied (e.g., Panama, Lips et al. 2006; United States Sierra Nevada, Briggs et al. 2010; Australia, Phillott et al. 2013) while other areas have received little or no attention, often because these systems appear stable or because the effect of threats are not known. In the Midwestern United States, widespread anuran population declines occurred historically and are in some cases ongoing (e.g., Vogt 1981, Oldfield and Moriarty 1995, Brodman and Kilmurry 1998, Casper 1998, Hay 1998, Moriarty 1998, Mossman et al. 1998, Varhegyi et al. 1998, Steiner and Lehtinen 2008, Zippel and Tabaka 2008). Large-scale habitat alterations, chemical contaminations, and other threats have likely caused some Midwestern U.S. amphibian declines (Lannoo, 1998), but the role of Bd in historic and current population declines has been limited to small population surveys or incidental discovery of Bd (e.g., Pessier et al. 1999; Beasley et al. 2005; Steiner and Lehtinen 2008). I investigated the current and historic Bd infection levels among amphibians in Illinois and identified species risk factors associated with likelihood of chytridiomycosis-related death. My research questions focused on which biotic and abiotic factors explained Bd prevalence and intensities among current populations, which species risk factors would make them more likely to suffer severe Bd infection, and what the historic Bd status was in Illinois. Working with Illinois amphibians presented the opportunity to answer these research questions because Bd was already known to occur in Illinois (Pessier et al. 1999), there were a variety of anecdotal examples of historic population declines in Illinois (Beasley et al. 2005; Lannoo 1998), and extensive museum holdings were available to document the spatial and temporal pattern of Bd among Illinois populations. In the chytridiomycosis-amphibian disease system, mortality is driven by intensity of infection. Intensity is affected by many factors, including environmental temperatures, amphibian community composition, and fungal traits. However, the relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors on Bd prevalence and intensity in multispecies, natural communities is unknown for any wild populations. In 2008-2009, I conducted one of the first large-scale strategic surveys of both current and historic presence of Bd. I sampled 4,691 Illinois amphibians from current and historic populations to provide a framework of historic Bd infection and current status, and used those results to identify at-risk populations based on natural history and species risk factors. I tested 2,804 amphibians from 12 species for Bd, and determined that Bd was present in all sites, wetlands, and in all species in both years. Statewide prevalence was relatively high (2008 &mu = 34%; 2009 &mu = 55%), as was average individual infection intensity (2008 &mu = 1,773 Zswab; 2009 &mu = 2,159 Zswab). Wetland water temperature best explained Bd prevalence, but several biological factors explained intensity. Higher Bd intensities were correlated with species richness and indicated an amplification effect (Ostfeld and Keesing 2012). Hylid treefrogs may be amplifying species because they had the highest infection intensities and their presence was correlated with increased infection in other taxa. Bd can cause declines and extinctions in amphibian populations (Stuart et al. 2004), but other threats may also be involved (Collins and Storfer 2003). In Illinois, amphibian populations may be threatened by a variety of assaults including disease, habitat loss, chemical contaminants, and invasive species (Lannoo 1998). Management for biodiversity typically focuses on identifying and mitigating threats and prioritizing species susceptibility by identifying risk factors. I proposed to study whether species risk factors for Bd also signal general susceptibility to other threats (e.g., Lips et al. 2003; Bielby et al. 2008; Cooper et al. 2008) in Illinois amphibians. I identified nine potential risk factors for each of 21 Illinois species form the literature, and compared association of those traits with disease intensity. I used Bd intensity data from 1,445 Bd-positive amphibians collected 2008-2010. As in Chapter 2, I found that both biological and environmental factors explained disease intensity at the species levels: air temperature during the breeding season was the best predictor of infection intensity with three species biological traits also contributing (i.e., longevity, clutch size, and aquatic index). Conservation status did not explain Bd intensities, likely because conservation status is based upon rarity, population trends, and presence of threats, but which does not always include Bd susceptibility. Since most of the study species were common prior to my disease survey with relatively stable populations with no prior Bd threat, the conservation statuses used in this analysis did not predict Bd risk. Now that I have shown Bd to be widespread and at high intensities in the state, a reassessment of data included in the species status would be timely and might be warranted. I found that Bd was geographically and taxonomically widespread in Illinois, which suggested an established infection status, perhaps longer than the first report from the 1990s (Pessier et al. 1999). Also, this suggests that population declines from chytridiomycosis might have occurred historically. I used museum holdings to determine spatial and temporal distributions of Bd in Illinois amphibians. I tested 1,008 museum specimens from the vertebrate collections at Southern Illinois University, Illinois Natural History Survey, and the University of Illinois Museum of Natural History to determine the oldest date of anuran Bd infection in Illinois. I detected 110 Bd positive specimens (10.7%, CI: 9.0-12.8%) in four species collected during the 1890s-1980s. The earliest Bd record was from a Lithobates sphenocephalus collected in southern Illinois in 1900. I determined that Illinois amphibians have been living endemically with Bd for at least 113 years, extending the date of the oldest U.S. record of Bd infection by 61 years. The long-term presence of Bd, coupled with multiple anecdotal reports of population declines, suggest that Bd may have been involved in historic population declines in Illinois amphibians. I found widespread taxonomic and geographic distribution of Bd among current and historic populations of Illinois amphibians. I found a surprisingly long history of Bd in Illinois that transforms the way we consider impacts on historic species and potential co-evolution of disease in Midwestern U.S. amphibians. My finding is as old as the oldest records from Brazil, Africa, and Asia (Weldon et al. 2004; Goka et al. 2009; Schloegel et al. 2010, 2012), suggesting a more ancient history of Bd and amphibians.
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McCluskey, Eric M. "Landscape ecology approaches to Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake conservation." The Ohio State University, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1452059485.
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Lintott, P. R. "The distribution and habitat preferences of bats in a temperate urban landscape." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/22229.
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Urbanisation is a key driver in the loss, fragmentation and modification of natural habitats resulting in the global loss of biodiversity. As the human population, and consequently the rate of urbanisation, continues to increase exponentially it is important to understand how to sustain and enhance biodiversity within the built environment. Cities comprise a complex assortment of habitat types yet relatively little is known of how its composition and spatial configuration can influence species presence or foraging activities. It is therefore necessary to examine habitat use and biodiversity patterns at multiple spatial scales to fully understand how species are responding to the urban matrix. There are few other orders of animals that are as strongly associated with people as bats (Chiroptera); for some bat species human habitations provide roosts and adaptations of the environment provide food sources. However bat species richness generally declines with increasing urbanisation indicating that many species are not able to persist in highly urbanised areas. In this thesis, I show that the behaviour, habitat preferences, and distribution of bats are strongly influenced by the built environment at both a local and landscape scale. Although many animal species are known to exhibit sex differences in habitat use, adaptability to the urban landscape is commonly examined at the species level without consideration of potential intraspecific differences. I found that female Pipistrellus pygmaeus show greater selectivity in foraging locations within urban woodland in comparison to males at both a local and landscape scale. There was a lower probability of finding females within woodlands which were poorly connected, highly cluttered, with a high edge: interior ratio and fewer mature trees. The results have important implications for our understanding of how to manage areas for breeding females and highlight the need to supplement acoustic monitoring with trapping data to assess sex differences in habitat use. Determining how morphological or behavioural traits can influence species adaptability to the built environment may enable us to improve the effectiveness of conservation efforts. The morphological similarities between P. pygmaeus and P. pipistrellus suggest that both species should respond similarly to the urban matrix, however I found differential habitat use occurring within a variety of urban habitats (e.g. woodland and waterways) and at a landscape scale. In urban woodland there was a higher probability of P. pygmaeus activity relative to P. pipistrellus in woodlands with low clutter and understory cover which were surrounded by low levels of built environment. Many bat species are strongly associated with aquatic or adjacent riparian habitats yet we know little about the utilisation of urban waterways by bats. After surveying urban waterways throughout the UK, I was able to show that the built environment can negatively affect a variety of bat species from the riparian zone up to 3km from a waterway. This indicates that beneficial urban waterway rehabilitation schemes for bats require management at multiple spatial scales, from retaining a vegetated riparian zone at the local scale to highlighting the necessity for conservation funding to be spent on the implementation of landscape scale environmental improvement schemes that encompass the entire urban matrix. Undertaking surveys to confirm species presence or to estimate population sizes can be difficult, particularly for elusive species such as bats. I was able to demonstrate a variety of ways to increase surveying efficiency (e.g. the use of an acoustic lure to increase bat-capture rate) and a significant relationship between bat activity and the relative abundance of certain species of bat which can maximise the knowledge of diversity in an area whilst minimising wildlife disturbances. Urbanisation has also had strong negative effects on many insect groups, such as moths, which are important components of the diets of many bat species. I found that woodland vegetation characteristics were more important than the surrounding landscapes in determining the abundance, species richness, and species diversity of moth assemblages within urban woodland. This indicates that management at a local scale to ensure provision of good quality habitat may be more beneficial for moth populations than improving habitat connectivity across the urban matrix. The findings presented in this thesis have important implications for our understanding of the adaptability of species to the built environment and for the management and monitoring of bat populations. It also highlights that even common bat species are negatively affected by urbanisation and much greater attention should be paid to securing their future within the urban landscape.
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Haywood, Carly. "NINE-BANDED ARMADILLOS IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: DISEASES, SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION, AND LIVE-CAPTURE TECHNIQUES." OpenSIUC, 2020. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/theses/2804.
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Originally endemic to South America, the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) has recently expanded its range northward to Illinois. With this range expansion comes concern from both wildlife managers and the general public regarding potential incoming pathogens and unknown impacts on native wildlife. My research, conducted during 2018-2020 in southern Illinois, addressed the following 3 objectives intended to provide information regarding this novel species: (1) test for the presence of Trypanosoma cruzi and Mycobacterium leprae, (2) model the potential distribution of armadillos, and (3) attempt several different armadillo capture methods. For Objective 1, I tested roadkilled specimens for T. cruzi and M. leprae, 2 pathogens known to infect humans, using PCR and ELISA, respectively. All 81 samples tested for T. cruzi and all 25 samples tested for M. leprae were negative. The latter case is consistent with the enemy release hypothesis, suggesting armadillos have evaded parasites present in their native environment due to geographical distance. The absence of T. cruzi in the sampled individuals implies dispersing individuals are more robust than those at the center of their range. For Objective 2, I used MAXENT to model potential armadillo distribution in 51 counties in southern Illinois using 39 presence locations. Modeling identified low-intensity development to be the most important predictor of armadillo presence. For Objective 3, I attempted to capture armadillos using spotlighting on roads, staking out burrows, unbaited single-door cage traps, and unbaited double-door cage traps. Based on trap nights per capture, I found the use of double-door cage traps to be the most efficient method. My study will aid in managing colonizing armadillo populations by presenting information regarding dynamics of disease transmission, predicting areas of armadillo presence, and capture methods.
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Tang, Wing-kai, and 鄧榮佳. "Distribution, seasonality and species identification of larval stomatopoda in Hong Kong waters." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2009. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B4266469X.
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Zhang, Xuemei. "Ecology and Management of Pythium species in Float Greenhouse Tobacco Transplant Production." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/101779.
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Pythium diseases are common in the greenhouse production of tobacco transplants and can cause up to 70% seedling loss in hydroponic (float-bed) greenhouses. However, the symptoms and consequences of Pythium diseases are often variable among these greenhouses. A tobacco transplant greenhouse survey was conducted in 2017 in order to investigate the sources of this variability, especially the composition and distribution of Pythium communities within greenhouses. The survey revealed twelve Pythium species. Approximately 80% of the surveyed greenhouses harbored Pythium in at least one of four sites within the greenhouse, including the center walkway, weeds, but especially bay water and tobacco seedlings. Pythium dissotocum, followed by P. myriotylum, were the most common species. Pythium myriotylum, P. coloratum, and P. dissotocum were aggressive pathogens that suppressed seed germination and caused root rot, stunting, foliar chlorosis, and death of tobacco seedlings. Pythium aristosporum, P. porphyrae, P. torulosum, P. inflatum, P. irregulare, P. catenulatum, and a different isolate of P. dissotocum, were weak pathogens, causing root symptoms without affecting the upper part of tobacco seedlings. Pythium adhaerens, P. attrantheridium, and P. pectinolyticum did not affect tobacco seeds or seedlings. The consequences of Pythium infection were more likely to be severe when they occurred during seed germination than at seedling emergence, or after plant stem elongation when seedling roots had started to grow into underlying nutrient solutions, depending on the species of Pythium. High and low variation was observed among isolates of P. dissotocum and P. myriotylum, respectively. Pythium myriotylum co-existed with multiple other Pythium or oomycete species in the same environments within tobacco greenhouses, and significant in vitro and/or in vivo interactions between P. myriotylum and some naturally co-existing species were revealed. Pythium porphyrae may have the potential to protect tobacco seeds and seedlings from P. myriotylum infection. Greenhouse Pythium control trials identified ethaboxam, mefenoxam, and copper ionization as potentially promising alternatives to etridiazole for Pythium disease management in tobacco transplant production. The outcomes of this project provide useful new information to better understand the composition, distribution, and diversity of Pythium communities in tobacco transplant greenhouses and to improve Pythium disease management for tobacco transplant production.Doctor of Philosophy
Pythium diseases are common in tobacco transplant production and can cause up to 70% seedling losses in hydroponic (float-bed) tobacco transplant greenhouses. However, little is known about the composition and distribution of Pythium communities in tobacco transplant greenhouses. This project began with a tobacco transplant greenhouse survey, in which 12 Pythium species were recovered from center walkways, weeds, greenhouse bay water, and tobacco seedlings. Pythium dissotocum and P. myriotylum were the two types (species) of Pythium most commonly found in the survey. Pythium myriotylum, P. coloratum, and P. dissotocum were aggressive pathogens that suppressed seed germination and caused root rot, stunting, foliar chlorosis, and death of tobacco seedlings. Pythium aristosporum, P. porphyrae, P. torulosum, P. inflatum, P. irregulare, P. catenulatum, and an isolate of P. dissotocum, were weak pathogens causing root symptoms without affecting the upper part of tobacco seedlings. Pythium adhaerens, P. attrantheridium, and P. pectinolyticum did not affect tobacco seeds or seedlings. The symptoms caused by infection by Pythium species differed among host (tobacco) growth stages, except for the most aggressive species, P. myriotylum. High levels of variation were observed among isolates of P. dissotocum, in terms of vegetative growth rate (on V8 agar media) and aggressiveness on tobacco seed and seedlings. Pythium myriotylum was found to co-exist with multiple other Pythium or oomycete species (neighbor isolates) in the same environments within tobacco greenhouses. Significant interactions between P. myriotylum and some neighbor isolates were revealed, and these interactions significantly affect the consequences of P. myriotylum infection of tobacco seeds. Greenhouse Pythium control trials identified two chemical water treatments (ethaboxam and mefenoxam), and a non-chemical water treatment (copper ionization) as potentially promising alternatives to the current standard Pythium control (etridiazole) for Pythium disease management in tobacco transplant production. The outcomes of this project provide useful new information to both better understand the composition, distribution, and diversity of Pythium communities in tobacco transplant greenhouses and to improve Pythium disease management for tobacco transplant production.
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Flessner, Brandon P. "SPECIES DISTRIBUTION MODELING OF AMERICAN BEECH (FAGUS GRANDIFOLIA EHRH.) DISTRIBUTION IN SOUTHWESTERN OHIO." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1399040680.
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Newbold, Tim. "The value of species distribution models as a tool for conservation and ecology in Egypt and Britain." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2010. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/11405/.
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Knowledge about the distribution of species is limited, with extensive gaps in our knowledge, particularly in tropical areas and in arid environments. Species distribution models offer a potentially very powerful tool for filling these gaps in our knowledge. They relate a set of recorded occurrences of a species to environmental variables thought to be important in determining the distributions of species, in order to predict where species will be found throughout an area of interest. In this thesis, I explore the development, potential applications and possible limitations of distribution models using species from various taxonomic groups in two regions of the world: butterflies, mammals, reptiles and amphibians in Egypt, and butterflies, hoverflies and birds in Great Britain. Specifically I test: 1) which modelling methods produce the best models; 2) which variables correlate best with the distributions of species, and in particular whether interactions among species can explain observed distributions; 3) whether the distributions of some species correlate better with environmental variables than others and whether this variation can be explained by ecological characteristics of the species; 4) whether the same environmental variables that explain species’ occurrence can also explain species richness, and whether distribution models can be combined to produce an accurate model of species richness; 5) whether the apparent accuracy of distribution models is supported by ground-truthing; and 6) whether the models can predict the impact of climate change on the distribution of species. Overall the use of distribution models is supported; my models for species in both Egypt and Britain explained observed occurrence very well. My results shed some light on factors that may be important in determining the distributions of species, particularly on the importance of interactions among species. As they currently stand, distribution models appear unable to predict accurately the impacts of climate change.
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Waters, Timothy D. "Ecology and management of Lygus and the distribution and species composition of Peristenus spp. in Washington." Pullman, Wash. : Washington State University, 2009. http://www.dissertations.wsu.edu/Dissertations/Spring2009/T_Waters_041609.pdf.
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Miller, Helen. "Plant ecology of lowland Alnus Glutinosa woodlands : the management implications of species composition, requirements and distribution." Thesis, Aston University, 2012. http://publications.aston.ac.uk/16442/.
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Wet woodlands have been recognised as a priority habitat and have featured in the UK BAP since 1994. Although this has been acknowledged in a number of UK policies and guidelines, there is little information relating to their detailed ecology and management. This research, focusing on lowland Alnus glutinosa woodlands, aimed to address this data paucity through the analysis of species requirements and to develop a methodology to guide appropriate management for this habitat for the benefit of wildlife. To achieve these aims data were collected from 64 lowland Alnus glutinosa woodlands and a review of the literature was undertaken to identify species associated with the target habitat. The groundflora species found to be associated with lowland Alnus glutinosa woodland were assessed in relation to their optimal environmental conditions (Ellenberg indicator values) and survival strategies (Grime CSR-Strategy) to determine the characteristics (Characters of a Habitat; CoaHs) and range of intra-site conditions (Niches of a Habitat; NoaH). The methodologies, using CSR and Ellenberg indicator values in combination, were developed to determine NoaHs and were tested both quantitatively and qualitatively at different lowland Alnus glutinosa sites. The existence of CoaHs and NoaHs in actual sites was verified by detailed quadrat data gathered at three Alnus glutinosa woodlands at Stonebridge Meadows, Warwickshire, UK and analysed using TWINSPAN and DCA ordination. The CoaHs and NoaHs and their component species were confirmed to have the potential to occur in a particular woodland. Following a literature search relating to the management of small wet woodlands within the UK, in conjunction with the current research, broad principles and strategies were identified for the management of lowland Alnus glutinosa woodland. Using the groundflora composition, an innovative procedure is developed and described for identifying the potential variation within a particular site and determining its appropriate management. Case studies were undertaken on distinct woodlands and the methodology proved effective.
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Degrassi, Allyson Lenora. "Impacts Of Forest Disturbance On Small Mammal Distribution." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2016. http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/640.
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Natural habitat in the eastern United States has diminished over the past century because of the effects of invasive species. Both plant and animal invaders can alter habitat structure and may decrease survival of native species. The degree to which an invasive species alters ecosystem function depends on the functional characteristics of affected species and the resulting cascading effects. The loss of important native species, such as foundation species, can potentially influence the structure and distribution of animal communities because of the foundation species' unique ecosystem roles. The foundation species concept is relatively new to the terrestrial ecology and the impact on animal communities resulting in the loss of terrestrial foundation species is generally unknown.
Eastern hemlock (Tsuga Canadensis), a foundation species in the eastern United States, is declining in abundance due to the invasive sap-sucking insect, hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae, Annand). The loss of hemlock may impact the distribution and microhabitat associations of dependent species such as small mammals. I hypothesized that the distribution, population size, community composition, and microhabitat associations of small mammal species differ in response to canopy disturbance from the effects of logging and invasive species.
In this dissertation, Chapter One provides an exploration of the past research conducted on 1) invasive species and how they affect habitat structure, 2) foundation species and how they affect ecosystem function, 3) small mammal habitat associations and population cycling, 4) occupancy modeling and its usefulness and limitations in the analysis of local occupancy, colonization rates, and extinction rates. Chapter Two presents a large-scale experiment on how the hemlock woolly adelgid impacts distribution and community assembly of small mammals. Chapter Three presents how forest disturbance, food resources, and habitat structure effects local colonization and extinction patterns of southern red-backed voles. Chapter Four presents how a paper published in 2005 brought the foundation species concept to terrestrial research and how the foundation species concept can be misleading in research.
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Foster, Sharla. "Quantifying the Expansion of an Invasive Plant Species, Dog-strangling Vine (Vincetoxicum rossicum), in Environmental and Geographic Space Over the Past 130 Years." Thesis, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/42478.
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Invasive plant species are an increasing global threat to native biodiversity. Effective management depends on accurate predictions of their spread. However, modelling the geographic distribution of invasive species, particularly with methods like correlative species distribution models (SDMs), is challenging. SDMs operate under the assumption that species are in equilibrium with their environment (i.e., they occur in all suitable environments); this assumption is more likely to be violated for a species that is still in the process of colonizing suitable environments. SDMs also assume that environmental constraints are the most important factors determining a species' distribution. However, these assumptions are not commonly assessed, and when violated can have consequences for model reliability. I investigated SDM performance and equilibrium in the invasive Vincetoxicum rossicum vine in northeastern North America. Vincetoxicum rossicum has a long, detailed history of occurrence records in its invaded range, which enabled me to observe trends in equilibrium and model performance over a relatively long time scale. I tested the hypotheses that: 1) invasive species approach equilibrium in environmental and geographic space over time; 2) SDM performance will increase as V. rossicum approaches environmental equilibrium; and 3) range expansion in the early stages of an invasion is primarily a function of dispersal rather than environmental constraints, while the reverse is true in later stages. I found that V. rossicum has reached equilibrium in environmental space, but is still expanding its geographic range. SDM performance was poor in the first 30 years following introduction, but then improved as V. rossicum approached environmental equilibrium. SDMs were outperformed by spatial dispersal models in the earliest time period, however, the reverse was true for all subsequent time periods. Overall, these results suggest that V. rossicum’s distribution is becoming more stable and more predictable over time and that models built using the most recent data for this species, will be the most transferable across time and space. Additionally, my findings highlight the need for researchers modelling invasive species’ distributions to consider the inherent assumptions, biases, and unique features related to SDMs and SDMs of invasive species.
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Moore, Cordelia Holly. "Defining and predicting species-environment relationships : understanding the spatial ecology of demersal fish communities." University of Western Australia. Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, 2009. http://theses.library.uwa.edu.au/adt-WU2010.0002.
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[Truncated abstract] The aim of this research was to define key species-environment relationships to better understand the spatial ecology of demersal fish. To help understand these relationships a combination of multivariate analyses, landscape analysis and species distribution models were employed. Of particular interest was to establish the scale at which these species respond to their environment. With recent high resolution surveying and mapping of the benthos in five of Victoria's Marine National Parks (MNPs), full coverage bathymetry, terrain data and accurate predicted benthic habitat maps were available for each of these parks. This information proved invaluable to this research, providing detailed (1:25,000) benthic environmental data, which facilitated the development and implementation of a very targeted and robust sampling strategy for the demersal fish at Cape Howe MNP. The sampling strategy was designed to provide good spatial coverage of the park and to represent the park's dominant substrate types and benthic communities, whilst also satisfying the assumptions of the statistical and spatial analyses applied. The fish assemblage data was collected using baited remote underwater stereo-video systems (stereo- BRUVS), with a total of 237 one-hour drops collected. Analysis of the video footage identified 77 species belonging to 40 families with a total of 14,449 individual fish recorded. ... This research revealed that the statistical modelling techniques employed provided an accurate means for predicting species distributions. These predicted distributions will allow for more effective management of these species by providing a robust and spatially explicit map of their current distribution enabling the identification and prediction of future changes in these species distributions. This research demonstrated the importance of the benthic environment on the spatial distribution of demersal fish. The results revealed that different species responded to different scales of investigation and that all scales must be ix considered to establish the factors fish are responding to and the strength and nature of this response. Having individual, continuous and spatially explicit environmental measures provided a significant advantage over traditional measures that group environmental and biological factors into 'habitat type'. It enabled better identification of individual factors, or correlates, driving the distribution of demersal fish. The environmental and biological measures were found to be of ecological relevance to the species and the scale of investigation and offered a more informative description of the distributions of the species examined. The use of species distribution modelling provided a robust means for the characterisation of the nature and strength of these relationships. In addition, it enabled species distributions to be predicted accurately across unsampled locations. Outcomes of the project include a greater understanding of how the benthic environment influences the distribution of demersal fish and demonstrates a suite of robust and useful marine species distribution tools that may be used by researcher and managers to understand, monitor, manage and predict marine species distributions.
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Nyström, Sandman Antonia. "Modelling spatial and temporal species distribution in the Baltic Sea phytobenthic zone." Doctoral thesis, Stockholms universitet, Systemekologiska institutionen, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-54269.
Full textAbstract:
Statistical modelling is often used to relate the presence or abundance of species to environmental predictors, thereby providing a basis for predictive mapping of species or biodiversity. The variables included must thus be relevant and reflect actual changes in the environment. Therefore, the quantification of species–environment relationships is an important aspect of predictive modelling. This thesis examines how phytobenthic species or communities in the Baltic Sea relate to environmental gradients, and if different aspects of phytobenthic species distribution in the Baltic Sea could be explained by spatial or temporal variation in environmental factors. Predictive distribution modelling usually focuses on how environmental variables control the distribution of species or communities. Thus the relative weight of the predictor variables on different scales is of importance. In this thesis, I show that the relative importance of environmental variables depends both on geographic scale and location, and that it also differs between species or species groups. There are no simple explanations to the temporal variability in species occurrence. I here show that the temporal changes in species distribution within the phytobentic zone varies in a spatial context. I also try to find temporal and spatio-temporal patterns in species distribution that could be related to changes in climate or anthropogenic disturbance. However, the findings in this thesis suggest that single factor explanations are insufficient for explaining large-scale changes in species distribution. A greater understanding of the relationship between species and their environment will lead to the development of more sensitive models of species distributions. The predictions can be used to visualise spatial changes in the distribution of plant and animal communities over time.At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Submitted. Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript. Paper 5: Manuscript.
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Benefer, Carly Marie. "The molecular and behavioural ecology of click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae) in agricultural land." Thesis, University of Plymouth, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/485.
Full textAbstract:
The larvae (wireworms) of some click beetle genera inhabit the soil in agricultural land and are crop pests. In the UK, a pest complex of Agriotes species, A. obscurus, A. sputator and A. lineatus, has been identified as the cause of the majority of damage. However, studies on their ecology are lacking, despite knowledge of this being important for the development of sustainable risk assessment and pest management strategies, in part due to the morphologically cryptic nature of wireworms. The ecology of economically important click beetle species was investigated, focusing on UK Agriotes species. The relationship between sex pheromone trapped male Agriotes adults and wireworms, identified using a molecular tool (T‐RFLP), was influenced by sampling method, and some environmental variables significantly correlated with species distributions. Scale of sampling influenced the observed distribution of wireworms and other soil insect larvae. Other wireworm species were trapped together with Agriotes species, but mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequences could not be matched to those of other UK species. Sequences from Canadian wireworm samples revealed possible cryptic species. Differences in adult movement rates were found in laboratory tests (A. lineatus > A. obscurus > A. sputator). Molecular markers (AFLPs) were developed to assess dispersal in adult male Agriotes but further protocol optimisation is required. The results show the importance of identifying wireworms to species for assessing adult and wireworm distributions, since the Agriotes pest complex may not be present or as 3 widespread as previously assumed. Sex pheromone trapping of adults may not be appropriate for risk assessment as the relationship between aboveground adult and belowground wireworm species distribution is not straightforward. The differences observed in Agriotes species’ ecology have implications for the implementation of pest management strategies. The techniques used here can be applied in future studies to provide information on other economically important click beetle species worldwide.
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João, Cláudio Damásio. "Does habitat reachability affect the distribution of a range expanding species in a fragmented landscape?" Master's thesis, Universidade de Évora, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10174/25431.
Full textAbstract:
A fragmentação da paisagem pode influenciar a capacidade de espécies em expansão de alcançarem habitat adequado ao impedir os seus movimentos de dispersão. Para estimar este efeito, avaliamos a acessibilidade de habitat para o esquilo-vermelho numa paisagem fragmentada utilizando modelos espacialmente explícitos. Prevemos que o esquilo não ocupe todas as parcelas de elevada qualidade e que a ocupação não é só mediada pela qualidade do habitat mas também pela sua acessibilidade . Para testar estas hipóteses comparámos um modelo de adequabilidade de habitat (HSM) baseado unicamente em variáveis ambientais, com outros HSM que integravam a permeabilidade da paisagem para diferentes distâncias máximas de dispersão (1000, 1500, 2000 metros). Observamos que o HSM que integra a permeabilidade de habitat com uma capacidade de dispersão até 1000m apresenta melhor ajustamento aos dados observados. Os nossos resultados apontam que a acessibilidade do habitat influência a distribuição do esquilo vermelho; Does habitat reachability affect the distribution of a range expanding species in a fragmented landscape?
ABSTRACT:
Landscape fragmentation may influence the ability of range expanding species to reach suitable habitat by impeding its dispersal movements. We used a spatially explicit modeling approach to access the influence of habitat reachability on the distribution of the red squirrel in a fragmented landscape. We hypothesize that the red squirrel does not occupy all suitable habitat patches, and patch occupancy is not only mediated by habitat suitability but also by its reachability. To test these hypothesis we compared a habitat suitability model (HSM) based only on environmental data to other three HSMs considering landscape permeability at different maximum dispersal distances (1000, 1500, 2000 meters). Our results show that the model that took in consideration a 1000m dispersal distance was better fitted to observed occupancy data. Our findings show that habitat reachability influences the distribution of red squirrel, since suitable habitat patches may not be reachable.
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Scriven, Jessica J. "The ecology and population genetics of a complex of cryptic bumblebee species." Thesis, University of Stirling, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/24771.
Full textAbstract:
Bumblebees are ecologically and economically important as pollinators, but some species are suffering severe declines and range contractions. In this thesis, three cryptic bumblebee species are studied to elucidate differences in their distribution, ecology and population genetics. As a result of their high morphological similarity, very little is known about the lucorum complex species: B. lucorum, B, cryptarum and B. magnus. In this study, their distributions across Great Britain were assessed using molecular methods, revealing that B. lucorum was the most abundant and most generalist of the three species, whereas B. magnus was the rarest and most specialised, occurring almost exclusively on heathland. Additionally, both B. magnus and B. cryptarum were more likely to be present at sites with cooler summer temperatures. Cryptic species represent interesting models to investigate the levels of niche differentiation required to avoid competitive exclusion. Characterising the niches of these species at a single site across the flight season revealed differences along three niche dimensions: temporal activity, weather sensitivity and forage-resource use. These species exhibited asymmetric niche overlap; a combination of ecological divergence and spatio-temporal heterogeneity may contribute to maintaining them in sympatry. Population genetic studies can be highly informative for understanding species ecology and for conservation management. The differences in habitat specialisation exhibited by these bumblebee species provide the opportunity to test conflicting hypotheses about links between dispersal and ecological specialisation: are habitat specialists selected to have low or high dispersal ability? Based on microsatellite analysis, the generalist B. lucorum had high levels of genetic diversity and little population structure across large spatial scales. The habitat specialist B. magnus had the lowest genetic diversity but similar levels of population differentiation to the moderate generalist, B. cryptarum. However, unlike B. cryptarum, B. magnus population differentiation was not affected by geographic distance, suggesting that this specialist species may maintain effective dispersal across large scales despite being restricted to a fragmented habitat. Bergmann’s rule is a well-known ecogeographic rule describing geographical patterns of body size variation, whereby larger endothermic species are found more commonly at higher latitudes. Ectotherms, including insects, have been suggested to follow converse Bergmann’s gradients, but the facultatively endothermic nature of bumblebees makes it unclear which pattern they should adhere to. This thesis reports caste-specific differences in body size between the three lucorum complex species in agreement with Bergmann’s rule: queens and males of B. cryptarum and B. magnus, which were found more commonly at higher latitudes and at sites with cooler temperatures, were larger than those of B. lucorum. Population genetic studies of invertebrates generally require the destruction of large numbers of individuals, which is often undesirable. Testing a variety of faecal collection and DNA extraction methods demonstrated that it is possible to obtain DNA of sufficient quality for genotyping from bumblebee faeces, without harming the individuals. This method would be valuable for studies of rare or declining bee species, for queens in reintroduction projects, and may be applicable to other arthropods. Overall this thesis contributes substantially to our knowledge of the ecology and population genetics of three important pollinator species. It provides data to inform species conservation, as well as understanding of ecosystem functioning and population dynamics. Furthermore, it successfully uses these cryptic species as a model to test several fundamental ecological theories.
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Wallis, Kirsty K. "Investigating the ecology, diversity and distribution of cord-forming fungi in Great Britain." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2014. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:d7de00b0-74fa-473b-ac6a-c3ae61f6ac27.
Full textAbstract:
Cord-forming fungi (CFF) are an assemblage of saprotrophic fungi which can use complex foraging organs of longitudinally arranged hyphae to join up disparate substrates in a patchy resource environment. Their importance to woodlands lies, mainly, in their ability to modify nutrient cycling and soil structure. Therefore, in order to enable woodlands to continue to thrive in terms of their health and ecosystem function, it is necessary to understand the factors contributing to the establishment, success and diversity of this group. Whilst work to date on CFF has focussed on their physiology and interactions in laboratory conditions, little work has been carried out on their taxonomy and establishment/presence in the field. The work in this thesis begins to address these crucial unanswered questions in CFF ecology. By carrying out investigations at a range of scales, from phylogenetic analysis to UK wide Species Distribution Modelling, this thesis reaches a number of surprising results with potentially important implications for woodland management. This is most evident in Chapter 3 where our hypothesis that fungal communities develop over time in plantations of different woodland ages was disproved, illustrating that even 13 years after planting, fungal communities in plantations on ex-agricultural land had not begun to reach those in established ASNW. These unexpected results continue into Chapter 4, where the thesis demonstrates that dominant canopy species has a greater impact on community composition than any other woodland factor. Chapter 5 continues this theme, by showing that removal of invasive species is not always beneficial for the cord-forming fungal communities, especially if it involves removing the woody substrate. The work described, detailed and analysed in this thesis has initiated further investigations, proposed changes to woodland management practices and laid the foundations for future work relating to CFF and their role and function in British woodlands.
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Gatehouse, Hazel A. W. "Ecology of the naturalisation and geographic distribution of the non-indigenous seed plant species of New Zealand." Diss., Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1009.
Full textAbstract:
The naturalisation and subsequent spread of non-indigenous plant species (NIPS) is a major problem for most regions of the world. Managing plant invasions requires greater understanding of factors that determine initial naturalisation and distribution of wild NIPS. By the year 2000, 2252 NIPS were recorded as wild (1773 fully naturalised and 479 casual) in New Zealand. From published literature and electronic herbaria records, I recorded year of discovery of wild populations, and regional distribution of these wild NIPS. I also recorded species related attributes hypothesised to affect naturalisation and/or distribution, including global trade, human activities, native range and biological data; and regional attributes hypothesised to affect distribution, including human population densities, land use/cover, and environmental data. I used interval-censored time-to-event analyses to estimate year of naturalisation from discovery records, then analysed the importance of historical, human activity, biogeographical and biological attributes in determining patterns of naturalisation. Typically, NIPS that naturalised earlier were herbaceous, utilitarian species that were also accidentally introduced and/or distributed, with a wide native range that included Eurasia, naturalised elsewhere, with a native congener in New Zealand. In the year 2000, 28% of wild NIPS occupied only one region, 18% occupied two regions, decreasing incrementally to 2.5 % for nine regions, but with 13.5% occupying all ten regions. I used generalised linear models (GLMs) with binomial distribution to determine predictors of whether a wild NIPS occupied ten regions or not, and GLMs with Poisson distribution for wild NIPS occupying 0 – 9 regions. As expected, the dominant effect was that species discovered earlier occupied more regions. Utilitarian wild NIPS that were also accidentally introduced and/or distributed, and wild NIPS with a native congener tended to be more widely distributed, but results for other attributes varied between datasets. Although numbers of wild NIPS recorded in regions of New Zealand were sometimes similar, composition of wild NIPS was often very different. I used nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to determine dissimilarity in composition between regions. Then, after reducing correlation between predictor variables using principal components analyses (PCAs), I tested the importance of regional variables in determining the regional composition of wild NIPS using metaMDS. The density of human populations best explained the dissimilarity in composition, but temperature gradients and water availability gradients were also important. In the year 2000 more than 1100 (60%) of the 1773 fully naturalised NIPS in mainland New Zealand had each been recorded in Northland/Auckland and Canterbury, and at the other end of the scale, Southland and Westland each had fewer than 500 (30%). I used GLMs to analyse the importance of people and environment in determining the numbers of wild NIPS in each region. Because I conducted multiple tests on the same dataset I used sequential Bonferroni procedures to adjust the critical P-value. Only human population density was important in explaining the numbers of NIPS in the regions. Overall, humans were the dominant drivers in determining the patterns of naturalisation and spread, although environment helps determine the composition of NIPS in regions. Incorporating human associated factors into studies of wild NIPS helps improve the understanding of the stages in the naturalisation and spread process.
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Kharouba, Heather M. "Predicting and mitigating the impacts of global change on species' distributions." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/27867.
Full textAbstract:
Global change is expected to accelerate extinction rates substantially. Accurately predicting species responses to future climate and land use changes and the conservation effectiveness of protected areas are critical. Here, I test whether species distribution models can predict how species' ranges shift through time and if protected areas are more robust to recent global change impacts than areas lacking formal protection. Purely spatial species distribution models are able to predict how species' distributions have changed over the 20th century for many species. However, because this predictive ability was not strongly related to biological or sampling characteristics considered here, there is no a priori way to determine which species' models will accurately predict range shifts through time. Protected areas rarely performed differently than randomly selected, unprotected areas in terms of species richness change and species composition change over the past century. Conservation strategies should focus on improving landscape connectivity to facilitate species' geographical responses to future global changes and should account for uncertainty in predictions of those responses.
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Mueller, Mark S. "Distribution and habitat characterization of the Florida burrowing owl in non-urban areas." [Tampa, Fla] : University of South Florida, 2006. http://purl.fcla.edu/usf/dc/et/SFE0001686.
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Klinka, Karel, John Worrall, L. Skoda, Pal Varga, and Christine Chourmouzis. "The distribution and synopsis of ecological and silvical characteristics of tree species of British Columbia's forests." Forest Sciences Department, University of British Columbia, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/714.
Full textAbstract:
An updated silvics text for British Columbia. The need for an effective learning tool for silvics - one of the basic required courses in forestry - has been recognized by intructors as well as students across the province. The text prepared 18 years ago by Krajina et al. (1982) specifically for western Canada has become outdated. The silvics text by Burns and Honkala (1990) represents an up-to-date compendium but it is not an effective learning tool, particularly lacking in the linkage of silvics to ecological classification. Consequently, we revised and expanded “Distribution and Ecological Characteristics of Trees and Shrubs of British Columbia” (Krajina et al. 1982) using the available information on silvics, with some modification for BC and the results of recent silvics research done in BC. This material has been consolidated into a format that will help
students understand the silvical attributes of tree species as well as the relationships between trees and their environments. To enhance learning, we have selected a series of slides illustrating the salient characteristics for each species and present this visual
component on a CD-ROM included with the text. Also included is a large biogeoclimatic zone map of BC. The text, together with the CD-ROM, is intended to facilitate learning of silvics emphasizing its application to silviculture.
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Zinko, Ursula. "Plants go with the flow : predicting spatial distribution of plant species in the boreal forest." Doctoral thesis, Umeå : Ekologi och geovetenskap, Univ, 2004. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-315.
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Eddings, James B. "The Utility of Environmental DNA and Species Distribution Models in Assessing the Habitat Requirements of Twelve Fish Species in Alaskan North Slope Rivers." DigitalCommons@USU, 2020. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7708.
Full textAbstract:
Subsistence fishing is a vital component of Alaska’s North Slope borough economy and culture that is being threatened by human disturbance. These threats mean the fish must be protected, but the size of the region makes conservation planning difficult. Fortunately, advances in species distribution models (SDMs), environmental DNA (eDNA), and remote sensing technologies provide potential to better understand species’ needs and guide management. The objectives of my study were to: (1) map the current habitat suitability for twelve fish species, occurring in Alaska’s North Slope,(2) determine if SDMs based on eDNA data performed similarly to, or improved, models based on traditional sampling data, and (3) predict how species distributions will shift in the future in response to climate change. I was able to produce robust models for 8 of 12 species that relate environmental characteristics to a species’ presence or absence and identify stream reaches where species are likely to occur. Unfortunately, the use of eDNA data did not produce useful models in Northern Alaskan rivers. However, I was able to generate predictions of species distributions into the future that should help inform management for years to come.
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Ivande, Samuel T. "Distribution ecology of Palearctic migrants in the humid Guinea savannah in West Africa." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/7446.
Full textAbstract:
Declines in breeding populations of most migrants across much of the Palearctic have been linked to environmental conditions in their African non-breeding grounds. Studying winter distribution dynamics for these species is necessary to understand how factors in these areas may influence their overall population dynamics. This thesis explored in detail the distribution ecology of migrants in the Guinea savannah, the region from where wintering migrants currently show the greatest breeding population declines. In particular, I investigated some prevailing but hitherto little tested ecological hypothesis concerning impacts of geographical, vegetation and anthropogenic characteristics on the densities and winter distribution of migrants in Africa. Migrant distribution seemed to fit a pattern where decisions leading to winter habitat choice and association were hierarchical and jointly influenced by factors extrinsic and intrinsic to the habitats at large and finer scales respectively. Migrants were distributed in reasonable densities across a wide range of habitats. There was also evidence for an independent effect of latitude on densities and distribution, even after controlling for habitat characteristics. There was no evidence of large changes in latitudinal density patterns within a given winter season and site density patterns were generally consistent over the study duration. Migrants and taxonomically-related/ecologically similar Afrotropical residents showed similarities in habitat requirements and utilization, although migrants utilized habitats over a wider latitudinal range. Some migrants tended to show correspondence in site occurrence between consecutive winters but less so within a given winter season and there was an overall low transferability of habitat models for Palearctic migrants between sites in Nigeria. Collectively, the results describe distribution mechanisms typical for ecologically flexible species that can best be described as habitat generalists. As generalists, migrants are expected to show some resilience, especially in dealing with local and small scale changes on their wintering grounds such that these are unlikely to be the primary limiting factor in their population dynamics. However, the scale of ongoing habitat change across much of Africa is perhaps contributing to overcome the resilience engendered by their generalism. Conservation efforts for these mainly generalists species may therefore aim to preserve habitat on a large scale, perhaps through the promotion of sustainable land use practices.
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Hierlihy, Catherine A. "Distributional limits to widespread and range-restricted species and their effects on species' abilities to respond to changes in climate and land use." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/28890.
Full textAbstract:
The combination of climate change and anthropogenic land use changes are having a substantial effect on species' distributions worldwide. While climate change has led to range expansion in many areas, habitat loss and degradation are leading causes of extinction. It is therefore important to consider how these two forces are acting together to alter species distributions. Here, I have tested whether responses of butterfly species to climate change can be predicted based on range size and whether the level of human impact differs in areas where ranges have expanded and where they have collapsed. I found that the number of widespread species that have shifted their ranges north is not statistically different from the number of range-restricted species that have also shifted north. I also found that human impacts are greater in areas where ranges had collapsed than where they had expanded, and that this pattern was stronger for range-restricted species than for widespread ones. Butterfly species are not tracking changing climate in any predictable way with respect to range size, and are likely limited in their ability to do so by habitat losses.
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Yadav, Sunita. "The Influence of Climate and Topography in Modeling Distributions for Species with Restricted Ranges: A Case Study Using the Hawaiian Endemic Plant Genus, Schiedea (Caryophyllaceae)." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1447690823.
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Cambridge, Tucker. "Species Distribution and Conservation Genetics of the Upland and Midland Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris) in Kentucky." TopSCHOLAR®, 2018. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/3063.
Full textAbstract:
The upland (Pseudacris feriarum) and midland (P. triseriata) chorus frogs are closely related cryptic species that are best distinguished genetically. The distribution of these species within the Commonwealth of Kentucky has previously been defined by only a handful of genetic samples, making delineation of range limits for each species difficult. Accurate understanding of species distributions, and the genetic structure within them, are vitally important for conservation management of amphibian species. In this study, I have collected genetic samples from across the putative ranges of P. triseriata and P. feriarum in Kentucky and used next-generation sequencing technology to generate more fine-scale estimates of species ranges. The genetic data generated in this study support the delineation of two species in Kentucky, and the species assignments of all individuals and populations are in general concordance with the previously hypothesized species distributions. However, I have identified two previously unrecognized contact zones for these species and revealed areas of hybridization. By delineating species distributions and identifying potentially important regions of genetic admixture, this study will be informative to future conservation management and conservation genetic research of chorus frogs in Kentucky.
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Farallo, Vincent R. "Notes from the Underground: Linking Microhabitat and Species Distributions of Plethodontid Salamanders." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2017. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou148156741016879.
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Lelli, Stefano. "Contribution to a better knowledge of biology, distribution and diversity of demersal species along the Lebanese coast, eastern Mediterranean : a focus on Lessepsian fish species." Thesis, Perpignan, 2017. http://www.theses.fr/2017PERP0051.
Full textAbstract:
L’objectif de cette étude était de contribuer à une meilleure connaissance des espèces démersales dans les eaux côtières libanaises en Méditerranée orientale. Différents aspects relatifs à la distribution, la diversité, et la biologie de ces espèces ont été étudiés. Les données ont été collectées à partir de captures expérimentales dans le cadre du projet ‘CIHEAM-PESCA Libano’. Un mélange hautement diversifié d'espèces de poissons (téléostéens et sélaciens), de céphalopodes et de crustacés, ainsi que de organismes macro-benthiques ont été échantillonnés. La distribution spatio-temporelle et la diversité ont été évaluées respectivement à l'aide de la ‘capture par unité d'effort’ qui a été assimilée à un indice d’abondance et du nombre total d'espèces capturées dans les relevés.Des relations longueur-poids ont été établies pour plusieurs espèces présentant un nombre d’individus suffisant. Finalement, l'accent a été porté sur la biologie et l'écologie d'une espèce lesseptienne et exploitée, l’holocentre rouge, Sargocentron rubrum. Cette étude constitue une première étape dans la gestion des pêches et la conservation dans cette régionThe aim of this study was to contribute to a better knowledge of demersal species in the Lebanese coastal waters, Eastern Mediterranean. Various aspect related to the distribution, diversity and biology of these species were studied. The data were collected from a three-year experimental survey in the framework of the ‘CIHEAM-PESCA Libano project’. A highly diversified mix of fish species (teleosteans and selaceans), cephalopods and crustaceans were sampled. Spatio-temporal distribution and diversity was evaluated respectively using the ‘Catch Per Unit Effort’ which was considered as an approximation of an abundance index and the total number of species caught in the surveys
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Waller, Eric Kindseth. "Complexity in Climatic Controls on Plant Species Distribution| Satellite Data Reveal Unique Climate for Giant Sequoia in the California Sierra Nevada." Thesis, University of California, Berkeley, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=3686042.
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A better understanding of the environmental controls on current plant species distribution is essential if the impacts of such diverse challenges as invasive species, changing fire regimes, and global climate change are to be predicted and important diversity conserved. Climate, soil, hydrology, various biotic factors fire, history, and chance can all play a role, but disentangling these factors is a daunting task. Increasingly sophisticated statistical models relying on existing distributions and mapped climatic variables, among others, have been developed to try to answer these questions. Any failure to explain pattern with existing mapped climatic variables is often taken as a referendum on climate as a whole, rather than on the limitations of the particular maps or models. Every location has a unique and constantly changing climate so that any distribution could be explained by some aspect of climate.
Chapter 1 of this dissertation reviews some of the major flaws in species distribution modeling and addresses concerns that climate may therefore not be predictive of, or even relevant to, species distributions. Despite problems with climate-based models, climate and climate-derived variables still have substantial merit for explaining species distribution patterns. Additional generation of relevant climate variables and improvements in other climate and climate-derived variables are still needed to demonstrate this more effectively. Satellite data have a long history of being used for vegetation mapping and even species distribution mapping. They have great potential for being used for additional climatic information, and for improved mapping of other climate and climate-derived variables.
Improving the characterization of cloud cover frequency with satellite data is one way in which the mapping of important climate and climate-derived variables can be improved. An important input to water balance models, solar radiation maps could be vastly improved with a better mapping of spatial and temporal patterns in cloud cover. Chapter 2 of this dissertation describes the generation of custom daily cloud cover maps from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) satellite data from 1981-1999 at ~5 km resolution and Moderate Resolution Imagine Spectroradiomter (MODIS) satellite reflectance data at ~500 meter resolution for much of the western U.S., from 2000 to 2012. Intensive comparisons of reflectance spectra from a variety of cloud and snow-covered scenes from the southwestern United States allowed the generation of new rules for the classification of clouds and snow in both the AVHRR and MODIS data. The resulting products avoid many of the problems that plague other cloud mapping efforts, such as the tendency for snow cover and bright desert soils to be mapped as cloud. This consistency in classification across cover types is critically important for any distribution modeling of a plant species that might be dependent on cloud cover.
In Chapter 3, monthly cloud frequencies derived from the daily classifications were used directly in species distribution models for giant sequoia and were found to be the strongest predictors of giant sequoia distribution. A high frequency of cloud cover, especially in the spring, differentiated the climate of the west slope of the southern Sierra Nevada, where giant sequoia are prolific, from central and northern parts of the range, where the tree is rare and generally absent. Other mapped cloud products, contaminated by confusion with high elevation snow, would likely not have found this important result. The result illustrates the importance of accuracy in mapping as well as the importance of previously overlooked aspects of climate for species distribution modeling. But it also raises new questions about why the clouds form where they do and whether they might be associated with other aspects of climate important to giant sequoia distribution. What are the exact climatic mechanisms governing the distribution? Detailed aspects of the local climate warranted more investigation.
Chapter 4 investigates the climate associated with the frequent cloud formation over the western slopes of the southern Sierra Nevada: the "sequoia belt". This region is climatically distinct in a number of ways, all of which could be factors in influencing the distribution of giant sequoia and other species. Satellite and micrometeorological flux tower data reveal characteristics of the sequoia belt that were not evident with surface climate measurements and maps derived from them. Results have implications for species distributions everywhere, but especially in rugged mountains, where climates are complex and poorly mapped.
Chapter 5 summarizes some of the main conclusions from the work and suggests directions for related future research. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
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Cooper, Tessa June Groves. "The effects of land use changes on the distribution of forest dependent bird species in South Africa." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97842.
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Thesis (MSc)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Forests in South Africa have had a long history of human utilization and disturbance, and are under threat from a variety of anthropogenic land use changes. Foremost of these are deforestation and forest degradation, impacting the species native to these forests. The aims of this study were to determine changes in the distribution of forest dependent bird species according to the South African Bird Atlas Project; to relate these changes to changes in land-use; to identify links between these changes; to determine the extent, location and causes of the decline of each forest dependent bird species; and to identify current risks to forest dependent bird species in South Africa. Range data on 57 forest dependent bird species from SABAP1 (1987-1992) and SABAP2 (2007-present) were analyzed. Of these, 28 species were found to have declining ranges. Thirty sites across South Africa were identified as being most at risk, with all having experienced a loss of more than 10 of the 57 forest dependent bird species between SABAP1 and SABAP2. The range change data of the 28 species with decreasing ranges were correlated with data on changes in land cover over the same time period to infer relationships between changes in land use and change in bird ranges. Occupancy modelling was done to determine which land cover types affect extinction and initial presence. Individual species characteristics were analyzed to determine links between characteristics and response to land use change. A pan-European trait-based risk assessment framework was applied to all 57 species to identify habitats and species most at risk, as well as the most important threats to species persistence. Results showed that natural vegetation decreased in 67% of sites, while plantations and cultivation increased in 50% of sites. Occupancy modelling showed extinction likelihood to increase with plantations in some species, while plantations mitigated extinction likelihood in other species. Urbanization and cultivation likewise mitigated extinction likelihood in some species. Natural vegetation was replaced by cultivation, while cultivation was replaced by urbanization. The number of species lost increased with a loss of natural vegetation. Twenty two of the thirty sites experienced deforestation of indigenous forests between 2000 and 2013/2014; changes in natural vegetation in these sites can be attributed primarily to deforestation, and a loss of plantations. While most at-risk sites were in the Eastern Cape, there was no geographic grouping of species loss or of land use change. Most species lost were birds of prey or insectivores, and species characteristics and habitat preferences determined the sites from which they were lost. The Cape parrot (Poicephalus robustus), rufous-chested sparrowhawk (Accipiter rufiventris) and the migratory Eurasian golden oriole (Oriolus oriolus) suffered the largest declines in range size and are thought to be most at risk. Montane forests were found to be more at risk than other forest types. The major risks facing montane forests were increased abundance of small predators, increased fire suppression, increased soil management, removal of deadwood and reduced diversity of tree species. These threats are all products of plantation forestry and local harvesting. Nesting risk was higher than foraging risk for all species, indicating that nesting habitat should be better preserved. Half of South Africa’s forest dependent bird species have declining ranges, with the loss of these species most prominent in the Eastern Cape. Natural vegetation loss, comprising mostly recent deforestation; increased cultivation and urbanization; and changes in plantation cover are thought to be the main factors determining these declines. Montane forests in particular should be better protected to preserve forest dependent species, and the negative effects of plantation forestry and local harvesting should be mitigated.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika het ‘n lang geskiedenis van woude wat deur mense gebruik, asook vernietig word. Woude word bedreig deur verskeie menslike grondgebruike en veranderinge. Die mees vooraanstaande van die bedreigings is ontbossing en woud verdunning, wat ‘n invloed het op inheemse spesies in die woude. Die doelwitte van hierdie studie was om veranderinge in die verspreiding van bos-afhanklike voëlspesies vas te stel volgens die Suid Afrikaanse Voël Atlas Projek; om hierdie veranderinge te verband met veranderinge in grondgebruik; om verbande tussen hierdie veranderinge te identifiseer; om die mate, die plek en die oorsake van die agteruitgang van elke bos-afhanklike voëlspesies te bepaal; en om huidige risiko's aan die bos afhanklik voëlspesies in Suid-Afrika te identifiseer. Trefwydte inligting oor 57 woud afhanklike voëlspesies van SABAP1 (1987-1992) en SABAP2 (2007-nou) was geanaliseer. Daar was gevind dat vanuit die spesies, het 28 ‘n afneming in trefwydte ervaar. Dertig terreine in Suid-Afrika was uitgeken as dié met die hoogste risiko, met ‘n verlies van meer as 10 van die 57 woud afhanklike voëlspesies tussen SABAP1 en SABAP2. Die trefwydte inligting van die 28 spesies met ‘n afnemende trefwydte was gekorreleer met inligting oor veranderinge in grond bedekking oor dieselfde tydperk om verhoudings tussen veranderinge in grond gebruik en veranderinge in voël trefwydtes aftelei. Besetting modellering was gedoen om te bepaal watter tipes grond bedekking beinvloed uitwissing en aanvanklike teenwoordigheid. Kenmerke van individuele spesies is ontleed om verbande tussen kenmerke en reaksie op verandering in grondgebruik te bepaal. ‘n Pan-Europese eienskap gebaseerde risiko-analise raamwerk is toegepas op die 57 spesies om die spesies en habitatte met die grootse risiko te identifiseer, asook die belangrikste bedreigings vir spesies-volharding. Die resultate het gewys dat natuurlike plantegroei het verminder in 67% van terreine, terwyl plantasie en verbouing vermeerder het in 50% van terreine. Besetting-modellering het gewys dat waarskynlikheid van uitwissing vermeerder met plantasies in sommige spesies, terwyl plantasies die waarskynlikheid van uitwissing verminder het in ander spesies. Verstedeliking en verbouing het ook die waarskynlikheid van uitwissing verminder in sommige spesies. Natuurlike plantegroei was vervang deur verbouing, terwyl verbouing vervang is deur verstedeliking. Die aantal spesies verlies het vermeerder met die vermindering van natuurlike plantegroei. Twee en twintig van die dertig terreine het ontbossing van inheemse woude ervaar tussen 2000 en 2013/2014. Veranderinge in natuurlike plantegroei in die terreine is meestal as gevolg van ontbossing, en ‘n vermindering van plantasies. Terwyl meeste van die hoë risiko terreine in die Oos-Kaap was, was daar geen geografiese groepering van spesies vermindering of grondgebruik veranderinge nie. Meeste spesies wat vernietig is was roofvoëls of insectivore, en spesies kenmerke en habitat voorkeure het die terreine bepaal waaruit hulle verloor is. Die grootpapegaai (Poicephalus robustus), rooiborssperwer (Accipiter rufiventris) en die trekvoël Europese wielewaal (Oriolus oriolus) het die grootste vermindering in trefwydte grootte ervaar, en is vermoedelik die grootste risiko. Bergwoude was gevind om meer in gevaar te wees as ander woud tipes. Die grootste risikos wat bergwoude beïnvloed het was ‘n toenemende hoeveelheid klein roofdiere, verhoogde vuur onderdrukking, verhoogde grondbestuur, verwydering van dooie hout, en verlaagde diversiteit van boomspesies. Hierdie bedreigings is almal as gevolg van plantasie bosbou en plaaslike oes. Nes-risiko was hoër as kos soek risiko vir alle spesies, wat aandui dat nes-habitat beter bewaar moet word. Die helfte van Suid-Afrika se woud-afhanklike-voëlspesies het dalende trefwydtes, met die verlies van hierdie spesies mees opvallend in die Oos-Kaap. Die verlies van natuurlike plantegroei, as gevolg van onlangse ontbossing; verhoogde verbouing en verstedeliking; en veranderinge in plantasie bedekking is vermoedelik die hooffaktore wat die vermindering van voëlspesies veroorsaak. Veral bergwoude moet beter beskerm word om woud-afhanklike-voëlspesies te bewaar en die negatiewe invloede van plantasiebosbou en plaaslike oes te verminder.
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Kilroy, Catherine. "Diatom communities in New Zealand subalpine mire pools: distribution, ecology and taxonomy of endemic and cosmopolitan taxa." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Biological Sciences, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/3678.
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Mire pools – shallow water-bodies in peat-forming wetlands – are a characteristic feature of New Zealand’s subalpine and alpine landscapes (>1000 m a.s.l.), yet have been the subject of few biological studies to date, particularly of their algal communities. This research focuses on these subalpine systems, and on their diatom communities. Despite the established paradigm of ubiquitous dispersal in micro-organisms, recent taxonomic studies have confirmed a distinctive endemic component in the freshwater diatom flora of the New Zealand / Tasmania / East Australian region. In this study, I examined benthic diatom communities from >320 freshwater sites throughout New Zealand and showed that over 20% of species may be confined to this region. The endemic diatom species had highest densities in stable, unproductive environments, particularly in high-altitude mire pools and tarns. In most cases, non-endemic taxa coexisted with endemic species. This raised questions about (1) the special characteristics of mire pools and tarns (since endemism might be expected in areas that have unique environmental characteristics), and (2) the mechanisms that have allowed existing endemic taxa to withstand displacement by common cosmopolitan taxa, which, by definition, are successful colonisers. I addressed these questions using two years of data from four subalpine mire pools (Bealey Spur wetland, near Arthur’s Pass, South Island). Physico-chemical data showed that water chemistry of these pools may differ from that of many Northern Hemisphere mire systems with respect to the relationship between pH and dissolved ions (especially calcium). This may be due to a combination of high pH rainfall, high rainfall quantities that limit the acidification effects of humic substances, and possibly vegetation differences. Therefore, some endemic taxa may be confined to these habitats because of the characteristic properties of the pools. I investigated the effects of disturbances in these stable environments. In the largest pool endemic species were shown to decline as wind-induced substrate disturbance increased. Endemic species also declined in two pools following small-scale experimental substrate disturbances. In all cases, non-endemic species remained unchanged. The distinctive species Eunophora cf. oberonica was responsible for much of the observed decline in endemic species abundances, which was evidently due to destruction of their specialised habitat within the cyanobacterial mats that made up the pool substrates. I explained pool-specific responses of diatom communities to disturbances by drawing on recent theory of invasibility as an intrinsic environmental property. I further investigated species coexistence by examining several general patterns of interspecific coexistence described for macroscopic organisms (e.g., abundance – occupancy, abundance – persistence). Patterns in mire-pool diatom communities were generally similar to those in larger organisms, and did not differ with respect to geographical range size (endemics vs. non-endemics), except at the scale of single pools. At this scale, endemic taxa, in particular E. cf. oberonica, can persist as dominant species. All the community analyses were underpinned by detailed taxonomic studies, from which I assessed over 40% of the more common species in the pools to be either endemic or likely to be endemic. Two species occurring in the study area are formally described as new species. Overall, this work highlights the vulnerability of this hidden component of New Zealand’s biodiversity to disturbances and environmental changes.
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Groom, Jeremiah D. "Distribution, territorial limitations, and patch colonization dynamics of bird species in a fragmented temperate-zone woodland landscape." The Ohio State University, 2003. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1060694203.
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Youngquist, Melissa Betty. "How Local and Landscape Factors Affect Anuran Species Distributions in Agricultural Landscapes." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1437667835.
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Wason, Jay W. "Environmental controls on forest tree species growth and distributions along elevation gradients in the northeastern United States." Thesis, State University of New York Col. of Environmental Science & Forestry, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10130745.
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Tree species are expected to respond to recent and future changes in climate and other environmental factors such as pollution. In this dissertation I studied environmental controls on the growth and distributions of forest tree species in mountains of the northeastern United States, focusing particularly on spruce-fir forests. To determine if mountains could provide climate change refugia for tree species, I collected in situ microclimate measurements to quantify elevational shifts in suitable temperature regimes over time. To determine how species elevation distributions have changed since the 1960s, I resampled historical vegetation plots on Whiteface Mountain, New York. I also surveyed current species distributions along elevation gradients on 11 additional mountains in New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine to determine if smaller size classes were found at higher elevations than larger size classes of the same species (suggesting an ongoing upslope migration). Finally, I collected tree cores on these mountains to determine how climate change and acid rain affect tree growth. I found that the temperature regimes in the northeastern U.S. have already moved upslope hundreds of meters since the 1960s and are expected to continue shifting upslope suggesting that mountains in the northeastern U.S. may not represent climate change refugia for spruce-fir forest species. Elevational distributions of spruce-fir and lower elevation northern hardwood trees did not show evidence of a synchronous upslope shift in elevation as expected from recent climate change. Instead, species showed varied (individualistic) shifts with elevation that may be partly driven by other factors such as land-use history. Tree growth was found to be increasing, primarily due to reductions in precipitation acidity and only partially due to climate warming. Thus, elevational distributions of tree species appear to lag recent climate change although tree growth rates respond to environmental change more immediately. This dissertation provides some of the first evidence suggesting that reductions in acid rain have had direct, measurable impacts on the growth of a terrestrial organism. Managers should continue to monitor tree species growth and distributions especially at range margins as they respond to multiple environmental drivers of change.
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Brito, Gustavo Reis de. "Aplicação da modelagem preditiva de distribuição de espécies como ferramenta de estudo da biodiversidade." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/153218.
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Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
A Biologia da Conservação é uma ciência multidisciplinar surgia em meados dos anos 80 através da necessidade da junção de diferentes áreas do conhecimento frente às mudanças ambientais que afetam a biota como um todo. De maneira concomitante, o avanço das tecnologias permitiu a integração de áreas como a Ecologia com a computação, permitindo estudos que fossem capazes de gerar predições não só atuais, mas futuras em relação às espécies e o ambiente em que estas estão inseridas. Conhecido como modelagem preditiva de distribuição de espécies, modelagem de nicho ecológico ou simplesmente modelagem preditiva, o processo de modelamento da relação entre espécies e ambiente se baseia em diferentes tipos de algoritmos computacionais visando atender não só a demanda por um conhecimento ecológico, mas atender principalmente estudos de conservação. O presente trabalho, demonstrou que a modelagem preditiva de distribuição de espécies é uma importante ferramenta aliada à Ecologia e à Biologia da Conservação e que, embora seja uma área em ascensão, ainda necessita de estudos quanto aos processos utilizados na produção dos modelos. Neste trabalho foi avaliada a interferência do tamanho da amostra no resultado final do modelo através da utilização de diferentes tamanhos amostrais para seis espécies de aves brasileiras, produzindo resultados que demonstram que o tamanho amostral é um dos principais pontos críticos para o processo de modelagem, requerendo atenção por parte do pesquisador para evitar modelos de baixa qualidade, ou ainda, que contenham informações que sub ou superestimam a real distribuição das espécies.
Emerged in the mid-80s as a multidisciplinary science, the Conservation Biology was the result of the need to bring together different areas of knowledge in the face of environmental changes that affect the biota as a whole. At the same time, the advance of technologies permitted the integration of Ecology with Computation, allowing studies capable of generating not only current but future predictions regarding the species and the environment in which they are inserted. Known as species distribution modeling, ecological niche modeling, or simply, predictive modeling, the process of modeling the relationship between species and the environment is based on different types of computational algorithms, aimed at meeting not only the demand for ecological knowledge, but to attend the studies of conservation. The present work showed that the predictive modeling of species distribution is an important tool for Ecology and Conservation Biology and that although it is a growing area, it still needs studies on the process used in the production of the models. This study evaluated the interference of sample size in the final result of the model through the use of different sample sizes for six species of Brazilian birds, producing results that demonstrate that sample size is one of the main critical points for the modeling process, requiring attention on the part of the researcher to avoid low quality models or that contain information that under or overestimates the real distribution of the species.
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Jordan, Lance K. B. "Multi-Experimental Examination of Haemulon Species (Haemulidae) Early-Life Ecology on Southeast Mainland Florida Coral Reefs." NSUWorks, 2010. http://nsuworks.nova.edu/occ_stuetd/83.
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Grunts (Haemulidae: Percoidei) represent one of the most abundant and speciose families on western North Atlantic coral reefs including 15 diverse species from the genus Haemulon. For this dissertation focusing on Haemulon, three studies were conducted to examine 1) spatio-temporal distributions of early-life stage (newly settled and early juvenile) individuals throughout the southeast mainland Florida reefscape, 2) species-specific, depth-variable distributional patterns of newly settled individuals and the potential influence of predation on the observed patterns, and 3) the effects of burying nearshore hardbottom settlement habitat and the efficacy of mitigating for the lost habitat using limestone boulder reefs. The combined results of the studies suggest that newly settled Haemulon spp. utilize shallow reef habitats (highest densities on nearshore hardbottom) with peak abundances in summer months. While newly settled individuals were never observed on natural reef habitats below 12 m depth, studies using artificial reefs (ARs) showed that new settlers were commonly recorded at depths of 21 m. Species-specific patterns of new settler depth utilization were found when replicate ARs at three sites (8 m, 12 m, and 21 m depth) were examined. Of the three most abundant species collected during fortnightly sampling of ARs, newly settled H. flavolineatum and H. aurolineatum were found at all three sites while H. striatum was found almost exclusively at the 21-m site. Comparison of caged and noncaged ARs allowed for inferences to be made regarding depth-variable predation pressure on newly settled Haemulon spp. Results (based on delta density differences between caged and noncaged ARs at each site) suggest lower predation pressure at the 8-m site, relative to the 12-m and 21-m sites. Depth-variable predation pressure may, in part, explain the distributional patterns exhibited by newly settled Haemulon spp. on the natural reef. I examined annual change in early-stage Haemulon spp. populations on nearshore hardbottom (NHB) to assess the impact of habitat burial caused by a large-scale beach nourishment. Newly settled Haemulon spp. represented the most abundant fish taxa on NHB. Populations of this life-history stage exhibited high variability among annual surveys and no direct effect of NHB burial was detected. In contrast, early juvenile individuals showed a significant decline during the annual survey corresponding with the timing of the beach construction (burial of NHB habitat). Furthermore, the beach-nourishment activities altered the entire fish assemblage structure of the NHB adjacent to the beach fill area. This change in the NHB fish assemblage structure had not returned to pre-impact conditions three years after the conclusion of the nourishment. Limestone boulder reefs deployed to mitigate for buried habitat exhibited lower newly settled Haemulon spp. abundance than NHB. Contrastingly, early juvenile abundance was higher on the boulder reefs than on the NHB. Fish assemblage structure on the boulder reefs differed substantially from the NHB for which it was intended to resemble; with more mid- and large-bodied predators present on the boulder reefs. The results suggest mitigation boulder reefs did not provide equitable settlement habitat for Haemulon spp. Based on the combined results of this dissertation, it appears that shallow reef habitats (especially NHB) represent important settlement habitat for Haemulon spp. by providing spatial refuge from predators, which were more prevalent at deeper sites. Although burial did not appear to directly cause changes to newly settled Haemulon spp. populations on the NHB, fish assemblage structure was altered. Changes in species composition and abundance can have unforeseen ecological consequences for future Haemulon spp. populations. Relative to other reef habitats, the high densities of new settlers supported by the NHB suggests this unique habitat deserves protection from future nthropogenic impacts.
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Kay, Susanna. "The dynamics and distribution of some plant species on the Keen of Hamar, Shetland." Thesis, University of Stirling, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/1893/21438.
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Autecological and demographic studies on Cerastium nigrescens and Arenaria norvegica subsp. norvegica on the Keen of Hamar and Nikkavord, two ultramafic outcrops on Unst, are reported. The fluctuations in numbers of the two species on the Keen showed differences within the site but in general were related to low spring rainfall, and to number of day degrees above 5.6 DC. Individuals of the two species were monitored on the Keen from June 1994 to November 1996. Plants of Cerastium showed Deevey type two curves and mature plants had a half life of 3.8 years. Most of the seeds germinated from July to November. Plants of Arenaria showed a Deevey type one curve with high mortality after flowering in the second year. Many Arenaria seedlings were recorded throughout the spring, summer and autumn. Seed bank measurements ranged from 12 - 13 m-2 for Cerastium and from 24 - 43 m-2 for Arenaria. On Nikkavord, Cerastium plants occurred on wetter areas than the Keen plants but showed similar population dynamics to them. Arenaria plants sampled on Nikkavord showed bigger fluctuations in numbers and flowering frequencies than Keen plants. Cerastium seeds were sown on Sobul, an ultramafic outcrop, about 6 km SW of the Keen, where the species did not occur naturally. There was germination and establishment after two years. Pilot studies on the Keen revealed the importance of soil surface microtopography for the establishment of Cerastium and Arenaria. Keen and Nikkavord Cerastium leaves were more densely glandular pubescent than leaves of Faroese Cerastium arcticum. The glands produced fats, pectins and other polysaccharides and may be part of an adaptation to drought. A nickel-rich fully vegetated area on the northern slopes of the Keen suggested that the lower nickel concentrations in the barest soils are not important in retarding successional processes.
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Karst, Justine. "Ecological separation among fern species in an old-growth forest." Thesis, McGill University, 2001. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=33790.
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The validity of niche-assembly rules in explaining community structure is revisited by testing for ecological separation among ferns. An intensive, fine-scale survey of fern abundance and environmental variation was done in 1-ha of old-growth forest. Three methods of detecting niche segregation (canonical correspondence analysis, detrended correspondence analysis and GIS mapping) suggested that most fern species at the site are distributed according to distinct environmental preferences. The most important gradients separating fern species are first, the amount of soil moisture and second, soil nitrate concentration. Contrary to other findings, pH had little influence on controlling fern distribution. Spatial autocorrelation, detected by partialled ordinations, obscured the presence of niche partitioning. As well, sampling grain changed the apparent location of some species on environmental gradients and their ecological similarity to other species. Finer-scaled environmental heterogeneity or dispersal-mediated processes may account for the unexplained variation in fern species abundance of this site.
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Gherghel, Iulian. "HOW ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION SHAPE SPECIES DISTRIBUTIONS AND ECOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS ACROSS TIME AND SPACE." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1607695751110949.
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Wirt, Ames Katherine. "Acropora Habitat Evaluation and Restoration Site Selection Using a Species Distribution Modeling Approach." Scholar Commons, 2016. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/6158.
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While populations of nearly all stony coral species along the Florida reef tract have exhibited decline, the most notable decline has occurred in the once-dominant acroporid species (Acropora cervicornis, A. palmata). Both species were listed in 2006 as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This listing, combined with their continued decline, has resulted in large-scale restoration efforts throughout Florida and the Western Caribbean. Currently, there is little to no information regarding spatial prioritization of sites for these restoration efforts. The primary objective of this dissertation was to utilize species distribution modeling, informed by existing data from the Florida reef tract, to identify sites for restoration of acroporid corals that should have strong likelihood for success.
The initial focus was to use a database of reported field observations, in combination with benthic habitat maps, to model the extent of suitable habitat for Acropora spp. The mapped coral reef and hardbottom classifications throughout Florida, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Island reef tracts were used to generate potential-habitat polygons using buffers that incorporated 95% and 99% of reported observations of Acropora spp. Resulting maps demonstrated that A. palmata habitat is relatively well defined, while that of A. cervicornis is more variable and difficult to constrain.
Thus, as the major focus of this dissertation, available monitoring data from the Florida reef tract were used to construct and compare two types of statistical species distribution models, random forest and boosted classification trees, as an approach to inform siting of restoration efforts for A. cervicornis. Boosted classification trees were more accurate than the random forest model at classifying A. cervicornis population trends. Further analyses of the two most important environmental parameters identified by the model, depth and light availability, revealed that reef areas predicted to not have had A. cervicornis present from 1996-2013 were deeper, on average, and had lower light availability and greater variance than areas predicted to have had continuous or transient A. cervicornis presence over this time frame.
This study represents a first step at deriving an ecologically-guided approach to spatial prioritization of restoration efforts. The overarching goal of this project has been to design a strategy for creating models to define and predict where conservation and restoration actions should be most effective, that can be utilized for a variety of coral species. With existing populations mapped, the results can also aid in protecting the limited areas in which these species still occur.
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Chandrasekar-Rao, Anjali. "Distribution and ecology of Hong Kong small mammals, with special reference to seasonality." Thesis, Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1994. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B17311950.
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Sams, Erin E. "An improved benthic survey method for coral composition and distribution: Habitat Reef, Curaçao." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1355155070.
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Sitepu, Bina Swasta. "An Integrative Taxonomic Study of Ramps (Allium tricoccum Aiton) Complex." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1534064390052709.
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