Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Habitat classification'

Habitat classification, the process of mapping a site with its habitats, is a crucial activity for monitoring environmental biodiversity. Phase 1 classification, a 10-class four-tier hierarchical scheme, is the most widely used scheme in the UK. Currently, no automatic approaches have been developed and its classification is carried out exclusively by ecologists. This manual approach using surveyors is laborious, expensive and subjective. To this date, no automatic approach has been developed. This thesis presents the first automatic system for Phase 1 classification. Our main contribution is an Automatic Image Annotation (AIA) framework for the automatic classification of Phase 1 habitats. This framework combines five elements to annotate unseen photographs: ground-taken geo-referenced photography, low-level visual features, medium-level semantic information, random projections forests and location-based weighted predictions. Our second contribution are two fully-annotated ground-taken photograph datasets, the first publicly available databases specifically designed for the development of multimedia analysis techniques for ecological applications. Habitat 1K has over 1,000 photographs and 4,000 annotated habitats and Habitat 3K has over 3,000 images and 11,000 annotated habitats. This is the first time ground-taken photographs have been used with such ecological purposes. Our third contribution is a novel Random Forest-based classifier: Random Projection Forests (RPF). RPFs use Random Projections as a dimensionality reduction mechanism in their split nodes. This new design makes their training and testing phase more efficient than those of the traditional implementation of Random Forests. Our fourth contribution arises from the limitations that low-level features have when classifying similarly visual classes. Low-level features have been proven to be inadequate for discriminating high-level semantic concepts, such as habitat classes. Currently, only humans posses such high-level knowledge. In order to obtain this knowledge, we create a new type of feature, called medium-level features, which use a Human-In-The-Loop approach to extract crucial semantic information. Our final contribution is a location-based voting system for RPFs. We benefit from the geographical properties of habitats to weight the predictions from the RPFs according to the geographical distance between unseen test photographs and photographs in the training set. Results will show that ground-taken photographs are a promising source of information that can be successfully applied to Phase 1 classification. Experiments will demonstrate that our AIA approach outperforms traditional Random Forests in terms of recall and precision. Moreover, both our modifications, the inclusion of medium-level knowledge and a location-based voting system, greatly improve the recall and precision of even the most complex habitats. This makes our complete image-annotation system, to the best of our knowledge, the most accurate automatic alternative to manual habitat classification for the complete categorization of Phase 1 habitats.

Virtually all marine conservation planning and management models in place or proposed have in common the need for improved scientific rigour in identifying and characterising the marine habitats encompassed. An emerging central theme in the last few years has been the concept of representativeness, or representative systems of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The habitat classification and mapping needed to incorporate considerations of representativeness into MPA planning must logically be carried out at the same scale at which management occurs. Management of highly protected areas occurs almost exclusively at local scales or finer, independent of the reservation model or philosophy employed. Moreton Bay, on Australia’s east coast, was selected for studies at the local scale to map and classify macrobenthic habitats. In a site scale (1 km) trial for the major habitat classification study, remote underwater videography was used to map and characterise an unusual assemblage of epibenthic invertebrates on soft sediments. The assemblage included congregations of the comatulid crinoid Zygometra cf. Z. microdiscus (Bell) at densities up to 0.88 individuals.m-2, comparable to those found in coral reef habitats. There was no correlation between the distribution of this species and commonly used abiotic surrogates depth (6 – 18 m), sediment composition and residual current. This site scale trial is the first quantitative assessment of crinoid density and distribution in shallow water soft-sediment environments. The high densities found are significant in terms of the generally accepted picture of shallow-water crinoids as essentially reefal fauna. The findings highlight the conservation benefits of an inclusive approach to marine habitat survey and mapping. Assemblages such as the one described, although they may be of scientific and ecological significance, would have been overlooked by common approaches to marine conservation planning which emphasise highly productive or aesthetically appealing habitats. Most habitat mapping studies rely solely or in part on abiotic surrogates for patterns of biodiversity. The utility of abiotic variables in predicting biological distributions at the local scale (10 km) was tested. Habitat classifications of the same set of 41 sites based on 6 abiotic variables and abundances of 89 taxa and bioturbation indicators were compared using correlation, regression and ordination analyses. The concepts of false homogeneity and false heterogeneity were defined to describe types of errors associated with using abiotic surrogates to construct habitat maps. The best prediction by abiotic surrogates explained less than 30% of the pattern of biological similarity. Errors of false homogeneity were between 20 and 62%, depending on the methods of estimation. Predictive capability of abiotic surrogates at the taxon level was poor, with only 6% of taxon / surrogate correlations significant. These results have implications for the widespread use of abiotic surrogates in marine habitat mapping to plan for, or assess, representation in Marine Protected Areas. Abiotic factors did not discriminate sufficiently between different soft bottom communities to be a reliable basis for mapping. Habitat mapping for the design of Marine Protected Areas is critically affected by the scale of the source information. The relationship between biological similarity of macrobenthos and the distance between sites was investigated at both site and local scales, and for separate biotic groups. There was a significant negative correlation between similarity and distance, in that sites further apart were less similar than sites close together. The relationship, although significant, was quite weak at the site scale. Rank correlograms showed that similarity was high at scales of 10 km or less, and declined markedly with increasing distance. There was evidence of patchiness in the distributions of some biotic groups, especially seagrass and anthozoans, at scales less than 16 km. In other biotic groups there was an essentially monotonic decline in similarity with distance. The spatial agglomeration approach to habitat mapping was valid in the study area. Site spacing of less than 10 km was necessary to capture important components of biological similarity. Site spacing of less than 2.5 km did not appear to be warranted. Macrobenthic habitat types were classified and mapped at 78 sites spaced 5 km apart. The area mapped was about 2,400 km2 and extended from estuarine shallow subtidal waters to offshore areas to the 50 m isobath. Nine habitat types were recognised, with only one on hard substrate. The habitat mapping characterised several habitat types not previously described in the area and located deepwater algal and soft coral reefs not previously reported. Seagrass beds were encountered in several locations where their occurrence was either unknown or had not previously been quantified. The representation of the derived habitat types within an existing marine protected area was assessed. Only two habitat types were represented in highly protected zones, with less than 3% of each included The study represents the most spatially comprehensive survey of epibenthos undertaken in Moreton Bay, with over 40,000 m2 surveyed. Derived habitat maps provide a robust basis for inclusion of representative examples of all habitat types in marine protected area planning in and adjacent to Moreton Bay. The utility of video data to conduct a low-cost habitat survey over a comparatively large area was also demonstrated. The method used has potentially wide application for the survey and design of marine protected areas.

Virtually all marine conservation planning and management models in place or proposed have in common the need for improved scientific rigour in identifying and characterising the marine habitats encompassed. An emerging central theme in the last few years has been the concept of representativeness, or representative systems of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The habitat classification and mapping needed to incorporate considerations of representativeness into MPA planning must logically be carried out at the same scale at which management occurs. Management of highly protected areas occurs almost exclusively at local scales or finer, independent of the reservation model or philosophy employed. Moreton Bay, on Australia’s east coast, was selected for studies at the local scale to map and classify macrobenthic habitats. In a site scale (1 km) trial for the major habitat classification study, remote underwater videography was used to map and characterise an unusual assemblage of epibenthic invertebrates on soft sediments. The assemblage included congregations of the comatulid crinoid Zygometra cf. Z. microdiscus (Bell) at densities up to 0.88 individuals.m-2, comparable to those found in coral reef habitats. There was no correlation between the distribution of this species and commonly used abiotic surrogates depth (6 – 18 m), sediment composition and residual current. This site scale trial is the first quantitative assessment of crinoid density and distribution in shallow water soft-sediment environments. The high densities found are significant in terms of the generally accepted picture of shallow-water crinoids as essentially reefal fauna. The findings highlight the conservation benefits of an inclusive approach to marine habitat survey and mapping. Assemblages such as the one described, although they may be of scientific and ecological significance, would have been overlooked by common approaches to marine conservation planning which emphasise highly productive or aesthetically appealing habitats. Most habitat mapping studies rely solely or in part on abiotic surrogates for patterns of biodiversity. The utility of abiotic variables in predicting biological distributions at the local scale (10 km) was tested. Habitat classifications of the same set of 41 sites based on 6 abiotic variables and abundances of 89 taxa and bioturbation indicators were compared using correlation, regression and ordination analyses. The concepts of false homogeneity and false heterogeneity were defined to describe types of errors associated with using abiotic surrogates to construct habitat maps. The best prediction by abiotic surrogates explained less than 30% of the pattern of biological similarity. Errors of false homogeneity were between 20 and 62%, depending on the methods of estimation. Predictive capability of abiotic surrogates at the taxon level was poor, with only 6% of taxon / surrogate correlations significant. These results have implications for the widespread use of abiotic surrogates in marine habitat mapping to plan for, or assess, representation in Marine Protected Areas. Abiotic factors did not discriminate sufficiently between different soft bottom communities to be a reliable basis for mapping. Habitat mapping for the design of Marine Protected Areas is critically affected by the scale of the source information. The relationship between biological similarity of macrobenthos and the distance between sites was investigated at both site and local scales, and for separate biotic groups. There was a significant negative correlation between similarity and distance, in that sites further apart were less similar than sites close together. The relationship, although significant, was quite weak at the site scale. Rank correlograms showed that similarity was high at scales of 10 km or less, and declined markedly with increasing distance. There was evidence of patchiness in the distributions of some biotic groups, especially seagrass and anthozoans, at scales less than 16 km. In other biotic groups there was an essentially monotonic decline in similarity with distance. The spatial agglomeration approach to habitat mapping was valid in the study area. Site spacing of less than 10 km was necessary to capture important components of biological similarity. Site spacing of less than 2.5 km did not appear to be warranted. Macrobenthic habitat types were classified and mapped at 78 sites spaced 5 km apart. The area mapped was about 2,400 km2 and extended from estuarine shallow subtidal waters to offshore areas to the 50 m isobath. Nine habitat types were recognised, with only one on hard substrate. The habitat mapping characterised several habitat types not previously described in the area and located deepwater algal and soft coral reefs not previously reported. Seagrass beds were encountered in several locations where their occurrence was either unknown or had not previously been quantified. The representation of the derived habitat types within an existing marine protected area was assessed. Only two habitat types were represented in highly protected zones, with less than 3% of each included The study represents the most spatially comprehensive survey of epibenthos undertaken in Moreton Bay, with over 40,000 m2 surveyed. Derived habitat maps provide a robust basis for inclusion of representative examples of all habitat types in marine protected area planning in and adjacent to Moreton Bay. The utility of video data to conduct a low-cost habitat survey over a comparatively large area was also demonstrated. The method used has potentially wide application for the survey and design of marine protected areas.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Environmental and Applied Science
Full Text

The following four broad aims were addressed in this study. (1) To ascertain whether the characteristics of the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages within the different nearshore marine habitat types identified by Valesini et al. (2003) on the lower west coast of Australia differ significantly, and whether the pattern of those spatial differences matches those among the environmental characteristics that were used to distinguish those habitat types; (2) To develop a quantitative approach for classifying nearshore habitats in estuarine waters that employs readily-available data for a range of enduring environmental characteristics, and to use that approach to classify the various habitat types present in nearshore waters of the Swan-Canning Estuary on the lower west coast of Australia; (3) To test the hypothesis that the characteristics of the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in the in the Swan-Canning Estuary differ significantly among nearshore habitat types, and that the pattern of those differences matches that among the environmental characteristics used to distinguish those habitat types and (4) To test the hypothesis that, as a result of environmental changes in the Swan-Canning Estuary, the characteristics of the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages at various habitats in this estuary in 1986/7 differ from those in 2003/4. To address the first aim, benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled seasonally for one year in the subtidal waters and intertidal zone (upper and lower swash zones) at the six nearshore habitat types that were identified by Valesini et al. (2003) on the lower west coast of Australia. The habitat types, which differed mainly in the extent of their exposure to wave activity and whether seagrass and/or nearshore reefs were present, had been distinguished quantitatively using values for a suite of seven statistically-selected enduring environmental characteristics. The faunal samples yielded a total of 121 species representing eight phyla, among which the Polychaeta, Malacostraca and Bivalvia were the most speciose classes and contributed ~ 38, 23 and 10%, respectively, to the total number of individuals. The total number of species and mean density of macroinvertebrates was far greater at the most protected habitat type (1), which also contained dense beds of seagrass, than at any other habitat type, i.e. 70 species and 209.2 individuals 0.1 m-2, compared to 32 species and 36.9 individuals 0.1 m-2 at the most exposed habitat type (6), which had a substrate comprised only of sand. Differences among habitat type influenced the benthic macroinvertebrate species composition to a greater extent than differences among either zones or seasons. Significantly different faunal compositions were detected among those latter two factors only at the most protected habitat type. The faunal assemblage at habitat type 1 was clearly the most distinct from those at the other five habitat types, particularly in the subtidal zone (R-statistics=0.642-0.831, p=0.1%), and was typified by five abundant polychaete species that were adapted to deposit-feeding. In contrast, the fauna at habitat type 6 was typified by four crustacean species and a species of bivalve and polychaete, whose mobility and tough external surface facilitated their survival and feeding in those turbulent waters. The extents of the differences in species composition among the six habitat types was significantly matched with that among the suite of enduring environmental characteristics that distinguished those habitat types, particularly in the case of the subtidal zone (Rho=0.676). Such results indicated that the environmental variables used to distinguish the nearshore habitat types could be used to reliably predict the types of benthic macroinvertebrate species likely to occur at any site along the lower west coast of Australia. The above biological validation of the nearshore marine habitat classification scheme developed by Valesini et al. (2003) provided the justification for the approach to the second broad aim of this study, namely to develop a quantitative scheme for classifying habitat types in the Swan-Canning Estuary. This approach was similar to that employed by Valesini et al. (2003) in that it considers that differences among habitat types are well reflected by differences in a suite of enduring environmental variables. However, it improves on that earlier method by employing a completely objective and quantitative approach. Thus, a large number of environmentally-diverse nearshore sites (102) were initially selected throughout the Swan-Canning Estuary and a suite of 13 enduring environmental variables quantified at each using remotely-sensed images of the estuary in a Geographic Information System. Such variables were chosen to reflect either (i) the type of substrate and submerged vegetation present, (ii) the extent of exposure to wave action or (iii) the location of the site within the estuary with respect to its vicinity to marine and fresh water sources. These data were then subjected to the CLUSTER routine and associated SIMPROF procedure in the PRIMER v6 multivariate statistical package to quantitatively identify those groups of sites that did not differ significantly in their environmental characteristics, and thus represented habitat types. Eighteen habitat types were identified, which were shown to well reflect spatial differences in a suite of non-enduring water quality and sediment characteristics that were measured in situ at a range of estuarine sites during both summer and winter in 2005 (Rho=0.683 and 0.740, respectively, p=0.1%). However, those latter environmental characteristics required far more time in the field and laboratory to quantify than the enduring variables used to identify the habitat types. Benthic macroinvertebrates were sampled during summer and winter in 2005 in the shallow subtidal regions (~1 m depth) at sites representing eight of the habitat types identified in the Swan-Canning Estuary. These samples contained a total of 51 and 36 species during summer and winter, respectively, and, in both seasons, represented nine phyla, namely Annelida, Crustacea, Mollusca, Sipuncula, Nematoda, Platyhelminthes, Cnidaria, Uniramia and Nemertea. The compositions of the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages differed significantly among habitat types and, to a similar extent, between seasons (Global R-statistic=0.408 and 0.409, respectively, p=0.1%). However, the spatial differences were considerable greater in winter than in summer (Global R-statistic=0.536 vs 0.280, p=0.1%), presumably due to the greater spatial variation in particular non-enduring in situ environmental characteristics, such as redox depth and salinity. While the number of species, overall density and taxonomic distinctness of benthic macroinvertebrates also differed significantly among habitats, those variables differed to a greater extent between seasons, being greater in winter than in summer. While the measures of taxonomic distinctness tended to be greater at habitat types located in the lower to middle reaches, i.e. habitat types 6, 7, 9, 10, 13 and 18, than the upper reaches i.e. habitat types 1 and 3, the number of species and overall density reflected this trend only during winter. During summer, the mean numbers of species at habitat types 1, 3, 6 and 10 (3.4-6.0) were significantly lower than those at habitat types 7, 13, and 18 (8.8-10.9), whereas the overall density of benthic macroinvertebrates was far greater at habitat type 7 (32260 individuals 0.1 m-2)than at any other habitat type in this season (3135-18552 individuals 0.1 m-2). Overall, the greatest differences in assemblage composition occurred between those at habitat types 1 and 18 (R-statistic=0.669, p=0.1%), which were located in the uppermost region of the estuary and the lower reaches of the basin, respectively, and differed to the greatest extent in their enduring environmental characteristics. The assemblage at habitat type 1, and also that at habitat type 3, located just downstream, were relatively distinct from those at all other habitat types, particularly during winter (R-statistics=0.666-0.993, p=0.1%). The fauna at the first of these habitat types was relatively depauperate, containing low numbers of species and densities, and was characterised by the polychaetes Leitoscoloplos normalis and Ceratonereis aequisetis and the bivalve Arthritica semen. The assemblage at habitat type 3 was also characterised by those three species and the amphipod Paracorophium minor and the polychaete Boccardiella limnicola. In contrast, the assemblage at habitat type 18 was characterised by a more diverse assemblage, i.e. the polychaetes Capitella capitata, C. aequisetis, L. normalis and Pseudopolydora kempi, the amphipods, Grandidierella propodentata and Corophium minor and the bivalve Sanguinolaria biradiata. The number of species was among the highest at this habitat type during both seasons, which was also reflected in the high taxonomic diversity, and the overall density was the highest in winter and second highest in summer. Despite the above faunal differences, those between assemblages at habitat types 7 and 9, which were both located in the basin of the Swan-Canning Estuary, were similar in magnitude to those that occurred between pairs of habitat types located in two different regions of the estuary. Although both habitat types 7 and 9 were characterised by a similar suite of species, i.e. Oligochaete spp., C. aequisetis, C. capitata, C. minor, G. propodentata, L. normalis, and S. biradiata, the substantial differences in assemblage composition between these habitat types in both summer and winter (R-statistics=0.570 and 0.725, respectively) was due to marked differences in the relative contributions of each of these species. Significant and strong correlations were shown to exist in both summer and winter between the pattern of differences in the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages among habitat types and that among the enduring environmental characteristics used to identify those habitat types (Rho=0.625 and 0.825, respectively, p=0.1%). Furthermore, these correlations were greater than those obtained between the benthic macroinvertebrate fauna and any combination of the non-enduring environmental characteristics (i.e. water quality and sediment parameters) recorded in situ at each habitat type (Rho=0.508 and 0.824, in summer and winter, respectively, p=o.1%). This demonstrates the greater capacity of surrogate enduring environmental characteristics to account for differences in the range of variables that may influence the distribution of benthic invertebrate fauna. Thus, the lists of characteristic benthic macroinvertebrate taxa produced for each of the eight habitat types studied in the Swan-Canning Estuary provide a reliable benchmark by which to gauge any future changes in those fauna. Moreover, these results indicate that the above habitat classification scheme can be used to reliably predict the types of benthic macroinvertebrate fauna that are likely to occur at any nearshore site of interest in this estuarine system. The final component of this study showed that the benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages at four sites in the middle reaches of the Swan-Canning Estuary in 2003/4 differed significantly from those recorded at the same sites in 1986/7. Such differences were reflected in (1) changes in the relative densities of a suite of ten species that were responsible for distinguishing the faunas in these two periods, (2) the absence of 22 rare species in 2003/4 (i.e. 42% of the number of species recorded in 1986/7), (3) the presence of 17 new species in 2003/4, including an abundant polychaete that is likely to have been introduced and (4) a far greater extent of seasonal variation in the number of species and densities of benthic macroinvertebrates in 2003/4. Such changes are likely to be related to lower sediment oxygen levels in certain seasons in 2003/4, as well as an altered hydrological regime due to increased temperatures and decreased rainfall in that more recent period. The fact that these changes have occurred within the Swan-Canning Estuary highlights the need for effective management tools, such as the habitat classification scheme and associated faunal survey undertaken in this study. Such data will provide a sound basis by which to examine the ways in which fauna vary spatially within the system, and allow for the establishment of comprehensive benchmarks for detecting future changes.

This thesis describes an in-depth study of limestone pavements across North West England and North Wales. The aim was to combine elements of geodiversity and biodiversity in order to create a holistic limestone pavement classification to inform future management. A field-based research protocol was used to assess a stratified random sample (46 pavements), accounting for approximately 10% of the limestone pavements in the geographical area. Detailed analyses of key elements are presented, along with important issues that continue to pose threats to this Annex One Priority Habitat. This research resulted in a comprehensive classification, using TWINSPAN analysis and Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling, identifying six distinct holistic functional groups. The prime factors driving limestone pavement morphology, and hence the classification, were established to be lithology, proximity to structural fault, altitude and human intervention, particularly in terms of grazing intensity. Three upland, open limestone pavement classes were formed. Of these, the richest in terms of geodiversity and biodiversity was the group with the thickest bedding planes and hence the deepest grikes, typically greater than 1m. The class that was most species-poor was "at the highest altitude (above 450m), formed on the thin limestones of the Yoredales. These were characterised by shallow, wide grikes. The third upland limestone pavement group had mid-range grikes, generally 0.5-1m in depth, and small clints. Two wooded classes were identified. One was a lowland 'classic' wooded limestone pavement group with deep, narrow grikes and shallow soils. Indicator species included Juniperus communis and Taxus baccata. The second wooded group was situated proximal to a major structural fault. In this group the pavement dip ranged between 10°-40° with well-runnelled clints that were heavily moss-covered. The sixth group was low altitude, proximal to the coast, characterised by low moss growth, un-vegetated clints and the presence of Ulex europaeus. Conservation management was identified as key to the quality of the limestone pavement habitat and this thesis identifies best management practises and links these to the holistic limestone pavement classification. Finally, as a sample case study, this thesis presents mollusc species and diversity from eleven of the Yorkshire limestone pavements. Analysis establishes significant links between geodiversity and mollusc populations, with key drivers for mollusc communities echoing those of plant species on limestone pavement.

付記する学位プログラム名: 京都大学大学院思修館
Kyoto University (京都大学)
0048
新制・課程博士
博士(総合学術)
甲第22610号
総総博第10号
新制||総総||2(附属図書館)
京都大学大学院総合生存学館総合生存学専攻
(主査)教授 山敷 庸亮, 准教授 趙 亮, 准教授 竹門 康弘
学位規則第4条第1項該当

A grizzly bear habitat classification was developed by modifying and expanding the climax-based Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification (BEC) to accommodate serai vegetation. Locations of radio-collared bears were assigned to a large number (N=110) of structurally and floristically unique habitats. An interpretive classification of 14 Bear Habitat Units (BHUs) was derived from the taxa of the BEC system; units were amalgamated on the basis of grizzly bear habitat value and similarity of response to forest management practices. Fifteen climax forest, three subalpine, three wetland, and three avalanche chute units were identified and described in the lower Kimsquit River. Two adult female grizzly bears (numbers 08 and 25) were monitored for 1238 and 1196 days, respectively, from April 1982 to October 1985 and had multi-annual minimum convex polygon (MCP) home ranges of 85 km² (N=23 6), and 60 km² (N=241). River floodplain BHUs were used most heavily by bears 08 and 25 during their active seasons (65% of locations and 51% of time for bear 08; 75% of locations and 63% of time for bear 25) followed by avalanche chutes and sidehill climax and old-growth forests. Rank testing between quality/quantity indices (food plant nutrient content, biomass, berry abundance) and grizzly bear use indicated that movements were generally correlated with food availability at the higher, or BHU, level of the classification (rs=0.61 and 0.83, p<.05 for bears 08 and 25, respectively). Salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) and insects were the only common non-plant items in a diet of over 3 0 species, although food habits differed between bears. It is concluded that, although food plays a critical role in habitat selection of coastal grizzly bears, a relatively rich environment precludes the need for individuals to forage optimally at a micro-habitat level. Except for the early spring and late fall, food can be found in a number of units that collectively meet life requisites. These analyses were used in combination with other use and habitat quality information to develop seasonal habitat values. Assigned values allowed predictions about the effects of forest management practices on habitat capability.
Forestry, Faculty of
Graduate

Biodiversity and its conservation are an important subject as human pressure on natural resources increases continuously. Without accurate means of measuring biodiversity, however, monitoring is very di cult and conservation e orts might not be targeted e ectively. There is a great demand for biodiversity assessment on a regional scale in order to support national conservation aims as stated, for example, in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan. Remote sensing lends itself to interpretation at the landscape scale and this study aims to assess a variety of optical and laser remote sensing data with regard to their usefulness for biodiversity assessment in Wales. The study was divided into four distinct areas to evaluate di erent remote sensing data with regard to their utility for facilitating the measurement and assessment of distinct elements of biodiversity. These components are vegetation composition and condition, land cover on a regional scale, three-dimensional woodland structure and the interaction of ora and fauna within the landscape structure. Methodological advances include a novel land cover mapping approach from multispectral remote sensing data comparable to traditional manual habitat surveys as well as an analysis of forest vertical pro le under consideration of bird habitat preferences. Remote sensing data investigated included airborne hyperspectral data, multispectral satellite imagery and airborne LiDAR. The potential of hyperspectral data for the di erentiation of grasslands of varying levels of improvement was tested at two experimental grassland study sites and the results suggest a strong correlation between biomass and the red-edge region of the electromagnetic spectrum. A relationship between the presence of nonphotosynthetic vegetation and the level of agricultural improvement was further established and utilized in the formulation of rules for the classi cation of grassland habitats. The outcomes of this study were used to support the landscape-scale land cover mapping of the extent of 38 classes from a multi-temporal combination of two spaceborne multispectral sensors (SPOT 5 HRG and IRS LISS IV). The derived maps achieved a moderate accuracy of 64%, though individual classes, especially woodlands and bogs, exceeded this value. The ability of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and terrestrial laser scanner data to capture the three-dimensional structure of forests was investigated. It was found that both sensor types were limited in their ability to accurately represent forest vertical pro le due to respective downward and upward signal attenuation through the canopy. However, both provided an accurate digital terrain model and correlated well in their estimation of canopy height. Despite the limitations of vertical forest structure assessment from airborne Li- DAR, observation of bird species could be linked to distinct forest vertical pro les. Specialist woodland species were found to have the strongest habitat preferences with regard to the vertical forest structure. This project has achieved advancements in the mapping of agricultural land and habitats in Wales, using remote sensing data, speci cally in the di erentiation of grassland improvement levels and tree species discrimination from multispectral satellite imagery. Furthermore, a strong correspondence between airborne and terrestrial laser scanner outputs has been established and LiDAR forest pro les have been shown to relate well to known woodland bird habitat preferences. The added value derived from examining these four research areas as part of a single study, consists of the knowledge gained in how best to harness the respective remote sensing methods for the evaluation of very di erent aspects of biodiversity. It has further been shown that it is possible to use optical remote sensing data at a high spatial and spectral resolution, but low availability to inform and improve the utilization of more widely accessible, but less detailed images. Furthermore, a method has been developed which allows the interpolation of avian diversity from the assessment vertical forest structure. As biodiversity consists of many di erent elements at a wide variety of scales it is crucial to be able to perform such integrated analyses of its various components. However, only a combined approach towards the utilization of remote sensing, as demonstrated in this study, is likely to gain the necessary data. The outcomes of this research support Wales-wide assessment of biodiversity and facilitate the production of regional or national vegetation maps as well as structural attributes for input into models. Components of the study can be used to support, for example, climate change research, assessments of biodiversity and policy decisions. Optical and laser remote sensing data can be successfully utilized for Wales-wide biodiversity components analysis.

Biodiversity is a principal factor for ecosystem stability and functioning, and the need for its protection has been identified as imperative globally. Remote sensing can contribute to timely and accurate monitoring of various elements related to biodiversity, but knowledge gap with user communities hinders its widespread operational use. This study advances biodiversity monitoring through earth observation data by initially identifying, reviewing, and proposing state-of-the-art remote sensing methods which can be used for the extraction of a number of widely adopted indicators of global biodiversity assessment. Then, a cost and resource effective approach is proposed for vegetation height estimation, using satellite imagery from very high resolution passive sensors. A number of texture features are extracted, based on local variance, entropy, and local binary patterns, and processed through several data processing, dimensionality reduction, and classification techniques. The approach manages to discriminate six vegetation height categories, useful for ecological studies, with accuracies over 90%. Thus, it offers an effective approach for landscape analysis, and habitat and land use monitoring, extending previous approaches as far as the range of height and vegetation species, synergies of multi-date imagery, data processing, and resource economy are regarded. Finally, two approaches are introduced to advance the state of the art in habitat classification using remote sensing data and pre-existing land cover information. The first proposes a methodology to express land cover information as numerical features and a supervised classification framework, automating the previous labour- and time-consuming rule-based approach used as reference. The second advances the state of the art incorporating Dempster-Shafer evidential theory and fuzzy sets, and proves successful in handling uncertainties from missing data or vague rules and offering wide user defined parameterization potential. Both approaches outperform the reference study in classification accuracy, proving promising for biodiversity monitoring, ecosystem preservation, and sustainability management tasks.

Understanding the evolutionary processes underlying extant biodiversity may help us to comprehend why species richness is not equally distributed between clades. One of the main causes to explain the disparity of species richness is the development of key innovations in particular clades, increasing or decreasing their capabilities to occupy new environments, to exploit novel resources or to cope with competition. The present thesis focuses on explaining the macroevolutionary consequences of two of the most common habitat transitions in aquatic environments: between environments with different degree of salinity, and between running and standing waters. Among inhabitants of aquatic environments aquatic Coleoptera are one of the most diverse, with representatives living in all kind of environments, including both running and standing waters and, not infrequently, saline environments. The most speciose aquatic Coleoptera families living in aquatic habitats are Hydrophilidae, Dytiscidae and Hydraenidae, but only the evolution of the ecological transitions of the former have been previously studied under a phylogenetic perspective. In this thesis, we assessed the evolutionary patterns of selected tribes belonging to the other two families. Despite aquatic Coleoptera being a relatively well-studied fauna, we needed to address several systematic modifications that revealed the true evolutionary history of the studied groups, describing a genus and three subgenera of Hygrotini, plus other modifications of both Hygrotini and Ochthebiini taxonomy (Chapters 1 and 3), setting the basis of this thesis. Transitions between environments with different degree of saline waters was addressed for Hygrotini (Dytiscidae family, Chapter 2) and Ochthebiini (Hydraenidae family, Chapter 5). We detected multiple origins of tolerance to saline waters, with a gradual acquisition in almost all cases and only direct transitions to hypersaline waters in fairly isolated clades, mostly associated with coastal rockpools. Moreover, tolerance to hypersaline waters was found to be irreversible, but it did not follow an evolutionary dead-end pattern as lineages exhibiting this trait still maintain their diversification capabilities (as seen in Cobalius subgenus, Chapter 5). Additionally, our results seem to link the origin of lineages exhibiting tolerance to saline waters to periods of global aridification, in accordance with previous studies in Hydrophilidae. Transitions between running and standing waters were studied in Hydroporini (Dytiscidae family, Chapter 6). We unveiled that species living in lotic and lentic habitats display similar diversification patterns, but the habitat preference is affecting the body size of the species, with reduced body sizes in specialized environments (i.e. smaller species in running waters). Finally, the field sampling in saline habitats led to the discovery of a new species for science, described as Ochthebius (Micragasma) minoicus (Chapter 4).
Estudiar los procesos evolutivos que ocasionan la biodiversidad actual puede ayudarnos a comprender mejor como la riqueza de especies está distribuida de forma desigual en diferentes clados. Una de las causas principales para explicar este fenómeno es el desarrollo de innovaciones clave que modifican las capacidades de las especies para sobrevivir en nuevos ambientes, acceder a nuevos recursos, o para lidiar la competencia con otras especies. Esta tesis se focaliza en explicar las consecuencias macroevolutivas de dos de las transiciones de hábitat más comunes en ecosistemas acuáticos: aquellas entre ecosistemas con diferente nivel de salinidad, y aquellas entre ecosistemas de aguas corrientes y aguas estancas. Entre los habitantes de ambientes acuáticos, los escarabajos son uno de los grupos más diversos, con especies capaces de vivir en todo tipo de ambientes, incluyendo aguas corrientes y estancas, y en ocasiones, ambientes salinos. Las familias más diversas de escarabajos acuáticos son Hydrophilidae, Dytiscidae e Hydraenidae, aunque solo la primera ha sido estudiada desde una perspectiva evolutiva. En esta tesis, evaluamos los patrones evolutivos de varias tribus pertenecientes a las otras 2 familias. A pesar de que los escarabajos acuáticos son un grupo bien estudiado en general, ha sido necesario realizar modificaciones en la clasificación de algunos grupos para reflejar su verdadera historia evolutiva, describiendo un nuevo género y tres subgéneros para la tribu Hygrotini. Adicionalmente, se han realizado pequeñas modificaciones tanto en Hygrotini como en Ochthebiini, siendo la base sobre la que se han desarrollado los posteriores estudios filogenéticos de esta tesis. Las transiciones entre ambientes con diferente nivel de salinidad han sido estudiadas para Hygrotini (familia Dytiscidae, Capítulo 2) y Ochthebiini (familia Hydraenidae, Capítulo 5). Se han detectado múltiples orígenes de la tolerancia a la salinidad, adquiriéndose esta característica de forma gradual en la mayoría de los casos. Los casos en los que se han descubierto transiciones directas de ambientes de agua dulce hacia ambientes hipersalinos, son clados aislados en la filogenia y asociados con ambientes de charcas costeros. Además, la tolerancia de aguas hipersalinas ha demostrado ser una característica irreversible, aunque no por ello se trata de un dead-end evolutivo (callejón sin salida), ya que las especies que viven en estos ambientes conservan su capacidad de diversificación, llegando incluso a ser superior a la de otras especies (por ejemplo, el subgénero Cobalius, Capítulo 5). A si mismo, nuestros resultados relacionan el origen de linajes tolerantes a la salinidad con periodos de aridificación a escala global, un patrón que confirma el encontrado en la familia Hydrophilidae. En cuanto a las transiciones entre aguas corrientes y estancas estudiada en Hydroporini (familia Dytiscidae, Capítulo 6), hemos encontrado patrones similares en las especies que viven en ambos ambientes, aunque los análisis sugieren la posibilidad de una mayor tasa de diversificación en ambientes de aguas estancadas. Nuestros resultados han destacado una correlación entre la preferencia del hábitat de las especies con su tamaño corporal, de manera que las especies que se encuentran en ambientes más especializados (en aguas corrientes) son aquellas con menor tamaño. Adicionalmente, se ha demostrado que la transición entre ambientes no es per se un factor que afecta al tamaño corporal de las tesis. Finalmente, gracias a los numerosos trabajos de campo realizados enfocados en los ambientes salinos, se ha podido describir la especie Ochthebius (Micragasma) minoicus (Capítulo 4).

Physical habitat for instream biota derives from a combination of stream system structural and hydraulic phenomena. Consequently, the quantity and quality of physical habitat is dynamic both over time and in space along the river, laterally, longitudinally and vertically. Its characterization through stream assessment and classification leads to a better understanding of factors that determine and limit habitat extent and quality. This thesis investigates the effects of space and time on nearshore aquatic habitat in the gravel reach of Fraser River, British Columbia by employing a large river, stage-adaptive habitat classification system. The distribution and abundance of habitat are spatially quantified at the reach scale (32 km), and temporally quantified through a period of about 60 years at several adjacent gravel bars (7 km), and at approximately 500 m3 s-1 increments in discharge during the declining limb of the flood hydrograph at two well-developed gravel bars. Of the ten habitat types evaluated, the bar edge habitat type is most abundant by length and number of units. However, its relative importance is reduced when weighted by fish-habitat association characteristics. Preferred habitat types (channel nook, eddy pool and open nook) are frequent and available to aquatic organisms, and most common at well-developed bars and in zones of equilibrium long-term sedimentation. Preferred habitat was at a maximum 30 years ago when major new bars developed and the thalweg shifted, effectively increasing the amount of bar shoreline and nearshore habitat. This increase is due to substantial change in river planform morphology following a 30-year period of large annual floods. However, amounts of habitat did not increase exclusively during periods of higher than average flows, or decrease exclusively during periods of lower than average flows. Instead, habitat abundance response to flow may occur with a two- or three-year lag. Short term changes in stage are critical to amount of preferred habitat. Optimal discharge for maximum preferred habitat vailability is in the range of approximately 2500 m3 s-1 to 4000 m3 s-1, which approximates long term mean flow. As flow increases, the proportion of preferred habitat compared with total bar shoreline decreases. Comparison with the 2006 flow duration curve shows that 15 – 30 % of discharges are optimal for maximum fish density and biomass. These discharges occurred during April 27 to May 17 and July 14 to August 7, 2006.

This study investigated the use of high resolution satellite imagery in research involving habitat selection, and movement patterns of white-tailed deer and cattle in a semi-arid landscape. Vegetation classification was developed based on Ikonos satellite imagery that was then used to define habitat selection and characterize movement paths of deer and cattle to allow a better understanding of these 2 species. Pasture attributes were also measured to determine animal distribution throughout the study area in relation to roads, fences, water location, and supplemental feeders. Three cattle and 3 free ranging white-tailed deer were used during 3 trials to test seasonal differences in habitat selection and spatial distribution across the pasture. Ikonos satellite imagery was classified to a final classification accuracy of 83.6%. Seven vegetation classes were defined in the classification with 1 class of bare ground/ herbaceous that represents interspaces between shrub vegetation. Classification accuracy was obtained using a ?? meter buffer to all ground control points increasing the accuracy from 71.29%. All physical pasture attributes were significant to animal distributions in the study area when compared to the random distribution. Roads and water location were most important to cattle during the spring and summer. White tailed deer use of the pasture was more dependent on vegetation characteristics than physical attributes. Both cattle and deer selected habitat patches with a proportionately large percentage of bare-ground/interspaces (>40%). Deer were predominately found in areas containing higher percentages of shrub species, while cattle were found in areas containing a mixture of larger tree species in addition to shrub complexes. Travel velocity and path tortuosity were measured to determine effects of vegetation attributes on animal movements. Both cattle and deer followed fairly linear paths (Fractal Dimension<1.2). Factors contributing to path tortuosity included mean patch size, number patches, and patch fractal dimension. Travel velocity was also measured and compared to vegetation association attributes. Travel velocity was significantly different between seasons for white-tailed deer however cattle and deer comparisons were not significant across the 3 trials. Number of patches, patch fractal dimension, mean patch size, and patch area were significant in the travel velocity model.

Marine unconsolidated sediments, such as sand, gravel and muds, constitute the most extensive benthic ecosystems globally. Biological data for these ecosystems are frequently sparse which can hinder the success and implementation of marine management strategies for benthic ecosystems. There are limited studies in South Africa on benthic epifauna. This study investigates the composition and distribution of epibenthic invertebrate assemblages along the west and south coast of South Africa (sampled using depth-stratified demersal trawls) to inform marine environmental management. Sample depth varied from 36m to 899m. Multivariate tools (PRIMER and PERMANOVA+) were used to analyse spatial (west vs south coast) and temporal (2011 vs 2017) patterns in epifauna. This study also investigated an overlap region between the west and south coast. A group average linkage cluster analysis defined biotopes using significant branching (p< 0.05). Biotopes were compared against the 2012 National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) benthic habitat map to investigate whether epifaunal biotopes identified, align with the existing classification. A significant difference among epifauna between region and depth was found, where the west coast had a higher average number of individuals and species per station. Sympagarus dimorphus and Pelagia noctiluca were characteristic species for west and south coast respectively. Epifauna was found to be significantly different between 2011 and 2017, with a notable increase in the abundance of Crossaster penicillatus in 2017. The majority of the biotopes aligned with the current NBA classification, in particular the Agulhas Sandy Shelf Edge ecosystem type on the south coast and South Atlantic Upper Bathyal and Namaqua Muddy Inner Shelf ecosystem types on the west coast. This thesis contributes to the mapping and description of offshore ecosystem types to inform marine environmental impact assessments, marine spatial planning and marine protected area expansion.

Barrier islands are dynamic environments facing increasing vulnerability to climate changes, sea level rises, and anthropogenic activities. Hurricane Sandy (October 2012) modified the Atlantic coast of the United States. On Fire Island and Westhampton Island, New York, multiple overwashes and three breaches occurred. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers filled two breaches, increased dune elevation and stabilized dunes by planting American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata). They built two restoration areas to mitigate the impact of an island stabilization project to federally listed breeding piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). The goal of this thesis was to quantify habitat changes after Hurricane Sandy, and assess habitat use of piping plovers specifically in human-created restoration areas. We created land cover maps using an object-based classification method (overall accuracy 85%), and field-collected data from four post-hurricane habitat types. Vegetation cover increased across all habitat types, especially in manipulated (30.1% increase) and natural overwashes (37.9% increase), while dry sand for nesting declined by 8%. Vegetation density indices were higher in natural overwashes than planted engineered dunes, likely a reflection of plant age and establishment. We monitored 83 nests (67 pairs) of piping plovers from 2015�"2017. Restoration areas were successful in attracting breeding piping plovers, although pair densities were lowest in this habitat in 2016, and in 2017 plovers selected against the restoration areas (�2 = 29.47, df = 3, p<0.0001). There was no effect of habitat type on reproductive parameters. We suggest vegetation removal may be necessary to maintain early successional habitats for piping plover management.
Master of Science
Barrier islands are thin strips of land, which generally lie parallel to the mainland. They are dynamic environments subject to change from weather conditions and ocean currents. They are vulnerable to future climate changes, sea level rise, and increased human activity. Hurricane Sandy, October 2012, caused major landscape changes to the Atlantic coast. On two barrier islands, Fire Island and Westhampton Island, south of Long Island, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) further modified the post-hurricane habitats. They created two restoration sites designed to offset the impact of an island stabilization project to a federally protected breeding shorebird, the piping plover. Piping plovers nest on unvegetated or sparsely vegetated sand. We created land cover maps from aerial images and collected field data to describe habitat changes after Hurricane Sandy (2013, 2015–2017) in four habitat types creating during or after the hurricane. The vegetation cover and density increased across these four habitats, but especially in the manipulated overwashes and natural overwashes. This is likely due to the age of the plants in each habitat type. As vegetation grew back, areas of sand in each habitat type declined. Human-created restoration sites were used by plovers but in 2017 plovers used them less than expected. We monitored piping plover nests and chicks (April to August 2015–2017), and there were no differences in these measurements among habitat types. The findings from this thesis will assist in piping plover conservation on Fire Island and Westhampton Island.

In response to recent declines, forested riparian wetland areas have become an increased conservation and management area of concern focusing on increasing biodiversity and promoting healthy ecosystem services. Additionally, passerine birds have also experienced a sharp global decline in that associated habitat. To mitigate further declines of both habitat and species numbers government programs and agencies have intensified conservation efforts. However, the practices employed are often assumed to be beneficial without conducting dedicated surveys to measure efficacy and practicality of current approaches. As such, visual evidence and statistics are often needed to promote or validate further support and funding for continuing with current polices or creating new focal areas and practices. This study strives to provide an inexpensive, efficient way to assess conservation areas based on a target species through a generalized and adaptive methodology. The Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge in southern Illinois provides an opportunity to do just that with a focus on songbirds. The methodology outlined in this study implements multiple remote sensing land use and land cover classification techniques utilizing Landsat imagery from 1984 to 2014 to create a temporal analysis of the region from pre-refuge era to current refuge designated era. Field surveys from the 2015 songbird summer breeding and fall migration seasons as well as vegetation surveys for field-truthing supplement the remote sensing results. The classification methodology incudes a combination of pan-sharpening Landsat images to a 15 m x 15 m spatial resolution, texture analysis, object based image analysis, and Random Forests to produce land use and land cover maps. For the sake of comparison the same classification process is performed with the untransformed, source images at 30 m x 30 m spatial resolution. Landscape metrics such as the interspersion and juxtaposition index and the contiguity index also provide further insight to temporal landscape patterns. At the completion of the study it was found that there was a minimal difference between the overall classification accuracy of transformed and untransformed images and that lowest overall accuracy in the study was 91% while the highest was 98%. The key survey statistics concluded that during the summer and fall observation periods songbirds in forested wetland areas had a propensity to utilize areas closest to the wetland edge as opposed to inland areas. Furthermore, during fall migration it was concluded that the mixed forest habitat type had a direct effect on observation numbers. Overall, with the aid of multiple landscape metrics, it was shown that the region was increasing in forested area, patch density, and contiguity; in response the passerines were using the area at a high rate, especially near wetland edges creating a sustainable focal area for conservation and management. The methodology and results in this study contribute to an ongoing effort to provide visual and statistical evidence that is reliable and accessible for policy making. The potential to manipulate the generalized methods used in this study to enhance any land use and land class classifications and apply to any targeted species certainly exists. Future studies will want to investigate the use of higher spatial resolution images or actively take reflectance recordings in the field and supplement the temporal maps with a multi-year dedicated species dataset for maximum benefit.

This thesis addresses the problem of automated underwater optical image characterization. Remote underwater optical sensing allows the collection and storage of vast amounts of data for which manual classification may take months. Supervised automated classification of such datasets can save time and resources and can also enable extraction of valuableinformation related to marine and geological research
Aquesta tesi tracta el problema de la caracterització automàtica d'imatges òptiques submarines. L'adquisició automatitzada d'imatges submarines permet l'obtenció i emmagatzematge de grans quantitats de dades per les quals la classificació manual pot requerir mesos de feina. Una classificació automatitzada i supervisada d'aquestes dades suposa un estalvi significatiu de temps i recursos, així com permet l'extracció d'informació valuosa per a realitzar estudis marins i geològics. Pocs són els treballs en la bibliografia orientats a la resolució d'aquest problema. A més, aquests pocs treballs no són capaços d'obtenir resultats consistents quan s'apliquen sobre una mostra variada d'imatges òptiques subaquàtiques

A single-beam acoustic seabed classification system was used to map coral reef environments in the upper Florida Keys, USA, and the Bahamas. The system consisted of two components, both produced by the Quester Tangent Corporation. A QTCView Series V, operating with a 50 kHz sounder, was used for data acquisition, and IMPACT software was used for data processing and classification. First, methodological aspects of system performance were evaluated. Second, the system was applied to the assessment of grouper and snapper habitat. Two methodological properties were explored: transferability (i.e. mapping the same classes at multiple sites) and reproducibility (i.e. surveying one site multiple times). The transferability results showed that a two-class scheme of hard bottom and sediment could be mapped at four sites with overall accuracy ranging from 73% to 86%. The locations of most misclassified echoes had one of two characteristics: a thin sediment veneer overlying hard bottom or within-footprint relief on the order of 0.5 m or greater. Reproducibility experiments showed that consistency of acoustic classes between repeat transects over the same area on different days varied, for the most part, between 50% and 65%. Consistency increased to between 78% and 92% when clustering was limited to two acoustic classes, to between approximately 70% and 100% when only echoes acquired within two degrees of nadir in the pitch direction were used, and to between 81% and 87% when a limited set of features was used for classification. The assessment of grouper and snapper habitat addressed the question whether areas of high fish abundance were associated with characteristic acoustic or geomorphological signatures. The results showed, first, that the hard bottom / sediment classification scheme was a useful first step for stratifying survey areas to increase efficiency of grouper census efforts. Second, an index of acoustic variability complemented the hard bottom / sediment classification by further targeting areas of potential grouper habitat. Finally, five grouper and snapper spawning aggregation sites were all found to have similar associations with drowned shelf edge reefs in the upper Florida Keys.

In der vorliegenden Broschüre werden Untersuchungen zur Wirkung von landwirtschaftlichen Vogelschutzmaßnahmen auf Agrarflächen vorgestellt. Auf den Flächen wurde dazu das Vorkommen von Vegetationsstrukturen und ausgewählten Insektenarten erfasst und hinsichtlich ihrer Verfügbarkeit für Vögel geprüft. Die unterschiedlichen Ansaatmischungen sowie standort- und pflegebedingte Einflüsse führten auf den verschiedenen Blühbrachen im zeitlichen Verlauf zu einer Vielfalt an Pflanzenarten und Habitatstrukturen. Damit verbunden war eine stark variierende Zusammensetzung der Insektenfauna. Im Ergebnis ist mit landwirtschaftlichen Vogelschutzmaßnahmen eine Förderung der Vogel- und Insektenfauna in relativ strukturarmen Agrarlandschaften möglich. Zielgruppe dieser Publikation sind Landwirte, Berater, Behördenvertreter, Naturschutz- und Berufsverbände sowie die interessierte Öffentlichkeit.

This study investigates a way to characterize the geology and biology of the seafloor in two Marine Protected Areas on the West Florida Shelf. Characterization of benthic habitats needs to include sufficient detail to represent the complex and heterogeneous bottom types. Characterizations can be interpreted from multiple data sets and displayed as benthic habitat maps. Multibeam sonar bathymetry and backscatter provide full spatial data coverage, but interpretation of such data requires some form of ground truth (to characterize the habitat). Imagery from towed underwater video provides continuous transects of seafloor data, which provide a more efficient method than data from sediment grabs, stationary cameras, or video from slow-moving remotely-operated vehicles while a ship is on station. Two Marine Protected Areas, Steamboat Lumps and Madison-Swanson, were previously mapped by the USGS using a 95 kHz multibeam sonar system. Researchers at the University of South Florida, using a 300 kHz high-resolution multibeam sonar in 2002 and a 400 kHz high-resolution multibeam sonar in 2016, filled in the northeast triangular portion of Madison-Swanson. Bathymetry and backscatter data were compared to towed underwater-video observations. A modified version of the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS), utilizing a scale-based hierarchy, was used for habitat characterization of video images. Identifiers from the geoform and substrate components of CMECS, as well as substrate-influencing biologic components, were characterized using still images at 15-second intervals from towed underwater video collected using the Camera-Based Assessment Survey System (C-BASS). These characterizations were then georeferenced (located in three-dimensional space) for comparison with bathymetry and backscatter data. In Steamboat Lumps, eight substrate variations were identified from video, while in Madison-Swanson 27 substrate variations were identified, including many combinations of hard and soft substrate types. Four new hard-bottom textures are identified from video in Madison-Swanson: exposed high-relief, moderate-relief, and low-relief hard bottom, as well as covered low-relief hard bottom identified by the presence of attached biota. Hard- and mixed-bottom substrate types identified from video are more heterogeneous than can be resolved from 95 kHz Kongsberg EM 1002 multibeam sonar bathymetry and beam-averaged backscatter. However, in soft bottom areas, more changes are evident in beam-averaged backscatter than are visible in video, though this may be attributed to changes in sonar settings. This does not appear to be the case with high-resolution and ultra-high resolution multibeam sonars, such as the 300 kHz Kongsberg EM 3000 and the 400 kHz Reson SeaBat 7125, which can use time-series rather than beam-averaged backscatter. Analyses of the multibeam bathymetry data indicate that 94.5% of Steamboat Lumps is “flat” (slope < 5°) versus “sloping” for the remaining area (5° < slope < 30°). Only 87% of Madison-Swanson is “flat” versus “sloping”. Both marine protected areas have very low rugosity, i.e., the surface of the seafloor is nearly planar.

Multiple studies have documented declines of forest breeding birds in the eastern United States, but the temporal and spatial scales of most studies limit inference regarding large scale bird-habitat trends. A potential solution to this challenge is integrating existing long-term datasets such as the U.S. Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program and U.S. Geological Survey Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) that span large geographic regions. The purposes of this study were to determine if FIA metrics can be related to BBS population indices at multiple spatial and temporal scales and to develop predictive models from these relationships that identify forest conditions favorable to forest songbirds. I accumulated annual route-level BBS data for 4 species guilds (canopy nesting, ground and shrub nesting, cavity nesting, early successional), each containing a minimum of five bird species, from 1966-2004. I developed 41 forest variables describing forest structure at the county level using FIA data from for the 2000 inventory cycle within 5 physiographic regions in 14 states (AL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MD, NC, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, VA, and WV). I examine spatial relationships between the BBS and FIA data at 3 hierarchical scales: 1) individual BBS routes, 2) FIA units, and 3) and physiographic sections. At the BBS route scale, I buffered each BBS route with a 100m, 1km, and 10km buffer, intersected these buffers with the county boundaries, and developed a weighted average for each forest variable within each buffer, with the weight being a function of the percent of area each county had within a given buffer. I calculated 28 variables describing landscape structure from 1992 NLCD imagery using Fragstats within each buffer size. I developed predictive models relating spatial variations in bird occupancy and abundance to changes in forest and landscape structure using logistic regression and classification and regression trees (CART). Models were developed for each of the 3 buffer sizes, and I pooled the variables selected for the individual models and used them to develop multiscale models with the BBS route still serving as the sample unit. At the FIA unit and physiographic section scales I calculated average abundance/route for each bird species within each FIA unit and physiographic section and extrapolated the plot-level FIA variables to the FIA unit and physiographic section levels. Landscape variables were recalculated within each unit and section using NCLD imagery resampled to a 400 m pixel size. I used regression trees (FIA unit scale) and general linear models (GLM, physiographic section scale) to relate spatial variations in bird abundance to the forest and landscape variables. I examined temporal relationships between the BBS and FIA data between 1966 and 2000. I developed 13 forest variables from statistical summary reports for 4 FIA inventory cycles (1965, 1975, 1989, and 2000) within NY, PA, MD, and WV. I used linear interpolation to estimate annual values of each FIA variable between successive inventory cycles and GLMs to relate annual variations in bird abundance to the forest variables. At the BBS route scale, the CART models accounted for > 50% of the variation in bird presence-absence and abundance. The logistic regression models had sensitivity and specificity rates > 0.50. By incorporating the variables selected for the models developed within each buffer (100m, 1km, and 10km) around the BBS routes into a multiscale model, I was able to further improve the performance of many of the models and gain additional insight regarding the contribution of multiscale influences on bird-habitat relationships. The majority of the best CART models tended to be the multiscale models, and many of the multiscale logistic models had greater sensitivity and specificity than their single-scale counter parts. The relatively fine resolution and extensive coverage of the BBS, FIA, and NLCD datasets coupled with the overlapping multiscale approach of these analyses allowed me to incorporate levels of variation in both habitat and bird occurrence and abundance into my models that likely represented a more comprehensive range of ecological variability in the bird-habitat relationships relative to studies conducted at smaller scales and/or using data at coarser resolutions. At the FIA unit and physiographic section scales, the regression trees accounted for an average of 54.1% of the variability in bird abundance among FIA units, and the GLMs accounted for an average of 66.3% of the variability among physiographic sections. However, increasing the observational and analytical scale to the FIA unit and physiographic section decreased the measurement resolution of the bird abundance and landscape variables. This limits the applicability and interpretive strength of the models developed at these scales, but they may serve as indices to those habitat components exerting the greatest influences on bird abundance at these broader scales. The GLMs relating average annual bird abundance to annual estimates of forest variables developed using statistical report data from the 1965, 1975, 1989, and 2000 FIA inventories explained an average of 62.0% of the variability in annual bird abundance estimates. However, these relationships were a function of both the general habitat characteristics and the trends in bird abundance specific to the 4-state region (MD, NY, PA, and WV) used for these analyses and may not be applicable to other states or regions. The small suite of variables available from the FIA statistical reports and multicollinearity among all forest variables further limited the applicability of these models. As with those developed at the FIA unit and physiographic sections scales, these models may serve as general indices to the habitat components exerting the greatest influences on bird abundance trends through time at regional scales. These results demonstrate that forest variables developed from the FIA, in conjunction with landscape variables, can explain variations in occupancy and abundance estimated from BBS data for forest bird species with a variety of habitat requirements across spatial and temporal scales.
Ph. D.

Auf der Ostseeinsel Rügen wurde eine 3-jährige Untersuchung zur Siedlungsstruktur, Raum- und Habitatnutzung des Dachses (Meles meles L., 1758) unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Landschaftszerschneidung und des Landnutzungsmusters durchgeführt. Über 70 % der Inselfläche ist landwirtschaftlich, überwiegend ackerbaulich, genutzt und nur knapp ein Fünftel wird von Wald bedeckt. Während die Zersiedelung und Zerschneidung der Landschaft durch Siedlungs- und Verkehrsfläche im bundesdeutschen Vergleich als sehr gering einzustufen war, ist nach der ?Wende? eine stete Verdichtung des Straßennetzes zu beobachten, die von einem enormen Anstieg der Verkehrsdichte begleitet wird. Die Auswirkungen dieser Rahmenbedingungen wurden anhand von Nahrungsanalysen, eines inselweiten Baukatasters, Fang und Telemetrie einiger Dachse sowie einer Erfassung verkehrstoter Dachse untersucht. Die erfassten Totfunde dienten einer Abschätzung des Gefährdungspotentials unterschiedlicher Straßentypen (Bundesstraße, Landesstraße usw.). Zusätzlich wurde auf Grundlage des Baukatasters, des Totfundkatasters und von Verkehrszählungen der Zusammenhang zwischen Verkehrslast, Siedlungsdichte (des Dachses) und Verkehrsmortalität des Dachses mit Hilfe eines einfachen Modells ermittelt.
On the baltic island of Rügen investigations had been carried for 3 years with regard to distribution, space use and habitat utilization of the European badger (Meles meles L., 1758). Special attention was focused on landscape fragmentation and patterns of land use. More than 70 % of the island is agricultural, almost arable land and just under a fifth is woodland. Before 1990, fragmentation and dessection of the landscape due to housing and roads was low compared with the german average, but after the political &quot;turn&quot; the road system has increased constantly combined with an enormous increase in traffic density. The effect of these conditions on badgers was investigated studying diet composition, surveying and registrating badger setts all over the island, badger-watching and trapping, radio-tracking some badgers and collecting all reported badgers fallen victim to traffic accidents. Relating the road-killed badgers to the length and traffic density of the different road categories, potential danger to be killed by car was estimated. Relating the density of traffic, the density of the badger's local population and its road-mortality was done by simply using data of the sett survey, the road-killed badgers and traffic census.

En passant de 50 000 à plus d'un million d'individus en moins de 40 ans, la Grande Oie des neiges exerce une pression si forte sur son habitat que l'équilibre écologique de ce dernier est menacé.En effet, lors de ses haltes migratoires automnales et printanières, elle dévore tout sur son passage, en particulier les rhizomes de scirpe américain. Cette situation est fort préoccupante, particulièrement pour la préservation de l'intégrité écologique des marais. Il s'avère donc essentiel de déterminer avec le plus de précision possible à quel point l'évolution de la végétation des marais à scirpe est importante. Pour ce faire, une analyse spatio-temporelle a été effectuée pour les sites traditionnels d'halte migratoire, c'est-à-dire Cap Tourmente, Montmagny, l'Isle-aux-Grues et Cap-Saint-Ignace. Aux images satellitaires IKONOS datant de 2002 s'ajoutent des photographies aériennes prises au cours des quatre dernières décennies. Des classifications servant à identifier les groupements végétaux et les taux de recouvrement du scirpe sont réalisées à partir du logiciel eCognition ( Definiens ) afin de tirer profit de toutes les caractéristiques spectrales, texturales et contextuelles des classes identifiées. De nombreuses données prises sur le terrain servent à la fois à l'entraînement et à la validation des classifications. Les résultats tirés des analyses des secteurs de Cap-St-Ignace, Cap Tourmente et Montmagny révèlent une diminution des proportions de scirpe particulièrement importante à partir des années 1980 à l'intérieur du bas marais. Cette transition s'effectue généralement au profit de la zizanie aquatique dont les populations se sont sensiblement accrues au cours de la même période. De plus, un phénomène important d'érosion a été observé à la limite entre le haut et le bas marais pour pratiquement l'ensemble des secteurs étudiés. Le taux d'érosion peut atteindre 1,5 m/année à plusieurs endroits, ce qui met en péril l'équilibre écologique de ces milieux.

The interface between protected and communal lands presents certain challenges for wildlife conservation and the sustainability of local livelihoods. This is a particular case in South Africa, where foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), mainly carried by African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is transmitted to cattle despite a fence surrounding the protected areas.The ultimate objective of this thesis was to improve knowledge of FMD transmission risk by analyzing behavioral patterns of African buffalo and cattle near the Kruger National Park, and by modelling at fine spatial scale the seasonal risk of contact between them. Since vegetation is considered as a primary bottom-up regulator of grazers distribution, I developed fine-scale seasonal mapping of vegetation. With that purpose, I explored the utility of WorldView-2 (WV-2) sensor, comparing object- (OBIA) and pixel-based image classification methods, and various traditional and advanced classification algorithms. All tested methods produced relatively high accuracy results (>77%), however OBIA with random forest and support vector machines performed significantly better, particularly for wet season imagery (93%).In order to investigate the buffalo and cattle seasonal home ranges and resource utilization distributions I combined the telemetry data with fine-scale maps on forage (vegetation components, and forage quality and quantity). I found that buffalo behaved more like bulk feeders at the scale of home ranges but were more selective within their home range, preferring quality forage over quantity. In contrast, cattle selected forage with higher quantity and quality during the dry season but behaved like bulk grazers in the wet season.Based on the resource utilization models, I generated seasonal cost (resistance) surfaces of buffalo and cattle movement through the landscape considering various scenarios. These surfaces were used to predict buffalo and cattle dispersal routes by applying a cumulative resistant kernels method. The final seasonal contact risks maps were developed by intersecting the cumulative resistant kernels layers of both species and by averaging all scenarios. The maps revealed important seasonal differences in the contact risk, with higher risk in the dry season and hotspots along a main river and the weakest parts of the fence. Results of this study can guide local decision makers in the allocation of resources for FMD mitigation efforts and provide guidelines to minimize overgrazing.
Doctorat en Sciences
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

In der Studie wurde eine Maßnahmenplanung zur gemeinsamen Umsetzung der Wasserrahmenrichtlinie (WRRL) und der Fauna-Flora-Habitat-Richtlinie (FFH-RL) unter Berücksichtigung des Biotopverbunds erstellt. Ziel war es, eine optimale Nutzung von Synergieeffekten zu erreichen. Projektgebiet war das FFH-Gebiet »Lossa und Nebengewässer«, das sich überwiegend im Landkreis Leipzig befindet. Mit dem angewendeten Planungsansatz können die finanziellen Aufwendungen bei der praktischen Umsetzung minimiert werden. Zielkonflikte konnten mittels Umsetzbarkeitsanalyse und daraus abgeleiteter Maßnahmenpriorisierung gelöst werden. Die ebenfalls im Rahmen des Projektes erstellte allgemeine Handlungsanleitung (Heft 11/2014 der Schriftenreihe) wurde in dem Pilotgebiet erfolgreich angewendet.

Die Handlungsanleitung ist bei der Planung von Maßnahmen zur gemeinsamen Umsetzung von WRRL, FFH-RL und dem Biotopverbund nutzbar. Sie baut auf verfügbaren Datengrundlagen auf und ist somit allgemein anwendbar. Mit Hilfe des Handlungsleitfadens können Synergieeffekte bestehender Planungen genutzt, Zielkonflikte identifiziert und Lösungsvorschläge aufgezeigt werden. Die Anwendung am konkreten Beispielgebiet »Lossa und Nebengewässer« (siehe Teil 1 – Maßnahmenplanung; Heft 10/2014 der Schriftenreihe) weist die Übertragbarkeit der Methode auf unterschiedliche Gebiete nach.

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O Parque Nacional da Lagoa do Peixe (PNLP), na zona costeira do Rio Grande do Sul, protege amostras importantes de quase todos os ecossistemas de áreas úmidas e espécies de aves aquáticas da região. Os movimentos migratórios e os deslocamentos entre áreas úmidas determinam importantes variações temporais de composição e abundância das assembléias de aves aquáticas. Os objetivos deste estudo foram descrever os padrões de composição e abundância de aves aquáticas em 27 áreas úmidas naturais, distribuídas no entorno do Parque Nacional da Lagoa do Peixe; descrever os padrões de variação temporal das assembléias associados às variações de pluviosidade; avaliar o efeito do tamanho dos fragmentos, do tipo de área úmida, do tipo de matriz circundante e da disponibilidade de áreas úmidas na paisagem na composição, riqueza e abundância de aves aquáticas e discutir a importância dos remanescentes de áreas úmidas do entorno do Parque para a conservação de aves aquáticas. Foram realizados 12 censos mensais de aves aquátic
The Lagoa do Peixe National Park (LPNP), in the coastal plain of Rio Grande do Sul, protect important samples of almost all wetland ecosystems and waterbird species in the region. The surrounding areas also harbor remnant natural wetlands, scattered in a matrix of drained meadows or rice fields, of which the conservation significance is unknown. The structure of waterbird assemblages in these remnants is expected to vary with their spatial attributes and with the characteristics of the surrounding matrix. The aim of this study was to describe the composition, richness and abundance of waterbird assemblages of 27 remnant wetlands; to describe the seasonal variation in the structure of these waterbird assemblages and it’s relation with pluviosity; to evaluate the effect of the remnant’s area, type of wetland, type of matrix and wetland availability in the landscape on the composition, richness and abundance of waterbirds; and to discuss the importance of the remaining wetlands nearby the Park for the conservat

Die Ingenieurgesellschaft entera wurde von der Sächsischen Landesanstalt für Landwirtschaft mit der Bearbeitung des Forschungsvorhabens "Ökonomische Bewertung von FFH-Maßnahmen zur Ermittlung wirtschaftlicher Nachteile landwirtschaftlicher Unternehmen Sachsens" (Forschungsnummer: 040525) beauftragt. Ziel des Vorhabens war eine ökonomische Bewertung von ausgewählten FFH-Maßnahmen in FFH-Gebieten Sachsens. Des Weiteren sollten wirtschaftliche Nachteile, die landwirtschaftlichen Unternehmen auf Grund von Bewirtschaftungsbeschränkungen im Zuge der Umsetzung der FFH-Richtlinie (RL 92/43/EWG) entstehen, unter Berücksichtigung möglicher Anpassungsstrategien auf einzelbetrieblicher Ebene ermittelt werden. Dieses schloss eine Betrachtung der Thematik "Entwertung des Bodens" mit ein. Im vorliegenden Bericht werden die Ergebnisse der gesamtbetrieblichen Kalkulationen sowie die Auswertungen im Hinblick auf eine Entwertung des Bodens dargestellt. Die Ergebnisse der maßnahmenbezogenen ökonomischen Bewertung sind in einem separaten Band (Endbericht Teil 1 - Teilleistung A, behördeninternes Material) zusammengestellt.

Le polymorphisme de l'ADN ribosomal a été étudié en vue de caractériser les espèces d'Armillaires africaines et européennes. Le polymorphisme de taille de la région ITS couplé à la RFLP a permis de caractériser les trois espèces africaines et a permis de distinguer un isolat T7 non encore identifié au niveau de son système sexuel, comme appartenant vraisemblablement à A. Hemii hétérothallique. Les techniques PCR/RFLP, en conjonction avec le séquençage de la région ITS ont permis de caractériser sept espèces européennes. D'autre part, il a été établi que A. Cepistipes est très proche de A. Gallica et que A. Borealis est proche de A. Osioyae, Une hétérogénéité a été notée à l'intérieur de A. Cepistipes qui est par conséquent composée de plusieurs types. A. Ectypa, espèce localisée uniquement dans les tourbières est clairement différente des autres espèces. L'approche moléculaire associant PCR/RFLP et au séquençage semble être un outil prometteur pour analyser et identifier dans le milieu naturel un grand nombre d'espèces
Polymorphism of ribosomal DNA has been studied in order to characterize the African and European Armillaria species. Size polymorphism of the ITS region coupled with RFLP allowed characterising three African species, as well as the T7 isolate, which very likely belongs to the heterothallic A. Heimii species. PCR/RFLP techniques, used with sequencing of the ITS region allowed discriminating the seven European species. In addition, it has been shown that A. Cepistipes is closely related to A. Gallica and A. Borealis to A. Ostoyea. A. Cepistipes was found to be composed of several types. A. Ectypa which is exclusively found in peat bogs was clearly different from the ether species. Such molecular tools, combining PCR/RFLP and DNA sequencing appear as efficient and reliable to discriminante and identify a large number of Armillaria species in field conditions

This 
thesis 
examines 
the 
changes 
that 
have 
occurred 
within 
West-Coast Renosterveld within 
the 
last 350 years, and assesses 
the viability of 
the 
remaining fragments.

Der Leitfaden ist eine Handlungsempfehlung und Orientierungshilfe für Naturschutzbehörden, Vereine sowie private, engagierte Naturschützer, die sich mit Wiederansiedlungen und Populationsstützungen hochgradig gefährdeter Pflanzenarten beschäftigen. Er soll helfen die naturschutzfachliche Qualität derartiger Maßnahmen zu sichern. In der Veröffentlichung werden unter Einbeziehung aktueller Forschungsergebnisse fachliche Empfehlungen zur Vorbereitung und Durchführung von Wiederansiedlungen und Populationsstützungen zusammengestellt. Damit sollen die Planung und notwendige Entscheidungsprozesse vereinfacht werden. Darüber hinaus enthält der Leitfaden auch Hinweise zur Dokumentation und zur Erfolgskontrolle der Maßnahmen. Im Freistaat Sachsen sind 743 Farn- und Blütenpflanzen gefährdet oder bereits ausgestorben. Weitere 20 Arten gelten als extrem selten. Damit sind 44,5 % der in Sachsen heimischen Pflanzenarten aktuell bedroht. Der Anteil gefährdeter Pflanzen ist in Sachsen damit höher als der Bundesdurchschnitt mit ca. 40 %. Die Anzahl der vom Aussterben bedrohten Arten hat in Sachsen zudem seit 1999 deutlich zugenommen. Redaktionsschluss: 10.01.2018

The role of mangroves as essential fish habitat has been a focus of extensive research. However, recent evidence has shown that this role should not be evaluated in isolation from surrounding habitats such as seagrass beds and hard-bottom communities. For example, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) communities provide potential sources of food and shelter for fish species that may reside in the mangroves, but may also undergo ontogenetic migrations and daily home-range movements into neighboring habitats. The connectivity between the mangrove fish community and the surrounding seascape may be influenced by the level of patchiness, fragmentation, and spatial heterogeneity of adjacent SAV habitats (i.e., SAV seascape structure). The spatial patterns and heterogeneity of SAV seascape structures are driven by internal and external regulatory mechanisms operating at different spatial and temporal scales. In addition, it is likely that many fish species inhabiting the mangrove zones have different home ranges, and foraging and migratory patterns; therefore, different mangrove fish species may respond to seascape heterogeneity at different scales. There are few studies that have assessed the influence and connectivity of benthic habitats adjacent to mangroves for estuarine fish populations at multiple scales. The present research used an exploratory seascape approach in Biscayne Bay (Florida, USA) to evaluate patterns in the patch composition and configuration of SAV communities, and to examine relationships between seascape structural metrics and the abundance, diversity, and distribution of fishes that utilize the adjacent mangrove shoreline as nursery and/or adult habitat. This seascape approach consisted of: a) the multi-scale characterization of the SAV distribution across the seascape with metrics developed in Landscape Ecology, Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing; b) multivariate analyses to identify groups with significantly distinct SAV seascape structures within the most heterogeneous scale, and identify possible mechanisms driving the observed SAV seascape structures; and c) an assessment of the mangrove fish community responses to SAV seascape structures. By applying a set of multivariate analyses (e.g., ANOSIM, MDS plots, hierarchical clustering), the buffer within 200 m from shore was identified as the scale with the highest structural heterogeneity. At this scale, two major SAV seascape structures (i.e., areas with similar SAV spatial arrangement and composition) were identified: a fragmented SAV seascape (FSS) structure and a continuous SAV seascape (CSS) structure. Areas with CSS were characterized by large, uniform SAV patches. In contrast, areas with FSS were characterized by a higher density of smaller, more complex SAV patches. Furthermore, the areas with CSS and FSS structures clustered in zones of the bay with distinct salinity properties. The areas with CSS structures were mostly located in zones characterized by high and stable salinity. However, the areas with FSS concentrated in zones that are influenced by freshwater discharges from canals and with low and variable salinity. The responses of fish diversity metrics were not constrained to the scale at which the greatest spatial heterogeneity of SAV seascape structures was observed (i.e., the seascape composition and configuration within 200 m from shore), but was related to SAV seascape characteristics across different scales. The majority of the variability of the fish diversity metrics in the mangrove shoreline was explained by SAV seascape structures within the smaller scales (i.e., 100-400 m from shore), and SAV seascape structures that represented the level of fragmentation and/or the percent of suitable habitat. Different conceptual models were proposed to illustrate and understand the ecological dynamics behind the relationship between the diversity of the mangrove fish community and the structure of the adjacent SAV seascape. In general, the diversity and abundance of fishes is influenced by the type and level of fragmentation of the SAV seascape, which, in turn, influence the proportion of the seascape used for foraging and refuge by fish. In conclusion, this research quantified how the release of large pulses of freshwater into near-shore habitats of coastal lagoons can influence the seascape structure of SAV communities. Namely, freshwater inputs produce fragmentation in otherwise fairly homogeneous SAV meadows. The outcome of this research highlights the importance of seascape characteristics as indicators of ecosystem-level modifications and alterations affecting the spatial distribution, assemblage, and diversity of marine nearshore habitats in coastal regions heavily influenced by human activities. In addition, the results illustrated the cascading effects and synergistic influences of near-shore habitat spatial assemblages on the composition and diversity of estuarine fish communities. Lastly, and very importantly, the relationships established in this project provide quantitative and qualitative information on patterns of species-habitat associations needed for the improved synergistic management and protection of coastal habitats and fisheries resources.

A field survey for the invertebrate fauna conducted in the Ma River, Thanh Hoa province in 2013. The research applied multivariable analysis performed by the Primer v.6 software, such as CLUSTER, one-way ANOSIM, BEST and DIVERSE. The results showed a list of 138 aquatic invertebrate species. Of these, most were freshwater wide-distributing species coupled with others characterized for brackish and marine waters. The biodiversity status was quite high compared to several other rivers in the North of Vietnam. The list contained many economic-valued species and 2 of these were listed in the Red Data Book of Vietnam. The aquatic invertebrates showed a significant relation to the two different combinations of physiochemical factors for zooplanktons and zoobenthos, respectively. The values of the species number, abundance and Shannon-Weiner index for both of zooplanktons and zoobenthos showed a curved trend from the upper river segments to lower river segments. These figures for zooplanktons peaked in the middle river segments, whereas the numbers for zoobenthos achieved the highest numbers in the estuaries. The species composition of the estuaries differentiated significantly from that of other freshwater habitats.
Năm 2013 đã tiến hành một đợt điều tra khu hệ động vật không xương sống sông Mã, tỉnh Thanh Hóa. Nghiên cứu sử các phân tích đa biến thông qua phần mền Primer v.6, bao gồm: CLUSTER, one-way ANOSIM, BEST và DIVERSE. Kết quả phân tích thu được 138 loài với thành phần loài chủ yếu là những loài nước ngọt thường gặp và phân bố rộng, ngoài ra còn có các loài đặc trưng cho nước lợ và mặn. Trong số các loài thu được, nhiều loài có giá trị kinh tế và 2 loài có tên trong Sách Đỏ Việt Nam. Khu hệ động vật không xương sống sông Mã có quan hệ chặt với hai nhóm chỉ số thủy lý hóa học khác nhau, tương ứng cho động vật nổi và động vật đáy. Giá trị các chỉ số sinh học gồm số lượng loài, mật độ và Shannon-Weiner hồi quy theo đường cong phi tuyến từ thượng lưu tới hạ lưu; đạt giá trị cao nhất tại cửa sông đối với động vật đáy và vùng trung lưu với động vật nổi. Thành phần loài cửa sông khác biệt rõ rệt với thành phần loài các sinh cảnh nước ngọt khác.

Dans les pays développés comme le Canada, on remarque de plus en plus un vieillissement de la population et parallèlement une augmentation du nombre de personnes atteintes de déficiences cognitives. La cause la plus répandue est la démence de type Alzheimer (DTA), aussi connue sous le nom de maladie d’Alzheimer. Les incapacités cognitives causées par la DTA entraînent des difficultés dans les Activités Instrumentales de la Vie Quotidienne (AIVQ). Certains chercheurs considèrent qu'il existe des marqueurs cognitifs propres à la DTA, c’est-à-dire que les personnes atteintes peuvent présenter des difficultés cognitives observables lors de la réalisation de tâches complexes bien des années avant son diagnostic. Un habitat intelligent, muni de capteurs de mouvements, débitmètres, capteurs de contacts pour portes et tiroirs, permet de mesurer divers aspects de la performance dans la vie quotidienne lors de la réalisation d’une AIVQ. Partant de ce constat, nos travaux explorent comment des habitats intelligents pourraient permettre de détecter la DTA de façon précoce. Dans cette optique, nous proposons une méthodologie expérimentale rigoureuse. Tout d’abord, nous avons conçu, implémenté et déployé un système d’acquisition de données hétérogènes fiable intégrant réseaux de capteurs variés, vidéos de l'expérimentation et annotations de l'expérimentateur. Ensuite, nous avons exploré divers algorithmes de classification pour distinguer trois catégories de participants : sans troubles cognitifs, avec troubles cognitifs légers et avec DTA. Bien que l’acquisition des données soit complexifiée par la multiplication des sources, notre approche permet la validation des données acquises. Cet aspect est important car la qualité de ces données, acquises lors des expérimentations, influence grandement la performance des algorithmes de classification. Finalement, ce projet étudie comment réaliser et comparer les données et les résultats d’expérimentations menées sur des sites différents en termes de configuration spatiale, de densité et de positionnement des capteurs. C’est pourquoi des expérimentations avec des personnes âgées se sont déroulées aux laboratoires DOMUS (Sherbrooke) et du CRIUGM (Montréal). Les expérimentations ont utilisé le même protocole d’expérimentation où des participants ont eu un temps déterminé pour réaliser la même liste de tâches. Les participants ont été recrutés et séparés en trois groupes selon leur diagnostic : sujets sains, sujets atteints d’un trouble cognitif léger (TCL) et sujets atteints de démence de type Alzheimer (DTA). Les données recueillies ont ensuite été annotées et traitées en vue d’une analyse à l’aide de techniques d’apprentissage automatique. Une première approche de classification par arbre de décision simple a permis d’observer une différence significative entre les données d’expérimentation des personnes saines et celles des personnes TCL. Par contre, aucune différence claire n’est apparue entre les personnes DTA et les autres catégories. En conclusion, d’autres représentations de données et d’autres algorithmes sont toujours en cours d’exploration par d’autres membres de notre équipe. Les résultats préliminaires semblent prometteurs.

Macroinvertebrate data collected from 120 headwater streams in New Zealand were used to test the ability of the Freshwater Environments of New Zealand River Classification (FWENZ) to explain spatial variation in unimpacted stream invertebrate communities. FWENZ is a GIS based multivariate river environment classification of the sections of national river network. The classification performance of the FWENZ was examined to determine the optimum classification level which could be used for the purpose of conservation and biomonitoring of New Zealand rivers and streams. The classification performance of the FWENZ was also compared to those of two other river classification systems, the ecoregions and the River Environment Classification (REC). Results of the analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) test showed that discrimination of the study sites based on interclass differences in macroinvertebrate community composition was optimal at FWENZ 100 class level which classifies the New Zealand rivers and streams into 100 different groups. The FWENZ 100 class level distinguished the biological variation of the study sites at a finer spatial scale than the REC Geology level. Although performance of the ecoregions classification was stronger than both the river environmental classifications, the REC and the FWENZ, but it was unable to explain the variation in local assemblage structures. Multivariate analyses of the macroinvertebrate abundance data and the associated environmental variables at three different spatial scales (upstream catchment, segment, and reach) were used to identify environmental predictors of assemblage patterns. Catchmentscale measures of climatic, topographic and landcover factors were more strongly correlated with macroinvertebrate community structures than segment scale measures, whereas reachscale measures of instream physicochemical factors and riparian characteristics had the least association with assemblage patterns. Despite the strong influences of cathment-scale factors on macroinvertebrate communities, local factors like water temperature, stream velocity, reach elevation, percent canopy cover and percent moss cover were also involved in explaining the within-region variation in assemblage patterns, which indicates the importance of considering regional as well as local factors as surrogates of stream invertebrate communities to provide a base for stream bioassessment programmes at multiple scales.

Les variations naturelles de la communauté macrobenthique des sédiments grossiers ont été étudiées pendant une période de quatre ans dans le contexte d’une demande de concession pour l’extraction des granulats marins dans les gisements des paléovallées du bassin oriental de la Manche. Six campagnes ont été réalisées, deux fois par an (mi-avril et mi-août : pré- et post-recrutement) en 2007, 2009 et 2010. Le jeu de données ainsi obtenu à permis d’une part de montrer que cette communauté benthique présentait une remarquable constance au cours du temps et cela apporte d’autre part de nouveaux éléments de connaissance à la typologie des habitats benthiques des sédiments grossiers du large (EUNIS). Une étude complémentaire sur les caractéristiques fonctionnelles a ensuite permis de montrer que cette communauté benthique présentait de fortes capacités de résistance aux perturbations physiques du milieu, mais des capacités de résilience plus modérées. Ces informations sur la structure et le fonctionnement de la communauté benthique ont permis d’émettre des hypothèses sur les conséquences d’une extraction de granulats marins sur ce site. A partir de cette étude, une gestion adaptative de cette activité anthropique a été proposée par la mise en place d’un protocole de suivi biosédimentaire répondant aux enjeux écologiques associés aux dragages des sédiments marins. Les résultats ainsi obtenus seront, par ailleurs, un apport substantiel à la compréhension scientifique des effets des dragages si la concession était autorisée par les autorités françaises
The natural variation in the coarse sediment benthic community was investigated over a four-year period in the context of an aggregate extraction licence project in the eastern Channel paleovalleys deposits. Six surveys were conducted: twice a year (mid-April: pre- recruitment and the end of August: post-recruitment) in 2007, 2009 and 2010. The data set obtained shows on one hand that the coarse sediment of the benthic community of the eastern English Channel paleovalleys presents an outstanding constancy over time and on another hand, it brings out new pieces of knowledge on benthic habitats typology in offshore coarse sediments (EUNIS). A complementary study on functional features showed that this benthic community has a high resistance to physical disturbance, but lower resilience. This knowledge on benthic community structure and functioning allowed the making of assumptions on the consequences of marine aggregate extraction at this site. An adaptive management of this human activity has then been proposed by the implementation of a benthic monitoring responding to ecological issues associated with marine sediment dredging. Results obtained during this study will also be a substantial input to scientific understanding of dredging impacts should the licence be delivered by French authorities

À l'horizon 2050, environ un tiers de notre population sera âgée de soixante-cinq ans et plus. Les travaux de l'équipe AFIRM du TIMC-IMAG visent à surveiller les personnes âgées à domicile pour détecter une perte d'autonomie le plus précocement possible. Pour ce faire, les travaux de cette thèse tentent d'objectiver les critères ADL ou les grilles de type AGGIR, en classifiant de manière automatique les différentes activités de la vie quotidienne d'une personne par l'intégration de capteurs, créant un Habitat Intelligent pour la Santé (HIS).
L'appartement HIS possède des détecteurs de présence infrarouges (localisation), des contacteurs de porte (utilisation de certaines commodités), un capteur de température et d'hygrométrie dans la salle de bains et des microphones (classification des sons/ reconnaissance de la parole avec l'équipe GETALP du LIG). Un capteur cinématique embarqué détecte les transferts posturaux (reconnaissance de formes avec la transformée en ondelettes) et les périodes de marche (analyse fréquentielle).
La première partie de ce manuscrit présente la réalisation du capteur cinématique et les algorithmes associés puis une première validation sur des sujets jeunes suivi de la mise en place et de la validation des autres capteurs de l'appartement HIS et enfin l'algorithme de classification des sept activités de la vie quotidienne reconnues (hygiène, élimination, préparation et prise de repas, repos, habillage/déshabillage, détente et communication), par l'intermédiaire des séparateurs à vaste marge. La seconde partie décrit le protocole expérimental pour valider cette classification et discute de la généralisation des premiers résultats présentés.

This thesis is a study of the morphology and sediment transport dynamics of mountain streams in southeast Australia. Mountain streams represent important geomorphological and ecological systems in Australia which have hitherto been poorly studied. The variability of mountain stream reach morphology was investigated at the regional scale using topographical surveys and sediment sampling techniques. Study sites were stratified by slope and local lithology. Eight channel-morphologies including Bedrock, Cascade, Step-pool, Planebed, Pool-Riffle, Cascade-pool, Riffle-step and Infilled, were identified using an objective statistical approach. Overall, channel types were found to correspond to existing reach-scale mountain stream templates. Five morphologies were associated with a specific lithology type which controlled the size and shape of grains supplied to the channels. Differences in coarse sediment transport processes between morphologies were investigated using stream monitoring techniques and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating. Monitoring results from a 3 year period indicated that channel beds are resistant to entrainment with shear stress thresholds for bedload transport ranging between 64 to 74 N/m2. Transport of reach median grain sizes requires floods that exceed bankfull discharge. Existing competence equations were found to over-predict the hydraulic driving force and consequently, a modified entrainment model was used to account for the regional channel characteristics. OSL dating was investigated as a tool to provide data on long-term sediment transport processes. Minimum age model results from the OSL dates show overall agreement with a selected entrainment model, and indicate differences in sediment transport dynamics between some reach morphology types. A regime model was used to quantify the physical domains of different channel morphologies. Limitations of the model were overcome by modifying the sediment supply surrogate to better reflect the dominant transported bedload size. Morphology types were delineated according to different sediment transport capacity-sediment supply domains. The distribution of channel morphology types within a series of catchments in southeast Australia was modelled within a GIS platform using the diagnostics of reach morphology derived from this study. The model provides a conceptual framework to evaluate the potential link between channel form, potential habitat diversity and aquatic biodiversity within the channel network in mountain streams.

KNAS (Continuous Habitat Mapping of Protected Areas) is a Metria AB project that produces vegetation and habitat mapping in protected areas in Sweden. Vegetation and habitat mapping is challenging due to its heterogeneity, spatial variability and complex vertical and horizontal structure. Traditionally, multispectral data is used due to its ability to give information about horizontal structure of vegetation. LiDAR data contains information about vertical structure of vegetation, and therefore contributes to improve classification accuracy when used together with spectral data. The objectives of this study are to integrate LiDAR and multispectral data for KNAS and to determine the contribution of LiDAR data to the classification accuracy. To achieve these goals, two object-based classification schemes are proposed and compared: a spectral classification scheme and a spectral-LiDAR classification scheme. Spectral data consists of four SPOT-5 bands acquired in 2005 and 2006. Spectral-LiDAR includes the same four spectral bands from SPOT-5 and nine LiDAR-derived layers produced from NH point cloud data from airborne laser scanning acquired in 2011 and 2012 from The Swedish Mapping, Cadastral and Land Registration Authority. Processing of point cloud data includes: filtering, buffer and tiles creation, height normalization and rasterization. Due to the complexity of KNAS production, classification schemes are based on a simplified KNAS workflow and a selection of KNAS forest classes. Classification schemes include: segmentation, database creation, training and validation areas collection, SVM classification and accuracy assessment. Spectral-LiDAR data fusion is performed during segmentation in eCognition. Results from segmentation are used to build a database with segmented objects, and mean values of spectral or spectral-LiDAR data. Databases are used in Matlab to perform SVM classification with cross validation. Cross validation accuracy, overall accuracy, kappa coefficient, producer’s and user’s accuracy are computed. Training and validation areas are common to both classification schemes. Results show an improvement in overall classification accuracy for spectral-LiDAR classification scheme, compared to spectral classification scheme. Improvements of 21.9 %, 11.0 % and 21.1 % are obtained for the study areas of Linköping, Örnsköldsvik and Vilhelmina respectively.

[Truncated abstract] Spatially explicit marine habitat data is required for effective resource planning and management across large areas, although mapped boundaries typically lack rigour in explaining what factors influence habitat distributions. Accurate, quantitative methods are needed. In this thesis I aimed to assess the utility of ecological models to determine what factors limit the spatial extent of marine habitats. I assessed what types of modeling methods were able to produce the most accurate predictions and what influenced model results. To achieve this, initially a broad scale marine habitat survey was undertaken in the Recherche Archipelago, on the south coast of Western Australia using video and sidescan sonar. Broad and more detailed functional habitats types were mapped for 1054km2 of the Archipelago. Broad habitats included high and low profile reefs, sand, seagrass and extensive rhodolith beds, although considerable variation could be identified from video within these broad types. Different densities of seagrass were identified and reefs were dominated by macroalgae, filter feeder communities, or a combination of both. Geophysical characteristics (depth, substrate, relief) and dominant benthic biota were recorded and then modelled using decision trees and a combination of generalised additive models (GAMs) and generalised linear models (GLMs) to determine the factors influencing broad and functional habitat variation. Models were developed for the entire Archipelago (n=2769) and a subset of data in Esperance Bay (n=797), which included exposure to wave conditions (mean maximum wave height and mean maximum shear stress) calculated from oceanographic models. Additional distance variables from the mainland and islands were also derived and used as model inputs for both datasets. Model performance varied across habitats, with no one method better than the other in terms of overall model accuracy for each habitat type, although prevalent classes (>20%) such as high profile reefs with macroalgae and dense seagrass were the most reliable (Area Under the Curve >0.7). ... This highlighted not only issues of data prevalence, but also how ecological models can be used to test the reliability of classification schemes. Care should be taken when mapping predicted habitat occurrence with broad habitat models. It should not be assumed that all habitats within the type will be defined spatially, as this may result in the distribution of distinctive and unique habitats such as filterfeeders being underestimated or not identified at all. More data is needed to improve prediction of these habitats. Despite the limitations identified, the results provide direction for future field sampling to ensure appropriate variables are sampled and classification schemes are carefully designed to improve descriptions of habitat distributions. Reliable habitat models that make ecological sense will assist future assessments of biodiversity within habitats as well as provide improved data on the probability of habitat occurrence. This data and the methods developed will be a valuable resource for reserve selection models that prioritise sites for management and planning of marine protected areas.

Für den im Aufbau befindlichen Monitor zur Siedlungs- und Freiraumentwicklung im Leibniz-Institut für ökologische Raumentwicklung e. V. sollen im Teilsystem „Freiraumstruktur und Landschaftsfunktionen“ zur Beschreibung von Zustand, Entwicklung und Belastung der Freiräume geeignete Indikatoren entwickelt werden. Dazu werden in diesem Beitrag zunächst vorhandene oder konzeptionierte Indikatorensysteme auf Bundesebene hinsichtlich Ihrer Inhalte zum Freiraum untersucht und verglichen. Auf dieser Basis werden Überlegungen zu ergänzenden Indikatoren angestellt. Es werden Indikatoren u. a. zur Naturnähe und Störungsintensität der Flächennutzung, zu Schutzgebieten, zur Durchlässigkeit des Verkehrsnetzes, zur Dichte von kleinräumigen Landschaftselementen in der Offenlandschaft, zu Veränderungen der Siedlungs- und Verkehrsfläche in Überschwemmungsgebieten und zur Qualität von Erholungsgebieten vorgeschlagen. Deutlich wird aber auch, dass neben den ATKIS-Daten weitere Datengrundlagen herangezogen werden müssen, die derzeit teilweise noch nicht flächendeckend verfügbar sind.

Die Fischfauna der Mongolei umfasst 64 Arten, von denen aktuell in der Roten Liste elf Arten als regional bedroht und vier Arten als potentiell bedroht eingestuft werden. Eine der wichtigsten Ursachen für den Rückgang der Arten ist der Gold-Tagebau. Viele Goldvorkommen lagern in alluvialen Sedimenten der Fließgewässerauen und werden durch großflächigen Abbau und mechanische Auswaschungsprozesse gewonnen. Dies führt zu erheblichen Störungen im Schwebstoff- und Stoffhaushalt der Fließgewässer und beeinflusst die Habitatverfügbarkeit und -qualität für die Fischfauna. Das primäre Ziel der Arbeit war daher die abiotische und ichthyologische Charakterisierung ausgewählter Referenzgewässer sowie durch Gold-Tagebau beeinflusster Gewässer und die Quantifizierung der Einflüsse des Gold-Tagebaus. Ein weiteres Ziel lag in der Formulierung von angepassten Managementstrategien für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung des expandierenden Bergbausektors in der Mongolei. Die Untersuchungen fanden in den Jahren 2003 bis 2006 an vier rhitralen Gewässern des Khentii-Gebirges im Nord-Osten der Mongolei statt. Die Erfassung der Fischbestände erfolgte mit Hilfe von Elektrofischfanganlagen und Reusen, wobei die vorkommenden Habitate repräsentativ erfasst wurden. Zusätzlich erfolgten Untersuchungen zum Stoffhaushalt der Gewässer und der Gewässersohle. Die relevanten Habitate wurden kartiert und Experimente zum Wanderverhalten ausgewählter Arten durchgeführt. Die Untersuchungen erbrachten folgende wesentliche Ergebnisse: 1. Die Fischfauna der untersuchten Gewässer umfasste 14 Taxa mit überwiegend rhitralen Charakterarten wie Salmoniden, Äschen und Elritzen. Die Fischbestände wiesen eine sehr hohe saisonale Dynamik auf, wobei kleinere Fließgewässer im Herbst verlassen und im Frühjahr neu besiedelt wurden. 2. Der Gold-Tagebau führte zu erhöhten Schwebstoffkonzentrationen und zur Kolmation des hyporheischen Interstitials. Die physikalisch-chemischen Untersuchungen ergaben vor allem eine signifikante Erhöhung der Wassertemperaturen in den belasteten Gewässerabschnitten. Durch den Gold-Tagebau wurden weiterhin die Auenvegetation und die natürlichen Uferstrukturen zerstört, was zu vielfältigen Habitatveränderungen führt. 3. Die untersuchten Effekte des Gold-Tagebaus sind als sublethal und verhaltens-verändernd einzustufen. Sie wirken sich z.B. auf das funktionale Gefüge der verschiedenen trophischen Ebenen des Fließgewässerökosystems aus. So wiesen zahlreiche Fischarten einen signifikant verringerten Konditionsfaktor auf, der offensichtlich bottom-up gesteuert durch verminderten Aufwuchs und geringere Abundanzen des Makrozoobenthos verursacht wird. Auch wurde ein deutlicher Einfluss auf die Fischwanderung festgestellt, der vermutlich durch ungünstige physikalisch-chemische oder hydraulische Habitateigenschaften innerhalb des Abbaugebiets verursacht wird. Für Arktische Äschen und Lenok ist das Abbaugebiet nicht oder nur eingeschränkt passierbar. 4. Die Kolmation des Kieslückensystems führte zum Verlust von Laich- und Überwinterungshabitaten und ist daher als ein gravierender Einflussfaktor für die lokale Fischfauna einzustufen. 5. Letale Effekte wie Kiemen- oder Schleimhautverletzungen auf Grund von direkter Schädigung der Tiere durch die erhöhten Schwebstofffrachten wurden nicht beobachtet. Im Rahmen der Arbeit wurden ökologische Grundlagenkenntnisse zu Fischbeständen und Populationsdynamiken im Nord-Osten der Mongolei erarbeitet. Diese Informationen tragen zu einem besseren Verständnis der Gefährdungsursachen bei. Auf Basis der gewonnenen Erkenntnisse über die Ökologie der Arten und der Einflüsse des Gold-Tagebaus wurden Managementempfehlungen unterschiedlicher Priorität formuliert und an Hand eines Fallbeispiels exemplarisch bearbeitet. Darüber hinaus wurden Grundlagen für ein ökologisches Monitoring des Gold-Tagebaus entwickelt.
The fish fauna of Mongolia comprises 64 species of which eleven are regionally endangered and four potentially endangered according to the Red List of Mongolian Fish. Gold mining is regarded as one of the major causes for declining fish populations. Many gold deposits are found in the alluvial sediments of the floodplains and are extracted by large scale mining and mechanical elutriation. This heavily disturbs the balance of suspended sediments and matter in running waters and affects the habitat availability and quality for the fish fauna. Thus, the primary objective of this study was the abiotic and ichthyological characterization of selected reference waters and waters influenced by gold mining as well as the quantification of gold mining effects. Furthermore, an aim was the formulation of management strategies for a sustainable development of the expanding mining sector in Mongolia. The investigation took place from 2003 to 2006 at four rhitral waters of the Khentii Mountains in north-east Mongolia. Data acquisition of the fish fauna was carried out with electric fishing devices and fish traps on representative habitats. In addition, the balance of mater and characteristics of the hyporheic zone were analyzed, relevant habitats mapped and the migratory behavior of selected species experimentally studied. The following major results were obtained from this research: 1. The fish fauna of the examined waters comprised 14 taxa dominated by rhitral characteristic species like salmonids, arctic grayling and minnows. The fish population was strongly seasonally influenced, whereas small running waters being repopulated yearly in spring. 2. Gold mining brings about an increase in concentrations of suspended sediment and clogging of the hyporheic interstitial. Physical-chemical investigations primarily identified a significant rise in water temperatures in the polluted water sectors. Furthermore, gold mining degrades floodplain vegetation and natural bank structures causing varied habitat changes. 3. The examined gold mining effects are sublethal to fish or influence their behavior. They disrupt the functional arrangement of the different trophic levels of the river ecosystem. Thus, the condition of some fish species was significantly decreased, evidently regulated bottom-up by depleted periphyton and reduced abundances of macro invertebrates. Moreover, a strong influence on the river continuum was assessed. Arctic grayling and lenok did not migrate through the mining area, possibly due to unfavorable physical-chemical or hydraulic conditions within the mining site. 4. The clogging of the river bed substrate resulted in a loss of spawning and hibernation habitats and thus must be regarded as a major thread to the local fish fauna. 5. Lethal effects like injuries of gills or skin by direct lesions of suspended particles could not be observed. In this study basic ecological knowledge and population dynamics of the fish fauna in north-east Mongolia have been identified. This information is fundamental for a better understanding of the causes of endangerment. Based on the findings on the ecology of fish species and the influences of gold-mining management recommendations of different priority were developed and exemplified in a case study. Furthermore, this study worked out basic principles for an ecological monitoring of gold mining.