Dissertations / Theses: 'Human ecology'

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Correia, Vera Cristina Oliveira. "Do pensar geral ao agir local: a actuação do pólo de educação ambiental de Odemira numa perspectiva de ecologia humana." Master's thesis, Universidade de Évora, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/10174/16240.

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O presente trabalho procura, através da Ecologia Humana, fazer algumas reflexões sobre a relação Homem - Meio e a importância da educação ambiental, nomeadamente através da atuação do Pólo, no seu primeiro ano de funcionamento. Este é um projeto da responsabilidade do Município de Odemira, que contou com apoio do governo, para implementar nesta região, um sistema integrado de educação ambiental ativa. Neste sentido, depois de compreender as camadas ecológicas que circundam a população desta região, estudou-se o desempenho deste projeto, aplicou-se um questionário aos seus principais intervenientes, estabelecimentos do pré-escolar e 1° ciclo do concelho de Odemira. Verificando-se que este teve uma boa atuação, considera-se um bom exemplo a seguir pelas autarquias do nosso país. /ABSTRACT - The present paper attempts to, through Human Ecology, make not only some reflexions on the Man Nature relationship, but also to reflect on the importance of Environmental Education, using the example of the Polo de Educação Ambiental de Odemira, during its first year of existence. This is a project that was initiated by the Municipio de Odemira, and that had the support of the Portuguese Government, in order to implement, in this region, an active and integrated system of environmental education. In order to achieve this goal, it was important to understand the ecological layers that surround this region’s population, through the use of an enquiry by questionnaire, applied to its main interveners, members of kindergarten and primary schools. We could verify that this Polo played a good role and it is a good example to follow by all the public authorities in this country.

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Currie, T. E. "The evolutionary ecology of human groups." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2009. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/17272/.

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I argue that thinking about human cultures as similar to biological species is a productive way to investigate human cultural diversity. I apply theory and methods from evolutionary biology to tackle questions about the evolution of human political organisation and the diversity of ethnolinguistic groups. Phylogenetic comparative methods developed in biology have been applied to cultural systems. The use of such methods has been criticized because of the ability of cultural traits to be transmitted horizontally. I conducted simulations that revealed that under realistic scenarios horizontal transmission does not increase the chances of inferring false relationships between cultural traits in phylogenetic co-evolutionary analyses. Debates rage as to whether or not there have been regularities across cultures in the pattern and process of the evolution of human political organization. I used linguistic and ethnographic data from a sample of Austronesian-speaking societies and employed a phylogenetic comparative method to test different models of the evolution of political complexity. The data support the hypothesis that societies pass through stages of political organization in a particular order in the direction of increasing complexity. Decreases in complexity are also possible but may not follow a regular sequence. There is no evidence that the increase in political complexity over time in Austronesian societies is the result of a driving force. I also used phylogenetic comparative methods to investigate the coevolution of intensive agriculture and political organization. I found that in Austronesian societies changes to complex chiefdoms and states are less likely unless agriculture has first been intensified. As with biological species there is a latitudinal gradient in the diversity human ethnolinguistic groups. I constructed a database that integrates language, ethnographic, and environmental data to test various hypotheses concerning the present day distribution of ethnolinguistic groups. Political complexity was found to be an important predictor of the area a language covers.

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Marshall, Joanna. "The microbial ecology of the human foot." Thesis, University of Leeds, 1988. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.328884.

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Mishina, O. "Ecology and law: the human rights case." Thesis, Вид-во СумДУ, 2006. http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/11698.

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Shaw, L. P. "The microbial ecology of human-associated bacterial communities." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2018. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10046977/.

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The bacterial communities within the human body have important associations with health and disease. Understanding their complexity requires ecological approaches. In this thesis, I apply ecological techniques and models to explore the microbial ecology of human-associated bacterial communities at multiple scales. In the first half of this thesis, I explore the oral microbiome using 16S rRNA gene sequencing data to characterise the effect of various factors on its diversity. Multiple factors apart from disease can also affect the oral microbiome, but their relative importance remains a matter of debate. In Chapter 2, I use a dataset of saliva samples from a family of related Ashkenazi Jewish individuals to show that host genetics plays much less of a role than shared household in explaining bacterial community composition. In Chapter 3, I use a large dataset of plaque samples from women in Malawi to investigate associations between bacterial taxa and periodontal disease. I show that the signals from gingivitis and periodontitis can be distinguished, and use correlation networks to identify important taxa for the development of disease. The second half of this thesis deals with the effect of antibiotics on the human microbiome. I demonstrate new approaches at two extremes of scale: abstracting the gut microbiome to a single metric, and also investigating the worldwide distribution and diversity of a single resistance gene. In Chapter 4, I develop a new and simple mathematical model of the gut microbiome's response to antibiotic perturbation and fit it to empirical data, showing that in some individuals the gut microbiome appears to return to an alternative stable state, raising questions about the long-term impact of antibiotics on previously healthy bacterial communities. Antibiotic use also selects for resistance, which is a growing concern, particularly as resistance can be transmitted horizontally on mobile genetic elements. In Chapter 5, I describe a global dataset of isolates containing the mobilized colistin resistance gene mcr-1 and use the diversity present within a composite transposon alignment to explore its distribution and spread across multiple bacterial communities.

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Rounsefell, Vanda Barbara. "From egocity to ecocity : an ecological, complex systems approach to humans and their settlements." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2001. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phr8595.pdf.

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Smillie, Christopher Scott. "Computational insights into the ecology of the human microbiota." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/103273.

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Thesis: Ph. D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Computational and Systems Biology Program, February 2016.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 99-110).
The vast community of microbes that inhabit the human body, the human microbiota, is important to human health and disease. These microbes contribute to human metabolism, the development of the immune system and pathogen resistance, while imbalances among them have been associated with several diseases. In this work, I develop computational methods to gain key insights into the ecological principles that shape these communities. In the first chapter, I develop an evolutionary rate heuristic that leads to the discovery of a massive network of recently exchanged genes, connecting diverse bacteria throughout the human microbiota. Using this network, I examine the roles of phylogenetic distance, geographic proximity and ecological overlap in shaping rates of horizontal gene transfer. Of these factors, ecological similarity is the principal force shaping gene exchange. In the second chapter, I focus on the microbial communities within a person, identifying the factors that affect the stability of the human microbiota. Alpha-diversity is strongly correlated with stability, but the direction of this correlation changes depending on the body site or subject being examined. In contrast, beta-diversity is consistently negatively correlated to stability. I show that a simple equilibrium model explains these results and accurately predicts the correlation between diversity and stability in every body site, thus reconciling these seemingly contradictory relationships into a single model. In the final chapter, I explore the use of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) to treat recurrent Clostridium difficile infection. I develop a new method to infer the genotypes and frequencies of bacterial strains in metagenomics samples. I apply this method to a dataset covering twenty patients before and after FMT, uncovering key ecological rules that govern the colonization and growth of bacteria in human subjects after FMT.
by Christopher Scott Smillie.
Ph. D.

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Green, Brian E. "Sharing Water: A Human Ecological Analysis of the Causes of Conflict and Cooperation Between Nations Over Freshwater Resources." Connect to this title online, 2002. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1039201377.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2002.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiii, 159 p. Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: Kazimierz M. Slomczynski, Dept. of Sociology. Includes bibliographical references (p. 151-159).

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Gulia, Colonel Kuldip Singh. "Human ecology of Sikkim:a case study of upper Rangit Basin." Thesis, University of North Bengal, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/120.

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Henry, Kenneth Donald. "Loving the earth introducing reformed Christian eco-spirituality to adults /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1999. http://www.tren.com.

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Measham, Thomas George. "Learning and change in rural regions : understanding influences on sense of place /." View thesis entry in Australian Digital Theses Program, 2003. http://thesis.anu.edu.au/public/adt-ANU20050421.162409/index.html.

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Bishop, G. M. "Aspects of the reproductive ecology of the sea urchin Echinus esculentus L." Thesis, University of Exeter, 1985. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.353043.

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Aldridge, H. "On the relationships between flight performance, morphology and ecology in British bats." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1985. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.352200.

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Hoff, Thomas. "Mind design : steps to an ecology of human-machine systems." Doctoral thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Technology Management, 2003. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-49.

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We have, within the last years, witnessed horrifying tragedies within the transportation domain. Planes fall down, trains crash, boats sink, and car accidents are one of the most frequent causes of death throughout the world.

What is more, technology seems also to fail in settings that are more mundane. In his book "the trouble with computers: Usefulness, usability, and productivity", T.K. Landauer shows that the productivity has, within the western world, decreased by about 50% from the period 1950-1973 to the period from 1973 to 1993, and claims that this effect is mostly due to the introduction of technology. Even closer to home, technology is still anxiety provoking for most people. One of many everyday observations to support this fact can be seen at the airports. Have you wondered why most people line up, even for hours, without daring to go near the automatic check-in machines?

What has become of the grandiose promises from the heydays of artificial intelligence? What happened to the mind-machines of Newell and Simon? Where is HAL 9000? The distance between the massive technology positivism observed in the west, and the contemporary role of technology in the society, is, I believe, one of the largest paradoxes of our time.

What is particularly interesting to note, is that the parody of the AI of the 60s, seems to be recycled every now and again, both within entertainment, the financial world, and within academia. At the turn of the century, we have seen the popularity of movies like The Matrix, we have seen high hopes become sober reality at NASDAQ, and the reductionism of Newell and Simon is alive and well, in disguise of the magic buzzword connectionism. Universities around the world are now buying MRI – scanners on the thousands. We are, yet again (!), on the verge of discovering the mysteries of the mind.

The slogan "Vorsprung Durch Technic" used by Audi displays something that lies deep within the western mind, namely the tendency to define ourselves and our culture in terms the inherent qualities of technology; precision, logic, rationality, reliability, punctuality, determination and power. Technology is, in many respects, the totem of the western culture. Maybe this thesis should have been about Techno-Totemism. But it is not.

This thesis, on the other hand, attempts to explore what technology might have looked like, had it not been for techno-totemism, i.e. the prevailing idea within western culture and sciences, that humans are literally machines. This notion makes engineers design technological products as if humans actually were machines, or worse imperfect machines. The imperfect machine metaphor leads directly to the notion of "human error", which is often used in a particularly stupid fashion.

In this work I lean, on the contrary, on aspects of human cognition that are not machine-like whatsoever, and advocate a change in design focus, from an emphasis on technology to an emphasis on ecology. I have attempted to present my programme positively; that is, to give indications on how, in practical, real life settings, such an approach might be carried out. At certain points, however, it has been necessary to point out the difference of my approach from the traditional cognitive-based Human Factors tradition, to make my points explicit. I apologize to cognitivists and human factors specialists for occasionally making a straw man of their theory. There are many excellent contributions made by these traditions, which are not reflected in this thesis.

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Johnston, Calum H. G. "Ecology of virulence genes in the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2008. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/541/.

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Streptococcus pneumoniae, also known as the pneumococcus, is an important human pathogen, with high burdens of disease and mortality worldwide. There are over 90 serotypes of this pathogen, demonstrating the vast amounts of diversity present. Currently, there are two pneumococcal vaccines, both targeting the polysaccharide capsule. However, one vaccine is ineffective in the paediatric population, whilst the other only targets a minority of disease-causing serotypes, and has increased disease caused by serotypes not present in the vaccine. One solution is a new pneumococcal vaccine targeting a protein virulence factor possessed by all pneumococci, which would afford cross-serotype protection. As a result, it is important to assess the diversity of pneumococcal virulence factors in order to determine their potential as vaccine candidates, as excess diversity present may prevent full serotype-independent protection of a vaccine. Furthermore, diversity studies offer important insight on pneumococcal biology, epidemiology and pathogenesis. The diversity in the toxin pneumolysin (Ply) was greater than previously thought, with 14 protein alleles discovered. However, diversity remained significantly lower than surface-exposed virulence factors, indicating this toxin may be more suitable as a vaccine candidate. Furthermore, all 14 alleles were recognised by polyclonal antibodies, showing the potential cross-serotype protection of a vaccine targeting this toxin. A novel non-haemolytic Ply allele was associated with clones recently expanding in the pneumococcal population, as well as serotypes associated with outbreaks of pneumococcal disease. The non-haemolytic toxin may therefore play a role in driving clonal expansion in certain genetic backgrounds, or be involved in establishing outbreaks of pneumococcal disease. The diversity in the neuraminidase A (NanA) enzyme was significantly higher than in Ply, with many point mutations, mosaic blocks and insertions regions present in 18 divergent alleles. This level of diversity should not be prohibitive to the use of this protein as a vaccine candidate, as polyclonal antibodies recognised 4 NanA alleles of significant diversity, indicating the possibility of cross-serotype protection. The role of NanA in pathogenesis of pneumococcal haemolytic uraemic syndrome (p-HUS) was investigated, although there was no correlation between p-HUS and NanA allele or activity. The novel discovery that pneumococcal NanA was inhibited by viral neuraminidase inhibitors of influenza allowed insight into the synergistic relationship between these two deadly pathogens, and showed for the first time that treatment with these drugs acts on both the primary and secondary pathogen. One of these inhibitors, Oseltamivir, was found to have potential in treating secondary pneumococcal pneumonia, which may help decrease the significant burden of this disease, as well as reducing the over-reliance on antibiotics for treating pneumococcal diseases. Homologues of Ply and NanA were identified and characterised in the related species Streptococcus mitis and Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae, giving insight into the evolutionary relationships between these species. Furthermore, the presence of these homologues in related species gives rise to the possibility of pneumococci acquiring altered genes through horizontal gene transfer. The selective pressure of a vaccine targeting these proteins may give evolutionary advantage to these pneumococci, resulting in evasion of a vaccine. Microarray studies have been used to assess pneumococcal diversity at a genome-wide level. Gene expression studies identified candidate genes which may play a role in p-HUS pathogenesis. Further studies into this area will improve the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. Furthermore, a large number of established pneumococcal virulence factors, many of which are vaccine candidates, were found to have homologues in closely related commensal species. These results must be taken into consideration for future protein-based pneumococcal vaccine design.

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Musgrove, Andrew John. "Peregrines and pigeons : investigations into a raptor-human conflict." Thesis, University of Bristol, 1996. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.337621.

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Crawford, Jeremy. "Orthodox responses to the ecological problem." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1996. http://www.tren.com.

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Osborn, Ferrel V. "The ecology of crop-raiding elephants in Zimbabwe." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.368336.

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Waldron, Julie A. "Human behaviour outdoors and the environmental factors." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/52112/.

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The study of human behaviour outdoors has been an area of interest examined from different perspectives. Even so, the study of human behaviour in outdoor public spaces still requires further input from the perspective of human factors. This thesis presents a literature review of behaviour in public spaces where the author evaluated the attendance to public squares, the activities performed by users, the time of permanence, the sitting preferences of users and people’s characteristics among other behaviours. Previous studies have reported a relationship between thermal comfort and human behaviour; however, there is a lack of studies approaching the study of human behaviour using observational methods which allows assessing human behaviours such as number of people, number of groups, time of permanence among others, taking into account environmental factors such as: air temperature, globe temperature, mean radiant temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, sun and shadow presence and illuminance. As part of this research, three studies were conducted in the city centre of Nottingham during summer and autumn of 2015 and winter of 2016 in order to collect data of human behaviour and find its relationship with the air and globe temperature, calculated mean radiant temperature, wind speed, relative humidity and illuminance. These studies were conducted using observational methods by creating a coding scheme after conducting video analysis of social and individual behaviours. A methodology was created to incorporate processes that allow gathering data for observational analysis, which was subsequently processed using multiple regression models and survival analyses. The overall analysis led to the identification of the main environmental factors influencing human behaviour across different environmental conditions. The studies and analyses conducted showed that various environmental factors work together to influence the decisions of the users of a public space. Accordingly, the models used to predict human behaviour should include the environmental variables that explain better its variability, based on the environmental data of the place. Moreover, this study showed that individual analysis should be performed on a seasonal basis using the environmental and human behaviour data of each season in addition to the analysis performed to the whole data set. The reason for this is that the seasonal data is better at explaining some human behaviours than the model built with the whole data set collected in various seasons. For instance, the relationship between wind speed and number of people is positive during summer and negative during autumn and winter; however, when the three seasons are analysed together, the relationship is negative, which does not explain accurately the phenomena in summer. Conversely, illuminance was found to be an important factor influencing behaviour across the seasons and also contributed to the prediction of behaviour in the all season’s analysis. Finally, this thesis presents an application of the results by presenting general recommendations of urban design based on the findings of analysing human behaviour in accordance with the thermal environment. The studies conducted during the three seasons presented a cross-internal validation of the multiple regression models. In addition, a final study which consisted of a mock scenario was conducted to perform an external validation of the previous results. A number of conclusions were drawn about the conditions required to perform further external validations, following the parameters identified that may affect the results of the validation.

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Stone, Richard E. "The ecology and behaviour of waterbirds in relation to human activity." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 1999. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.287430.

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Bateman, Ashley Catlin. "The Dynamics of Microbial Transfer and Persistence on Human Skin." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2017. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10599202.

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The skin microbiome is a critical component of human health, however, little is understood about the daily dynamics of skin microbiome community assembly and the skin?s potential to acquire microorganisms from the external environment. I performed a series of microbial transfers using three skin habitat types (dry, moist, sebaceous) on human subject volunteers. Microbial communities were transferred to recipient skin using a sterile swab 1) from other skin sites on the same individual, 2) from other skin sites on a different individual, 3) and from two environmental donor sources (plant leaf surfaces and farm soil). With these experiments I was able to test for the presence of initial transfer effects and for the persistence of those effects over the time period sampled (2-, 4-, 8-, and 24-hours post-transfer). The sebaceous skin community was associated with the strongest initial effect of transfer and persistence on the moist recipient skin site, and to a lesser extent the dry skin site. The soil donor community when transferred to dry skin resulted in the strongest initial transfer effect and was persistent over 8- and even 24-hours post-transfer. These experiments are the first in scope and scale to directly demonstrate that dispersal from other human or environmental microbial communities are plausible drivers of community dynamics in the skin microbiome.

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Mathewson, Mark D. "Theistic ecology a defense of the Christian worldview and its relationship to the environment /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 2005. http://www.tren.com.

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Braje, Todd J. "Archaeology, human impacts, and historical ecology on San Miguel Island, California /." view abstract or download file of text, 2007. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1404340481&sid=1&Fmt=2&clientId=11238&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007.
Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 339-383). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

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Gupta, A. K. "Conservation ecology of primates and human impact in North East India." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.599790.

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The main aim in this study was to assess the subsistence needs of the local human population and the conservation needs of key wildlife species. The hypotheses under test were that the local human populations have to depend on wildlife resources for their livelihood in the absence of other suitable subsistence options, and thus may compete adversely with the ecological needs of wildlife species sharing the same habitat. As a generalist feeder, Phayre's langurs used a total of 81 plant species in their annual diet, although only 16 of these accounted for more than 75% of total feeding time. They were folivorous, but switched to fruits and seeds diet whenever needed, either due to scarcity in foliage availability, or due to their specific preference for energy rich other dietary sources. Their group size and structure, behaviour, and ranging pattern matched other small bodied langurs in the region, and were in prefect harmony with the prevailing habitat condition. Capped and golden langur groups used 44 and 53 plant species, respectively in their annual diet, and top ten species accounted for more than 55% of the total feeding time. During successive years after jhooming there was an increase in both the number of tree species and in the number of trees in fallows. Of the total 52 regenerating tree species, 26 (50%), 14 (27%), and 16 (31%) were also the food species for Phayre's capped and golden langurs, respectively. A total of 11 (21.2%) species of these were also used by the local people for their various needs. On average, 71% of total income of all the villagers surrounding the study area came from sanctuary-dependent sources also used by three primate groups. The people were aware, though, of the negative impacts of their activities on the wildlife resources inside the study area, but their requirements for these resources took precedence over the negative impacts.

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Hanmer, Hugh James. "Unintended consequences : how human intervention affects the ecology of urban birds." Thesis, University of Reading, 2017. http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/74256/.

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Urbanisation is an ever-growing threat to global wildlife. Nevertheless, urban areas around the world hold significant wild bird populations and urban birds provide a key connection between people and wildlife. Many people provide supplementary resources, such as food and nesting sites. However, even apparently beneficial actions may have unintended negative consequences. This work explores some of these direct and indirect effects. Grey Squirrels Sciurus carolinensis are a widespread, introduced species in the UK, acting both as a competitor for resources with birds and predator of their nests. When present, Grey Squirrels effectively excluded birds from supplementary feeding stations. Allowing them unrestricted access both supports their energy requirements and reduces its availability to target taxa, through both behavioural exclusion and food consumption. In addition, nest predation was higher in artificial nests adjacent to filled bird feeders which were frequented by potential nest predators and the exclusion of these predators did not significantly reduce nest predation. Providing point attractants during the breeding season may therefore depress local urban bird breeding success in addition to directly supporting predator/competitor populations. Garden supplementary feeding stations may also represent a threat to wild bird and human health through pathogen transmission. Bacterial communities were found to differ between two bird feeder types but there was little association between feeder usage by animals and bacterial load or pathogen presence in a typical UK suburban garden bird-feeding setting. Nest boxes are commonly provided for cavity nesting urban birds as an additional supplementary resource. Nest box using Blue Tits Cyanistes caeruleus and Great Tits Parus major differed in their use of anthropogenic material. Anthropogenic nest material was associated with lower arthropod diversity and ectoparasite predator abundance but higher ectoparasite loads. Higher arthropod diversity was linked to lower flea numbers, implying more complex arthropod communities depressed ectoparasite abundance though no direct link was found between these factors with breeding success. Domestic cats Felis catus are the most abundant predator in many urban ecosystems. Cat home ranges varied with level of urbanisation and they ranged significantly further during the night. To reduce the probability of Domestic Cats entering local protected areas a management zone of 300-400m from the nearest housing was estimated to be of management value and must be adjusted to the local landscape to ensure effectiveness. Despite the various negative effects highlighted in this thesis, the findings suggest that many of them can be mitigated, to ensure that our best intentions do effectively benefit urban birds.

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Collard, Ian Frank. "Human evolutionary ecology in Africa : towards a theory of population differentiation." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2004. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.615804.

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Foster, Rebecca. "The ecology of jaguars (Panthera onca) in a human-influenced landscape." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2008. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/66711/.

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Despite intense persecution over the last century, the jaguar (Panthera onca) has sustained a wide geographic distribution, perhaps due to its elusive nature and rather flexible ecology. This study investigated jaguar ecology under anthropogenic pressures in Belize, Central America. A suite of methods including camera-trap surveys, diet analysis, discussions with local stakeholders, and population simulations were used to study a population of jaguars spanning the boundary of a protected forest. Camera-trap data combined with capture-recapture population models are increasingly used to estimate the density of mammals such as jaguars with individually identifiable coat patterns. A review of current methods highlighted problems associated with estimating the sizes of lowdensity populations. Simulations to assess the robustness of the method found that camera failure can negatively or positively bias the abundance estimate, depending on the particular nature of capture histories. The most commonly used model estimator in the literature was nevertheless robust to failures of up to 10% of trap-occasions. Pooling trap-occasions reduced the effect of camera failure. Sub-sampling data from large-scale surveys indicated a threshold survey area of ~170 km2, below which estimates of density were inflated and unreliable. For surveys exceeding this threshold size, jaguar density varied across the landscape from the protected forest to the human-influenced lands such that <30% contiguous forest precipitated reduction. Reduced densities with distance from contiguous forest and proximity to human habitation may result principally from direct conflicts with people. The influence of anthropogenic factors on the coexistence of jaguars and pumas (Puma concolor) was investigated by comparing their habitat use and feeding ecology. Diet was analysed from the largest sample to date of scats from one area identified to species. Jaguars and pumas made similar use of the secondary rainforest, despite differences in diet. Although both cats relied heavily on one species of small prey (5-10 kg), for jaguars this was the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) while for pumas it was the paca (Agouti paca). Both cats took some larger prey, mainly white-lipped peccaries (Dictolyes pecari) by jaguars and red brocket deer (Mazama americana) by pumas. Energetics models indicated that reproduction may be limited for either species if large prey are unavailable for females with dependents. Outside the forest block, jaguars rarely ate large wild prey species; instead, a diet of smaller wild prey was supplemented with large domestic stock. Pumas were scarce outside the protected forest, possibly reflecting a reluctance to utilise domestic species near human developments and competition with humans for their preferred prey of paca and deer, which are also prized regionally as game species. Human-induced mortality of jaguars outside the protected forest was mainly associated with livestock predation. Both sexes were equally active on pastures and were persecuted at a similar rate. Many of those killed were young individuals in good body condition, suggesting high turnover rates augmented by immigration. Population simulations indicated that the observed levels of human-induced mortality could be maintained only with immigration from the protected forest. Without natal dispersers (2-4 year olds) immigrating in, the hunted population had zero probability of persisting beyond 20 years. Simulations indicated that the jaguar populations inhabiting the two main protected forest blocks in Belize could persist in isolation and maintain low levels of emigration to the unprotected population. However the probability of all three populations persisting for 100 years fell to ~50% if the migration of natal dispersers from the protected to unprotected population exceeded ~12% per year.

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Charrier, Cédric. "Biochemistry and microbial ecology of butyrate formation in human colonic bacteria." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2006. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk/R?func=search-advanced-go&find_code1=WSN&request1=AAIU207021.

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This work describes the identification and characterisation of a novel class of CoA-transferase involved in butyrate formation in human colonic bacteria. The CoA-transferase gene was identified form Roseburia sp. A2-183 and the gene product overexpressed in an E. coli lysates. The CoA-transferase has a broad pH optimum around neutral and shows activity with butyryl-CoA and to a lesser extent propionyl-CoA. Acetate, propionate, butyrate, isobutyrate and valerate but not 4-hydroxybutyrate, which is the preferred substrate of the closely related clostridial 4-hydroxybutyrate CoA-transferases, were used as co-substrate. The Km for butyryl-CoA and propionyl-CoA were similar but the maximal velocity of the enzyme in the presence of butyryl-CoA provided further evidence that the CoA-transferase from Roseburia sp. A2-183 is a butyryl-CoA CoA-transferase. Characterisation of the CoA-transferase substrate specificity from different butyrate-producing bacteria, including the lactate-utilising butyrate-producing Anaerostipes caccae L1-92 and Eubacterium hallii L2-7, as well as the clostridial cluster IV representative Faecalibacterium prausnitzii A2-165, indicated that the enzyme is the same in all these butyrate-producing bacteria. The metabolic cooperation between a lactic acid bacterium and the lactate-utilising butyrate-producing A. caccae L1-92 was investigated in vitro and in gnotobiotic rodents. Although the in vivo experiment failed to demonstrate the conversion of lactate to butyrate, metabolic analysis revealed significant amounts of butyrate in the caecum of di-associated animals and the establishment of a stable colonisation by the oxygen-sensitive A. caccae L1-92 represents nevertheless an essential step in assessing the potential of the butyrate-producing bacteria for probiotic application.

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Bergen, Walter Jacob. "Deep ecology an assessment and critique from a Christian perspective /." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1993. http://www.tren.com.

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Dodd, J. C. "V-A mycorrhizas of winter cereals in S.E. England : Ecology, taxonomy and effects of agrochemicals." Thesis, University of Kent, 1986. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.373156.

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Mason, Victoria. "Connecting canals : exercises in recombinant ecology." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:7f9671d3-621c-48dc-865e-302b14bc52dc.

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Canals have created grooves through the landscape of England and Wales for over 250 years, but they were dismissed by modernity, and narratives of disenchantment linger. Whilst visitor numbers grow as canals experience a ‘Second Golden Age’ and attempts are made to promote these waterways as ecological resources, they remain overlooked within conservation and their futures are precarious. The linearity of canals generates ecological connection and safe passage, whilst these environments also enable expressive territories and tranquil atmospheres. This research highlights the capacity for canals to enchant and support liveliness, and situates discussions of socio-ecological management within growing national concerns for connectivity as an effective response to climatic change and habitat fragmentation. The twin aims of this research were explored empirically through a case study of the Basingstoke Canal and sought to consider the position of such waterways within conservation and address a neglect of water within human geography. In accompanying practitioners and experimenting with creative methodologies this research begins by demonstrating the possibilities for wonder, surprise, and attachment after the ontological loss of Nature. Subsequent chapters draw upon fieldwork encounters, interdisciplinarity alliances, and a reworking of concepts within ecology and multinatural geography to exercise recombination as the central mode of address of this research. In inflecting the term’s ecological salience with a materialist regard for multiplicity, repetition, and emergence this research challenges the position of canals and the presentation of corridors within conservation. The beguiling simplicity of connectivity has enabled its ready incorporation within conservation discourse, despite a paucity of empirical attention; whilst contributing to work addressing this lacuna this research also introduces a more nuanced notion of complexity into discussions of connectivity and interrogates the apparent separation of corridors and sites. Encounters with the ecologies and publics assembling and disassembling through the Basingstoke Canal demonstrate that linearity does not preclude interested gatherings or absolve management of the obligation to respond, and highlights the need for biosecurity practices which are more articulate and attuned to difference. Recombinant ecologies invite and demand response, but conservation remains spatially cautious and this is further foregrounded as the challenges of incorporating the watery, connective, environments of canals are traced.

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Batistoni, Maira. "Consumo alimentar na comunidade caiçara da Praia do Bonete, Ilhabela, São Paulo." [s.n.], 2006. http://repositorio.unicamp.br/jspui/handle/REPOSIP/315745.

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Orientador: Alpina Begossi
Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia
Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T16:10:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Batistoni_Maira_M.pdf: 899575 bytes, checksum: afcc00292f3a6850b87a968940fbca58 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006
Resumo: Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo sobre o consumo alimentar na comunidade caiçara da Praia do Bonete, localizada no extremo sul da Ilha de São Sebastião (São Paulo, Brasil), com o objetivo de investigar as influências das recentes mudanças econômicas e ambientais sobre a população. Como parâmetro para avaliação utilizou-se o hábito alimentar (consumo, tabus e preferências), pois este fornece um indicativo da qualidade de vida e permite avaliar a relação da população com o seu ambiente sócio-cultural e biológico. No primeiro capítulo foi realizado um histórico da ocupação da região da Mata Atlântica e, especificamente, da Ilha de São Sebastião; e também uma caracterização sócio-econômica da população da Praia do Bonete. No segundo capítulo, considerando a importância dos processos de escolha na determinação do consumo alimentar de uma população, foi analisado o ranking de preferências e aversões e os tabus alimentares, em relação às proteínas animais, dado que estes parâmetros são determinantes das escolhas alimentares de uma população. Finalmente, no terceiro capítulo, foi verificado de que forma as mudanças ocasionadas pelos novos fatores sócio-econômicos e ambientais (turismo crescente e criação do Parque Estadual da Ilhabela) estão influenciando o hábito alimentar da população da Praia do Bonete. Os dados foram obtidos entre julho de 2003 e junho de 2004, através de entrevistas estruturadas com os chefes de 20 unidades domésticas. Os resultados mostraram que estas mudanças não se processaram bruscamente e nem de forma homogênea em toda a população, resultando num cenário em que as unidades domésticas possuem diferenças quanto às características sócio-econômicas e ao hábito e escolhas alimentares. As preferências e tabus alimentares seguem padrões já abordados pela literatura para outras populações caiçaras, e apresentam peculiaridades locais, como o tabu por carnes de caça, devido a legislação ambiental. Em relação à dieta, os resultados indicaram um aumento da diversidade de itens consumidos e uma perda da auto-suficiência alimentar. Esta perda pode refletir negativamente em toda a comunidade, pois conforme aumenta a dependência de alimentos extra-locais, a segurança alimentar das famílias diminui e o conhecimento local sobre o ambiente é perdido, podendo resultar numa perda da resiliência do sistema sócio-ecológico
Abstract: This study presents an analysis of the food consumption of a ¿caiçara¿ community from Bonete Beach, located in the south extremity of São Sebastião Island (São Paulo, Brazil). The main objective is to investigate the influence of recent economic and environmental changes have influenced on the population. The parameter used for evaluation was the food habit (consumption, taboos and preferences), which supplies an indicative of life quality and indicates the relation of the population with its social-cultural and biological environment. The first chapter presents a description of the historical occupation of the Atlantic Forest region and, more specifically, the occupation of São Sebastião Island region. This chapter also presents a social-economic characterization of the Bonete Beach population. Considering the importance of the processes of choice on the determination of the food consumption, the second chapter presents an analysis of ranking of preferences and aversion and animal protein taboos. Finally, in the third chapter, the influences of economic-environmental factors, like the increasing tourism and creation of the State Park of Ilhabela, on the population food habit was studied. The data were collected between July of 2003 and June of 2004, through structured interviews with the heads of 20 households. Results show that these environmental, social and economics changes have not occurred brusquely neither homogeneously for the whole population, resulting in a scene with different households, including social-economic characteristics and food habit among households. Food preferences and food taboos follow patterns identified for other ¿caiçara¿ populations, but present local peculiarities, such as the taboo for meats from hunting, as a consequence of the environmental legislation. In relation to diet, results had indicated an increase on the diversity of items consumed and a loss of alimentary self-sufficiency. This loss may reflect negatively in the whole community, as it increases the extra-local food dependence, diminishes the alimentary security of the families and the local knowledge on the environment, which may result in loss of the social-ecological system resilience
Mestrado
Mestre em Ecologia

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Jobin, Benoît. "The impact of human disturbance on nest predation patterns in freshwater marshes." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 1991. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/7466.

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Although predation is the major factor responsible for nest losses in birds, predation patterns in marshes and adjacent uplands are poorly known. This study examined the factors affecting nest predation on marsh-nesting birds found in areas affected by different intensities of human disturbance (urban, agricultural, natural). Artificial nests simulating waterfowl and passerine nests were used for that purpose. The nests, located along transects running from the center of the marshes to the adjacent upland habitats, were set up in the months of May, June and July 1989 and 1990. Eggshell remains were used to identify the predators. Predation was higher on passerine than on waterfowl nests and on nests located in upland habitats. Deep water prevented mammalian predators from foraging deep in the marsh. Predation rates in urban and natural areas were high while nests located in agricultural areas suffered lower predation. Nest camouflage was generally unimportant in reducing chances of predation. Mammals were responsible for most of the predation events. Differences in density and/or diversity of predators in urban, agricultural and natural areas were the main causes of different predation patterns observed in the three areas.

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Kasiki, Samuel M. "Human-elephant conflict in areas adjacent to the Tsavo National Parks, Kenya." Thesis, University of Kent, 1998. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.267398.

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Doyle, L. "Early human influence and environmental change in the Antrim uplands, Northern Ireland." Thesis, Queen's University Belfast, 2003. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.273048.

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Bailey, Sharon Kimberley. "Creating sustainable communities." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/29922.

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The objective of this thesis is to explore the procedural and substantive changes that are required to create communities that are sustainable in ecological and social terms, both on a global and local level. Current environmental problems such as global warming, ozone depletion, acid rain and deforestation indicate that human activity is changing the biosphere at an unprecedented rate. While the western world celebrates the apparent triumph of the capitalist industrial free market system, the by-products of industrialization, including the deteriorating health of the biosphere and the increasing demands of developing nations, appear to pose serious threats to the long term sustainability of biological communities including human communities. A community is defined geographically by its physical structure, socially by its shared values, and politically by its capacity for self-determination. Creating a sustainable community requires that fundamental change occurs physically, to minimize a community's impact on ecological systems; socially, to establish a consensus on ecological and social values for the community; and, politically, to improve the capability of communities to implement appropriate locally-based solutions to environmental and social problems. The fact that western society has allowed life-threatening global environmental and social problems to emerge indicates that there may be a serious flaw in the way the dominant society perceives reality and humanity's place in the world. Consequently, this thesis begins with an analysis of the flaws in the dominant world view and the potential for an emerging ecological world view to form the basis for defining a sustainable community and establishing principles for ecological and social sustainability to guide community development. A sustainable community is defined as a community that is responsible, caring, empowered, healthy, and most importantly, in balance with nature. While there are numerous approaches to creating sustainable communities, the choices that a community should make are clearer if the community has a set of values or principles to define the goals they are trying to achieve. The principles for ecological sustainability presented in this thesis are based on current ecological theories and reflect the need for communities to preserve biological diversity, maintain the productive capacity of ecosystems, integrate human activity with nutrient cycles, minimize resource and energy consumption, and establish a dynamic equilibrium between human and natural systems. The principles for social sustainability are based on current literature and emphasize the need for communities to change societal values, meet basic needs, achieve equity, promote self-determination, and create a sustainable economy. This thesis proposes that creating a sustainable community involves both designing procedural mechanisms to support social transformation, and implementing substantive changes to ensure the long-term sustainability of the community. A process for change must include mechanisms to build community consensus on the need and direction of change, and to co-ordinate actions both within the community and with other levels of government. Specific examples of necessary substantive changes are provided based on the application of the principles for ecological and social sustainability to many aspects of community activity including land use planning, economic development, waste management, resource use, and transportation. A short examination of various models of sustainable community initiatives are provided to illustrate a variety of experiments in new institutions, processes and policy proposals currently being undertaken in North America that can be drawn upon by communities trying to implement local solutions to environmental and social problems.
Applied Science, Faculty of
Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of
Graduate

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Wakjira, Dereje Tadesse. "Governance of social-ecological systems in an Afromontane forest of southeast Ethiopia : exploring interactions between systems." Thesis, University of Aberdeen, 2013. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=205392.

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Adaptive governance is increasingly regarded as necessary to improve the resilience of social-ecological systems. However, empirical studies of social-ecological systems are scarce, especially in relation to multiple-use forest systems. This thesis draws on a study of an Afromontane forest in southeast Ethiopia that has been used by humans through history, and explores mechanisms of interactions between social and resource systems and their influences on the overall social-ecological system. The thesis analyses the role of local-level institutions in this social-ecological system, their changes over time, their function as channels of access to forest products for local people and their influence on the forest system resulting from people's patterns of forest use. I use an interdisciplinary approach, considering local governance institutions (Chapters 2 & 3), forest-based livelihoods (chapter 4) and forest system (Chapter 5) as components of social-ecological systems. Chapter 2 analyses institutional change over time in order to understand mechanisms by which local forest use has been coordinated in dynamic political and socio-economic contexts. Data were collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews. The findings show that combining elements from both informal and formal institutions allowed traditional rules to persist for decades in the guise of more formal arrangements. However, large-scale governance changes constrained the adaptive capacity of local institutions by abolishing fora for collective decision-making. Chapter 3 builds on these findings. It examines the roles of elders, i.e., key actors in the communities, and the structure of their networks in order to understand mechanisms by which informal institutions were coordinated across study villages in the absence of fora for collective decision-making. Key informant in-depth interviews were used to explore the roles of elders in local governance. In addition, a questionnaire survey was conducted with elders to identify social networks. Findings suggest that prominent elders resident in different Kebeles were connected by layers of informal networks through which they exchanged opinions and knowledge. These networks were not centralised and were to some degree redundant, as the same roles were preformed by more than one elder in each community, which contributed to the persistence of informal institutions. These informal networks created a power that helped local people to undermine some of the formal rules and to continue using the forest for their livelihoods under informal governance arrangements. Chapter 4 investigates households' access to forest-based livelihoods as coordinated by informal institutions. To examine the relationships between households' endowments with assets and their use of forest products, a questionnaire survey was administered to the selected households resident in seven of the eight villages (Kebeles) bordering the Harenna forest. The results showed that 86% of households benefited from the forest directly by using one or more of the three non-timber forest products (NTFPs) considered; coffee, beekeeping and livestock grazing. Furthermore, there was no strong evidence that ownership of specific assets explained the difference between those households who used NTFPs and those who did not. However, asset-rich households tended to own larger areas of coffee land and to use multiple forest products compared to asset-poor households. In conclusion, future management approaches should be mindful of the effect that a formalisation of de facto forest use could have on widening the gap between asset-poor and asset-rich households. Chapter 5 reports the ecological legacy of different forest use practices. To assess the vegetation structure and composition of the forest under four different coffee management systems which evolved in the past 50 years, measurements of woody plants were taken from 202 nested plots. The results of the study provide an indication of how well each of the four coffee systems affects structure and composition of the forest. The study highlights the importance of adapting institutions to retain the patchy distribution of the different coffee systems in order to encourage forest dynamics at a landscape level. Together, the findings of the four studies identify the mechanisms by which interventions that specifically target either only forest ecosystems or social systems may undermine the sustainability of social-ecological systems. This emphasises the importance of autonomous local institutions to facilitate adaptive governance within broadly agreed goals, as rigid governance arrangements constrain the resilience of social-ecological systems.

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Karim-Sesay, Peter Abdul Ndoinje. "A vested interest approach to the understanding of agriculture and environmental attitudes in the state of Ohio." Connect to this title online, 2004. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1101845103.

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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2004.
Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 117 p.; also includes graphics (some col.). Includes bibliographical references (p. 102-106).

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Christion, Timothy C. Callicott J. Baird. "The turn from reactive to responsive environmentalism the wilderness debate, relational metaphors, and the eco-phenomenology of response /." [Denton, Tex.] : University of North Texas, 2009. http://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc12096.

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Ostrovsky, Marsha. "Detecting human impacts on ecosystem function in southern Canada." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/26531.

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Human activities potentially threaten key ecological processes, or "ecosystem functions", mainly through the habitat conversion associated with urbanization and agriculture. Although ecosystem functions can clearly be disrupted in severely degraded systems, it is not clear how those functions vary along the entire gradient of human activity at scales most relevant to global environmental change. To address this question, I used two remotely sensed indices of ecosystem function, as measured by the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and thermal infrared radiation (TIR), to derive estimates of primary productivity and evapotranspiration, respectively, at 1-km resolution across multiple vegetation types in southern Canada. After controlling for the variation in NDVI and TIR related to the climatic gradient, I related these indices to measures of anthropogenic activity (road density, extent of natural cover, and protected areas status). While NDVI and TIR are both strongly related to climate and vegetation type, much of the residual variation in NDVI (up to 67%) and TIR (up to 55%) is related to human activity. Ecosystems in areas of intense human impact are generally less productive and exhibit less water cycling (i.e., energy-transforming) efficiency, but I found no evidence of threshold effects in the response of ecosystem function to increasing human impact. Ecosystems in protected areas (parks and reserves) have significantly higher productivity and, to a lesser extent, higher evapotranspiration, which suggests increased solar energy-transforming capacity. These relationships are strongest at coarse spatial scales and are generally consistent within different vegetation types. The magnitude of these effects along the entire gradient of human activity is substantial.

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Tzunun, Garcia Marcelino Lorenzo. "Cosmology and ecology from a Maya-Kiche person's perspective." Theological Research Exchange Network (TREN), 1999. http://www.tren.com.

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Kachman, Chelsea R. G. "Animot: Human ↔ Subhuman ↔ Nonhuman." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1506.

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This book-length manuscript is a collection of poems. They and it examine ecology as a state of being in and outside the body (or how, if at all, there is a secure distinction), species-based boundaries of the body, obsessions with immunity and chronic illness in biopolitical and gendered societal and perhaps inevitably thus linguistic structures, and what it means to participate in close reading while writing to contribute to the question of ecology as poetry. The central questions are in fact questions: what is the relationship between a deconstructive approach to identity creation and erasure through participation in poetry as a medium, a set of forms, and the site of the body's dilemma?

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Adams, Bryce T. "Influences of a human-dominated landscape on midwestern breeding bird occupancy and diversity." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1395235933.

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Robertson, David P. "Public Ecology: Linking People, Science, and the Environment." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/27589.

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Truly unique and innovative solutions are needed to resolve today's complex and controversial environmental issues (e.g., biodiversity loss, global warming, cultural evolution, etc.). In response to these concerns, a variety of applied science programs have emerged to help people make better decisions about the environment. Each of these programs (e.g., conservation biology, restoration ecology, sustainable forestry, environmental toxicology, and others) produces specialized knowledge that is used to achieve specific social and environmental goals. For example, the peer-reviewed, scientific analyses published in Conservation Biology are most likely concerned with the goal of preserving biological diversity, whereas the equally scientific and respected analyses published in Forest Science are most likely concerned with the goal of sustaining timber yields. Likewise, studies in environmental toxicology investigate risks to human health by environmental pollutants, while stud! ies in ecological restoration serve to maximize the integrity of natural systems. Unfortunately, these diverse forms of knowledge offer multiple and often conflicting ways of thinking about the environment. Public ecology is a response to this dilemma. The primary goal of public ecology is construct common ground between people's diverse beliefs and values for the environment. Toward this end, public ecology is an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach to environmental science and politics. Public ecology integrates perspectives from the social and natural sciences, the humanities, and public understandings of the environment. Public ecology is not only a cross-cultural and comparative form of environmental studies, it is also a citizen science that encourages all concerned stakeholders to participate with research specialists, technical experts, and professional decision-makers in developing creative solutions to persistent environmental problems.
Ph. D.

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Grelock-Yusem, Susan Michelle. "Wolf Lost & Found| Reframing Human-Wildlife Coexistence with the Arts." Thesis, Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2019. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=13806376.

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This qualitative research was motivated by the desire to understand how conservation work can engage our psychic connection to the more-than-human. The work used grounded theory and phenomenological methodologies; data was gathered with interviews and arts-based inquiry and analyzed through the lenses of depth psychologically oriented ecopsychology and community psychology. Participants included artists, storytellers, and biologists who have created work about wolves and live in the southern portion of the Yellowstone to Yukon corridor in North America. The research specifically explored what calls artists to create work about wolves, and how their work expresses a sense of interconnection with wolves. The findings suggested that when an artist has a strong sensitivity to the more-than-human, their art-making gives them a channel to express this and supports the development of their individual identity. Additionally, four key themes arose in the dialogues with the artists: embracing a sense of community, providing context, connecting with place, and playing with the Western cultural boundary between humans and other animals. Conservation projects could benefit from these findings by consciously embracing these same ideas in their work using what this research defines as Critical Conservation Communication.” While it is impossible to prove that art directly contributes to conservation goals, this work proposes that art can remind us of our connection to other animals and the life beyond human-constructed reality. This imaginal reconstruction of an ecological orientation can be an ally to conservation goals in Western culture.

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Tucker, Philip Nigel James. "Water rights, drought and the human ecology of famine : North Kordofan 1984-5." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1992. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.359692.

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Rodrigues, Arlindo Jose. "Ecology of the Kayabi Indians of Xingu, Brazil : soil and agroforestry management." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1993. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.318364.

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Saj, Tania. "The ecology and behavior of vervet monkeys in a human-modified environment." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ34912.pdf.

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Storm, Daniel J. "White-tailed deer ecology and deer-human conflict in an exurban landscape /." Available to subscribers only, 2005. http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1095427551&sid=6&Fmt=2&clientId=1509&RQT=309&VName=PQD.

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Willis, Caroline. "The physiology and ecology of sulphate-reducing bacteria in the human colon." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 1997. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.439156.

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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Human ecology'

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