Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Natural community'

This thesis examines Scottish community land ownership through the lenses of power and community. It asks what impact Community Land Initiatives (CLIs) have on power relations, particularly at local level; and, if and how their conception as “community” initiatives affects that. These questions are addressed through in-depth qualitative case studies of two emerging CLIs on the Isle of Skye, in the context of the wider community land movement. The thesis finds that one of the CLIs studied have contributed some measure of additive empowerment to local residents. These are increasing in significance and social reach as the scale of asset ownership and associated development projects expands. The other is at an earlier stage in terms of land ownership, but has some collective power through a focus on the cultural and convivial aspects of community that has considerable local resonance. It is also clear that, where CLIs acquire land and assets, they shift visible power from landowners to community groups. They also are beginning to shift cultural perceptions of who and what land is for. However, despite some efforts by activists to address them, power relations at local level shape participation in CLI decision-making spaces. These are closely connected to experiences and ideas of community at local level. More broadly, the thesis shows how CLIs owe their power both to organising at local level, and to a network of relationships with actors elsewhere, including funding and support agencies. Maintaining and balancing all these relationships can be challenging. As an in-depth but narrowly focussed case study, this thesis aims at exploring these issues, rather than producing definitive judgements about the entire community land movement. The final chapter therefore situates the thesis in the context of other studies of this movement, and within the wider literature on power and development. It concludes with suggestions for further research and testing of the ideas it has developed.

2012/2013
Heterotrophic nanoflagellate (HNF) grazing is one of the major source of prokaryotic mortality in marine ecosystems, acting as a strong selection pressure on communities. Protozoans may thus affect prokaryotic abundance and alter the diversity and the taxonomic composition of the prey community, as individual prokaryotes can develop distinct grazing-resistant mechanisms. Moreover, the microbial loop is well known to regulate carbon fluxes in surface marine environments but few studies have quantified the impact of HNF predation on prokaryotes in the dark ocean. The present work was aimed to: (1) quantify the impact of HNF predation on the deep prokaryotes biomass; (2) investigate if and how prey diversity varies in response to different predation pressure; (3) define taxonomic community composition in studied areas and identify most affected prokaryotic phylotypes by HNF grazing (4) evaluate the effects of small HNF (<3 µm), which are known to dominate nano-sized compartment and represent the main bacterivores in aquatic ecosystems, being an important link between bacteria and larger protists; (5) evidence differences in community sensitivity to grazing between surface and mesopelagic ecosystems (6) identify the main environmental drivers shaping microbial community diversity. Predation experiments were performed with surface and mesopelagic water samples collected from the Southern Adriatic and Northern Ionian basins. An additional predation experiment was set up in the North-eastern Adriatic Sea. We coupled the traditional ‘dilution method’ with high-throughput molecular analysis (ARISA and Ion Torrent/454 sequencing) to provide a quantitatively and qualitatively evaluation of the grazing process occurring in marine microbial communities. The present work is structured by four manuscripts in preparation and one manuscript already submitted. 1. Heterotrophic nanoflagellate grazing on picoplankton in deep waters (manuscript in preparation) 2. Effects of heterotrophic flagellate predation on bacterial community diversity (manuscript in preparation) 3. HNF grazing impact on taxonomic composition of marine prokaryotic community (manuscript in preparation) 4. Environmental drivers structuring surface and deep bacterial communities in Adriatic and Ionian Seas (manuscript in preparation) 5. Biodiversity changes of bacterial community under predation pressure analyzed by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing (manuscript submitted) My PhD research led to important progresses in the comprehension of microbial dynamics regulating carbon cycles and bacterial diversity in the Adriatic and Ionian basins. Prokaryotic abundance and biomass were one order of magnitude higher in the photic than in the aphotic layers of Southern Adriatic and Ionian Seas (surface biomass 1.68 ± 1.76 µC L-1, deep biomass 9.00 ± 2.11 µC L-1). The Northern Adriatic community presented the highest biomass value (57.46 µC L-1), according to its richer trophic status. All in situ communities displayed the same evenness, being dominated by rare phylotypes. Rare taxa were confirmed to represent the major contributors of microbial communities, with only a few phylotypes dominant. Mesopelagic bacterial communities were as rich and variable as surface assemblages, despite the significant biomass decrease along the water column. Natural archaeal assemblages were characterized by very low richness as we recovered only two genera (Cenarchaeum and Nitrosopumilus), while in situ bacterial communities were composed by the six major marine phyla (Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes and Deinococcus-Thermus), whose contribution varied according to sampling depth. Flagellates were demonstrated to efficiently control their preys (ingestion rates: 7.86-22.26 µg C L-1 in surface experiments, 0.53-10.61 µg C L-1 in deep experiments), causing important losses in the potentially produced prokaryotic biomass. Despite picoplankton and HNF abundance reduction with depth contrasts with the hypothesis that at least 108 picoplanktonic cells L-1 are necessary to sustain HNF community, our data confirm that also in mesopelagic waters prey and predator concentrations are sufficient to sustain efficient microbial food webs. HNF grazing modified bacterial community diversity in both surface and deep marine systems but with different strength. Mesopelagic communities were more sensitive to grazing impact, evidencing a bell-shaped response to the increasing ingestion rates. Moderate-high top-down control preserved or enhanced bacterial diversity, that fell at low predation. In upper communities grazing did not induce wide variations of bacterial richness and evenness, revealing to be more stable. Small HNF (<3 µm) were the dominant size fraction within flagellate communities and likely constituted the main bacterivores. After the removal of large HNF, a higher fraction of prokaryotic phylotypes was affected. Larger protists partially reduced small flagellate impact on their preys. Larger HNF had a more important role in photic systems compared to mesopelagic waters. The fraction of bacterial taxa favored or affected by predation when small HNF were the only predators more markedly varied in surface experiments, while few phylotypes changes their behavior between the two size treatments in deep experiments. Some taxa were consumed mainly by larger HNF (3-10 µm), while others were grazed by smaller ones (<3 µm). Over 50% of the predated phylotypes belonged to the rare biosphere, mainly in the surface experiments. Rare bacteria are thus not only a dormant ‘seed bank’ but constitute a fundamental component of microbial food webs and actively vector the carbon transfer toward higher trophic levels, being as important as dominant organisms. Although general patterns applicable to all communities were not found, trends of selectivity over different phylotypes were highlighted within sampling layer along the water column and between different systems. While the majority of predator-prey interactions were characteristic to specific environments, some can be considered common to different systems (e.g. Burkholderiaceae and Pseudomonadaceae were exclusively selected in all mesopelagic sites, Bacterivoracaceae were subjected to small HNF predation independently from sampling site or depth). The Southern Adriatic and Ionian basins were significantly distinguished by both the physicochemical water characteristics and the prokaryotes and protists abundance distributions. Cluster analysis based on Jaccard and Bray-Curtis metrics evidenced that depth and geographical location of sampling sites influenced bacterial community similarity. The Southern Adriatic Sea was clearly distinguished from the Ionian Sea. The Northern Adriatic samples were always separated from the others, coherently with different biotic and abiotic characteristics of the sub-basin. Additionally, temperature, chl a and O2 concentration represented important environmental drivers shaping biodiversity of bacterial communities that inhabit Adriatic and Ionian basins. In conclusion, we evidenced that heterotrophic flagellates control bacterial biomass and select certain taxa among all possible preys, grazing also on the rare ones. HNF predation thus shapes bacterial community structures, which in turn influence the ecosystem functioning. Despite the cell abundance decrease of both predators and preys reduces encounter probabilities, the dark ocean hosts complex microbial food webs, structured around three trophic levels (i.e. prokaryotes, small and large heterotrophic flagellates).
I nanoflagellati eterotrofi (HNF) costituiscono una delle principali cause di mortalità dei procarioti in ambiente marino, esercitando una forte selezione sulle comunità predate. Possono modificarne l’abbondanza cellulare e alterarne la diversità e la composizione tassonomica, in quanto le diverse specie procariotiche possono sviluppare distintivi meccanismi di resistenza alla predazione. Mentre l’impatto degli HNF sui procarioti degli acque marine superficiali è ben noto, pochi studi si sono focalizzati sullo studio degli ambienti profondi. Il presenta lavoro di dottorato è stato finalizzato a: (1) quantificare l’impatto della predazione da parte degli HNF sulla biomassa procariotica profonda; (2) capire se e come la biodiversità della comunità predata vari in risposta alla diversa pressione di predazione; (3) definire la composizione tassonomica delle comunità presenti nell’area di studio e identificare i filotipi maggiormente colpiti dalla predazione da parte degli HNF; (4) valutare il contributo dei piccolo flagellati (<3 µm), i quali costituiscono la più abbondante frazione nanoplanctonica e rappresentano i principali organismi batterivori negli ambienti acquatici; (5) evidenziare possibili differenze nella risposta alla predazione tra comunità procariotiche che vivono in acque superficiali e profonde; (6) identificare i principali fattori ambientali che modulano la diversità delle comunità microbiche. Esperimenti di predazione sono stati condotti su campioni di acqua superficiale e mesopelagica raccolti nel Mar Adriatico meridionale e nel Mar Ionio settentrionale. Un ulteriore esperimento è stato condotto nel Mar Adriatico nord-orientale. Il tradizionale metodo delle diluizioni è stato abbinato ad analisi molecolari quali elettroforesi capillare (ARISA) e sequenziamento (Ion Torrent e 454) per consentire una valutazione quali-quantitativa degli effetti della predazione sulle comunità microbiche marine. La presente tesi è costituita da quattro articoli in preparazione e un articolo già sottomesso: 1. Heterotrophic nanoflagellate grazing on picoplankton in deep waters (articolo in preparazione) 2. Effects of heterotrophic flagellate predation on bacterial community diversity (articolo in preparazione) 3. HNF grazing impact on taxonomic composition of marine prokaryotic community (articolo in preparazione) 4. Environmental drivers structuring surface and deep bacterial communities in Adriatic and Ionian Seas (articolo in preparazione) 5. Biodiversity changes of bacterial community under predation pressure analyzed by 16S rRNA pyrosequencing (articolo sottomesso) La ricerca condotta durante il mio dottorato ha portato a interessanti progressi nella comprensione delle dinamiche microbiche che regolano i cicli del carbonio e la diversità batterica nei bacini adriatico e ionico. L’abbondanza e la biomassa delle comunità procariotiche superficiali è risultata un ordine di grandezza superiore rispetto alle comunità profonde in Mar Adriatico meridionale e Mar Ionio (biomassa superficiale 9.00 ± 2.11 µC L-1, biomassa profonda 1.68 ± 1.76 µC L-1). La comunità descritta nel Mar Adriatico settentrionale è caratterizzata dai valori più elevati di biomassa (57.46 µC L-1), coerentemente con l’eutrofia del bacino. I flagellati eterotrofi hanno causando perdite significative nella biomassa procariotica in tutti gli esperimenti condotti, con tassi di ingestione pari a 7.86-22.26 µgC L-1 negli esperimenti superficiali e 0.53-10.61 µgC L-1 negli esperimenti profondi. Un’abbondanza picoplanctonica di 108 cellule L-1 è stata ipotizzata come necessaria per sostenere la comunità degli flagellati. Nonostante l’aumento della profondità comporti una riduzione dell’abbondanza del picoplancton tale da non raggiungere questa soglia, i nostri dati confermano che anche negli ambienti profondi si instaurano interazione preda-predatore sufficienti a sostenere le reti trofiche microbiche. Tutte le comunità in situ hanno mostrato la medesima distribuzione, con prevalenza di filotipi rari e pochi gruppi dominanti. Le comunità mesopelagiche presentano diversità e variabilità analoghe a quelle superficiali, nonostante il decremento in biomassa lungo la colonna d’acqua. Una bassa diversità è stata osservata nelle comunità naturali di Archea, dove sono stati rilevati due soli generi (Cenarchaeum e Nitrosopumilus), mentre le comunità batteriche sono composte dai sei principali phyla marini (Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Firmicutes e Deinococcus-Thermus), la cui frequenza varia in base alla profondità di campionamento. La predazione esercitata dagli HNF ha modificato la diversità delle comunità sia superficiali che profonde ma con diversi effetti. Le comunità profonde si sono dimostrate più suscettibili alla diversa intensità della predazione. Un controllo top-down medio-alto ha preservato o incrementato la diversità batterica, che invece è risultata fortemente ridotta con bassa pressione di predazione. Al contrario, le comunità superficiali hanno subito solo leggere variazioni nella biodiversità batterica in risposta ai diversi tassi di ingestione, dimostrandosi più stabili. I piccoli flagellati (<3 µm) costituiscono la frazione dominante delle comunità nanoplanctoniche. In seguito alla rimozione dei predatori >3 µm, variazione significative dell’abbondanza sono state riscontrate in una maggiore percentuale di filotipi procariotici. Flagellati di maggiori dimensioni possono quindi mitigare l’impatto dei piccoli predatori sulle prede, con una maggior influenza nei sistemi fotici. Alcuni taxa batterici sono stati consumati prevalentemente dal grandi HNF (3-10 µm), mentre altri sono stati selezionati dai piccoli flagellati (<3 µm). Oltre il 50% dei filotipi predati apparteneva alla biosfera rara, soprattutto negli esperimenti condotti in superficie. I batteri rari (0.1-1% dell’abbondanza totale) non rappresentano quindi una frazione ‘dormiente’ il cui contributo varia in seguito a cambiamenti delle condizioni ambientali, come inizialmente ipotizzato. Costituiscono invece una componente fondamentale delle reti trofiche microbiche e contribuiscono attivamente al trasferimento di carbonio verso i livelli trofici superiori, così come gli organismi dominanti. Nonostante ciascuna comunità risponda in maniera distintiva alla predazione, in funzione della composizione tassonomica delle comunità stesse e dello stato trofico del sistema, alcuni indizi di selettività sono stati individuati. Alcune interazioni preda-predatore si sono rivelate tipiche delle comunità profonde o superficiali, mentre altre erano comuni ad entrambi i sistemi (es. Burkholderiaceae e Pseudomonadaceae sono stati selezionati sono in ambiente pelagico, Bacterivoracaceae sono stati sottoposti a predazione da parte di piccolo flagellati in tutti gli esperimenti, indipendentemente dalla profondità e dal sito di campionamento). I bacini Adriatico meridionale e Ionio settentrionale sono significativamente distinti sia per le caratteristiche chimico-fisiche della colonna d’acqua, sia per l’abbondanza di pico- e nanoplancton. La cluster analisi basata sugli indici di Jaccard e Bray-Curtis ha evidenziato che profondità di campionamento e localizzazione geografica sono i principali fattori che determinano la similarità tra le comunità batteriche. Il Mar Adriatico settentrionale è risultato sempre separato dagli altri campioni, coerentemente con le diverse caratteristiche biotiche e abiotiche del bacino. Oltre a profondità e sito geografico, temperatura, concentrazione di chl a e ossigeno contribuiscono a determinare la biodiversità batterica adriatica e ionica. In conclusione, il presente lavoro ha evidenziato come i flagellati eterotrofi controllino la biomassa procariotica e mostrino preferenza per determinati taxa, selezionando anche quelli rari. La predazione influenza la struttura delle comunità e di conseguenza il funzionamento degli ecosistemi. Anche gli ambienti marini profondi ospitano complesse reti trofiche, strutturate attorno a tre livelli principali (procarioti, piccoli e grandi flagellati eterotrofi) così come le acque superficiali.
XXVI Ciclo
1986

The shift from centralised conservation to Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) was the highlight of the conservation discourse across the world during the late 1980s and early 1990s. CBNRM efforts were believed to have the potential of successfully merging biodiversity conservation simultaneously with local development efforts. However, the increasing critiques against the applicability of CBNRM interventions in different contexts is threatening the viability of the approach. Extant literature on CBNRM interventions focuses on the theoretical aspects of such efforts at the expense of the practical and context specific elements. This thesis intends to fill such a gap in literature by focusing on the practical and contextual elements of an example of this approach in Zanzibar. In an attempt to conserve the isles' natural forests, Zanzibar has adopted Community-Forest Management Areas (CoFMAs) bordering its natural forests. In this study, focus is placed on Pete's CoFMA, a village bordering the isles' last remaining natural forests- Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park (JCBNP). Pete provides an ideal site due to the conflict that exists between residents and the CoFMA intervention. By using the political ecological framework, this study is able to examine the political, social, historical and economic elements that play a significant role in the practice of CBNRM efforts. Narratives from residents are relied on to elucidate on such elements in relation to the existence of the CoFMA in Pete Village. Narratives gathered through interviews and participant observation concluded that while CoFMAs have been set up with the optimistic goal of conserving the forest and providing development to community members; in practice, the conservation intervention has proved otherwise. In spite of the achievement of some developmental goals, the overall findings indicate that the CoFMA has failed to protect the forests and its natural resources from degradation. At the same time, community members are facing difficulties to live a sustainable life.

Levee Lake is a forested wetland system located within a Mississippi River oxbow meander scar in the American Bottom of the Northern Section of the Lower Mississippi River Bottomlands Division (White 1978) that has not been developed or converted to agricultural land. Because of its relatively undisturbed status, Levee Lake is representative of a presettlement wetland. In 1976, Levee Lake was documented with a 93-acre Grade B shrub swamp/marsh/pond (SSMP) community, qualifying for the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory (INAI). Additionally, 129 acres of Grade C wet floodplain forest surrounding the SSMP community was recorded (Nyboer and Reeves 1976).

Nyboer and Reeves (1976) described Levee Lake as the largest complex of marsh, pond, and swamp communities representing presettlement American Bottom conditions. They also identified potential draining efforts at site perimeters. Based on regulatory agency and Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) documents as well as historical aerial photographs, perimeter portions of the forested wetland system and adjoining properties were subjected to decades of clearing and draining efforts prior to and following the 1976 survey.

This study involved evaluating the current floristic composition, natural communities, and the overall quality of the Levee Lake wetland system. The information from the current evaluation was then compared to the 1976 survey to examine how recorded disturbances have affected the condition, communities, and quality of the Levee Lake wetland system. The hypothesis of this study was that documented clearing, draining, and subsequent hydrologic alterations would likely cause changes in plant composition and natural communities since the 1976 INAI survey.

To accomplish this task, the transect (Transect 1 or T1) that was used for vegetative sampling in 1976 was re-created and used as a benchmark for 2012 vegetative sampling. To compare the plant composition from 1976 to 2012, twenty 0.25 meter (m)2 sampling plots were established along Transect 1. At each plot (T1P1 through T1P20), the relative cover of each vascular plant species was recorded and the resulting species data evaluated. To provide additional plant data for the site, herbaceous, shrub, and tree sampling was conducted via the Critical Trends Assessment Program (CTAP) protocols. Vegetative sampling was conducted in late summer/fall of 2012.

To evaluate the overall plant quality of Levee Lake and the existing natural communities, existing vegetation outside of the aforementioned transects was also recorded in late summer/fall of 2012. The overall site conditions and natural communities were observed and recorded during site visits in 2011, 2012, and 2014. The current natural communities were determined by the vegetative sampling, the overall site observations, as well as available aerial photographs and images.

Based on the research and field work, the native plant composition suffered a reduction in quality. Additionally, communities suffered a reduction in quality and a shift in community type. A reduction in water levels caused severe woody encroachment of the SSMP community identified in 1976. Today, only approximately 0.58-acre [0.23 hectare (ha)] of Grade C marsh/pond community remains. In 1976, the pond community was considered an exceptional feature with the surrounding shrub swamp/marsh community considered a significant feature. Although most of the former 93-acre Grade B SSMP community suffered from severe woody encroachment, recent wetland restorations to the north and to the south appear to have aided in returning hydrology to this community. Herbaceous, shrub, and tree vegetation data collected in the CTAP plots provided further evidence of wetland and swamp conditions. The former SSMP community has evolved into a Grade C swamp/marsh/pond (SMP) community. An approximate 11.73-acre (4.75 ha) Grade D marsh/wet meadow has evolved in the southwestern region that was subjected to decades of clearing and draining disturbance (White 1978; White and Madany 1978). Further evidence of a shift in plant composition and communities between species along Transect 1 in 1976 and in 2012 was shown through the NMDS ordination and an ANOSIM test which showed that plot communities distinctly differ between the two years (Minchin 2013). (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Excess fine sediment from human activity is a major pollutant to streams across the U.S.; however, distinguishing human-induced sedimentation from natural fine sediment is complex. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently implemented a protocol for the quantitative field assessment of human-induced sedimentation using measurements of stream geomorphology. Macroinvertebrate community composition, streambed sediment stability, and sediment composition were studied at 49 sites in the James River watershed in central Virginia. Sediment composition was found to be a stronger driver of community composition than sediment stability. Although I was not able to show that macroinvertebrate metrics were related to sediment stability independently of actual fine sediment composition, some metrics, including percent Ephemeridae, a family of burrowing mayflies (order = Ephemeroptera) show promise as valuable tools for regional biologists and resource managers to discriminate among streams considered impaired for sediment pollution.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of the 2010 Chile earthquake and tsunami on community resilience. Specifically, the thesis examines the role of community resilience in coping with and recovery from natural disasters, and the capacities and external factors that enhance or undermine the levels of community resilience. Furthermore, this study focuses on developing a model suitable for analysing community resilience in the context of natural disasters in Chile. In 2010, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake and tsunami struck Chile. Coastal areas were particularly affected by the disaster; fishing villages were completely destroyed and many people were injured and killed by the tsunami. However, exceptionally, only one fishing village entirely survived the tsunami impact in Talcahuano, one of the worst affected regions by the disaster. This is the case of the ‘El Morro’ community where, despite their boats and houses being swept away by the destructive waves, no one died. This community, considered the most successful experience in coping effectively with the disaster in the country, is the case analysed in this thesis. The results of a primary research conducted in the ‘El Morro’ case study (through methods of semi-structured interviews, observation, informal conversations, documentary review and social media) show that communities have the power to activate internal resources and capacities to cope with and recover from natural disasters. The research highlights that communities are not simply passive victims of disasters; rather, they are active agents. Furthermore, it shows that external factors, specifically political ones can have a detrimental effect on community resilience. Additionally, an integrated model of community resilience was developed which provides new insights into measuring community resilience in the context of natural disasters. Finally, these findings could be useful for designing effective disaster risk reduction programmes and promoting community resilience in Chile and in other developing countries.

Within an ecological community, interactions between species in a community occur directly, through physical contact, and indirectly, via other species or through abiotic environmental modification. Genetic variation within a species has the ability to alter the outcome of interactions between species. In other words, the specific genotypes of the interacting individuals are important for the outcome of the interaction. In this thesis, I begin by showing that indirect interactions between a soil rhizobacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and a parasitoid wasp (Aphidius rhopalosiphum) are mediated by genotypic interactions between the two linking species, aphids (Sitobion avenae) and barley (Hordeum vulgare). This means that the magnitude and direction of the indirect effect of rhizobacteria (presence/absence) on the wing size of the parasitoid wasp was different, depending on the combination of interacting aphid and barley genotypes. If such interactions were to have an evolutionary effect, there would need to be non-random association between the aphid and barley genotypes. In the next chapter, I demonstrated that different aphid genotypes actively choose (no effect on reproductive rate) to colonize particular barley genotypes. I then showed that host preference of an aphid genotype could be altered by the presence, and sometimes genotypic identity, of another competing aphid genotype. I confirmed that these interactions were indirect, via the plant, by showing that aphid growth rate can be reduced when a plant is pre-conditioned with a different aphid genotype. Further investigation, using microarrays, showed that the different aphid genotypes induced differential gene expression in a single barley genotype. Many of these sequences belonged to known plant defense pathways and suggest a possible mechanism for the observed genotypic interactions between aphid and barley. In order to further understand the influence of within-species genetic variation on species interactions there is a need to consider these interactions in a natural system. I therefore investigated the influence of genetic variation within a single tree species on the associated plant and invertebrate communities in a complex, natural tropical ecosystem. I found that more closely related trees were host to more similar communities of epiphytic plants, leaf litter invertebrates around the base of the tree and trunk-dwelling invertebrates. This shows that even in a highly diverse, naturally occurring ecosystem the effect of genetic variation within a species can be an important factor for the structure of associated communities of both plants and animals.Research on the influence of within-species genetic variation on species interactions at a community level has wide applications for understanding how communities and ecosystems function, which can benefit agriculture, disease management and conservation practices.

The current landscape of small farms is approaching a major shift as more and more small farms are poised to come onto open marketplace around urban areas. A different farming business model called Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has been utilized as new way for farmers to potentially earn above average revenue. However, small farmers still feel dissatisfied with their overall farm income, but when implementing the CSA business model the producers do feel that the CSA enhances their overall income satisfaction. Three essays were developed to examine this predicament. The first essay examined possible economic pricing models that a CSA is espoused to operating under, a multiproduct club good and monopoly. Utilizing these theories and data collected from prior research, I postulate that the CSA business model is not operating at the Pareto equilibrium because producers seem worse off and the shareholders are better off. The solution to this equilibrium problem seems to be two fold. One is that the producer is acting inefficiently and needs better control of their production and distribution. Second, the true cost of the product is not being communicate as espoused by CSA business model concept. Increasing efficiencies and fully communicating all costs to the shareholders are needed so that the correct consumers’ willingness to pay can be revealed and the Pareto optimal be achieved.

The second essay constructs and illustrates a mathematical model implemented by the gardening by the square foot method and expands it so that it can be applied by the CSA farmer. Comparing this planting method to other CSA row cropping models, the needed square footage for growing the need harvest can be reduced by 80%. Although the land needed is drastically decreased using this cropping method, labor costs have not been evaluated and field studies still need to be conducted. Also, this technique now segregates the shareholders production area from other production areas on the farm. This not only allows a CSA producer to better detail their specific production cost per shareholder but also has the advantage of allowing for more exclusion required to exert more monopoly or club good power, thus possibly correcting the dissatisfaction of producers’ personal income as described in essay one.

The third essay discusses the results of a survey, e-mailed to 673 producers listed on the USDA CSA website. The results of this survey were compared to previous CSA producer surveys and shows that not much has changed in the demographics of the CSA operations across the U.S. Using survey and census data, a linear regression econometric model was developed to explain full share pricing at CSAs. Five variable coefficients were found to have large impacts on full share prices. The variable of CSA farmers participating in other marketplaces had a negative impact of $294.62. When farmers used prices of other CSAs in their pricing, share prices were $120.82 higher. The preparation of the CSA harvest for distribution was found to have a negative effect on the price with a coefficient of $232.83. The factor of the management and labor of the family and shared risk coefficients were positive $226.45 and $169.65, respectively. Finally the weeks of harvest was positive with a coefficient of $12.38. All these variables were found to be significant at the 1% or 5% significance level. However, many other non-monetary attributes espoused in the literature as reasons for a producer choosing the CSA business model, did not have any discernable impact on pricing. More research is needed to clarify the value of these non-market items.

Most of the world’s ecosystems suffer from stress caused by human activities such as habitat destruction, fragmentation, overexploitation of species and climate change. These factors affect the reproduction and/or survival of individual species as well as interactions between species in ecological communities. Forthcoming effects of this are altered abundances, direct species loss, and indirect cascading extinctions, with yet largely unknown consequences on community structure and functioning. Today, biodiversity loss is of global concern since human society and welfare depend upon resources and services provided by ecosystems. The importance of considering entire ecological communities as a target for conservation and management has been increasingly recognized due to the interdependencie  of species. Our ability to make predictions of the response of ecological communities to stress and biodiversity loss is in need of a deeper understanding of how structure and dynamical processes contributes to the functioning and stability of a community. In this thesis I use mathematical theory and dynamical models to study the response of community structure and resilience to a variety of disturbances affecting species and species interactions, ranging from small perturbations (Papers I-II) to large perturbations (species extinctions, Papers IIIIV). In Paper I we develop Community Sensitivity Analysis (CSA) as an analytical tool to study how a small permanent perturbation to the intrinsic growth rate, or mortality rate, of species is expected to affect i) the resilience (return rate) and ii) the structure (distribution of species equilibrium abundances) of an ecological community. Species interactions are described using Lotka-Volterra predator-prey dynamics. We apply CSA on the pelagic food webs of Lake Vättern and the Baltic Sea, respectively, and find that a change in the mortality rate of large-bodied species has a higher impact on community resilience and structure, compared to a perturbation to small-bodied species. However, analyzing the effect of a proportional change to the growth or mortality rate of species (elasticity analysis) shows that smallbodied species have proportionally larger effects on species equilibrium abundances, but not on resilience. CSA can also be used to study the effect of permanent (absolute or proportional) changes to inter- and intraspecific interaction strengths. For the two pelagic systems used in this study, CSA reveal that changes in the effect of a prey on its consumer tend to affect community structure and resilience significantly more than changes in the effect of a predator on its prey. In Paper II we assess the importance of rare species for the structure and resilience of ecological communities. First we show analytically, for a two species predator-prey system, that a change in the intrinsic growth rate of the rare species affect resilience more than a change in the growth rate of the common species. To test the generality of these results we next apply CSA on complex model food webs. In the analysis we distinguish between four trophic groups, each including only species with a similar trophic position, to separate the effect of abundance from the trophic position of species. Using mixed effect models we find support for our analytical predictions. More precisely, we find a strong negative relationship between the importance (sensitivity) of a species and its equilibrium abundance within all consumer groups and a weaker, but significant, relationship for producer species. The results from this study suggest that rare species can act as keystones through their effect on both community resilience and community structure, regardless of its trophic position. In Paper III we evaluate the risk of food web collapse caused by different trait-based extinction scenarios. In previous studies, groups of species, e.g. rare species, large-bodied species and top predators, have been identified to be relatively more prone to extinctions and other studies have found that extinctions of such species have comparably small effects on the remaining community. Using mathematical models of species dynamics we study the response of ecological communities to species removal (i.e. the proportion of species needed to be primarily removed to cause a 50% reduction in species richness, R50) when species are sequentially removed from the food web based on eight different traits. We show, contrary to some previous studies of sequential extinction simulations, that communities can be very vulnerable to realistic species loss. We furthermore find that the response of communities seems to depend on whether the extinction sequence follows a bottom-up or top-down direction, making it difficult to identify one particular extinction sequence as the most important/severe sequence. Finally, in Paper IV we aim to identify traits of species that can be used to identify keystone species, in terms of causing the highest proportion of secondary extinctions following their loss, in food webs with different degree of disassembly. Moreover, we analyze if the loss of a species that triggers a cascade of many secondary extinctions are the same species being identified as a keystones using Community Sensitivity Analysis. To answer these questions we randomly remove species from a set of 100 model communities. We analyze the relationship between the number of secondary extinctions following the randomly removed species and a range of species traits in communities where i) 75-100% of the initial number of species remain, ii) 50-75% of all species remain, iii) 25-50% of all species remain and iv) only 0-25% of all species remain. We find that the variation in secondary extinctions explained using species traits increases when the degree of food web disassembly and food web connectance are taken into account. The most important trait varies for different degrees of food web disassembly and also depends on whether basal species can go primarily extinct or not. However, due to correlation between most important traits, we conclude that the key status of different traits is rather robust against structural changes in the model food webs. Interestingly, food webs seem to be most sensitive to a random species loss after the loss of more than 25% of all initial species, suggesting that there is a threshold from which secondary extinctions increases. We also conclude that species being identified as keystones, based on the effect of their loss, are to some extent the same species being identified as having the largest effect on community structure and resilience, respectively, following a small perturbation.

The thesis explores the impact that dominating Swedish aesthetic norms and beauty standards have on the subjective experiences of Afro-Swedes and their hair. Also, it examines why Afro-Swedes who previously have been straightening their hair have chosen a natural hair style. Moreover, the thesis also discusses which influence Youtube has in encouraging women to 'go natural'. The research is based on semi-structured interviews of seven women. The study is located at the theoretical meeting-point between hair, ethnicity, and the social and agentic body, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, digital anthropology. It explores the social dimension of hair and how hair, as a part of the body, has the capacity to participate in the creation of social meaning and also, enables agency in the social world. It shows that hair practices and styling strategies can be symbolic, social and agentic and that hair can manifest social and cultural order. Also, it opens up for further questions regarding Afro-Swedes and their hair in relation to beauty standards, normativity and representation, on the societal level as well as the individual.

Disasters are defined as a 'crisis event in which the demands being placed on a human system, by the event, exceed the systems capacity to respond' (Bolin, 1989, p. 62). In the literature the negative consequences of disasters are focused at the individual level and fail to take into account the context In which Individuals live and where the disaster occurred. Few studies utilize residents within a disaster community to define the factors that are relevant to their disaster experience especially in Australian settings. This present studies view of disasters places the individual within an ecological system to understand their disaster experience and the disaster experience of the community. In viewing the disaster xperience the present study seeks to Identify the stress and growth outcomes as a more holistic account of the disaster experience. The present study utilizes residents from a Western Australian disaster community to identify the salient factors related to the disaster experience. The research questions addressed by the current study are (1) What factors are Important in understanding the experience of community members living with the threat of natural seasonal disasters in Western Australia? (2) What is the relationship between the community, individual and disaster experience variables in different communities in Western Australia? (3) What is the best predictor of posttraumatic stress? (4) What is the best predictor of posttraumatic growth? (5) What variables differentiate high and low stress groups? (6) What variables differentiate high and low growth groups? (7) What are the community and individual factors that mediate the disaster experience in communities in Western Australia? Specifically a) which individual variables impact the posttraumatic stress and posttraumatic growth associated with disasters.

This thesis seeks to understand and improve the effectiveness of partnerships formed by industry, community and government members of natural resource management (NRM) groups. The increasing popularity of partnership-based approaches to NRM is reflected in the rise of landcare, catchment management and other social mobilisation approaches throughout Australia and overseas. This thesis uses critical ethnographic methods to identify the characteristics of effective NRM partnerships and the factors influencing their effectiveness. This research also investigates appropriate methods for evaluating the effectiveness of such relationships and for determining when working in partnership with others may be the most appropriate response to a given NRM problem and context. The critical intent of the study means that it sought not only to understand the nature of such issues but also sought to enlighten and empower participants to improve the practice of partnerships in natural resource management. These characteristics and factors are analysed from three perspectives: the coordinators employed to broker and facilitate community-based NRM groups, the groups themselves and individual group members. This was done in order to reflect the importance of the continuous (re)negotiation of power that characterises long-term group relationships. It also enabled theories of power, cultural transformation, citizen participation, social capital and social learning to be used in the analysis of the NRM partnerships investigated in this study. These concepts were used to develop three tools for analysing NRM partnerships: a pendulum of citizen participation, an NRM citizen participation decision tree, and an NRM partnership typology. The study is based upon the analysis of nineteen cases, predominantly in South East Queensland, which were selected as examples of successful and effective NRM partnerships on the basis of referrals from regional managers and coordinators from State and Local Government. The research design was 'T' shaped, with Phase 1 of the study providing breadth through the analysis of fifteen partnerships. Depth was achieved in Phases 2 and 3. Phase 2 was a long-term ethnographic case study of one catchment management group while Phase 3 comprised a detailed analysis of three issue-specific partnerships formed by this group. These three phases concentrated on the viewpoint of coordinators, NRM groups and participants, respectively. Data on each of the nineteen cases were collected through interviews, field observations, workshops, document analyses and a short questionnaire. Data were analysed qualitatively. All data records were systematically coded to reveal themes and concepts relating to the research objectives from the viewpoints of coordinators, NRM groups and participants. Coding also revealed implications for governments seeking to enter into or to facilitate partnerships with others. The coding and interpretation of this data revealed a suite of twelve characteristics typical of effective natural resource management partnerships. These fell into five groups: (i) definitional characteristics (relating to effectiveness and shared power and responsibility) (ii) relationship characteristics (focusing on social capital building processes; communication; processes for knowledge acquisition and social learning; shared values, intent, action and risk-taking) (iii) participant characteristics (high levels of motivation and realistic expectations); (iv) a context characteristic (that the context is appropriate for a partnership) and (v) an 'outsider' perception characteristic (that the partnership is perceive positively by outsiders). A comparative analysis of cases reveals that only one of the nineteen cases exhibited all twelve characteristics. Importantly, three of these characteristics are not mentioned in the literature reviewed for this thesis. Two of these, share values and shared intent are relationship characteristics. Study findings emphasise that effective NRM partnerships are built on good personal relationships, based on shared values and intent. The third new characteristic is that people outside the partnership should perceive the relationship favourably. Since funds and other resources may be under the control of people outside a partnership, it is important that participants are able to effectively communicate their shared values and intent to others. Five factors were found to be significant in the development of effective partnerships (i) the need for participants and those brokering partnerships to realize that effective partnerships are built on positive personal relationships in which (ii) participants have high levels of motivation for being involved, particularly early in the relationship. The study further revealed that such relationships: (iii) need to be supported by a continuity of adequate funding and resources and (iv) the services of skilled, enthusiastic coordinators who (v) enjoy and are skilled at working in 'grey areas', the constantly changing social and organizational environment that is typical of NRM groups. These findings of the study are synthesized through a critical ethnography which depicts three years in the life of a typical, yet hypothetical, NRM group, the Armstrong Narrows-Yarooba Catchment Management Group (ANY Group). Based on the literature review and the analysis of results from this study, this composite story protects the anonymity of those who have participated in this research. Each of the three vignettes that make up this story contains two sections -As it was and As it could be. This 'double take approach' highlights the critical nature of the ethnography, emphasising how the development of collaborations and partnerships among members of NRM groups may be improved and evaluated. Coordinators, NRM group members and agencies supporting their efforts may use this ethnography as a basis for reflection and deliberation on the development of effective partnerships in natural resource management. Recommendations for how different stakeholders in NRM partnerships may develop the effectiveness of the partnerships they form are provided.

This thesis seeks to understand and improve the effectiveness of partnerships formed by industry, community and government members of natural resource management (NRM) groups. The increasing popularity of partnership-based approaches to NRM is reflected in the rise of landcare, catchment management and other social mobilisation approaches throughout Australia and overseas. This thesis uses critical ethnographic methods to identify the characteristics of effective NRM partnerships and the factors influencing their effectiveness. This research also investigates appropriate methods for evaluating the effectiveness of such relationships and for determining when working in partnership with others may be the most appropriate response to a given NRM problem and context. The critical intent of the study means that it sought not only to understand the nature of such issues but also sought to enlighten and empower participants to improve the practice of partnerships in natural resource management. These characteristics and factors are analysed from three perspectives: the coordinators employed to broker and facilitate community-based NRM groups, the groups themselves and individual group members. This was done in order to reflect the importance of the continuous (re)negotiation of power that characterises long-term group relationships. It also enabled theories of power, cultural transformation, citizen participation, social capital and social learning to be used in the analysis of the NRM partnerships investigated in this study. These concepts were used to develop three tools for analysing NRM partnerships: a pendulum of citizen participation, an NRM citizen participation decision tree, and an NRM partnership typology. The study is based upon the analysis of nineteen cases, predominantly in South East Queensland, which were selected as examples of successful and effective NRM partnerships on the basis of referrals from regional managers and coordinators from State and Local Government. The research design was 'T' shaped, with Phase 1 of the study providing breadth through the analysis of fifteen partnerships. Depth was achieved in Phases 2 and 3. Phase 2 was a long-term ethnographic case study of one catchment management group while Phase 3 comprised a detailed analysis of three issue-specific partnerships formed by this group. These three phases concentrated on the viewpoint of coordinators, NRM groups and participants, respectively. Data on each of the nineteen cases were collected through interviews, field observations, workshops, document analyses and a short questionnaire. Data were analysed qualitatively. All data records were systematically coded to reveal themes and concepts relating to the research objectives from the viewpoints of coordinators, NRM groups and participants. Coding also revealed implications for governments seeking to enter into or to facilitate partnerships with others. The coding and interpretation of this data revealed a suite of twelve characteristics typical of effective natural resource management partnerships. These fell into five groups: (i) definitional characteristics (relating to effectiveness and shared power and responsibility) (ii) relationship characteristics (focusing on social capital building processes; communication; processes for knowledge acquisition and social learning; shared values, intent, action and risk-taking) (iii) participant characteristics (high levels of motivation and realistic expectations); (iv) a context characteristic (that the context is appropriate for a partnership) and (v) an 'outsider' perception characteristic (that the partnership is perceive positively by outsiders). A comparative analysis of cases reveals that only one of the nineteen cases exhibited all twelve characteristics. Importantly, three of these characteristics are not mentioned in the literature reviewed for this thesis. Two of these, share values and shared intent are relationship characteristics. Study findings emphasise that effective NRM partnerships are built on good personal relationships, based on shared values and intent. The third new characteristic is that people outside the partnership should perceive the relationship favourably. Since funds and other resources may be under the control of people outside a partnership, it is important that participants are able to effectively communicate their shared values and intent to others. Five factors were found to be significant in the development of effective partnerships (i) the need for participants and those brokering partnerships to realize that effective partnerships are built on positive personal relationships in which (ii) participants have high levels of motivation for being involved, particularly early in the relationship. The study further revealed that such relationships: (iii) need to be supported by a continuity of adequate funding and resources and (iv) the services of skilled, enthusiastic coordinators who (v) enjoy and are skilled at working in 'grey areas', the constantly changing social and organizational environment that is typical of NRM groups. These findings of the study are synthesized through a critical ethnography which depicts three years in the life of a typical, yet hypothetical, NRM group, the Armstrong Narrows-Yarooba Catchment Management Group (ANY Group). Based on the literature review and the analysis of results from this study, this composite story protects the anonymity of those who have participated in this research. Each of the three vignettes that make up this story contains two sections -As it was and As it could be. This 'double take approach' highlights the critical nature of the ethnography, emphasising how the development of collaborations and partnerships among members of NRM groups may be improved and evaluated. Coordinators, NRM group members and agencies supporting their efforts may use this ethnography as a basis for reflection and deliberation on the development of effective partnerships in natural resource management. Recommendations for how different stakeholders in NRM partnerships may develop the effectiveness of the partnerships they form are provided.
Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School of Australian Environmental Studies
Full Text

Grass-roots conservation efforts, implemented at the local level, have become increasingly popular within the U.S. and abroad. The conservation and natural resource literature has touted these initiatives as more effective when compared to top-down management efforts. As localities are given more responsibility for managing their own natural resources, their ability to do so effectively has become a major concern. I sought to determine the capacity of these community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) groups to contribute to successful ecosystem management in the state of Illinois, with three primary objectives: to determine the primary components of capacity within a CBNRM organization (chapter 2); to identify the relationship between the levels of capacity in a CBNRM organization and the quality of natural resource management planning conducted by the group (chapter 3); and, to evaluate the effects of resource management plans (RMPs) produced by CBNRM groups on the ecological integrity of the prescribed area. This multi-disciplinary project necessitated reliance on the principles of both sociology and ecology, as required by explorations of socio-ecological systems. This dissertation is an attempt to model the success of CBNRM initiatives by examining changes in ecological integrity and attainment of conservation goals. It is my intent that this model can be used by CBNRM groups in Illinois and other contexts to best meet their goals, and by organizations seeking to assist CBNRM groups as an investment guide to determine what type of assistance is most likely to lead to environmental change. I found motivation, leadership, respect, mutual interest/shared values, outreach/education, marketing, communication, planning, funding and equipment/supplies were the most important drivers of CBNRM group capacity. Additionally, my results show that capacity varied significantly among groups with low, moderate and high RMP success, and that group capacity was predictive of the degree of RMP success. Lastly, I found bird indicators increased, especially at the 7-8 year post-RMP mark, providing some evidence of the utility of CBNRM initiatives in affecting positive environmental change.

This thesis is an exercise in ideas of two realms, theoretical and practical, and an effort to mix the two to create architecture. The theoretical thesis is exemplified in the pairings of photos seen on the bottom of each page, taken from Second View: The Rephotographic Survey Project. As the reader examines the pairs of photos changes over time can be seen in each. Typically the greatest changes are manifestations of man's existence. I have treated this as a point of departure for the technical thesis of Permanence and Temporality. Man's temporal existence creates permanent reminders in the permanent structure of the earth. This thesis explores the nature of permanence and temporality in materials and uses them to express the classic dichotomy of service and served. As a practical thesis the project focuses on providing better urban living through natural light, natural ventilation, and the provisions for community and interaction with nature. A modification of Le Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation was explored by narrowing the building to bring natural light further into the unit while widening the unit to get natural light and ventilation even to the service spaces.
Master of Architecture

Abstract This thesis operates at two levels of ecological research, describing the effects of withdrawal and re-introduction of management on grasslands. The aim of the community-level survey was to explore the effects of abandonment, mowing and grazing on semi-natural meadows in northern Finland. At the species level, the aim was to evaluate the responses of three monocarpic meadow species to various degrees of simulated grazing under natural growth conditions. The community-level studies suggest that strongly competitive grass species with rapid vegetative growth, especially those forming tussocks, are able to retain or increase their cover in abandoned meadows. However, most species are able to persist in a meadow for a long time after abandonment, even when a group of immigrants arrive. This leads to a temporary increase in species diversity, and it may therefore be used as an indicator of ongoing succession. Nevertheless, abandonment is harmful for the rare archaeophytic species in the long run. Late mowing does not have extensive short-term impacts on grass-dominated semi-natural meadows. Therefore, it is neither an efficient nor a substitutional way of management when the goal is to restore a formerly grazed pasture. Mowing executed early in the season may, however, be a more appropriate way of inducing changes in species composition and enhancing species richness. According to the results of the species-level studies, Erysimum strictum and Rhinanthus minor tolerate well minor apical damage, while more severe damage has a detrimental impact on the performance of both species. The observed differences in regrowth responses between the two species are presumably due to their different habitat requirements in relation to competition. The species-level experiment with two late-flowering populations of field gentian Gentianella campestris ssp. campestris revealed that the southern, Swedish population that has been regularly grazed and mown overcompensated for the intermediate (50%) damage level, whereas the northern, Finnish field gentians growing in unmanaged habitats showed at best partial or full compensation. Regular grazing and mowing have presumably favoured grazing-tolerant plant species, i.e. species with a good regrowth capacity. Herbivory reshapes grassland plant communities in two ways: directly by affecting the survival and reproductive success of individual plants and indirectly by changing the competitive environment. Tall and competitive perennial species suffer relatively more from damage than true grassland species, i.e. small herbs and grasses, which are better able to tolerate regular tissue losses and respond to damage within the ongoing growing season. As a result, certain species benefit from grazing and mowing in the sense that they may gain more through competitive relaxation than they lose in defoliation.

Naturvin växer som ett koncept och som ett samfund, särskilt i Sverige betraktas det till en stor del som något nytt. Syftet med denna studie var att identifiera normerna som definierar samfundet och analyserar hur de människor som arbetar med naturvin varje dag marknadsför och presenterar det som en produkt för konsumtion. För att besvara dessa frågor genomfördes fyra intervjuer med människor som arbetar med naturvin dagligen. Två sommeliers på välkända restauranger i Stockholm som primärt arbetar med naturvin som dryck. Samt två importörer av naturvin som är verksamma över hela Sverige. Denna studie visar att naturligt vin har vuxit mycket under de senaste tio åren i Sverige och att ett samfund har byggts runt det. Det visade också att normer som ärlighet och öppenhet är viktiga i samhället. Storytelling verkar också vara en stor del i försäljningen av produkten och som ett sätt att introducera nya människor till naturligt vin som ett koncept. Hållbarhet är också en stor del av debatten som för närvarande äger rum kring naturligt vin. Slutligen upptäckte vi att naturligt vin kan ha det svårt i framtiden på grund av bristen på tydlig juridisk definition av produkten. Medans alla de fyra personerna som intervjuades i stort sett var överens med varandra om definitionen av naturligt vin, kan bristen på en definitiv definition skada tillväxten framöver.

I assessed the composition of zooplankton communities at the three tidal inlets connecting Lake Pontchartrain to Lake Borgne and subsequently to the Gulf of Mexico. The objectives of my research were to better understand the factors contributing to both spatial and temporal differences in zooplankton communities at the three locations. Monthly samplings of the neuston were conducted from September 2009 until April 2011 and then again from September 2012 until May 2013. Sampling consisted of triplicate tows using SeaGear “Bongo” nets. Water quality data along with water turbidity were recorded at each site and during each sampling effort. All specimens collected during the survey were quantified and identified to the lowest taxonomical unit. The results indicated that there were significant differences among the aquatic invertebrate communities composition among the three sites groups averaged across months (ANOSIM, R= 0.162, p = 0.001). The outcomes from this study could have strong implications for fisheries management and will provide a baseline for future research.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the social, economic and technological factors that influence rates of adoption of innovative stormwater management approaches in municipal organizations in the Great Bay watershed, NH. The scope of this study was to investigate how innovations spread through municipal populations in a specific region and watershed area of the US. The methodology used mixed qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, case studies, and surveys to examine perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs that influence the adoption of innovative stormwater management solutions, as well as the governance characteristics of municipalities at different stages of adoption. Major findings include: adopter categories can be relatively easily and quickly categorized into early and late majorities as a preliminary means to identify populations of ready and willing audiences interested in and capable of advancing innovations; early and late adopter classifications followed general diffusion theory, but differed in substantial ways that could influence overall project or program success; and finally that early majority communities have more internal and external capacity to advance innovations as well as higher levels of peer-to-peer trust to offset perceptions related to economic risk that can either advance or stall innovative stormwater management solution adoption. This research offers insights on how to allocate scarce resources to optimally improve water quality through stormwater management solutions, and makes recommendations for how to effectively and efficiently generate greater understanding of complex barriers to adoption that thwart innovation in municipal governance organizations. One significant implication is that agents of change who want to move innovations through a broad municipal population should focus their efforts on working with innovators and early adopters that have status within relevant peer networks and who have capacity to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of innovations.

The thesis consists of two papers which are based on a researchproject called ‘Considerations on Swedish Dental Care’. The aimsof the project were to analyse the characteristics of leadership in thepublic dental service (PDS) in Sweden (Paper I) and to study anddescribe patients’ opinions of dental care provided by the PDS andin private dentistry (Paper II).The aim of the first study was to investigate how experienced chiefdental officers (CDOs) in the PDS managed to maintain a marketposition at a time of social change and increased competition froma changing private sector. The CDOs, who have held a leading positionfor at least five years, were asked to participate in the study. Anempirical study with a qualitative design was conducted. Data from16 CDOs were collected in September-October 2014, with a 75%response rate. The aim of the second study was to investigate adults’ experiencesand opinions of the dental care they have received over time frombeing 50 years old to 70 years old. Patients’ dental visiting patterns,satisfaction with care and oral health measured as numbers of teethwere compared between the two care-provision sectors, public andprivate. In addition, a follow-up was conducted among those whoclaimed to have visited only the public sector or the private sectorand those who claimed to have used both sectors during the wholestudy period. Both studies may be of wider interest when examining Swedishdentistry:a) there are no studies of the characteristics of the top leadershipin the Swedish PDS. The PDS in Sweden differs a great dealfrom the PDS in other countries, as it covers much more of themarket and accounts for almost 45% of the total oral healthcaremarket in Sweden;b) there are no previous studies in Sweden, where a comparison ofpatients’ opinions of care in the two sectors of care providers inSweden is made in this way. The findings in Paper I underscore the fact that CDOs in the PDSexert a great deal of effort to consolidate the actual market position.The PDS is also “open” to patients of all kinds, not only to children,adolescents and special needs groups, and it also offers specialist care,which is unusual in many other countries.Paper II shows that patients who visited the PDS had a slightly poorerdental status, compared with the private patients. Both groups lostteeth during a 20-year period and almost at the same level. AlthoughCDOs in the first study focused on maintaining a strong marketposition, the patients in the second study reported greater satisfactionand a more frequent visiting pattern in private dental care comparedwith the PDS. To summarise, this thesis aims to illustrate the spirit of the top managementin the Swedish PDS and to explore adult patients’ opinionsand experience of care in the two provider sectors in Swedish oralhealth care.

Over the last three decades, collaboration has come to the fore as a way to address natural resource management problems that are often complex and contentious. As such, a new way of doing business has emerged for the United State Forest Service (USFS) as it engages community members in collaborative governance arrangements created to address forest management issues. USFS field-level personnel and the community stakeholders involved in collaborative governance arrangements expend valuable and limited resources to obtain collaborative outcomes. Field observations suggest that in order for collaborative outcomes to be durable and maintain longevity, changes must occur at the organizational level. However, few existing studies that document organizational changes made by natural resource land management agencies as a result of the agency’s engagement in collaborative governance arrangements with community stakeholders. This dissertation provides theoretical and practical insights into the organizational changes occurring at three USFS field offices.

This exploratory, qualitative study employs a case study approach and semi-structured interviews were conducted with agency personnel and non-agency stakeholders. Document analysis of meeting minutes and personal observation data were also conducted. The data yielded the richest results when interpreted through three overarching theoretical lenses: organizational change, public administration, and collaborative governance. The results revealed that organizational changes are occurring at the field-level as a result of the actions of individual actors as they cross organizational boundaries. The outcomes of these changes can be beneficial to the agency, but a cautionary tale is presented suggesting that collaborative processes may impede, if not derailed, by power imbalances. The role of trust, or more accurately, the lack thereof, and its ability to change organizational boundaries and create power imbalances in the shared decision-making arena emerged as finding of importance to land managers and collaborative governance theory.

This dissertation advances the scholarly and practical knowledge of organizational change by presenting empirical evidence of the impact of community collaboration on federal natural resource agencies. It is necessary for the leadership of the USFS to understand their role in the collaborative process and to understand how and why these changes are taking place if they are to be sensitive to the added pressures and tensions that collaboration brings to their individual staff members. Managers in the USFS will need to be cognizant of the attributes of trust and should encourage their staff to build trust with stakeholders if they wish to maintain equitable power positions in the shared decision-making process. Future research that provides evidence of the linkage between organizational change, trust, and power would be useful in further understanding how the collaborative process and the collaborative behavior of individuals in natural resource management links to the outcomes of collaboration.

American Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) and British Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) are used as the scientific benchmarks in a number of policies and surveys relating to food, nutrition and welfare. In the USA the RDAs have a number of statutory and regulatory involvements, particularly with respect to food assistance programmes and the definition of the poverty level. In the UK, although DRVs have no statutory role, they are the benchmarks against which diets of population groups are assessed or food supplies are determined, and hence they indirectly influence various policy decisions. Although RDAs and DRVs are often presented and used as if they were solely scientific standards, the thesis is premised upon the assumption that they are in fact a mixture of scientific, social and political factors. The thesis examines the way in which RDAs and DRVs are constructed, both the process and the products, by particular reference to the allowances for vitamin C in the USA and UK, and the controversy that surrounded the publication of the tenth edition of the RDAs in the USA in the 1980s. In particular, it focuses on what constitutes scientific evidence in the RDA arena, where and why boundaries are drawn between scientific and non-scientific evidence, and what are the judgements and interpretations included in the process and products of RDA and DRV construction. Research was carried out by means of a critical analysis of the literature to identify the relevant scientific evidence and areas of interpretation and selection. This was followed by in-depth interviews with key individuals who were involved in the most recent RDA and DRV report processes or in the disputed 1985 RDA report, or who have been advocates or critics of these standards over the years. The thesis shows that the science underlying the recommended figures is incomplete and the theoretical methods outlined for determining an RDA/DRV were not followed in practice. Even though the standards could be improved by strengthening the scientific evidence, they will always be subject to value judgements over the question of 'adequacy'. Influencing such judgements and also underlying the 1985 RDA controversy are the conflicting certainties and interests of different cognitive groups within science. With scientific credibility and scientific authority at stake, the boundary between science and non-science moves to suit the interests and beliefs of the different scientific groups. At the same time external groups align themselves with the cognitive evidence which reinforces their own position.

Thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Social Anthropology at the University of Stellenbosch
Thesis (MA (Sociology and Social Anthropology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is an exploration of how a new development culture has been cultivated at the end of the 20th century in reaction to the ‘crisis of development’ and the need to bring relief to impoverished communities in an environmentally sustainable manner. I uncover the key constraints on and opportunities for sustainable development and Community-Based Natural Resource Management that have emerged in land restitution claims in conservation areas in South Africa. I look at how inherited socio-political pasts poise actors and influence the relationships and interactions between them, how the current nature-tourism industry works to the detriment of some and the benefit of other actors in terms of gaining economic success and ultimately how these two factors influence conservation-based CBNRM projects. I examine three cases, namely: the Aboriginal community in Kakadu National Park, the Khomani San in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park and the Makuleke in Kruger National Park. Through this examination I draw specific conclusions: the repercussions of racial segregation policies puts community actors at a disadvantage when engaging with their partners; specific dynamics of the tourism industry threatens the success of CBNRM projects because the expected substantial benefits are not always guaranteed; and the lack of sound local governance impedes sustainable development at community-level.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis is ‘n verkenning van hoe ‘n nuwe ontwikkelingskultuur gekweek is aan die einde van die 20ste eeu deur die ‘krisis van ontwikkeling’ en die noodsaaklikheid om verligting te bring aan verarmde gemeenskappe op ‘n omgewings-volhoubare wyse. Ek lig die beperkings en kerngeleenthede tot volhoubare ontwikkeling en Gemeenskaps-Gebaseerde Natuurlike Hulpbronbestuur uit wat in grondhervormingseise in bewaringsgebiede in Suid-Afrika na vore gekom het. Ek kyk na hoe die historiese sosio-politiese erflating rolspelers posisioneer en verhoudings en interaksies tussen hulle beïnvloed, hoe die huidige natuur-toerisme industrie tot die nadeel van sommige en voordeel van sekere ander rolspelers werk in terme van die verkryging van ekonomiese sukses en uiteindelik hoe hierdie twee faktore bewarings-gebaseerde GBNHB beïnvloed. Ek bestudeer drie gevallestudies, naamlik die Inboorling-gemeenskap in die Kakadu Nasionale Park, die Khomani San in die Kalahari Gemsbok Nasionale Park en die Makuleke in die Nasionale Kruger -Wildtuin. Analise lei my tot spesifieke gevolgtrekkings: die nagevolge van rasse-segregasie-beleid plaas gemeenskapsakteurs in ‘n benadeelde posisie wanneer hulle in interaksie is met hulle vennote; die spesifieke dinamika van die toerisme-industrie bedreig die sukses van GBNHB projekte omdat die verwagte noemenswaardige voordele nie altyd gewaarborg kan word nie; en die gebrek aan effektiewe plaaslike bestuur belemmer volhoubare ontwikkeling op gemeenskapsvlak.

Doutoramento em Biologia
A vinha, Vitis vinifera L., abriga naturalmente um ecossistema microbiano complexo ou microbioma, tais como microrganismos neutros, fitopatogenos ou benéficos. Entre os fitopatogenos, aqueles implicados nas doenças do lenho da videira (GTDs) são responsáveis pelas doenças mais destrutivas, para o qual não existem tratamentos altamente eficazes. Por outro lado, os microrganismos benéficos (BCAs) podem desempenhar papéis específicos na proteção das plantas contra estes agentes. Neste sentido, o atual desafio consiste em compreender como estes BCAs interagem com a planta e qual o seu potencial biotecnológico para o desenvolvimento de novas estratégias de proteção da planta. Neste contexto, o objetivo deste estudo visou primeiramente analisar profundamente as comunidades microbianas associadas com a videira ao longo do seu ciclo de crescimento até à fermentação do vinho e, em seguida, compreender as interações entre vinha-BCAs-GTDs. Para isso, dois potenciais BCAs isolados da videira foram testados contra diferentes espécies de Botryosphaeriaceae e, em seguida, caracterizados relativamente ao seu potencial de colonização, de indução dos mecanismos de defesa da planta, na presença ou não do fitopatogeno (D. seriata F98.1), e análise do respetivo genoma. Os resultados demonstraram que o microbioma da videira é altamente dinâmico ao longo do ciclo de crescimento da planta. Como esperado, a biodiversidade microbiana é maior nos solos, e estas comunidades diferem significativamente daquelas presentes nas folhas e mostos vínicos. Contudo, alguns destes microrganismos são partilhados, o que sugere a existência de um microbioma comum. Diferentes isolados foram obtidos, pertencendo na sua maioria ao género Bacillus, Streptomyces e Aureobasidium. A videira é naturalmente colonizada por microrganismos com potencial antagonista de várias espécies de Botryosphaeriaceae. Entre estes, destacam-se os isolados Streptomyces sp. Fito_S127B e A. pullulans Fito_F278, que foram selecionados como potenciais BCAs. Estes microrganismos produzem diferentes enzimas extracelulares importantes para as atividades de controlo biológico e são capazes de colonizar com sucesso a videira: Fito_S127B coloniza a rizosfera, enquanto que Fito_F278 coloniza desde as raízes até às folhas. A inoculação artificial da videira com D. seriata F98.1 mostrou que o comprimento das lesões necróticas causadas pelo fitopatogeno são significativamente reduzidas na presença de Fito_S127B. Em contrapartida, a espécie Fito_F278 foi menos eficaz. Estes BCAs ativaram algumas respostas de defesa específicas da videira, o que permitiu uma resposta mais rápida e sólida da planta contra o agente fitopatogénico. A análise do genoma destes microrganismos permitiu averiguar diferentes genes que codificam compostos bioativos altamente importantes para o controlo biológico. De uma forma geral, este estudo abrange novos conhecimentos relativos à estrutura das comunidades microbianas associadas à videira e às suas interações. Para além disso, destaca que a videira ostenta naturalmente microrganismos com um controlo biológico promissor e que estes podem promover respostas de defesa importantes na planta. Neste sentido, estes resultados permitem não só uma melhor compreensão das interações da videira-BCAs-GTDs, mas também representam um forte contributo e avanço para o desenvolvimento de novas estratégias da gestão da vinha, tais como as doenças do lenho.
Vitis vinifera L. is a widely cultivated fruit crop, that naturally harbours a complex microbial ecosystem or plant microbiome, such as neutral, phytopathogenic or beneficial microorganisms. Among phytopathogens, those implied in Grapevine Trunk Diseases (GTDs) are responsible for the most destructive diseases worldwide, and currently no highly effective treatments are available. Beneficial microorganisms (BCAs) may play specific roles on plant protection against phytopathogens though, the present challenge is to understand how such BCAs interact with plant and their biotechnological potential for development of innovation strategies. In this context, the aim of this study was firstly to unveil the microbial communities associated with grapevine along its growth cycle until wine fermentation and, secondly, to better understand the grapevine – BCAs – GTDs interactions. Two potential BCAs isolated from grapevine were tested against Botryosphaeriaceae species and then deep characterized, namely for their colonisation potential, induction of defence mechanisms in grapevine, in the presence or not of D. seriata F98.1, and their genome analysis. Results showed that grapevine microbiome was very dynamic along the growth cycle. As expected, the microbial biodiversity was higher in soils, and these microbial communities differed significantly from those of leaves and wine musts. A proportion of microbial communities was shared within these structures, suggesting the existence of a core microbiome. Several isolates were then obtained from grapevine which mostly belonged to Bacillus, Streptomyces and Aureobasidium genera. Some of them significantly decreased in vitro the mycelium growth of several Botryosphaeriaceae species, such as Streptomyces sp. Fito_S127B and A. pullulans Fito_F278 which were highly effective and thus selected as potential BCAs. These strains showed to produce a high range of extracellular enzymes with biocontrol value, and were able to successfully colonize grapevine: Fito_S127B was an epiphyte from rhizosphere, while Fito_F278 colonised grapevine from roots to leaves. The artificial inoculation of green stems with D. seriata F98.1 on cutting plants showed that the necrotic lesions length caused by the pathogen was significantly reduced by Fito_S127B, in contrast to Fito_F278, which was less effective. Furthermore, these BCAs activated some specific defence responses of grapevine, allowing a more rapid and solid response of plant against the pathogen. The genome analysis also showed that these BCAs strains are an important source of bioactive compounds of biocontrol value. Overall, this study brought new insights on the structure of microbial communities of grapevine and their interactions. Moreover, highlighted that grapevine is a natural source of microorganisms with a promising biocontrol against GTDs, and that they can promote plant defence responses. Thus, these findings provide not only a better understand of the grapevine- BCAs- GTDs interactions but also a strong contribution to future GTDs management strategy.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD
By presenting case studies from the village of Mahenye in Zimbabwe and the five villages of the Okavango Community Trust in Botswana, the study looks beyond the objectives, discourse and contests of policy and undertakes an investigation of what actions rural people are undertaking inside the institutions established by policy makers, and of governance outcomes at the local level. These case studies reveal that unfettered devolution can lead to elite capture and the perpetuation of poverty; that rural communities themselves have agency and the ability to exercise it; and that there is limited and shrinking political space in both countries which is reducing opportunities for rural communities to engage with political processes. The Botswana case studies demonstrates that an imported and imposed devolutionary initiative which lacks links to higher levels of governance can reduce political space at local levels. The Zimbabwe case study demonstrates that political space may be more effectively created through decentralisation. The lesson drawn from these case studies is that institutional arrangements and roles should be determined by context specific issues and circumstances and move beyond the structural determinism that has characterized much of the CBNRM debate to date. The study concludes with policy recommendations. These include the need for recognition of the synergy between CBNRM and democratisation as mutually reinforcing processes and the need to be context-specific.
South Africa

碩士
國立臺灣大學
森林環境暨資源學研究所
105
In the community-based natural resource management (CBNRM), the community plays an apparently crucial role. Therefore, in order to achieve an effective and sustainable CBNRM, it has been recently a key focus to understand as well as analyze community characteristics and its capacity of executing relative resource management. Hence, this study tried to examin an in-Taiwan-adaptive community capacity evaluation by the construction of 5 different capital types and their corresponding 12 indicators we announced, and chose Fengnan Community Development Association in Hualien and Wu-wei-kang Cultural and Educational Association in Yilan as our study sites. Different from the general quantitative evaluation made by questionnaires, we adopted qualitative methods to evaluate community capacity with an aim to illustrate a deeper and more genuine analysis of community capacity in Taiwan. As a result, for the purpose of qualitative evaluation, interview and participant observation are both vital methods which should be conducted flexibly according to the distinct content of each indicator. Besides that, it is obvious to recognize that those capitals and indicators are closely overlapped with some causal connections in the evaluation results which turned to be more apparent in a more maturely developed community association. In all, this evaluation construction built by 12 main evaluation indicators allowed us to identify community capacity revealed in human, social, organizational, and economic capitals more comprehensively with a deeper and thicker description.

Rural communities living in the neighbourhoods of protected areas are among the least developed communities in the LDCs. In the global quest for sustainable development and democracy, participation in natural resource management by these communities has become an important component in rural development and biodiversity conservation programmes. The proliferation of CBNRM initiatives in the LDCs, however, has so far not yielded any fundamental reductions in poverty and insecurity in the targeted communities. This has raised questions about the viability of CBNRM as a strategy for articulating the development objectives of local communities. Questions have also been raised about the ideological bases of CBNRM. This dissertation presents an analysis of participation in a CBNRM initiative by the Makuleke community of South Africa. Focus is on the issues of community control and gender in the CBNRM process. Findings by the study show that the preconditions for community-level control have largely been met and the Makuleke CBO structure has been constituted as a representative and legally accountable entity. However, there apparently subsists a view that indigenous rural communities like the Makuleke cannot be fully entrusted with leadership roles in CBNRM. The study also finds that despite the securing of gender rights of access to bases of social power and productive wealth through legislative instruments, some social structures and attitudes that favour male dominance remain entrenched in the Makuleke community. These militate against the strategic participation by women in environmental governance and in the benefits stream emanating from CBNRM. The dissertation argues that the success of the CBNRM initiatives such as the Makuleke’s will depend on a more complex interplay of variables tan solely on the empowerment of the community through strengthening of CBO structures, securing resource rights, entry into the benefits stream and developing of capacities. Success will largely depend on the ability of CBNRM programmes to achieve fundamental reductions in poverty and insecurity. Since there are multiple jurisdictions in CBNRM, LDC states will have to strike a difficult balance or make a critical choice between promoting the interests of Northern agencies in order to secure conditions of production and defending the interests of local communities in order to secure social integration. The responses by LDC states will have significant implications on the success of CBNRM initiatives.
Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2007.
Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology
Unrestricted