Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Nature conservation – history'
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1
Lambert, Robert A. "The history of nature conservation and recreation in the Cairngorms, 1880-1980." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/14229.
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This thesis presents the history of nature conservation and recreation in the Cairngorms area of the eastern Highlands of Scotland, over the century 1880-1980. An introductory chapter sets the scene by describing the observations of travellers, sportsmen and naturalists who visited the area from c.1770. The study then traces the history of the National Park debate in the Cairngorms area (and to an extent, in Scotland), the history of the National Forest Park ideal focusing in on Glenmore, and the history of two National Nature Reserves, including the Cairngorms NNR (the largest in Great Britain). Other chapters address, within an historical framework, the public nature conservation success story of the Osprey on Speyside; the nineteenth and twentieth century rights of way debate and the question of access to mountains and moorland; the development of Aviemore and the Spey Valley as a year-round recreational playground and winter sports centre. Photography and film-making are highlighted as mediums through which nature conservation and recreation have been legitimised and popularised for a mass audience outside the Cairngorms area. The thesis discusses the background to the present landuse conflicts that have dogged the Cairngorms area from 1980, and may prove helpful to land-managers and policymakers in government, conservation and recreation bodies, as it charts the remarkable degree of change in attitudes to nature conservation and recreation witnessed in the Cairngorms. Recreation has always been seen to directly benefit more people, but it is the quality of the environment that supports that recreation. The Cairngorms represent a case study in this kind of conflict, which over the past century has become increasingly common in the UK, Europe and North America. The work is a contribution to the construction of a modem environmental history of Great Britain.
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Smurr, Robert Welling. "Perceptions of nature, expressions of nation : an environmental history of Estonia /." Thesis, Connect to this title online; UW restricted, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1773/10338.
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Hanley, Patrick Michael, and Patrick Michael Hanley. "Privileged Nature: Ornithologists, Hunters, Sportsmen and the Dawn of Environmental Conservation in Spain, 1850 to 1935." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/621470.
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This dissertation argues the foundation of Spain's first national park, the Parque Nacional de la Montaña de Covadonga, was the culmination of a four-century-long historical development in which Spaniards redefined the manner in which they conceived of and interacted with nature. The establishment of the Parque Nacional de la Montaña de Covadonga resulted from two different historical processes, the formation of empirical science in Spain and the pursuit of noble hunting, which converged in the late nineteenth-century in the form of species protection and the environmental conscience it reflected. This environmental conscience permeated discourses on Spanish reinvigoration including those of nobleman, sportsman, and politician Pedro José Pidal y Bernaldo de Quirós whose own articulation of this environmental consciousness materialized in the form of the Parque Nacional de la Montaña de Covadonga which legislatively meshed species and landscape protection for the first time in Spain in 1916.
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Forest, Marguerite S. E. "Ecological sustainability on Haida Gwaii /." view abstract or download file of text, 2001. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/uoregon/fullcit?p3018363.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2001.Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 214-241). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.
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Ridley, Cameron C. "Perceptions of Public Land Usage in the Eastern Sierra Nevada and the Effect of Environmental Regulation." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2015. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1049.
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This senior thesis is a study of the change over time of American perceptions of how natural public lands are to be utilized. American interactions with nature are analyzed and synthesized into the role of the conqueror, conservationist, and preservationist. These competing ideologies have shaped our nation and public lands. Looking specifically at the Eastern Sierra Nevada of California, the thesis investigates how the federal land management agency of the United States Forest Service has incorporated these competing roles into one management plan. The thesis analyzes a visitor guide to the area from 1925 and 2014 to see how different ideals were incorporated into the management and promotion of the area to tourists. Additionally, the thesis investigates how the environmental preservation ideology has limited access to public land and how the resort model of tourism has grown while primitive recreation opportunities have been diminished.
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Faust, Robert E. "The development of the nature preserves system in Indiana : giving life to the land ethic." Virtual Press, 1993. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/864907.
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The movement to conserve natural resources in the United States began as a response to the perceived inefficiency which governed resource allocation. The subsequent environmental movement served to expand the definition of conservation to include not only the efficient use of resources, but also the preservation of land in its natural state. In Indiana, this supposed deficiency in conservation led some environmentalists to establish the Indiana Nature Preserves System which locates remnants of the Indiana wilderness and protects them from development. The Indiana Nature Preserves System is symbolic of the Land Ethic proposed by the early ecologist Aldo Leopold, who believed that man was but one component of the "land community." To alter all natural areas, Leopold and Indiana preservationists argued, was both an assault on ecological stability and on the right of nature to exist for its own sake.Department of History
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Casagrande, Braz. "Novo Arrabalde: conservação e ocupação urbana na concepção do projeto de expansão da cidade de Vitória." Universidade de São Paulo, 2011. http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/16/16139/tde-23112011-144448/.
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Essa dissertação tem como objeto de estudo as relações entre o desenho urbano concebido por Francisco Rodrigues Saturnino de Brito para a expansão da cidade de Vitória o Novo Arrabalde e o meio natural onde se desenvolve este projeto. Especificamente, o estudo busca identificar os componentes que de alguma forma fundamentam a inovação da proposta em relação ao padrão de ocupação característico da cidade de Vitória até fins do século XIX, especialmente a opção de se manter os morros preservados da ocupação. No contexto dessas possibilidades, duas questões são mais relevantes: a ideia de que os morros, da mesma forma que as planícies, façam parte da espacialidade almejada; e a hipótese de que um viés conservacionista possa ter também orientado a concepção do projeto.This thesis object of study is the relationship between the urban design conceived by Francisco Rodrigues Saturnino de Brito for the expansion of the city of Vitoria Novo Arrabalde - and the natural environment where the project was placed. Specifically, the study aims to identify the components that somehow underlie the innovation of the proposal in relation to the characteristic pattern of occupation of Vitoria to the late nineteenth century, especially the option to keep the hills preserved from occupation. In the context of these possibilities, two issues are most relevant: the idea that the hills, just as the plains, are part of the desired spatiality, and the hypothesis that a conservationist bias may also have oriented the project design.
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Zupan, Laure. "Au-delà des espèces, comment protéger simultanément l'histoire évolutive, le fonctionnement des écosystèmes et les services procurés par la nature." Thesis, Grenoble, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014GRENV063/document.
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La biodiversité est définie comme la variété et la variabilité du monde vivant sous toutes ses formes. Elle est souvent appréhendée par la richesse en espèces. Pourtant il existe d'autres « facettes » de la biodiversité (telles que la diversité phylogénétique et fonctionnelle) qui sont à considérer pour comprendre la plupart des processus évolutifs et écologiques. Aujourd'hui, la prise en compte de ces différentes facettes ainsi que les services des écosystèmes –bénéfices que les humains retirent directement des écosystèmes – sont au cœur de l'agenda européen de la conservation. Cependant pour mettre en place de nouvelles actions, une meilleure compréhension des variations spatiales de ces différentes facettes et de leurs relations avec les services des écosystèmes est nécessaire. Ce travail visait à quantifier, décrire et comprendre la distribution de la richesse spécifique et de la diversité phylogénétique et fonctionnelle des tétrapodes d'Europe et leurs liens avec les services écosystémiques. L'étude des patrons spatiaux de la diversité phylogénétique pour différents groupes taxonomiques a montré une absence de recouvrement, une protection inégale et a permis d'identifier des zones particulières d'histoire évolutive indétectables par le prisme unique de la richesse spécifique. Alors que les facteurs environnementaux liés au climat (comme la température ou la productivité primaire) semblent être prépondérant pour expliquer la distribution de chaque facette de diversité, leurs influences respectives varient selon la facette considérée. Enfin, la comparaison de différents scénarios de conservation dans lesquels plus d'importance est donnée soit à la protection de la biodiversité soit à celle des services écosystémiques a mis en avant des relations complexes (synergies et compromis) et non prédictibles mettant en évidence les enjeux liés à la protection simultanée de plusieurs groupes d'espèces, plusieurs facettes de diversité et d'un éventail de services écosystémiquesBiodiversity is defined as the variety and variability of living organisms on Earth and is often measured through species richness. However, biodiversity is composed of other facets (e.g. phylogenetic and functional diversity) that need to be considered to account for evolutionary and ecological processes. Considering these multiple facets of biodiversity together with ecosystem services – direct benefit human obtain from nature – is central in the European conservation agenda. However, to propose new planning strategies, a better understanding of the spatial variation of these different facets and their relationships to ecosystem services is crucial. The objective of this Ph. D. project was to better quantify, describe and understand the spatial variation of different biodiversity facets and analyse their links to ecosystem services. The study of spatial pattern of phylogenetic diversity showed a low overlap between the different taxonomic groups and an unequal protection within the current European protected areas system. This analysis allowed identifying areas of particular evolutionary history, which would be undetectable through the unique lens of species richness. Although environmental factors related to climate (e.g. temperature, primary productivity) seemed to best explain each facet, their relative importance varied across biodiversity facets. Finally a comparison of conservation scenarios where priority was given either to protecting biodiversity protection or to protecting ecosystem services highlighted complex and unpredictable relationships (synergies and trade-offs) and stressed out the stakes linked to the simultaneous protection of different facets of diversity of multiple taxonomic groups and a set of ecosystem services
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Berglund, Kristina. "Framing Transfrontier Nature Conservation : The Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park and the Vision of 'Peace Parks' in Southern Africa." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Institutionen för arkeologi och antik historia, 2015. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-254921.
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Within the broad field of global environmental history this master thesis analyses transfrontier conservation areas (TFCAs) also known as 'peace parks', and explores how the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park (GLTP) has been envisioned, described, motivated and implemented. Using Actor-Network Theory and Framing Analysis, the thesis analyses how the idea of the GLTP and the critique against it has been framed over time through the analysis of official reports and academic research in combination with in-depth interviews with key actors. By approaching the topic of transfrontier conservation in a broad manner, and by incorporating a wide variety of sources, the thesis attempts to go beyond single explanations of the phenomenon and, instead, provide a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the transfrontier conservation idea linked to the GLTP and its history. The thesis shows that the rise of transfrontier conservation involves a complex network of actors, spanning over local-global and public-private scales. Integrated networks are formed between key actors including national governments and conservation authorities, donor agencies, NGOs – in particular the Peace Parks Foundation, and civil society. The GLTP has been framed as a way to achieve three main goals: biodiversity conservation, community development through ecotourism and public-private partnerships, and regional peace and security. The thesis shows that the framing has shifted over time, from a strict conservation focus to more inclusive approaches where social aspects are seen as increasingly important for the long term sustainability of TFCAs. But the idea that transfrontier conservation can resolve all regional problems, from political cooperation to wildlife management to local socio-economic development, is also contested in this study. The thesis illuminates a gap between official policy/management reports and academic studies related primarily to the role of community development in the framing and implementation of the GLTP. Despite various challenges that hinder the effective implementation of the goals and visions of the park such as wildlife crime, insufficient community involvement and problematic legal and policy arrangements, the thesis concludes that the GLTP represents an important contribution to global conservation commitments and needs to be viewed as a complex, long-term and constantly evolving project.
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Pereira, Susana Maria Ferreira. "A influência da bioacústica na evolução da ciência em Portugal. Interface da acústica e monitorização da biodiversidade." Master's thesis, ISA/UTL, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/3982.
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Mestrado em Gestão e Conservação de Recursos Naturais - Instituto Superior de Agronomia / Universidade de ÉvoraThe animals produce sound for various purposes and the majority of the vocalizations have distinctive characteristics, which are used in the systematics and are useful in the documentation of biodiversity. Monitoring and documenting biodiversity are central tasks in nature conservation and the development of monitoring techniques is especially urgent in the context of the current biodiversity crisis. Bioacoustics proves to be a promising and powerful instrument for assessing biodiversity. This dissertation aims to do an historical analysis of the bioacoustics contribution to the study and conservation of biodiversity in Portugal, to understand how the different recent techniques may assist in monitoring the biodiversity and to test one of the most promising of its methods. This study has revealed that the first bioacoustics recording dates from 1977. Since then, the bioacoustics helped the study and documentation of various species and had special applicability in the conservation of bats and cetaceans in Portugal, with prospects to extend this applicability to other animal groups. Currently, there are powerful bioacoustics tools used on monitoring biodiversity whose limitations tend to be quickly overcome. This dissertation has also showed that to estimate densities, there must be taken into account a number of different factors to calibrate these tools.This dissertation is part of the body of work of the project "Natural Acoustic Landscapes in a Changing World" in order to preserve the recordings as part of our scientific heritage and an important source of documentation of biodiversity, past and present
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Carruthers, Jane. "Game protection in the Transvaal 1846 to 1926." Thesis, University of Cape Town, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/23736.
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Bergmann, Nicolas Timothy. "Preserving Nature through Film: Wilderness Alps of Stehekin and the North Cascades, 1956-1968." PDXScholar, 2013. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/973.
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On March 22, 1958 David Brower's film Wilderness Alps of Stehekin premiered to an audience of conservationists in Seattle, Washington. Almost two years in the making, the thirty-one minute film advocated the preservation of nature in Washington's North Cascades through the creation of a national park. Over the next decade, Wilderness Alps of Stehekin became the most influential publicity tool in the struggle to preserve the North Cascades. Because of the region's geographic isolation, the film was the first time many people throughout the nation were exposed to the scenic grandeur of the area. Images of craggy peaks and colorful alpine meadows resonated deeply with many Americans and persuaded them to join in the campaign. It was the voice of these citizens that led Congress to pass the North Cascades Act of 1968, which placed 674,000 acres of the North Cascades under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.
In this thesis I tell the creation story of North Cascades National Park from a conservationist perspective and trace the influence of Wilderness Alps of Stehekin within this context. Although the film was never shown in movie theaters and never aired on national television, many thousands viewed it from its premiere to the signing of the North Cascades Act. The film first introduced the idea of a North Cascades National Park, and it was important in convincing conservationists to unite around a national park solution. Ultimately, Wilderness Alps of Stehekin changed the approach activists took in the North Cascades and helped to preserve a wild and scenic nature experience for future generations through the protection of old-growth forests and alpine meadows.
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Jawali, George Berson Diston. "A history of contestations over natural resources in the Lower Tchiri Valley in Malawi, c.1850-1960." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97099.
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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study explores hunting in the Lower Tchiri Valley as an arena in which African and white hunting interests as well as conservation policies precipitated insurgence and accommodation, collaboration and conflict. Precolonial Magololo hunters, having supplanted Mang’anja hunting as a result of the superiority of their hunting technology by 1861, found themselves in competition with white sport hunters over game animals. Unequal power relations between the Magololo hunters and the white hunters, who formed part of the colonial administration in Nyasaland from the 1890s, saw the introduction of game laws that led to wild animals and their sanctuaries becoming contested terrains. Colonial officials and some whites enjoyed privileges in hunting game whose declining populations were blamed on Africans in general and the Magololo in particular. Some Africans and certain whites devised hunting strategies that brought them into conflict with the colonial state. In the Lower Tchiri Valley, the tsetse-game controversy led to game being slaughtered on an unprecedented scale in the Elephant Marsh region. The Game Ordinance of 1926, intended to prevent such wanton destruction, was protested by settlers, planters, white hunters and even missionaries who claimed to represent the interests of the “natives”. The colonial state and the Colonial Office in London quelled the protests, proclaiming Lengwe and Tangadzi as game reserves. As the state was consolidating the game preservation economy and establishing the game reserves from the 1930s to 1960, opposition continued. The implementation of international conservation trends locally, particularly after 1945, served to entrench illicit hunting and the position among some white settlers that game should be exterminated as it was incompatible with agricultural “progress.” The Nyasaland Game Department increased its efforts to ensure that killing game for crop protection was confined to Game Guards, one of whom, an African named Biton Balandow, became a local “hero”. Despite this, by 1960 game populations in the Lower Tchiri Valley reserves were still declining. Together with oral testimonies collected in the communities neighbouring the reserves (or former hunting grounds), the fresh perspectives rendered in this thesis derived from a systematic use of reports, original research papers, colonial administrative correspondence and autobiographical works of big-game hunters-turned preservationists. Specific material for the Lower Tchiri Valley hunting economies from these primary sources allowed this thesis to transcend the often generalised analyses necessitated by macrooverviews in Malawian historiography, and offer a more nuanced study of local contestations between state and subject, between competing individuals, between groups, races and generations and, enduringly, between human and animal.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie studie ondersoek jagaktiwiteite in die Laer Tchiri-vallei van Malawi as ‘n gebied waar swart en wit jagtersbelange, asook bewaringsbeleid, teenstand en aanvaarding, sowel as samewerking en konflik ontketen het. Pre-koloniale Magololo-jagters, wat Mang’anja-jagters teen 1861 as gevolg van hulle superieure jagtegnologie verdring het, het toe met wit sportjagters om wild begin kompeteer. Ongelyke magsverhoudinge tussen die Magololo- en wit jagters, wat sedert die 1890’s deel uitgemaak het van die koloniale administrasie in Nyassaland, het tot die daarstelling van wildwetgewing gelei. Op sý beurt het die wildwetgewing en wildbewaringsgebiede betwiste terreine geword. Koloniale amptenare en sekere blankes het jagvoorregte geniet waarvoor die daarmee gepaardgaande blaam vir dalende wildpopulasies op swartes in die algemeen en die Magololo in die besonder geplaas is. Sommige swartes en wittes het jagstrategieë ontwikkel wat hulle in konflik met die koloniale staat gebring het. In die Laer Tchiri-vallei het die tseste-wild-twispunt daartoe gelei dat wild op ‘n ongekende skaal in die Olifant-moerasgebied uitgeroei is. Wit setlaars, boere en jagters, selfs sendelinge wat daarop aanspraak gemaak het dat hulle die belange van die “naturelle” verteenwoordig het, het egter beswaar gemaak teen die Wild Ordonnansie van 1926, wat veronderstel was om sulke ongebreidelde vernietiging te voorkom. Die koloniale staat en die Colonial Office in Londen het die besware onderdruk deur Lengwe en Tangadzi as wildreservate te proklameer. Van die 1930’s tot 1960, toe die staat besig was om die wildbewaringsekonomie te konsolideer en wildreservate te vestig, het teenstand daarteen voortgeduur. Die plaaslike implementering van internasionale bewaringstendense, veral ná 1945, het egter daartoe bygedra om onwettige jagaktiwiteite te verskans. Dit het ook die standpuntinname van sommige wit setlaars, dat wild uitgeroei moes word omdat dit onversoenbaar met landbou “vooruitgang” was, versterk. Die Nyassaland Departement van Fauna het pogings verskerp om te verseker dat die doodmaak van wild, ter wille van oesbeskerming, tot wildbewaarders beperk bly. Een van hulle, ‘n swartman genaamd Biton Bandalow, het ‘n plaaslike “held” geword. Maar ten spyte van hierdie maatreëls was die wildpopulasies in die Laer Tchiri-vallei wildreservate teen 1960 steeds aan die afneem. Hierdie proefskrif bring nuwe insigte aangaande jagaktiwiteite en wildbewaring in die Laer Tchiri-vallei na vore. Die bronne daarvoor is mondelinge getuienis wat in die gemeenskappe aangrensend aan die wildreservate (of voormalige jaggebiede) versamel is. Daarby is verslae, oorspronklike argivale dokumente, koloniale administratiewe korrespondensie en outo-biografiese werke van grootwildjagters wat wildbewaarders geword het, ook sistematies nagevors. Deur middel van spesifieke inligting aangaande die Laer Tchiri-vallei jagtersekonomie wat uit die primêre bronne verkry is, bring hierdie proefskrif nuwe perspektiewe na vore wat in teenstelling staan tot die dikwels geykte analises wat in makro-historiese oorsigte van Malawiese historiografie voorkom. Derhalwe is die proefskrif ‘n meer genuanseerde studie oor plaaslike wedywerings tussen staat en onderdaan, tussen wedywerende indiwidue, tussen groepe, rasse en generasies en op ‘n blywende basis ook tussen mens en dier.
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Pereira, Susana Maria Ferreira. "A influência da bioacústica na evolução da ciência em Portugal. Interface da acústica e monitorização da biodiversidade." Master's thesis, Universidade de Évora, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10174/15715.
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Os animais produzem som para vários fins e a maioria das vocalizações exibe características
altamente distintivas, usadas na sistemática e, portanto, úteis na documentação da
biodiversidade. A documentação e monitorização da biodiversidade revelam-se tarefas centrais
na conservação da natureza e o desenvolvimento de novas técnicas de monitorização é
especialmente urgente no contexto da atual crise da biodiversidade. A bioacústica mostra-se
um instrumento promissor e poderoso para avaliar a biodiversidade. Esta dissertação tem como
objetivos a análise histórica da contribuição da bioacústica para o estudo e conservação da
biodiversidade em Portugal, compreender como as diferentes técnicas atuais poderão auxiliar
na monitorização da biodiversidade e testar alguns aspetos de uma das metodologias mais
promissoras.
Este estudo revelou que a primeira gravação bioacústica data de 1977. Desde essa data a
bioacústica auxiliou no estudo e documentação de várias espécies e apresentou especial
aplicabilidade na conservação de morcegos e cetáceos em Portugal com perspetivas de se
estender a outros grupos animais. A revisão atual do conhecimento mostrou que existem
ferramentas poderosas usadas na monitorização da biodiversidade cujas limitações tendem a
ser rapidamente ultrapassadas. Este estudo revelou ainda que para estimar densidades deve
ter-se em conta vários fatores para a calibração destas ferramentas; ABSTRACT: The animals produce sound for various purposes and the majority of the vocalizations have
distinctive characteristics, which are used in the systematics and are useful in the
documentation of biodiversity. Monitoring and documenting biodiversity are central tasks in
nature conservation and the development of monitoring techniques is especially urgent in the
context of the current biodiversity crisis. Bioacoustics proves to be a promising and powerful
instrument for assessing biodiversity. This dissertation aims to do an historical analysis of the
bioacoustics contribution to the study and conservation of biodiversity in Portugal, to understand
how the different recent techniques may assist in monitoring the biodiversity and to test one of
the most promising of its methods.
This study has revealed that the first bioacoustics recording dates from 1977. Since then, the
bioacoustics helped the study and documentation of various species and had special
applicability in the conservation of bats and cetaceans in Portugal, with prospects to extend this
applicability to other animal groups. Currently, there are powerful bioacoustics tools used on
monitoring biodiversity whose limitations tend to be quickly overcome. This dissertation has also
showed that to estimate densities, there must be taken into account a number of different factors
to calibrate these tools.
15
Burns, Barbara B. "The changing American conception of the wilderness as evidenced in the development of the national park system." Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/52051.
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Throughout the development of our country attitudes toward wilderness have gradually evolved, reflecting ever changing values and concerns. While colonial man viewed wilderness with fear and distaste and believed the worth of such areas was solely dependent on the economic value of its resources, his modern counterpart has begun to realize that the absolute preservation of wilderness is desirable and necessary in order to protect important inspirational, educational and ecological values generated from these lands.
It follows that the federal agency we consider to be one of the largest holders of wilderness lands—the National Park Service—has not always employed wilderness preservation as a major criterion for national park establishment. The intent of this thesis is, thus, to trace the evolution of national attitudes toward wilderness through an examination of the development of the national park system, focusing on the types of parks created in different periods of time and the rationale used to justify park establishment.
In this investigation the national park system was divided into five peak periods of establishment. Two parks were then selected from each period for examination as representative case studies. It was found that the parks of each period tended to possess similar physical characteristics, featured objects of preservation and rationale for inclusion into the system. As the park system developed a gradual broadening of concerns was apparent. With the introduction of new rationale and featured objects of preservation from peak to peak, rarely were previous concerns displaced entirely. Thus, the overall development of the park system can be interpreted as an additive process, resulting in the representation of an entire spectrum of environmental concerns by the fifth period of park establishment.Master of Landscape Architecture
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Susman, Benjamin A. "A Social Gospel Vision of Health: Washington Gladden's Sermons on Nature, Science and Social Harmony, 1869-1910." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1596238474385133.
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Kennedy, Addison F. "Producing Nature(s): A Qualitative Study of Wildlife Filmmaking." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1589201321354644.
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Schmutz, Hélène. "Vers une redéfinition de la nature américaine : trois études de cas dans la région de Los Angeles." Thesis, Paris 4, 2013. http://www.theses.fr/2013PA040149/document.
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Les historiens de l’environnement s’attachent à déchiffrer les modes de relation entre l’homme et la nature aux Etats-Unis. La manière dont elle est définie conditionne les politiques environnementales, et donc contribue à la transformation matérielle du continent. Cinq traditions de la pensée environnementale américaine sont décrites : la nature comme ressource transformée par le travail ; le préservationnisme ; le conservationnisme ; l’écologie ; et la justice environnementale. Ces idées perdurent au XXIème siècle dans les discours construits au sujet de la nature : elles se juxtaposent ou se confrontent. L’objectif de ce travail est de savoir si elles se transforment, en évoluant vers une définition de la relation homme/nature comme hybride socionaturel. À cette fin, trois cas sont étudiés, tous situés dans la région de Los Angeles au début des années 2000. Le premier concerne le ranch Tejon, dont l’accord passé en 2008 entre associations de protection de la nature et propriétaires pose la question du sens donné à une préservation qui veut prendre en compte les aspects à la fois écologiques, mythiques et économiques de ce territoire, vestige du passé de l’Ouest. Le second se rapporte à la décision prise en 2007 par la ville de Los Angeles de revitaliser son fleuve et fournit un exemple de l’élargissement de la définition de la nature : celle-ci peut être urbaine. Enfin, troisième cas, la justice environnementale appliquée à la ferme communautaire de South Central Los Angeles, entretenue de 1994 à 2006, est signe de la transition de la pensée de la nature américaine d’un objet délimité dans l’espace vers une problématique mondialeEnvironmental historians have worked at redefining the modes of relationship between man and nature in the United States. The way this relation is defined conditions environmental politics, and therefore contributes to the material transformation of the continent. Five major trends of thought about nature are described: nature as a resource transformed by work ; preservationism ; conservationism ; ecology ; and environmental justice. Those ideas endure to this very day in the discourses constructed about nature: they either juxtapose or confront each other. The goal of this thesis is to understand whether they undergo a transformation, evolving towards a definition of the man/nature relationship as a socionatural hybrid. To this end, three cases are examined here, all of which are connected with the Los Angeles area in the early 2000s. The first concerns Tejon Ranch and the agreement passed in 2008 about Tejon Ranch between environmental associations and the owners : it poses the question of the meaning given to a preservation that would incorporate ecological, mythical and economic aspects of that territory, a remain of the Western past. The second deals with the decision that was made in 2007 by the City of Los Angeles to revitalize its river and offers a good example of the broadening of the definition of nature: it can also be urban. The ecological and cultural preoccupations about the river complicate the conservation problematic in Southern California. Finally, South Central Farm’s environmental justice case (1994-2006) is the sign of a transition in American environmental ideas from a clearly spatially limited object to a world issue
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Bezerra, Joana Carlos 1982. "Terra preta, o tesouro esquecido = política, ciência e as relações internacionais na história da Amazônia = Terra preta, the forgotten treasure : politics, science and international relations in the history of the Amazon." [s.n.], 2011. http://repositorio.unicamp.br/jspui/handle/REPOSIP/280909.
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Orientadores: Roberto Pereira Guimarães, Pedro Paulo Abreu FunariTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas
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Resumo: Em um mundo no qual o meio ambiente ganha cada vez mais espaço na agenda política nacional e internacional, a Amazônia se destaca. Conhecida ao redor do mundo por sua riqueza, a floresta sul-americana é alvo de diferentes visões, muitas vezes contraditórias, e mexe com a imaginação de todos. É nesta região que se encontra a terra preta de índio, horizonte de solo fértil com elevados teores de carbono de origem antrópica, que gera grande interesse da comunidade científica. Estudos sobre este solo, e sobre suas características tão singulares, têm gerado discussões cruciais acerca do passado, do presente e do futuro de toda a região amazônica. Apesar da suas características particulares, a importância da terra preta de índio - e a história de uma Amazônia mais produtiva e populosa - ficou adormecida desde o seu descobrimento, por volta de 1880, até 1980, quando é possível identificar o início do aumento no número de trabalhos sobre estes horizontes de solo. Estes cem anos entre o descobrimento da terra preta de índio e o início do aumento do interesse em torno dela foram palco de mudanças estruturais tanto no plano nacional, com a ditadura militar e uma mudança no lugar ocupado pela Amazônia na política interna, quanto no plano das relações internacionais, mudanças essas que redesenharam o papel do meio ambiente nas agendas políticas e científicas e o papel do Brasil no contexto global. O objetivo deste trabalho é analisar o papel da terra preta de índio no cenário atual de desenvolvimento da Amazônia. Para isso será preciso voltar no tempo, tanto no âmbito interno quanto no externo, ao longo da segunda metade do século para analisar a sua trajetória. Será igualmente necessário analisar as questões atuais que envolvem a Amazônia - desenvolvimento sustentável e mudanças climáticas - e como de fato elas ainda reproduzem alguns dos problemas que marcaram a história da floresta, tais como a relativa ausência da terra preta de índio como tema relevante para a Amazônia
Abstract: In a world in which the environment gains each time more space in the national and international political agenda, the Amazon stands out. Known around the world for its richness, the South-American forest is the target of different visions, often contradictory ones, and it plays with everyone's imagination. This is where the terra preta de índio - Amazonian Dark Earths - are found, a fertile soil horizon with high concentrations of carbon with anthropic origins, which has generated great interest from the scientific community. Studies on these soils and their so singular characteristics have triggered crucial discussions on the past, present and the future of the entire Amazon region. Despite its singular characteristics, the importance of Amazonian Dark Earths - and a history of a more productive and populated Amazon - was hidden since its discovery around 1880 until 1980, when it is possible to identify the beginning of an increase in the number of research on these soil horizons. These hundred years between the first records and the beginning of the increase in the interest around these soils witnessed structural changes both in the national arena, with the military dictatorship and a change in the place of the Amazon within internal affairs, and in the international arena with changes that reshaped the role of the environment in the political and scientific agendas and the role of Brazil in the global context. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the role of terra preta de índio in the current development scenario in the Amazon. To do so it is necessary to go back in time, both in the national and international sphere, through the second half of the last century to analyse its trajectory. It will be equally important to analyse the current issues regarding the Amazon - sustainable development and climate change - and how they still reproduce some of the problems that marked the history of the forest, such as the absence of Amazonian dark earths as a relevant theme to the Amazon
Doutorado
Aspectos Sociais de Sustentabilidade e Conservação
Doutor em Ambiente e Sociedade
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Labo, Nora. "Competing constructions of nature in early photographs of vegetation : negotiation, dissonance, subversion." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/12807.
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While the role of photography in enforcing hegemonic ideologies has been amply studied, this thesis addresses the under-researched topic of how photography undermined dominant narratives in specific historical circumstances. I argue that, in the later part of the long nineteenth century, photographs were used to represent the natural world in contexts where their functions were uncertain and their capacities not clearly defined, and that these hesitations allowed for the expression of resistances to dominant social attitudes towards nature. I analyse how these divergences were articulated through three independent case studies, each addressing a corpus of photographs which has been marginalised in scholarly discourse. The case studies all concern photographs of vegetation. The first one discusses photographs produced around Fontainebleau during the Second French Empire, commonly understood as auxiliary materials for Barbizon painters, and argues that they were in fact autonomous representations, reflecting marginal modes of experiencing nature which resisted its prevailing construction as spectacle. The second case study examines a photographic series depicting Amazonian vegetation, published between 1900 and 1906, and shows how, in attempting to satisfy conflicting ideological demands, these photographs undermined the hierarchies enforced upon the natural world by colonial science. The third case study analyses photographs from an early twentieth-century environmentalist treatise, and demonstrates how, while the author's discourse seemingly complied with conventional attitudes towards nature, the photographs instituted an ethical stance opposed to early conservation's aesthetic focus and anthropocentrism. Throughout the case studies, I argue that the photographs were consubstantial to the emergence of these resistances; that dissenting representations stemmed from a tension between their producers' lived experience and the ideological frameworks which informed each context; and that this process engendered remarkable formal innovations, which are not usually associated to non-artistic images. I contend that radical renewals of visual expression occur in all representational contexts, as image producers adapt their tools or forge new ones according to circumstances, and that more attention must be paid to such visual innovations outside the field of artistic production.
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Jobbitt, Steve. "Re-civilizing the land, conservation and postwar reconstruction in Ontario, 1939-1961." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/MQ64723.pdf.
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Davidson, Jacob B. "Natural History and Breeding System of Maguire Primrose." DigitalCommons@USU, 2010. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/696.
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The goal of this thesis was to examine the breeding system and natural history of the Maguire primrose (Primula cusickiana var. maguirei). Maguire primrose is an endemic, threatened subspecies found only along a narrow corridor within Logan Canyon in northern Utah, USA. This plant displays distinct flower distyly, with clear distinction of pin and thrum morphologies (morphs). The timing of Maguire primrose flower blooms was disparate between upper and lower canyon populations, and the flowers experienced cool temperatures occasionally. I captured eight different species of flying insects visiting Maguire primrose flowers, and made 67 observations of insect visitation. Inter-morph outcrossing hand pollinations were the most successful hand pollinations performed, but were usually not as successful as those that were naturally pollinated. Selfing rates were quite low compared to outcrossing reproductive scenarios. Morph-specific fecundity differences were detected in my hand pollinations, but not in the naturally pollinated maternal plants. I did not observe clear fecundity differences based on the canyon location of Maguire primrose.
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Calliou, Brian. "Losing the game, wildlife conservation and the regulation of First Nations hunting in Alberta, 1880-1930." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2000. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp01/MQ60048.pdf.
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Ingram, Darcy. "Nature's improvement : wildlife, conservation, and conflict in Quebec, 1850-1914." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=102833.
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This dissertation presents a new perspective on the history of conservation in North America. In contrast to historiography that locates conservation-oriented approaches to the North American environment as the product of late-nineteenth-century concerns within Canada and the United States, this study links wildlife conservation in Quebec directly to longstanding European land tenure, estate management, and associational strategies. Through a range of materials including state documents, associational records and personal and family papers, I show how advocates of fish and game protection in the province drew heavily on Old World customs and traditions, particularly those of British landowners, who displayed in their varied social, economic, and political commitments an ongoing engagement with improvement. These 'patrician sensibilities,' I argue, formed the basis of the regulatory system that developed in Quebec during the period 1850-1914, first on the remote salmon rivers of the north shore and Gaspe peninsula, and by the First World War on the bulk of the province's best and most easily accessible hunting and fishing territories. In addition to the regulatory strategies that developed during this period, the dissertation deals with forms and limits of resistance on the part of aboriginal and non-aboriginal subsistence, commercial, and sport hunters and fishers. The dissertation's major contribution lies in its demonstration of the longstanding patterns that underpinned the development of conservation strategies in North America. Class and gender are central to the project, and it also has important implications for our understanding of civil society and state formation.
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Eaton, Sally. "Achieving landscape-scale conservation for Scotland's rainforest epiphytes." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2018. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8854/.
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Within the UK, the continuing biodiversity crisis has led to a policy driven shift in the conservation sector; moving away from localized site scale conservation to a landscape-scale. This approach encourages fragmented habitat patches to be integrated into a much larger habitat network. Epiphytic lichens provide an ideal model system for studying the effectiveness of conservation initiatives within fragmented habitats, due to their metapopulation structures whereby individual trees within woodlands (and woodland stands within wooded landscapes), represent isolated habitat patches. Old-growth woodland in particular provides suitable habitat to a suite of lichens known as the Lobarion community, which are declining throughout Europe. Regeneration within these old growth areas, though essential for future habitat persistence, causes shading and ultimately leads to local extinctions of shade intolerant lichen epiphytes. A landscape scale conservation strategy that relies on habitat permeability to balance colonisation of post-regeneration woodland patches with extinctions in ageing woodland patches elsewhere in the landscape has been proposed as a management strategy to meet the needs of both lichen epiphytes and their woodland habitat. The unique conditions found in western Scotland, combining a relative abundance of high quality old growth habitat (in a European context) coupled with robust populations of some members of the Lobarion community, could provide an ideal opportunity to test such a management strategy. In this thesis, the plausibility of landscape-scale conservation as a management strategy for epiphytic lichens is explored, using a suite of nine target epiphytes of contrasting ecological traits set within Glen Creran, a temperate rainforest on the west coast of Scotland: 1. The habitat requirements of nine target epiphytes were identified and predictions of species distribution made over an entire glen using a species distribution modelling (SDM) approach. The SDM’s were found to apply more generally within the wider biogeographic area for five of the nine species, providing an evidence base for future conservation plans in Scotland’s rainforest zone. 2. A novel method to determine dispersal distance in lichen epiphytes was developed, combining a mechanized propagule trap with molecular techniques. This methodological advance allowed the first direct comparative study of lichen epiphytes in a natural context. 3. An agent based model was developed combining the results of 1. and 2. above to investigate the effect of habitat connectivity on colonisation in six contrasting lichen epiphytes, enabling inferences of species response to landscape-scale conservation scenarios within the study system to be made.
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Iguchi, Hisao. "Environmental education through museums : a case study of the ecology exhibition in the Natural History Museum, London." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1995. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10020238/.
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Sorrell, Geoffrey Gordon. "Natural history and conservation of the Eyelash palm-pitviper (Bothriechis schlegelii) in western Panama." Auburn, Ala., 2007. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/07M%20Theses/SORRELL_GEOFFREY_16.pdf.
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Richards, Vicki Lewana. "The degradation and conservation of natural organic polymers from historic shipwrecks." Thesis, Richards, Vicki Lewana (1996) The degradation and conservation of natural organic polymers from historic shipwrecks. Masters by Research thesis, Murdoch University, 1996. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/51656/.
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The aggressiveness of a shipwreck site towards submerged materials can be assessed by obtaining the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of that particular wreck site. To this end, environmental parameters and chemical characteristics of selected metal and organic artefacts were measured, in-situ, on a number of different shipwreck sites. Interpretation of these measurements allowed the predominant modes of degradation occurring on these marine archaeological sites to be determined. In addition, metal impregnated, waterlogged wood samples were analysed by spectroscopic techniques. The effects of the incorporated corrosion products on the extent of degradation of the waterlogged wood samples were assessed.
One of the major problems associated with the conservation of metal/organic composite materials is the detrimental effect of iron corrosion products on the post-treatment stability of organic materials. Therefore, a series of trials were carried out to determine the impact of different impregnants on the rate of iron removal from iron impregnated, waterlogged concretion, wood and rope. The rates of iron extraction were monitored and the effectiveness of treatments determined via physical, chemical and spectroscopic techniques. For concretion and wood, the optimal rate of iron removal was achieved by using aqueous solutions of 5% polyethylene glycol (PEG) 1500 and 20% PEG 800, respectively. The addition of citrate and dithionite to these solutions significantly increased the extraction rate of iron. For rope, a consolidation solution of 5% PEG 400, 2% glycerol and 1% ethulose combined with 2% citrate and 5% dithionite was found to give the best results.
A further series of experiments were conducted to determine the most appropriate consolidant for the conservation of friable, acid affected timbers from which the iron corrosion products had not been previously extracted. Interpretation of quantitative physical measurements allowed selection of the most effective consolidant system for the timbers. Of the consolidants tested, polyvinylpyrrolidone (10%) in n-butanol was found to be the most effective.
Degradation of aqueous PEG solutions was successfully monitored by measuring changes in solution pH and viscosity, Higher molecular weight PEG solutions of lower concentrations were more susceptible to oxidative degradation at ambient temperatures than more concentrated, lower molecular weight PEG solutions.
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Budhathoki, Prabhu. "Developing conservation governance strategies : holistic management of protected areas in Nepal." Thesis, University of Greenwich, 2012. http://gala.gre.ac.uk/9453/.
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The Buffer Zone (BZ) concept has been introduced in Nepal as a key component of the national biodiversity conservation strategy to mitigate the impacts of protected areas on local communities, and thereby reduce adverse impacts of local people on protected areas. Unlike traditional Buffer Zone programmes which are mostly limited to creating a protective layer and/or distributing economic benefits to local people, the Buffer Zone management approach in Nepal integrates livelihoods and conservation issues and their linkages in a more holistic and balanced manner. The programme has been successful in establishing a network of community institutions and in mobilising large numbers of local communities in conservation and community development. The research findings clearly indicate that the current Buffer Zone management approach based on park revenue sharing for community development has been successful in developing positive attitudes among local people towards protected areas. There is also evidence of improvement in the condition of forests and biodiversity in the Buffer Zone and a decrease in pressure inside the protected areas for basic forestry resources. The BZ communities also feel empowered by the Buffer Zone management programme. These outputs suggest that if properly designed, the Buffer Zone management programme can achieve both conservation and development objectives ensuring the long-term integrity of the protected areas. At the same time, however, the research has also revealed that the existing incentives and institutional arrangements adopted in the Buffer Zone management programme were necessary but not sufficient to address present and potential challenges in Chitwan National Park. There is a need to use additional instruments to demonstrate Buffer Zone management as a viable conservation governance strategy to expand conservation into the areas beyond park boundaries ensuring greater stability of the Park. Any park management strategy seeking to make tangible impacts on conservation, livelihood and governance should have five elements, namely; incentive, empowerment, education, enforcement and integration (IEEEI); and appropriate policy and institutional frameworks to implement them in an integrated way. If issues such as inclusion, equity, empowerment and integration are properly incorporated into the policies and programmes of the Buffer Zone management, the Buffer Zone management strategy adopted in Chitwan could be promoted as a viable model for the sustainable management of protected areas situated in a human dominated landscape.
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Alsdirawi, Fozia Abdul-aziz. "Wildlife resources of Kuwait: Historic trends and conservation potentials." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/184909.
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Kuwait is an arid small country with a severe climate, but an interesting and diverse biological heritage. Historically Kuwait was the home for 28 mammalian, over 300 bird, and 40 reptilian species. Expanding human population and technology are increasingly altering Kuwait's natural habitat. Currently, 8 mammalian species are locally eradicated from Kuwait, but available elsewhere in the Arabian Peninsula. On the endangered list is 4 mammals, 5 birds. The status of most reptiles is unknown. A comprehensive overview of Kuwait's historic and contemporary wildlife is described. Major wildlife habitat types are identified and mapped. A conservation strategy addressing the wildlife and their habitats in Kuwait is suggested. The key to a successful strategy is habitat restoration and protection combined with legal protection of the wildlife. In addition, a program for re-introducing locally eradicated species to their historic range in Kuwait is suggested.
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Superina, Mariella. "Natural history of the pichi (Zaedyus pichiy) in Mendoza Province, Argentina." ScholarWorks@UNO, 2007. http://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/604.
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The pichi Zaedyus pichiy (Xenarthra, Dasypodidae) is a poorly known, diurnal armadillo inhabiting arid and semi-arid regions of Argentina and Chile that has endured substantial population declines. My objective was to elucidate different aspects of the natural history of Z. pichiy as a first step towards establishing a conservation plan. Wild and captive pichis were studied. Body temperature of wild pichis averaged 35.2±1.2 °C and was highly variable (range 32.2 – 38.3 °C). Temperature measurements of semi-captive males showed that pichis can survive energetically challenging periods by entering hibernation or daily torpor. Stomach contents of poached animals revealed that pichis feed predominantly on insects but also ingest plant material, vertebrates and arachnids. This opportunistic, omnivorous feeding strategy allows them to thrive where food type and availability vary seasonally. The reproductive cycle of pichis was studied by means of histological and fecal hormone analyses. Pichis are seasonal breeders that produce one yearly litter of 1 to 2 offspring, and the initiator of breeding season seems to be an increase in daylength. The absence of regular estrous cycles and corpora lutea in non-pregnant females, and immediate mating attempts after pairing, all suggest that pichis are induced ovulators. Clinical examinations and hematological, serological and coproparasitological analyses of free-ranging pichis, and necropsies and histological examinations of confiscated pichis and roadkills, indicate that the populations are currently in good health. While parasites were often found, no severe pathologies were observed. Infections with potentially zoonotic diseases were rare: only a few pichis were seropositive for Trypanosoma cruzi, none had antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii, and none of the histologically examined individuals presented lesions attributable to these pathogens. Elevated ambient humidity levels often caused moist dermatitis with epidermal detachment in captive pichis. Poaching is currently considered to have a much higher negative impact on the wild populations than disease epidemics. Mortality due to heavy poaching activity may be difficult, if not impossible, to compensate by the current birth rates. This preliminary database on the natural history and reproduction of pichis will assist efforts to conserve this little-known species of armadillo.
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Kuchenbecker, Emily E. "Lifetime." VCU Scholars Compass, 2019. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/5838.
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Time is my bully. Time marks the start of something, as well as the end. We are all carrying out the inexorable passing of time as it relates to our impending mortalities.
I do not fear death.
The awareness of my body’s impermanence employs me to feel that much more connected to the vessel containing that of which I am.
But what am I? Am I my body- or is it much deeper?
Through the work executed during my graduate research, I have attempted to quantify my existence through the archiving my time and body. This document ushers you through my perception, my relationship to nature, and how it manifests through discovering answers to what I believe it means to be human.
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Loughman, Zachary James. "Natural history and conservation biology of a southern West Virginia contour surface mine reptile and amphibian community." Huntington, WV : [Marshall University Libraries], 2005. http://www.marshall.edu/etd/descript.asp?ref=585.
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Ashworth, David. "The application of DNA fingerprinting to the conservation of threatened species." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 1992. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/29183/.
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The human polycore minisatellite probes 33.6 and 33.15 developed by Prof. Alec Jeffreys and colleagues have been shown to detect hypervariable minisatellites in many taxonomically dispersed species. The mRNA derivatives of these two probes, pSPT19.6 and pSPT18.15, have here been used to probe the genomes of four species currently maintained in captivity. The wild populations of these species, Rothschild's mynah, the Rodrigues fruit bat, the British Merlin and the New Zealand falcon, are threatened with extinction to varying degrees. By using the technique of DNA fingerprinting, it has been possible to assess the levels of minisatellite variation remaining in these stocks, to confirm or refute the parent/offspring allocations made within, and in the case of Rothschild's mynah, to demonstrate that at least two of the founders of the stock were closely related. In addition, it has been possible to show that there is a significant positive relationship between the similarity coefficient calculated between two adults and the inbreeding coefficient calculated for their offspring.
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Shum, Yuen-wah Ferna. "Towards integrated heritage conservation in Hong Kong /." [Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong], 1993. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B13883835.
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Fearnley, Helen. "Towards the ecology and conservation of sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) populations in Southern England." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2009. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/79446/.
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The sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) is a rare, elusive and cryptic reptile species of conservation importance in the UK. Knowledge of its ecology and behaviour has limited the development of a reliable and effective methodology for population monitoring; this threatens to compromise conservation effort. The behaviour of sand lizards varies seasonally, with sex and with environmental conditions, none of which are fully understood. This aim of this thesis is to further our ecological knowledge of the sand lizard, specifically by investigating factors which influence the detection probability of this species and through exploration of population monitoring and estimation methods. The detection rate of both male and female lizards in a captive population was found to be heavily dependent on their sex and reproductive stage. The detection probability of males was higher (39%) before mating than after mating (33%): with pre-mated males this was strongly associated with temperature and time of day; and with post-mated males it was linked to changeable conditions with solar radiation values between 200-700Wm-2. The detection probabilities of females were higher after mating (40%) than before (25%) with additional variations in detection rate during and after egg laying. Pre-mated females were most commonly observed basking in a preferred range of ultra-violet light and post-mated they favoured conditions where the ground surface temperature ranged between 17.5oC and 27.5oC. An intensive capture-mark-recapture study was performed on independent sand lizard populations and pattern matching software was used to assist with the identification of individual sand lizards from their dorsal patterning. The low recapture rate of sand lizards proved problematic and population estimates were generated using Program MARK following amalgamation of the data from each field season: but this nonetheless generated the first estimates of sand lizard populations in the UK, with a maximum mean density of 222Ha-2. The survivorship of males was consistently higher than females (0.67 vs. 0.26) and the detection rates and populations estimates differed between years. A high number of individuals were encountered only once, resulting in wide confidence limits of abundance estimates for this species. The range of microclimates available within a structurally diverse array of heathland vegetation were quantified and found to be more extensive than previously thought. The range of microhabitats within the preferred temperature range for sand lizards increased from Spring to Summer, so the need for a lizard to be in the open, and thus available for detection decreased. The obstacles encountered when attempting to monitor sand lizards populations arise from the unpredictable nature of the species. Future sand lizard surveys should be conducted at times when the detection probability maximised, as described in this thesis. A national monitoring scheme should steer away from absolute abundance estimates of populations and consider the use of occupancy estimation to monitor our remaining populations.
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Plön, Stephanie, Victor Gavin Cockcroft, and Pierre William Froneman. "The natural history and conservation of Indian Ocean Humpback Dolphins (Sousa plumbea) in South African waters." Academic Press, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/68207.
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Publisher versionAlthough most knowledge on the biology of Sousa plumbea has primarily come from South African waters, a number of research gaps remain on the natural history and status of the species in the region. Research on two populations in South African waters for which some historical data exist may aid in highlighting long-term changes in the biology and natural history of this little known coastal delphinid. Recent studies on the age, growth and reproduction of animals incidentally caught in shark nets in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal, yielded a lower maximum age estimate of 24 (previously 46) growth-layer-groups (GLGs), sexual maturity of 7.5 and 8 GLGs in males and females (previously 12–13 and 10 GLGs, respectively), an ovulation rate of 0.2 and a 5-year calving interval (previously 0.3 and 3-year calving interval) than previously reported. These differences may be due to a difference in the interpretation of GLGs between observers or a predominance of young males being caught in the shark nets. Stomach content analysis revealed a change in the relative proportions of the main prey items over the past 25 years, but no difference in species richness or diversity was found between the sexes. No change in trophic level was recorded between 1972 and 2009. Field studies in Algoa Bay, Eastern Cape, conducted 16 years apart indicated a decline in the mean group size (from 7 to 3 animals), a decline in the maximum group size (from 24 to 13 animals), an increase in solitary individuals (15.4–36%), and a change in behaviour from predominantly foraging (64–18%) to mainly travelling (24–49%). The observed changes are suggestive of a change in food availability, resulting in a range shift or a potential decline in numbers. These studies indicate the importance of long-term studies to monitor population changes and their possible causes. A number of threats, such as shark nets, pollution (noise and chemical), and coastal development and disturbance, to the humpback dolphin populations in South Africa have been identified. Urgent action is required to ensure continued existence of the species in South African waters.
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Robinson, Janine Elizabeth. "Supplying the exotic pet trade : conservation and livelihood implications." Thesis, University of Kent, 2017. https://kar.kent.ac.uk/61269/.
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The wildlife trade represents a significant threat to biodiversity, but may also provide opportunities for societal and economic benefits. To supply the trade, wildlife is often sourced from biodiverse developing countries where poverty rates are high. Ensuring a legal and sustainable trade is therefore critical not only for conservation and implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), but can contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goals to reduce poverty in developing regions. This thesis investigates trade in live animals, with emphasis on socio-economic implications of wildlife trade chains, and how these interact with conservation and sustainable use in supply countries. An interdisciplinary approach utilises global analysis of wildlife trade data; social research methods to examine the trade in Madagascar; and a specialised questioning technique to explore sustainability of the trade at the end-user level. The findings demonstrate an increasing component of the reptile pet trade comprises animals from ranching operations, or captive-bred in consumer countries. Although this may take pressure off wild populations, it may have implications for biodiversity and benefit sharing in supply countries. In Madagascar, a small proportion of the export value of reptiles and amphibians reaches local collectors. Whilst being potentially profitable and providing additional cash income to some households, wildlife trapping is also unreliable, part-time and financially risky. Consequently, it appears to bring limited opportunities for poverty alleviation or incentives for conservation at the local scale. Value chain analysis reveals the informal and complex nature of the supply chain, making design and implementation of interventions to enhance the trade challenging. Findings suggest that initiatives may be most effective working at the local level to improve organisation and cooperative management of the trade. At the consumer end, mortality of pet reptiles varies between taxa but appears to be relatively low. This directly informs debate concerning exotic pet keeping in consumer countries, for which there are limited data concerning sustainability of wildlife supply chains. Together, these studies enhance knowledge regarding implications of the wildlife trade for livelihoods and conservation, and inform dialogue concerning wildlife trade policy and practice more generally.
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Queiroz, Helder Lima de. "Natural history and conservation of pirarucu, Àrapaima gigas', at the Amazonian Várzea : red giants in muddy waters." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/2818.
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The pirarucu, Arapaima gigas (Osteoglossidae, Teleostei), an important natural resource in the Amazonian flooded forest, has been exploited for centuries and is now threatened by overfishing. The aim of this thesis, therefore, is to investigate the biology and ecology of this species so that sustainable management programmes can be put in place and the conservation of this fish ensured. Most of the research was carried out at Mamiraua Reserve, a protected area of Varzea forest in the Central Brazilian Amazon. Additional data were also recorded at the aquarium of the Amazonian Museum of Natural History, at Manaus, Brazil. A study of the main environmental aspects varzea aquatic systems, showed that the lakes at Mamiraua Reserve could be grouped into two main categories based on their limnological morphological features. The investigation of the fisheries management by local fishermen revealed that the use of traditional fishing technology was responsible for the maintenance of local stocks. However, recent technological changes had increased CPUE to alarming level. The analysis of pirarucu feeding habits demonstrated that pirarucus are specialised carnivores, living mainly on fishes. Other invertebrate species are also important in their diet. High degrees of food selectivity and strong seasonal changes in diet proved to be the most important factor affecting the seasonal growth of pirarucus. Pirarucu growth was examined by analysing the growth marks deposited on scales twice a year, at times of high ingestion of food. L was circa 2.5.m and k was about 0.18. No significant differences in growth patterns between the sexes were found. Ten cohorts or annual age classes were identified. These ranged from 0.80m to 2.25m in total length. Very high annual growth rates during the first years are replaced by moderate rates after the age of first sexual maturation. Maturity is reached when pirarucus are around 5 years of age, or about 1.65m in total length. Fecundity increases with age of females, and so does oocyte diameter. However, fecundity is divided between 4 to 6 clutches of gametes that can be used throughout the breeding season. Each clutch is spawned separately, in small batches with less than 500 eggs in average. This strategy probably protects pirarucu against the unpredictability of the environment and avoids reproductive failures - total loss of fertilised eggs - due to catastrophic events. By spawning eggs in separate batches pairs may breed again if the first attempt was not successful. Males perform parental care, protecting the nest and guarding the offspring for about 6 months. The typical red coloration of pirarucus is particularly evident in males after sexual maturation. Almost 70% of male body surface may be covered in bright red pigmentation, brighter than among females. It is proposed that red coloration signals the size and/or age of pirarucus, and is used in the context of sexual selection. Male-male competition and female choice of males are likely to be operating in this species. The information in this thesis leads to several recommendations for the conservation of pirarucus. Criteria for selection of lakes in a rotational system of fisheries management, and age-specific impact of fishing and natural mortality rates on the stock are major topics discussed. The aim is the maximisation of breeding stock and local natural recruitment. Pirarucu farming and large scale conservation actions are also considered. Suggestions for future research on the biology of conservation of pirarucus are made.
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Muala, Domingos João. "Gorongosa: A History of an African Landscape, 1921-2014." DigitalCommons@USU, 2015. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/4636.
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Gorongosa: a history of an African landscape, 1921-2014, focuses on changes in the Gorongosa ecosystem, in central Mozambique, southeastern Africa. Environmental changes result from natural, non-human causes and from the activities of humans. I describe four socioecological events: African and Portuguese interactions, Gorongosa National Park, the effects of Mozambique’s civil war, and the Park's restoration in the aftermath of the civil war. Prior to European partition of Africa in 1884-85, Mozambique did not exist as clearly a demarcated territory as it is now. Today, the sense of Mozambicanhood bears traces of Portuguese colonial era experience. The demarcation of Mozambique’s boundaries and the reshaping of the colony until 1975 was a painful process that both the Africans and Portuguese colonialists endured; these physical and social separations from the rest of southern Africa represented the first human-induced changes in southern Africa. The endeavors to reshape Mozambique did not end with political boundaries. Painful processes, including the reshaping of Gorongosa National Park in the Gorongosa ecosystem, continued after border demarcations. Countless Mozambican and Portuguese lives were lost in the long trajectory within the colony as the Africans and the Europeans all developed a sense of unity in diversity while reshaping their attitude of and about Mozambique. After independence in 1975, internal transformations and wars continued reshaping Mozambique and Mozambicans, as different nationalists sought to maintain their colonial experience. These dynamics marked the environmental history of the Mozambican and Portuguese peoples and are often reflected in the prevalence of high sympathy, which the two peoples share toward one another. Gorongosa: a history of an African landscape, 1921-2014, critically celebrates these collective achievements.
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Chang, Sheng-Po Grabill Joseph L. "Teaching American history in Taiwan from an environmental point of view." Normal, Ill. Illinois State University, 1998. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ilstu/fullcit?p9914565.
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Thesis (D.A.)--Illinois State University, 1998.Title from title page screen, viewed July 10, 2006. Dissertation Committee: Joseph L. Grabill (chair), Frederick D. Drake, Lawrence W. McBride. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 177-185) and abstract. Also available in print.
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Stacey, Pam Joyce. "Natural history and conservation of Irrawaddy dolphins, Orcaella brevirostris, with special reference to the Mekong River, Lao P.D.R." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1996. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp05/mq21919.pdf.
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Whitworth, Andrew William. "Conservation value, biodiversity value and methods of assessment in regenerating and human disturbed tropical forest." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2016. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/7426/.
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Although the value of primary forests for biodiversity conservation is well known, the potential biodiversity and conservation value of regenerating forests remains controversial. Many factors likely contribute to this, including: 1. the variable ages of regenerating forests being studied (often dominated by relatively young regenerating forests); 2. the potential for confounding on-going human disturbance (such as logging and hunting); 3. the relatively low number of multi-taxa studies; 4. the lack of studies that directly compare different historic disturbances within the same location; 5. contrasting patterns from different survey methodologies and the paucity of knowledge on the impacts across different vertical levels of rainforest biodiversity (often due to a lack of suitable methodologies available to assess them). We also know relatively little as to how biodiversity is affected by major current impacts, such as unmarked rainforest roads, which contribute to this degradation of habitat and fragmentation. This thesis explores the potential biodiversity value of regenerating rainforests under the best of scenarios and seeks to understand more about the impact of current human disturbance to biodiversity; data comes from case studies from the Manu and Sumaco Biosphere Reserves in the Western Amazon. Specifically, I compare overall biodiversity and conservation value of a best case regenerating rainforest site with a selection of well-studied primary forest sites and with predicted species lists for the region; including a focus on species of key conservation concern. I then investigate the biodiversity of the same study site in reference to different types of historic anthropogenic disturbance. Following this I investigate the impacts to biodiversity from an unmarked rainforest road. In order to understand more about the differential effects of habitat disturbance on arboreal diversity I directly assess how patterns of butterfly biodiversity vary between three vertical strata. Although assessments within the canopy have been made for birds, invertebrates and bats, very few studies have successfully targeted arboreal mammals. I therefore investigate the potential of camera traps for inventorying arboreal mammal species in comparison with traditional methodologies. Finally, in order to investigate the possibility that different survey methodologies might identify different biodiversity patterns in habitat disturbance assessments, I investigate whether two different but commonly used survey methodologies used to assess amphibians, indicate the same or different responses of amphibian biodiversity to historic habitat change by people. The regenerating rainforest study site contained high levels of species richness; both in terms of alpha diversity found in nearby primary forest areas (87% ±3.5) and in terms of predicted primary forest diversity from the region (83% ±6.7). This included 89% (39 out of 44) of the species of high conservation concern predicted for the Manu region. Faunal species richness in once completely cleared regenerating forest was on average 13% (±9.8) lower than historically selectively logged forest. The presence of the small unmarked road significantly altered levels of faunal biodiversity for three taxa, up to and potentially beyond 350m into the forest interior. Most notably, the impact on biodiversity extended to at least 32% of the whole reserve area. The assessment of butterflies across strata showed that different vertical zones within the same rainforest responded differently in areas with different historic human disturbance. A comparison between forest regenerating after selective logging and forest regenerating after complete clearance, showed that there was a 17% greater reduction in canopy species richness in the historically cleared forest compared with the terrestrial community. Comparing arboreal camera traps with traditional ground-based techniques suggests that camera traps are an effective tool for inventorying secretive arboreal rainforest mammal communities and detect a higher number of cryptic species. Finally, the two survey methodologies used to assess amphibian communities identified contrasting biodiversity patterns in a human modified rainforest; one indicated biodiversity differences between forests with different human disturbance histories, whereas the other suggested no differences between forest disturbance types. Overall, in this thesis I find that the conservation and biodiversity value of regenerating and human disturbed tropical forest can potentially contribute to rainforest biodiversity conservation, particularly in the best of circumstances. I also highlight the importance of utilising appropriate study methodologies that to investigate these three-dimensional habitats, and contribute to the development of methodologies to do so. However, care should be taken when using different survey methodologies, which can provide contrasting biodiversity patterns in response to human disturbance.
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Kangayatkarasu, Nagulendran. "Biodiversity governance in Peninsular Malaysia : identifying conservation priorities, evaluating the impact of federalism and assessing the governance of protected areas." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2018. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/51781/.
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To address global biodiversity loss, national and subnational actions are imperative. Malaysia is a biodiversity hotspot with a federal system of government. The literature points to gaps in governance of biodiversity. The aim of this Ph.D. was to understand issues on biodiversity governance in Peninsular Malaysia, with the following objectives: (i) identify conservation priorities; (ii) review and assess the effect of federalism; and (iii) review and analyse the governance of protected areas (PA). This research identified conservation priorities defined by multi stakeholder participation, deploying a workshop and snowball survey approach. This generated a ranked list of 35 priority issues under seven themes, with high degree of agreement among stakeholders. The prioritisation exercise and the literature revealed current federal system of governance posed biodiversity governance challenges. Building on postcolonial and political ecology frameworks, theoretical and empirical qualitative research was carried out on the impact of federalism on biodiversity governance; and the governance of protected areas. I concluded that that states did not want to give up their land for conservation as it is their source of revenue in the absence of incentives for conservation from federal government due to the dichotomy in the federal constitution. Governance of PAs is compromised with different laws operating at both state and federal level, shortage of manpower and funds. This study provides a menu of recommendation options which highlights constitutional, institutional, financial and legal reforms to strengthen governance of biodiversity. In terms of contribution, this study took an innovative approach to identify conservation priorities in Peninsular Malaysia while applying postcolonial and political ecology theory to examine biodiversity governance in a federalised developing country. I highlight the potential of this study to influence policy space and if the proposed reforms are implemented, Peninsular Malaysia has all the ingredients in terms of economic capability, sizeable forest cover and low population density for the effective conservation of biodiversity.
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Han, Feng. "The Chinese view of nature : tourism in China's scenic and historic interest areas." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2006. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/16480/1/Feng_Han_Thesis.pdf.
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Tourism has greatly increased world wide in recent decades, especially in China.
Nature-dominated Scenic and Historic Interest Areas, representative of the Chinese philosophy of the 'oneness of nature and human beings', are the most popular tourism destinations in China. Tourism impacts in these areas have been receiving the attention of heritage landscape conservation. Management actions have largely been determined with an emphasis on natural values. This thesis maintains that values relating to nature are socially and culturally constructed, and that they dynamically change through history. By investigating the social and cultural structures underpinning values related to nature, a macro-history method has been applied to explore the traditional Chinese View of nature from traditional Chinese philosophies and landscape cultures. An instrumental case study method has been applied to explore the contemporary Chinese values of nature. The relationships between traditional values and contemporary values have been identified. It was found that the traditional Chinese values still have a profound influence today, although many aspects have been distorted. Historic high culture in natural areas has been replaced by mass tourism culture and Western values. The research also found that today's values are more socially and politically contested. It has been revealed that there are deep social, cultural, economic and political roots underlying heritage conservation management actions. Changing and contested values have been interpreted from these perspectives. The values inherent in the Chinese View of nature, such as holistic philosophical perspectives, sophisticated Chinese landscape languages, and evolving living landscapes, have been identified. The contributions of these values to relevant theories of environmental philosophy, cultural landscape, national park tourism and heritage conservation have been identified by this research. The implications for multi-cultural dialogues in heritage landscape conservation have been addressed.
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Han, Feng. "The Chinese view of nature : tourism in China's scenic and historic interest areas." Queensland University of Technology, 2006. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/16480/.
Full textAbstract:
Tourism has greatly increased world wide in recent decades, especially in China. Nature-dominated Scenic and Historic Interest Areas, representative of the Chinese philosophy of the 'oneness of nature and human beings', are the most popular tourism destinations in China. Tourism impacts in these areas have been receiving the attention of heritage landscape conservation. Management actions have largely been determined with an emphasis on natural values. This thesis maintains that values relating to nature are socially and culturally constructed, and that they dynamically change through history. By investigating the social and cultural structures underpinning values related to nature, a macro-history method has been applied to explore the traditional Chinese View of nature from traditional Chinese philosophies and landscape cultures. An instrumental case study method has been applied to explore the contemporary Chinese values of nature. The relationships between traditional values and contemporary values have been identified. It was found that the traditional Chinese values still have a profound influence today, although many aspects have been distorted. Historic high culture in natural areas has been replaced by mass tourism culture and Western values. The research also found that today's values are more socially and politically contested. It has been revealed that there are deep social, cultural, economic and political roots underlying heritage conservation management actions. Changing and contested values have been interpreted from these perspectives. The values inherent in the Chinese View of nature, such as holistic philosophical perspectives, sophisticated Chinese landscape languages, and evolving living landscapes, have been identified. The contributions of these values to relevant theories of environmental philosophy, cultural landscape, national park tourism and heritage conservation have been identified by this research. The implications for multi-cultural dialogues in heritage landscape conservation have been addressed.
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Ferguson, Chad D. "Conservation genetics of a near threatened freshwater mussel species (Lampsilis cardium) and improved prospects for recovery: how nuclear and mitochondrial DNA analyses inform natural history and conservation." Wright State University / OhioLINK, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1244144062.
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Harmon, Amanda Lauren Leslie. "Herbarium Collections Management Internship." Miami University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=miami1524744021639645.
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Keane, Eugene. "Protected area system planning and the conservation of archaeological sites : a critique and case study of Ireland." Thesis, University of Greenwich, 2008. http://gala.gre.ac.uk/8398/.
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Whitney, Sarah. "Nationalizing Nature: A Critique of the English National Trust Interpretation of Stowe Landscape Garden." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2018. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/1805.
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This thesis analyzes the English National Trust’s interpretation of the making and reception of Stowe Landscape Garden. Specifically, this is a critique of the Trust’s narrative of nationalism, which is overlaid by the use of romantic interpretive themes. Arguably, Stowe’s first contribution was the combination of expressions of nature through landscape with architectural and sculptural monuments of Englishness. The National Trust, however, has combined interpretations of multiple landscape gardens across a century, thus blurring its actual significance. Stowe has been lumped into a jumbled framework of anachronistic landscape commentary much based in the literature of reception. The use of receptive history as fact to define concepts like ‘Englishness’, ‘Landscape Garden’, and the ‘Picturesque’ only further aid the unsustainable development of the historical landscape. Stowe is recognized as the most extensive extant landscape garden to exemplify contributions by the first four designers in the medium: Vanbrugh, Bridgeman, Kent, and Brown. Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown’s place-making role in the history of English landscape, much derided by the proponents of the Picturesque, found its first expression at Stowe from 1740 to 1751. Thus, Stowe’s Brownian dominant landscape, of which the bones are still largely intact, should be used as the designated period of interpretation. In this way, the National Trust could fulfill a modern desire for connection to nature, and with greater specificity, diversity and transparency in historical accounts, expand the accessibility of ‘Englishness’ in the form the consummate national landscape garden.