Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Selective fragmentation'

Si l’éclairage solide permet une réduction conséquente de la consommation d’électricité, reste posé la problématique des dispositifs à base de LED. Cette thèse associée au projet RECYLED a consisté à identifier puis à développer des méthodes et des procédés en fonction des typologies des dispositifs (lampes, tubes et luminaires) et ce en vue d’une valorisation et d’une réutilisation de certains composants élémentaires. L’objectif, par une approche globale, incluant à la fois les aspects techniques, économiques et environnementaux était d’aboutir à un taux de recyclage de 80%. Trois scénarii ont été identifiés pour le recyclage des lampes et des tubes à LED, la réutilisation, le broyage et le désassemblage des lampes et des tubes à LED. Des études des déchets et des produits commercialisés, ont été menées afin de caractériser le gisement et de dimensionner les solutions de traitement proposées et estimer le potentiel de valorisation global. Concernant le désassemblage identifié comme le point bloquant, la technologie des puissances pulsées reposant sur la fragmentation est proposée. En ce qui concerne les tubes des solutions purement mécaniques ont été validées. Les méthodes proposées permettent d'obtenir un taux de valorisation matière de 74% pour les lampes et 94% pour les tubes. Ces taux sont à relier avec les prévisions estimées pour 2030 dans le cadre de ce travail qui aboutissent à un gisement annuel maximal évalué pour les lampes à LED à 2600 tonnes et pour les tubes et dalles à LED à 1600 tonnes
While solid-state lighting allows for a significant reduction in electricity consumption, the problem of the end-of-life of the LED-based devices remains. This thesis associated with the RECYLED project consisted in identifying and then developing methods and processes according to the typologies of the devices (lamps, tubes and luminaires) with a view to recovery and reuse of certain elementary components. The objective, through a comprehensive approach, including both technical, economic and environmental aspects, was to achieve a recycling rate of 80%. Three scenarios have been identified for the recycling of LED lamps and tubes, reuse, shredding and disassembly. Studies of waste and marketed products have been carried out in order to characterize the deposit and size the proposed treatment solutions and estimate the overall recovery potential. Regarding the disassembly identified as the blocking point, the technology of pulsed powers based on fragmentation is proposed. With regard to the tubes, purely mechanical solutions have been validated. The proposed methods make it possible to obtain a material recovery rate of 74% for the lamps and 94% for the tubes. These rates are to be linked with the forecasts estimated for 2030 as part of this work, which lead to a maximum annual deposit estimated for LED lamps at 2600 tons and for LED tubes and panels at 1600 tons

La photopolymérisation radicalaire contrôlée (P2RC) est un domaine en plein essor en science des matériaux. En effet, ce procédé permet d’envisager la synthèse de polymères à architecture complexe dans des conditions douces et constitue une approche de choix pour élaborer des couches de polymères microstructurées. Dans ce contexte, l’extension des techniques RAFT, ATRP et NMP à un mode photochimique est principalement étudiée. Au cours de cette thèse, nous nous sommes intéressés en particulier à la technique de NMP2 (Nitroxide Mediated Phototopolymerization). Typiquement nous avons préparé des alcoxyamines photosensibles pour un contrôle de la polymérisation sous irradiation. Une attention spéciale a été portée sur la compréhension du mécanisme régissant le procédé et sur des relations structure/réactivité. De plus les meilleurs candidats ont été testés en NMP2 et plus particulièrement pour la conception de motifs structurés de polymères sur surface. Enfin, de nouvelles approches ont été explorées pour effectuer une NMP2 avec notamment l’ESCP (Enhanced Spin Capturing Polymerization)
Controlled radical photopolymerization represents a rapidly emerging field in material science. This process is characterized by important advantages and provides the possibility to prepare complex polymer architectures in mild conditions such as patterns. In recent years, the development of controlled radical photopolymerizations, such as RAFT, ATRP and NMP, is recognized as particularly interesting and powerful. In this context, we focused our research to the development of the NMP2 polymerization. In line with this research context, the topic of this thesis was to prepare alkoxyamines for a photochemical control. Particular attention has been focused on understanding the mechanism governing the process and structure/reactivity relationships. In addition, the best candidates were tested in NMP2 process and more particularly to the preparation of polymer patterns on surface. Finally, new approaches have been explored to perform NMP2 such as ESCP (Enhanced Spin Capturing Polymerization)

The pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) is a sagebrush (Artemisia sp.) obligate that depends on sagebrush habitats for food and cover throughout its life cycle. Invasive species, frequent fires, overgrazing, conversion of land to agriculture, energy development, and many other factors have contributed to recent declines in both quantity and quality of sagebrush-steppe habitats required by pygmy rabbits. Because of the many threats to these habitats and the believed decline of pygmy rabbit populations, there is a need to further understand habitat requirements for this species and how they respond to disturbance. This study evaluated habitat selection by pygmy rabbits in Utah and assessed response of this small lagomorph to construction of a large-scale pipeline (i.e. Ruby pipeline) in Utah. We collected habitat data across Utah at occupied sites (pygmy rabbit occupied burrows) and compared these data to similar measurements at unoccupied sites (random locations within sagebrush habitat where pygmy rabbits were not observed). Variables such as horizontal obscurity, elevation, percent understory composed of sagebrush and other shrubs, and sagebrush decadence best described between occupied (active burrow) and unoccupied (randomly selected) sites. Occupied sites had greater amounts of horizontal obscurity, were located at higher elevations, had greater percentage of understory comprised of sagebrush and shrubs, and had less decadent sagebrush. When considering habitat alterations or management these variables should be considered to enhance and protect existing habitat for pygmy rabbits. The Ruby pipeline was a large-scale pipeline project that required the removal of vegetation and the excavation of soil in a continuous linear path for the length of the pipeline. The area that was disturbed is referred to as the right of way (ROW). From our assessment of pygmy rabbit response to construction of the Ruby pipeline, we found evidence for habitat loss and fragmentation as a result of this disturbance. The size of pygmy rabbit space-use areas and home ranges decreased post construction, rabbits shifted core-use areas away from the ROW, and there were fewer movements of collared rabbits across the ROW. Mitigation efforts should consider any action which may reduce restoration time and facilitate movements of rabbits across disturbed areas.

Black grouse Tetrao tetrix is a bird species composed of large, continuous as well as severely reduced and fragmented populations, making it an optimal species to investigate how genetic diversity is affected by habitat fragmentation. I have focused on genetic diversity in the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) to measure the ability of the black grouse to respond to environmental changes. I partly characterized MHC class II in black grouse and found striking similarities with chicken MHC class II. I demonstrated that black grouse possess a similar compact MHC as chicken with few MHC class II B (BLB) and Y (YLB) loci. I did not find evidence of balancing selection in YLB so I concentrated further studies on BLB. I developed a PCR-based screening method for amplifying and separating expressed BLB alleles in European black grouse populations. Small fragmented populations had lost neutral genetic diversity (based on microsatellites and SNPs) compared to samples from the historical distribution and contemporary large populations. There was also a trend, albeit less pronounced, for reduced MHC diversity in these populations. Neutral markers in small isolated populations were affected by increased levels of genetic drift and were therefore genetically differentiated compared to other populations. MHC markers on the other hand, were not subjected to genetic drift to the same extent probably due a long historic process of balancing selection. Inferences of heterozygosity and evolutionary patterns as well as detailed correlations to reproductive success and diseases cannot be performed until MHC can be amplified in a locus-specific manner. Therefore, I developed a single locus sequence-based typing method for independently amplifying MHC class II B loci (BLB1 and BLB2). I found that BLB1 and BLB2 were duplicated in a common ancestor to chickens and black grouse and that these loci are subjected to homogenizing concerted evolution due to inter-genetic exchange between loci after species divergence.  I could also verify that both BLB1 and BLB2 were transcribed in black grouse and under balancing selection. This collection of work has significance for future conservation of black grouse as well as research and management of zoonotic diseases.

La fragmentation des habitats ainsi que la réduction de leur disponibilité sont des menaces importantes pour les écosystèmes, notamment aquatiques. La disponibilité et la qualité des sites de fraie du saumon Atlantique peut donc être limitante dans certaines rivières. Après la migration en rivière, les femelles saumon vont chercher à s'établir dans un des sites de fraie disponibles. La distribution spatiale des femelles va alors influer sur la distribution spatiale des mâles reproducteurs qui vont chercher soit à monopoliser plusieurs femelles (pour les mâles dominants), soit à les approcher en adoptant un comportement "furtif" (pour les mâles satellites). L'accès des mâles aux femelles va donc dépendre de la distribution spatiale des femelles et des déplacements des mâles dans la rivière. La distribution des femelles va également jouer sur la distribution spatiale des juvéniles, les concentrant à certains endroits. Cette concentration peut augmenter la mortalité densité-dépendante qui modifie la dynamique de la population. Cette thèse avait pour but d'évaluer comment l'utilisation de l'espace des potentiels reproducteurs, c'est à dire les individus matures, influence la dynamique de la population et la sélection sexuelle.Des séries temporelles de stock (oeufs déposés) et de recrutement (juvéniles) pour la population de saumon de la Nivelle ont été associées à des mesures de l'agrégation spatiale des nids creusés par les femelles. L'effet des déplacements et de la distribution des reproducteurs sur leur participation à la reproduction a notamment été testé via la reconstruction du réseau d'interactions sexuelles dans la Nivelle.J'ai ainsi démontré que l'agrégation spatiale des nids influa sur la variabilité du recrutement mais pas sur le recrutement moyen. Cette agrégation qui résulte de l'agrégation des femelles a également été liée au nombre de reproducteurs ayant engendrés des juvéniles. Le réseau d'interactions sexuelles a permis de mettre en évidence une structure sociale locale au sein de la population. Cette structure et les compétiteurs présents pouvaient par exemple diminuer le succès reproducteur des mâles. Notamment, les tacons matures qui participent à la reproduction avant de migrer en mer renforçaient la compétition sexuelle dont les mâles dominants faisaient l'objet. Enfin, ces mêmes tacons matures adoptèrent des comportements spatiaux du fait de leur statut de maturité avec des individus bougeant peu et des individus se déplaçant vers l'amont. Ces comportements spatiaux influaient leur participation à la reproduction, l'étendue des domaines de vie et les déplacements vers l'amont augmentaient la probabilité de rencontrer une femelle.Mes résultats m'ont permis de mettre en évidence l'effet de l'utilisation de l'espace des potentiels reproducteurs sur la dynamique de la population et sur la sélection sexuelle. Ainsi, en combinant différentes échelles spatiales et temporelles il a été montré que l'agrégation des femelles pouvait être bénéfique pour la dynamique de la population. Il semble que les femelles tendent à s'agréger d'abord sur les meilleurs sites de fraie avec une plus forte stabilité environnementale. Cette distribution des femelles affecta la capacité des mâles à monopoliser plusieurs femelles, une agrégation modérée permettant une monopolisation. La participation des mâles furtifs anadromes ou tacons matures était également dépendante de l'agrégation des femelles. Il apparait que la disponibilité d'habitats adéquats pour la reproduction semble limitante dans la Nivelle et notamment du fait de la présence de barrages. Ce manque semble affecter le système d'appariement de la population et la sélection sexuelle y opérant. Des mesures visant à améliorer la qualité des sites de fraie déjà disponibles ainsi que leur accessibilité pourraient être envisagées
Habitat fragmentation and reduction in the availability of suitable habitats are significant threats to ecosystems in particularly for freshwater ones. For instance, accessibility, availability, and quality of breeding sites of Atlantic salmon, \textit{Salmo salar}, can be restricting in some rivers due to human activities and dams. Such threats may affect distribution of potential breeders because after their up-river migration, salmon females distribute within available breeding sites. Spatial distribution of females determines the spatial distribution of breeder males. Dominant males try to monopolise several females, whereas subordinate males adopt a sneaky behaviour. Access to females by males depends on the spatial distribution of females and on males' displacements within a river. The spatial distribution of females generates the spatial distribution of juveniles, aggregating them at some breeding sites. The latter aggregation of juveniles may raise the density-dependent mortality with potential consequences on population dynamics. The thesis aims to assess how space use of potential breeders, namely mature individuals able to spawn or fertilise eggs, influence population dynamics and sexual selection.I combined different approaches and different temporal and spatial scales to potential effects of space use of potential breeders. Time series of stock (deposited eggs) and of recruitment (juveniles) for the salmon population of the Nivelle River were combined with measures of spatial aggregation of nests. The effects of displacements and spatial distribution of potential breeders on their participation in reproduction were tested through inferring the sexual network of the population.I found that spatial aggregation of nests improved the recruitment variability but did not affect the average recruitment. The spatial aggregation of nests resulting from female aggregation was also linked to the number of effective breeders through a U-shaped curve. Such relationships suggested mate monopolization dependent on the spatial aggregation of females. The negative effect of the spatial isolation of females on their number of mates also suggest such mate monopolization. Then, the inferred sexual network enabled me to highlight a local social structure within the population. The latter structure and social competitors impacted the reproductive success of anadromous males. The participation of mature parr was one of the factors diminishing the sexual competition faced by anadromous males. Finally, mature parr were more mobile and moved more upstream than immature parr. Spatial behaviours of mature parr were linked to their participation in reproduction, individuals exhibiting wider home ranges had a higher probability to encounter females.Altogether my results show that space use of potential breeders affect both population dynamics and sexual selection. Then, spatial aggregation of females and of their nests can be beneficial for population dynamics as shown by combining different temporal and spatial scales. Females seemed to aggregate within the best breeding sites with a better environmental stability. The spatial distribution of females affected the ability of males to monopolise several females and participation of sneaky males. The availability of suitable good breeding habitats seemed restricting in the Nivelle, potentially due to the presence of impassable upstream dams. The lack of suitable breeding sites seemed impacting the mating system of the population and the sexual selection operating in. Some management actions to improve the quality of breeding sites and their availability could be planned

Studies of predator-prey and predator-predator interactions are needed to provide information for decision-making processes in land management agencies. Mountain lions (Puma concolor) are opportunistic carnivores that prey on a wide variety of species. In the Sierra National Forest, CA, they have not been studied since 1987 and their current interactions with their prey and other predators are unknown. Forest managers in this region are concerned with declines of fishers (Pekania pennanti) and studies have shown intraguild predation to be a leading cause of fisher mortality in this area. Managers are interested in learning more about mountain lion predation patterns with regard to prey preference, but also how lions traverse and use the landscape and how anthropogenic activities may be increasing lion predation risk on fishers. Using GPS radio-collar technology, we examined mountain lion kill rates and prey composition at 250 kill sites. We found mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) to be their main source of prey (81%) with gray foxes (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) comprising 13.2% of prey composition. We did not detect any fisher predation during our 2-year study; however, during our study, the Kings River Fisher Project experienced extremely low juvenile fisher survival. To gain a better understanding of seasonal resource selection by mountain lions, we developed resource selection functions (RSF) while they were moving through the landscape and when killing prey. We developed RSF models for all data across the study area, as well as, for a subset of data encompassing an area where LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data had been collected. Within the LiDAR study area, we digitized unmapped roads and skid trails using a Bare Earth data set. We found mountain lion ‘moving’ locations showed selection for close proximity to streams during summer months and selection for ruggedness and steeper slopes during both summer and winter. With 3 of the 4 RSF models at kill sites showing high risk of predation within close proximity to either digitized roads/skid trails or mapped roads, we recommend managers map all anthropogenically created linear landscape features and consider restoring these linear features to pre-treatment landscape conditions following timber harvest.

Les entrepôts de données permettent le stockage et la consolidation, en une seule localité, d'une quantité gigantesque d'information pour être interrogée par des requêtes décisionnelles complexes dites requêtes de jointures en étoiles. Afin d'optimiser ses requêtes, plusieurs travaux emploient des techniques d'optimisations comme les index de jointure binaires et la fragmentation horizontale durant la phase de conception physique d'un entrepôt de données. Cependant, ces travaux proposent des algorithmes statiques qui sélectionnent ces techniques de manière isolée et s'intéressent à l'optimisation d'un seul objectif à savoir les performances des requêtes. Notre principale contribution dans cette thèse est de proposer une nouvelle vision de sélection des techniques d'optimisation. Notre première contribution est une sélection incrémentale qui permet de mettre à jour de manière continuelle le schéma d'optimisation implémenté sur l'ED, ce qui assure l'optimisation continuelle des requêtes décisionnelles. Notre seconde contribution est une sélection incrémentale jointe qui combine deux techniques d'optimisation pour couvrir l'optimisation d'un maximum de requêtes et respecter au mieux les contraintes d'optimisation liées à chacune de ces techniques. A l'issu de ces propositions, nous avons constaté que la sélection incrémentale engendre un coût de maintenance de l'ED. Ainsi, notre troisième proposition est une formulation et r!:solution du problème multi-objectif de sélection des techniques d'optimisation où il faut optimiser deux objectifs: la performance des requêtes et le coût de maintenance de l'ED
Data Warehouses store into a single location a huge amount of data. They are interrogated by complex decisional queries called star join queries. To optimize such queries, several works propose algorithms for selecting optimization techniques such as Binary Join Indexes and Horizontal Partitioning during the DW physical design. However, these works propose static algorithms, select optimization techniques in and isolated way and focus on optimizing a single objective which is the query performance. Our main contribution in this thesis is to propose a new vision of optimization techniques selection. Our first contribution is an incremental selection that updates continuously the optimization scheme implemented on the DW, to ensure the continual optimization of queries. To deal with queries complexity increase, our second contribution is a join incremental selection of two optimization techniques which covers the optimization of a maximum number or queries and respects the optimization constraints. Finally, we note that the incremental selection generates a maintenance cost to update the optimization schemes. Thus, our third prop05ilion is to formulate and resolve a multi-objective selection problem or optimization techniques where we have two objectives to optimize : queries performance and maintenance cost of the DW

Understanding how migration, genetic drift, and natural selection interact to maintain the genetic and phenotypic variation we observe in natural populations is a central goal of population genetics. Amphibians provide excellent model organisms for investigating the interplay between these evolutionary forces because amphibians are generally characterized by limited dispersal abilities, high philopatry, and are obligately associated with the areas around suitable habitats (e.g. breeding ponds). Thus, on relatively small geographic scales, the relative effects of all of these evolutionary forces can be studied together. Here, we study the interaction of migration, genetic drift, natural selection, and historical process in the ornate chorus frog (Pseudacris ornata). We report the development and characterization of 10 polymorphic microsatellite genetic markers. Number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 21 averaging 9.2 and expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.10 to 0.97 averaging 0.52. However, in an analysis of two populations, three locus-by-population comparisons exhibited significant heterozygote deficiencies and indicated that null alleles may be present some loci. Furthermore, we characterized genetic structure and historical biogeographic patterns in P. ornata using these microsatellite markers along with mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Our data indicate that in these frogs, migration may play a large role in determining population structure as pairwise estimates of FST were relatively small ranging from 0.04 to 0.12 (global FST = 0.083). Additionally, we observed an overall pattern of isolation-by-distance in neutral genetic markers across the species range. Moreover, our data suggest that the Apalachicola River basin does not impede gene flow in P. ornata as it does in many vertebrate taxa. Interestingly, we identified significant genetic structure between populations separated by only 6 km. However, this fine scale genetic structure was only present in the more urbanized of two widespread sampling localities. Finally, in this study, we demonstrated that there was a significant correlation between the frequency of green frogs and latitude. There was a higher frequency of green frogs in southern samples and a lower frequency of green frogs in northern samples. However, when we interpreted this phenotypic cline in light of the overall pattern of isolation-by-distance, it was apparent that the neutral evolutionary forces of genetic drift and migration could explain the cline, and the invocation of natural selection was not necessary.
M.S.
Department of Biology
Sciences
Biology MS

Géologie. Au sein de la série phosphatée de Djebel Onk, la formation de Djemidjema correspond en partie à une puissante couche phosphatée de 30 à 35 mètres d'épaisseur sans intercalations stériles. L’analyse séquentielle et l'étude géochimique confirment que les modes granulométriques sont caractéristiques de deux populations de grains phosphates allochtones provenant de deux milieux de genèse différents. La dérive mégaséquentielle granulométrique met en évidence deux mégaséquences d'échelon 4: la mégaséquence A (phosphate à grains fins avec exogangue argilo-carbonatée) ; la mégaséquence B (phosphate à grains grossiers et exogangue carbonatée): la dolomite s'y présente sous forme de cristaux automorphes à subautomorphes, assemblés en agrégats difficiles à éliminer. Valorisation. L’organigramme actuel de traitement du minerai de Djebel Onk par voie thermique (calcination) comme par voie sèche (dépoussiérage) engendre des pertes importantes en P2O5. Le traitement thermique à basse température (450-500 °C) crée des contraintes différentielles sur l'exogangue et entre celle-ci et la phase apatitique, sans affecter la réactivité chimique du minerai. La technique nouvelle de fragmentation par broyage sélectif en lit sous contrainte permet une approche nouvelle du traitement avec un flowsheet s'adaptant à la nature et à la variabilité de la matière première, en évitant ainsi la calcination, procédé complexe et onéreux, et en limitant la consommation d'eau pénalisante en zone désertique

Abstract :The main goal of this stud y was to quantify the effect s of landscape structure on the abundance of Ruby-throate d Hummingbird s (Archilochus colubris) in forest patches and this, while accounting for its indirect effects on open flower community an d the occurrence of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker s (Sphympicus varius), a potential commensal of hummingbirds. We sampled 40 forest patches (0. 5 to >10 0 ha ) where we had installed 2 nectar feeders (forest edge and 40 m within forest ) during 2 breeding season s (2006 and 2007) . We visited forest patches weekly and recorded the number of hummingbirds detected within 10 m of feeders during 10 min. Mean daily artificial nectar consumption by hummingbirds, as well as their relative total abundance an d the respective relative abundance of adult males and females, were all affected by forest cover. Except for the relative total abundance, this effect of forest cover depended upon the size of forest patches. Nectar consumption and abundance generally peaked in forest patches of intermediate size found in landscapes characterized by intermediate forest cover. Mea n daily artificial nectar consumption and the relative total abundance, a s well as that of males, were higher at feeders located on the forest edge compared to 40 m inside forest patches. Regarding indirect landscape effects, landscape structure influenced the structure of open flower communities surrounding feeders, which in turn, affected the relative total abundance of hummingbirds, a s well as that of adult males. On the other hand, we failed to find strong evidence that landscape structure affected the occurrence of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers or that the latter influenced Ruby-throated Hummingbird abundance patterns. These results support the idea that landscape structure may affect the abundance pattern of a species directly as well as through mechanisms which are themselves dependent upon the composition and configuration of landscapes //Résumé : La structure des paysages peut influencer l'écologie d'une espèce directement, en contraignant ses mouvements, par exemple, de même qu'indirectement en affectant, entre autres, l'abondance de ses proies ou prédateurs. Quoique plusieurs études aient tenté de quantifier l'influence de la structure du paysage sur les patrons d'abondance, rares sont celles qui ont mesuré simultanément les effets directs et indirects du paysage. L'objectif de ce mémoire consiste à modéliser simultanément les effets directs de la structure du paysage sur l'abondance relative du Colibri à gorge rubis ( Archilochus colubris ) et sa consommation de nectar artificiel ainsi que les effets indirects par lesquels le paysage peut aussi agir tels la disponibilité en ressources alimentaires (communautés floristiques) et la relation interspécifique de commensalisme avec le Pic maculé ( Sphyrapicus varius ). Pour ce faire, j'ai échantillonné 40 îlots forestiers (0,5 à >100 ha) dans la région de l'Estrie (Québec, Canada). À chacun d'eux, j'ai installé deux abreuvoirs (en bordure et 40 m à l'intérieur) durant les étés 2006 et 2007 et ont été visités de façon hebdomadaire. J'ai détecté une relation quadratique du couvert forestier dans le paysage avec l'abondance totale relative, celle des mâles et des femelles ainsi que pour la consommation quotidienne moyenne. Ces effets varient en fonction de la taille d'îlot sauf pour l'abondance relative totale. Les valeurs maximales se situent à des niveaux intermédiaires de couvert forestier et de taille d'îlots. Certaines caractéristiques mesurées étaient à l'échelle locale comme la position de l'abreuvoir dans l'îlot forestier ou la structure de la végétation. J'ai détecté un effet de bordure pour toutes les variables sauf l'abondance des femelles. L'indice de structure de végétation n'avait d'influence que sur l'abondance des mâles. Concernant les effets indirects, l'ensemble des variables du paysage explique 69,61% de l'indice de communauté floristique et ce dernier a un effet significatif sur l'abondance totale et l'abondance des colibris mâles. Pour la relation avec le pic, les variables du paysage mesurées n'ont pas permis de détecter un effet. De plus, bien qu'étant une variable non significative, les modèles incluant la présence du Pic maculé étaient généralement parmi les plus performants. L'ensemble de ces résultats soutient l'importance de combiner l'écologie du paysage et l'écologie comportementale dans les mêmes modèles afin de tenir compte non seulement des effets directs mais aussi des effets indirects du paysage //

La notion de « concurrence » est traditionnellement associée au droit de la concurrence, entendu, dans sa vocation restrictive et européenne, comme le corpus gouvernant ententes et abus de position dominante. Si le droit de la concurrence a vocation à saisir les marchés financiers en vertu du droit commun, force est toutefois d’observer que, animé par une spécificité concurrentielle, le droit financier s’est investi lui-même de la mission consistant à assurer ses propres intérêts concurrentiels : sur les marchés financiers, modèles archétypique de concurrence « pure et parfaite », la concurrence s’est développée non pas dans le cadre des règles communes de la concurrence, mais en dehors de ces dernières. C’est de cette « spécificité concurrentielle » du droit financier que la présente recherche, enrichie des apports notables du droit américain, se propose de rendre compte : bouleversant les monopoles traditionnels et favorisant une dynamique de compétition normative le droit financier organise la concurrence sur les marchés financiers d’abord. Sur le modèle du droit commun de la concurrence, le droit financier assure la protection de la compétition, ensuite, la transparence jouant à cet égard un rôle de premier plan. La confrontation du droit financier au principe de concurrence atteste d’une véritable « spécificité concurrentielle » en matière financière. De façon plus globale, l’analyse conduit à remettre en cause les ordres établis, suggérant une clé de compréhension renouvelée autour d’une nouvelle cohérence : le droit financier ne serait in fine pas réductible à une branche du droit de la régulation tourné par l’ouverture à la concurrence via la mise en œuvre de politiques dites de « libéralisation ». Corrélativement, le droit de la concurrence pourrait ne pas être que le droit de la protection de l’ordre concurrentiel sur le marché des biens et services, les « Grandes libertés » étant appelées à compléter un édifice commun voué non seulement à protéger la concurrence, mais également à l’organiser. Au final, et cela ne serait pas le moindre des paradoxes de souligner la spécificité du droit financier tout en relativisant la notion de « droit de la régulation », avec en point de mire un « droit de la régulation économique »
The concept of « Competition » traditionally refers to Antitrust Law, heard in its restrictive and European meaning as governing both Trusts and abuse of dominant position. If Antitrust Law is intended to capture financial markets under common rules, however, it is observed that, animated by a competitive specificity, Financial Law has invested himself the task of ensuring its own competitive interest: financial market, competition archetypal models of « pure and perfect » competition, has not developed in the framework of common rules of competition, but outside them. It is precisely this kind of Financial Law’s « competitive specificity » that this research, enriched by notable contributions of US Law, proposes to report here : contesting classic monopolistic positions that have long characterized the financial infrastructures while sustaining a Law competition dynamic, Financial Law organizes competition in financial markets. More, not only does Financial Law organizes competition, it also protects competition, in the context of the influence of common Antitrust principles and market transparency.Financial Law and the competition principle comparison is rich teaching : it allows to demonstrate Financial Law’s competitive specificity. More broadly, the research led to challenge the « established order », suggesting a renewed key to understanding based on a new consistency: Financial Law would ultimately not be reduced to a branch of « Regulation Law », regulating the entire shot the opening to competition through the implementation of « Liberalization » policies. Correlatively, Antitrust Law may not be only confined in the protection of the competitive order on the goods and services market, « European freedoms of Mouvement » being then asked to complete a common building dedicated not only to protect the competition, but also to organize it. In the end, it would not be the least of paradoxes emphasizing the specificity of Financial Law while relativizing the notion of « Regulation Law », in focus with an « Economic Regulation Law »

As distribuições de abundância relativa das espécies tiveram um papel importante no desenvolvimento da ecologia de comunidades, revelando um dos padrões mais bem estabelecidos da ecologia, que é a alta dominância de algumas espécies nas comunidades biológicas. Este padrão provocou a criação de dezenas de modelos teóricos na tentativa de explicar quais mecanismos ecológicos poderiam gerá-lo. Os modelos teóricos de abundância relativa das espécies podem ser vistos como descritores das comunidades, e seus parâmetros, medidas sintéticas de dimensões da diversidade. Esses parâmetros podem ser utilizados não só como descritores biologicamente interpretáveis das comunidades, mas também como variáveis respostas a possíveis fatores ambientais que afetam as comunidades. Adotando então esta aplicação descritiva dos modelos, nosso objetivo foi comparar as comunidades de aves de áreas em um gradiente de fragmentação, utilizando como variável resposta os valores estimados do parâmetro do modelo série logarítmica, o α de Fisher. Como todos os modelos teóricos de abundância relativa propostos têm como premissa, a igualdade de probabilidade de captura entre as espécies, o que para comunidades de espécies de organismos móveis, como aves, parece pouco realista, neste trabalho investigamos também o grau de sensibilidade dos modelos quanto à quebra dessa premissa. Assim, por meio de simulações de comunidades, analisamos o viés de seleção e estimação, e revelamos que o aumento do grau de heterogeneidade entre as probabilidades de captura das espécies acarreta no incremento do viés de seleção do modelo real e também de estimação dos parâmetros. Porém, como o objetivo do estudo era identificar os fatores que influenciam a diversidade das comunidades, mesmo com o viés de estimação, talvez ainda fosse possível revelar o grau de influência sobre os valores dos parâmetros, quando ele existir. Assim, prosseguimos com mais uma etapa de simulações, em que geramos comunidades cujos valores de parâmetros tinham uma relação linear com a área dos fragmentos. O que encontramos é que independente da igualdade ou desigualdade de capturabilidade das espécies, quando o efeito existe, ele é sempre detectado, porém dependendo do grau de diferença de probabilidade de captura das espécies, o efeito pode ser subestimado. E, na ausência de efeito, ele pode ser falsamente detectado, dependendo do grau de heterogeneidade de probabilidades de captura entre as espécies, mas sempre com estimativas bem baixas para o efeito inexistente. Com esses resultados então, pudemos quantificar os tipos de efeitos da heterogeneidade de probabilidades de captura e prosseguir com as análises dos efeitos de fragmentação. O que nossos resultados mostraram é que na paisagem com 10% de cobertura vegetal, a área parece influenciar a diversidade dos fragmentos mais que o isolamento, e que na paisagem de 50% de cobertura vegetal, a variável de isolamento se torna mais importante que a área para explicar os dados. Porém, em uma interpretação mais parcimoniosa, consideramos as estimativas dos efeitos muito baixas para considerar que ele de fato existia. Com isso, concluímos que o processo de fragmentação provavelmente não tem efeito sobre a hierarquia de abundância das espécies, e é independente da porcentagem de cobertura vegetal da paisagem. Contudo, em uma descrição do número de capturas de cada espécie nos fragmentos, ponderada pelo número de capturas amostrado em áreas contínuas adjacentes, revelaram que o tamanho do fragmento pode ser importante na determinação de quais espécies serão extintas ou beneficiadas e que talvez a qualidade da matriz seja decisiva para a manutenção de espécies altamente sensíveis em fragmentos pequenos. Assim, demonstramos que, embora as SADs sejam pouco afetadas pela fragmentação, a posição das espécies na hierarquia de abundâncias pode mudar muito, o que reflete as diferenças de sensibilidade das espécies a área e isolamento dos fragmentos.
Species abundance distribution (SADs) had an important role in community ecology, revealing one of the most well established pattern in ecology, which is the high dominance by just a few species. This pattern stimulated the proposal of innumerous theoretical models in an attempt to explain the ecological mechanism which could generate it. However these models can also be a descriptor of the communities and their parameters synthetic measures of diversity. Such parameters can be used as response variables to environmental impact affecting communities. Adopting this approach our objective was to compare bird communities through areas of different levels of fragmentation, using as response variable the estimates of α, the parameter of Fishers logseries. Considering the implicit assumption of equal capture probabilities among species in SAD models we also investigated the degree of sensibility of the models when this assumption is disrespected, once it seems so unrealistic. Thus simulating communities in which species had equal and different capture probabilities among them we found that increases in the degrees of heterogeneity in species catchability lead to a gain in biases on the model selection and parameters estimations. Additionally, since our goal in this study was identify some factors that may influence the diversity in communities, even with the biases, if they were constant, maybe it was still possible to test the relation. In this context we proceed to another stage of simulations, where we generate communities whose parameter values had a linear relationship with remnant area. What we find is that regardless of equal or unequal in catchability of species, when the effect exists, it is always detected, but depending on the degree of difference in probability of catching the species, the effect may be underestimated. Further, in the absence of effect, it can be falsely detected, depending on the degree of heterogeneity of capture probabilities among species, but always with very low estimates for the effect non-existent. With these results, we could quantify the types of effects of heterogeneity on capture probabilities and proceed with the analysis of the effects of fragmentation. What we showed is that the landscape with 10% vegetation cover, the fragment area appears to influence the diversity of the fragments rather than isolation, and landscape in 50% of plant cover, the isolation variable becomes more important than area to explain the data. But in a more parsimonious interpretation, we consider the estimated of the effects too low to consider that they actually exist. Therefore, we conclude that the fragmentation process probably has no effect on the hierarchy of species abundance. However, in a description of the number of captures of each species in the fragments, weighted by the number of catches sampled in continuous adjacent areas revealed that the fragment size may be important in determining which species will be extinct or benefit and that perhaps the quality of matrix is decisive for the maintenance of highly sensitive species in small fragments. Thus, we demonstrated that while the SAD are not significantly affected by fragmentation, the position in the hierarchy of species abundances can change a lot, which reflects the different sensitivity of species to area and isolation in the fragments.

Increased afforestation and protective legislation in the latter half of the 20th Century allowed the British pine marten Martes martes population to recover from near extinction. Although still largely confined to northern Scotland, the marten population is expanding its size and range by utlising coniferous plantation forests which have become increasingly available. However, little is known about the marten’s ecology in plantation forestry, and less about how they may adapt to changing silvicultural trends. This study investigated aspects of pine marten ecology within Morangie forest, a managed plantation in NE Scotland, with the ultimate aim of formulating management guidelines for modern plantation forests. During the course of the study 11 pine marten were radiotracked and their home ranges mapped to examine marten-habitat associations at several spatial scales. Compositional analysis of habitat based on dominant vegetation type showed that martens established their home ranges in areas dominated by mature forest, whilst showing relative avoidance for open heath moor and grazed pasture. Within home ranges, foraging martens utilised patches of graminoid vegetation, such as those typically associated with Microtus voles, in areas with little or no tree canopy cover. These findings provide unequivocal evidence that fine-scale patches of non-forested habitat provide crucial foraging resources for marten, and therefore ought to be provisioned for in forest management plans. To assist the implementation of these requirements in forest planning, a model was developed to predict the fine scale distribution of Microtus-rich foraging habitat for marten using GIS-based habitat variables that are routinely available to forest managers: topographic wetness index, stand tree height and stand basal area. Management recommendations of ways to improve wind-firm plantation forests as habitats for pine marten are provided. To augment the investigation of marten spatial ecology, the diet of martens was examined seasonally through the analysis of contents from c. 2450 scats, 86 % of which were genetically identified as being pine marten in origin. Marten diets displayed marked seasonality, but small mammals, berries and small birds were the principal foods consumed based on both frequency of occurrence and estimated weight of biomass ingested. Comparison of the relative composition of small mammal species in the diet with those available in the environment revealed that marten displayed an indisputable preference for Microtus voles. Such habits demonstrate that the niche of Scottish martens has diverged from those in mainland populations which predominantly prey upon Clethrionomys voles. A comparison of the marten’s winter diet with those found in studies at similar latitudes (58°N) demonstrated that the Scottish diet was more similar to diets at more southerly latitudes as they contained more fruit and fewer large mammals than typically boreal diets. Investigation of inter-annual variation of the marten’s spring diet from five successive years revealed that Microtus were consistently the most important prey species in the diet each year. Indirect evidence of the relative abundance of Microtus suggested that Microtus populations were non-cyclic. Findings are discussed with reference to the unique ecological circumstances confronting marten in the Scotland; typical of insular populations the UK has a depauperate native fauna in comparison with mainland Europe, in addition to this, mild climatic conditions, particularly over winter, and a historically fragmented landscape appear to have allowed the niche of the Scottish marten to diverge from that considered typical elsewhere in its range. The Scottish marten is dependent on both forested and open habitats, and is both a Microtus specialist and trophic generalist.

Despite over seven decades of speciation research and 25 years of phylogeographic studies, a comprehensive understanding of mechanisms that generate biological species remains elusive. In temperate zones, the pervasiveness of range fragmentation and subsequent range expansions suggests that secondary contact between diverging lineages may be important in the evolution of species. Thus, such contact zones provide compelling opportunities to investigate evolutionary processes, particularly the roles of geographical isolation in initiating, and indirect selection against hybrids in completing (reinforcement), the evolution of reproductive isolation and speciation. The spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer) has six well-supported mitochondrial lineages many of which are now in secondary contact. Here I investigate the evolutionary consequences of secondary contact of two such lineages (Eastern and Interior) in Southwestern Ontario using genetic, morphological, acoustical, experimental, and behavioural evidence to show accentuated divergence of the mate recognition system in sympatry. Mitochondrial and microsatellite data distinguish these two lineages but also show ongoing hybridization. Bayesian assignment tests and cline analysis imply asymmetrical introgression of Eastern lineage nuclear markers into Interior populations. Male calls are divergent between Eastern and Interior allopatric populations and show asymmetrical reproductive character displacement in sympatry. Female preference of pure lineage individuals is also exaggerated in sympatry, with hybrids showing intermediate traits and preference. I suggest that these patterns are most consistent with secondary reinforcement. I assessed levels of post-zygotic isolation between the Eastern and Interior lineages using a laboratory hybridization experiment. Hybrid tadpoles showed equal to or greater fitness than their pure lineage counterparts, but this may be countered through competition. More deformities and developmental anomalies in hybrid tadpoles further suggest post-zygotic isolation. Despite evidence for pre-mating isolation between the two lineages, isolation appears incomplete (i.e. hybridization is ongoing). I hypothesize that potentially less attractive hybrids may circumvent female choice by adopting satellite behaviour. Although mating tactics are related to body size, genetic status may play a role. I show that pure Eastern males almost always engage in calling, while hybrids adopt a satellite tactic. An absence of assortative mating, despite evidence of female preference, suggests successful satellite interception possibly facilitating introgression.
Thesis (Ph.D, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2013-03-04 16:01:33.892

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1999.
Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 58-77).

Modern architectures support multiple size pages to facilitate applications that use large chunks of contiguous memory either for buffer allocation, application specific memory management, in-memory caching or garbage collection. Most general purpose processors support larger page sizes, for e.g. x86 architecture supports 2MB and 1GB pages while PowerPC architecture supports 64KB, 16MB, 16GB pages. Such larger size pages are also known as superpages or huge pages. With the help of huge pages TLB reach can be increased significantly. The Linux kernel can transparently use these huge pages to significantly bring down the cost of TLB translations. With Transparent Huge Pages (THP) support in Linux kernel the end users or the application developers need not make any change to their application. Memory fragmentation which has been one of the classical problems in computing systems for decades is a key problem for the allocation of huge pages. Ubiquitous huge page support across architectures makes effective fragmentation management even more critical for modern systems. Applications tend to stress system TLB in the absence of huge pages, for virtual to physical address translation, which adversely affects performance/energy characteristics in long running systems. Since most kernel pages tend to be unmovable, fragmentation created due to their misplacement is more problematic and nearly impossible to recover with memory compaction. In this work, we explore physical memory manager of Linux and the interaction of kernel page placement with fragmentation avoidance and recovery mechanisms. Our analysis reveals that not only a random kernel page layout thwarts the progress of memory compaction; it can actually induce more fragmentation in the system. To address this problem, we propose a new allocator which takes special care for the placement of kernel pages. We propose a new region which represents memory area having kernel as well as user pages. Using this new region we introduce a staged allocator which with change in fragmentation level adapts and optimizes the kernel page placement. Later we introduce Illuminator which with zero overhead outperforms default kernel in terms of huge page allocation success rate and compaction overhead with respect to each huge page. We also show that huge page allocation is not a one dimensional problem but a two fold concern with how the fragmentation recovery mechanism may potentially interfere with the page clustering policy of allocator and worsen the fragmentation. Our results show that with effective kernel page placements the mixed page block counts reduces upto 70%, which allows our system to allocate 3x-4x huge pages than the default Kernel. Using these additional huge pages we show up to 38% improvement in terms of energy consumed and reduction in execution time up to 39% on standard benchmarks.