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Landscape Ecology And Conservation Of Freshwater Turtles Across The Eastern United States, H. Patrick Roberts Aug 2023

Landscape Ecology And Conservation Of Freshwater Turtles Across The Eastern United States, H. Patrick Roberts

Doctoral Dissertations

Space use and movement patterns are integral to population dynamics and are often indicative of vulnerability to anthropogenic threats. Spatial ecology research can be fundamental to conservation strategies but is largely biased toward short-term intra- and interannual patterns. Without an understanding of space use over temporal scales commensurate with lifespan and the processes that may influence movement, conservation tools derived from short-term (2–4 yrs) movement patterns may be misguided or ineffective, particularly for long-lived species. The goal of Chapter 1 was to characterize the long-term (multi-decadal) spatial ecology of three long-lived (80–110 yrs) turtle species. We revisited six areas where …


Trait Variation And Long-Term Population Dynamics Of The Invasive Alliaria Petiolata (Garlic Mustard) Across Three Microhabitats In Its Invaded Range, Laura Hancock Feb 2021

Trait Variation And Long-Term Population Dynamics Of The Invasive Alliaria Petiolata (Garlic Mustard) Across Three Microhabitats In Its Invaded Range, Laura Hancock

Masters Theses

Long-term population dynamics across heterogeneous environments can be a major factor in determining species’ ability to expand their ranges and persist in novel environments. Whether and how the relative performance of populations in different microsites over time impacts invasion into new microsites is poorly understood. Though largely restricted to disturbed semi-shaded microhabitats in its home range, the invasive herb Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) successfully invades intact forest understories – a novel microhabitat – in its introduced range, where it is known to impact above and below ground community composition. To test the hypothesis that source-sink metapopulation dynamics may be promoting …


Integrated Modeling Of Land Use And Climate Change Impacts On Multiscale Ecosystems Of Central African Watersheds, Simon Nampindo Nov 2014

Integrated Modeling Of Land Use And Climate Change Impacts On Multiscale Ecosystems Of Central African Watersheds, Simon Nampindo

Doctoral Dissertations

Assessment and management of ecosystem services demands diverse knowledge of the system components. Land use change occurring mainly through deforestation, expansion of agriculture and unregulated extraction of natural resources are the greatest challenges of the Congo basin and yet is central to supporting over 100 million people. This study undertook to implement an integrated modeling of multiscale ecosystems of central African watersheds and model the impact of anthropogenic factors on elephant population in Greater Virunga landscape. The study was conducted at varied scales, regional, landscape, and community. Regional study included watershed analysis and hydrological assessment using remotely sensed data implemented …