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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Effects Of Environmental And Anthropogenic Factors On The Range Contraction Of Bird And Mammal Species, Patrice M. Betz
Effects Of Environmental And Anthropogenic Factors On The Range Contraction Of Bird And Mammal Species, Patrice M. Betz
Master's Theses
The largest contributor to biodiversity loss is habitat destruction caused by humans. A common consequence of habitat destruction is a reduction in the geographic range of a species. Little research has been done to separate the contribution of anthropogenic and environmental variables to the extinction or persistence of species that have experienced range contraction. In this thesis, I examined the relative effects of several variables (elevation, mean annual precipitation, mean annual temperature, human population density, distance from roads, and proportion of land converted to built-up land, cropland, and rangeland) on the geographic ranges of declining bird and mammal species from …
Effect Of Grain, Region, And Human Influence On Higher Taxonomic Surrogacy, Frances Owen
Effect Of Grain, Region, And Human Influence On Higher Taxonomic Surrogacy, Frances Owen
Master's Theses
Surrogacy is a common tool within conservation and can be useful when scientists lack detailed knowledge of a system. Higher taxonomic surrogacy is appealing because it can save time and money. However, this technique might vary in effectiveness depending on the taxonomic level, spatial grain, region, and impact by humans. In this thesis I addressed some of the common concerns with higher taxonomic surrogacy using Breeding Bird Atlas data from six states (Colorado, Florida, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington). I compared the coefficients (slopes) of my models rather than the R2 values relied on by other higher taxonomic surrogacy …