Life Sciences Commons^™

Costs Of Protected Areas In The United States, Diane Lebouille

Doctoral Dissertations

Protected areas, or land owned in fee by agencies and non-profits to further conservation goals, have traditionally been the go-to choice for conservation interests. The UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre estimates that, currently, close to 15% of all terrestrial and inland water areas are protected. This figure falls short of the Aichi Biodiversity Target of 17% in 2020, that was added to the Convention on Biological Diversity by its 196 signatories in 2010. But as the Convention prepares to set new post-2020 targets, this percentage is expected to keep increasing. Although acquiring a parcel of land is only one …

Identifying Extinction Risk Patterns In Pollination Networks And Conservation Planning To Reduce The Cost Of Management-Necessitated Travel, Christine Elise Dumoulin

Doctoral Dissertations

Extinction rates are currently far above background levels, as a result of human activity. Although conservation spending is substantial, there is a shortfall between the cost of meeting biodiversity targets and the resources available to do so. Consequently, decision-makers are faced with the task of identifying which taxonomic groups and geographical regions are of greatest concern, and prioritizing approaches with the greatest conservation benefit. In this dissertation, I develop novel approaches in both of these areas.

First, I take a stochastic, community dynamic approach to modeling extinction risk patterns in pollination networks. Despite the ecological and agricultural importance of pollination …

Regional Assessment Of The Relationships Of Conservation Practices To Northern Bobwhite And Other Priority Grassland Bird Breeding Populations, Christopher Manuel Lituma

Doctoral Dissertations

I documented populations of Northern Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) and other priority grassland and early successional birds in the Central Hardwoods Bird Conservation Region (CHBCR), and determined whether conservation practices have been effective in positively impacting species occupancy and abundance. I designed and implemented a roadside survey by randomly locating five 15-km routes with 5-min unlimited distance point counts (30 counts/route), along secondary roads within Northern Bobwhite focal counties (n = 37) in the CHBCR. I also developed a survey to assess roadside biases for estimates of relative abundance (a), occupancy (ψ), detection probability (p), and associated …

Pelagic Larval Duration Links Life History Traits And Species Persistence In Darters (Percidae: Etheostomatinae), Morgan Jessica Douglas

Masters Theses

Pelagic larval duration (PLD) likely influences evolutionary processes including dispersal, genetic connectivity, and extinction in aquatic organisms. PLD has been well studied in marine systems, but very few freshwater species have been studied. Darters are a diverse group of freshwater North American fish with available information on the length of this stage from propagation efforts. There is surprising variation in the length of this stage ranging from 0 to 60 days. By compiling information from Conservations Fisheries, Inc. (Knoxville, TN) and the literature, we were able to make comparisons between the PLD of 23 species and other life history characteristics. …

Federal Conservation Spending Allocated By Agency, Emily Clare Manneschmidt

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

Steps Toward Butternut (Juglans Cinerea L.) Restoration, Sunshine L. Brosi

Doctoral Dissertations

Butternut (Juglans cinerea L.), a lesser-known relative of black walnut (Juglans nigra L.), is a native tree species beneficial for wildlife, valuable for timber, and part of the great diversity of species in the eastern forests of North America. Populations of butternut are being devastated by butternut canker disease, caused by the fungus Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum (V.M.G. Nair, Kostichka, & Kuntz), which is thought to be introduced to North America. The disease causes multiple branch and stem cankers that eventually girdle trees. Small population sizes, lack of sprouting, and shade intolerance exacerbates the disease and results in permanent losses of butternut …