Biodiversity Commons^™

Integrating, Developing, And Testing Methods To Generate More Cohesive Approaches To Biogeographic Inference, Mallory Elizabeth Eckstut

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

As a fundamental component of the developing discipline of conservation biogeography, broadscale analyses of biotic assembly and disassembly across multiple temporal and spatial scales provide an enhanced understanding of how geologic transformations and climate oscillations have shaped extant patterns of biodiversity. As with any scientific field, there are limitations in the case of biogeographic historical reconstructions. Historical reconstructions are only as robust as the theoretical underpinnings of the methods of reconstruction (including data collection, quality, analysis, and interpretation). Nevertheless, historical reconstructions of species distributions can help inform our understanding of how species respond to environmental change.

My dissertation takes a …

A Study Of The Spatial Dynamics Of Some Introduced Avian Species In The Southwest Region Of Western Australia, Desiree L. Moon

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

The Southwest region of Western Australia is a recognised ‘biodiversity hotspot’, as it possesses high levels of biodiversity and endemism; it also holds a number of species threatened by habitat loss. The arrival of Europeans in the region wrought major changes on the natural landscape. Extensive tracts of bushland were cleared for housing, infrastructure, forestry, farming, and mining. Another challenge to regional biodiversity was the spread of exotic plants and animals (including birds); the latter provide the focus for the present study. The research examines four bird species that colonised the Southwest region following European settlement: Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis …