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Hartmann, Klaas. "Biodiversity conservation and evolutionary models." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Mathematics and Statistics, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/1776.
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Biodiversity conservation requires a framework for prioritising limited resources to the many endangered species. One such framework that has seen much attention and is considered extensively in this thesis, is the Noah's Ark Problem (NAP). The NAP combines a biodiversity measure (Phylogenetic Diversity; PD) with species survival probabilities and conservation costs. The aim of the NAP is to allocate the limited conservation resources such that the future expected PD is maximised. Obtaining optimal solutions to the NAP is a computationally complex problem to which several efficient algorithms are provided here. An extension to the NAP is also developed which allows uncertainty about the survival probability estimates to be included. Using this extension we show that the NAP is robust to uncertainty in these parameters and that even very poor estimates are beneficial. To justify using or promoting PD, it must produce a significant increase in the amount of biodiversity that is preserved. We show that the increase attainable from the NAP is typically around 20% but may be as high as 150%. An alternative approach to PD and the NAP is to prioritise species using simple species specific indices. The benefit of these indices is that they are easy to calculate, explain and integrate into existing management frameworks. Here we investigate the use of such indices and show that they provide between 60% and 80% of the gains obtainable using PD. To explore the expected behaviours of conservation methods (such as the NAP) a distribution of phylogenetics trees is required. Evolutionary models describe the diversification process by which a single species gives rise to multiple species. Such models induce a probability distribution on trees and can therefore be used to investigate the expected behaviour of conservation methods. Even simple and widely used models, such as the Yule model, remain poorly understood. In this thesis we present some new analytic results and methods for sampling trees from a broad range of evolutionary models. Lastly we introduce a new model that provides a simple biological explanation for a long standing discrepancy between models and trees derived from real data -- the tree balance distribution.
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Echeverria, Hugo. "Biodiversity conservation and state sovereignty." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=99135.
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This thesis examines the influence of contemporary approaches to biodiversity conservation on conceptions of state sovereignty over natural resources. Traditional approaches to state sovereignty have emphasized the right of states to exploit natural resources. Contemporary approaches to biodiversity conservation, however, have given rise to a more flexible and dynamic understanding of state sovereignty over natural resources: one encompassing sovereign rights of exploitation along with corresponding conservation responsibilities. Founded upon this premise, the thesis focuses on the emergence of a 'balanced' approach to state sovereignty over natural resources and examines its effects on the role of states in managing natural resources. While addressing it as the basis of the emergence of the recognition of a duty of environmental protection, inter alia, in the form of biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of biological resources, the author suggests that the balanced approach to state sovereignty has been instrumental in redefining the role of states, and the role of the sovereignty principle itself in achieving the goal of biodiversity conservation.
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Clement, Sarah. "Institutions, misfits, and biodiversity conservation." Thesis, Clement, Sarah (2015) Institutions, misfits, and biodiversity conservation. PhD thesis, Murdoch University, 2015. https://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/29098/.
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Institutions have a critical role to play in global efforts to halt biodiversity decline, but they need to be fit-for-purpose. Adaptive governance has been positioned as a model to improve fit, as it endorses decision-making institutions that foster learning, experimentation, and responsiveness to local conditions; all of which are necessary to cope with the inherent uncertainty and complexity of biodiversity conservation. Implementing adaptive governance in practice has been slow; however, as its recommendations are often at odds with the structure and function of current institutional arrangements, and in particular fail to consider the limitations of state agencies.
This research develops and applies an original conceptual framework for diagnosing and designing adaptive biodiversity institutions that considers these conflicting demands. The framework integrates adaptive governance concepts with insights from institutional theory and pragmatism, especially from literatures on organisational environments and public administration. The framework is then applied to assess how institutions enable and constrain landscape-scale biodiversity conservation in two contrasting regions in Australia: 1) the Tasmanian Midlands, a privately owned agricultural valley, and 2) the Australian Alps, largely consisting of publicly owned mountainous protected areas. The results are used to develop two sets of potential governance reforms for each region.
Analysis of the biodiversity conservation institutions in the Tasmanian Midlands identified four fit issues: framing, interplay, power and authority, and self-organising. These fit issues are amplified by the failure of institutions to adequately address biodiversity in a multifunctional, privately owned landscape where novel ecosystems are likely to emerge. Reforms focus on enhancing ecosystem functionality within a ‘working landscape’, building on self-organising efforts while collaborating with a broader suite of stakeholders, and strengthening capacity to buffer key political and ecological drivers.
Institutional diagnosis in the Australian Alps revealed the interlinked issues of administrative competence, buffering, and power and authority, all of which constrain adaptive capacity, especially learning and response to cross-border threats to biodiversity. Reforms focus on enhancing cross-border collaboration, broadening accountability measures, building capacity to buffer socio-political influences, and devolving discretion to appropriate levels within protected area agencies.
This research contributes to scholarship in three important ways. First, it develops and applies a tool to diagnose and design adaptive biodiversity institutions that considers both the constraints and opportunities of institutional environments. Second, it demonstrates how insights from pragmatism – especially the idea that change can scaffold on current competencies – are able to inform an approach for designing institutional reforms that addresses current shortcomings in adaptive governance approaches. Both are especially relevant for public agencies, which retain a high degree of responsibility for biodiversity conservation and thus play an essential role in addressing this policy problem. Finally, it advances institutional scholarship by providing a systematic, context-driven approach to analysis that bridges two divergent schools of thought: rational choice and discursive institutionalism.
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Sporne, Ilva. "Institutional Dimension of Biodiversity Conservation." Thesis, Griffith University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10072/367591.
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This thesis makes a contribution to the growing body of literature examining the institutional dimension of human-environment interactions. It has been guided by an interest in the problem of loss of terrestrial biodiversity in the state of Queensland, Australia and its institutional determinants. The study explored two research questions:
• How to conceptualise and evaluate the effectiveness of institutions contributing to the resolution of environmental problems?
• How effective is the Queensland land use planning and development assessment system in achieving biodiversity protection outcomes?
The first part of the study established a theoretical and analytical foundation for the effectiveness assessment of institutional environmental performance, by examining a wide range of theoretical, conceptual and analytical questions regarding the conceptualisation of institutions, their causal role and evaluation. The study was built on an understanding of institutions as systems of rules that structure social interactions, and it defined institutional ‘performance’ as an institutional influence on, or contribution to, the behavioural response of targeted actors. It argued that institutions play a significant role in social interactions, and are an important explanatory factor for many behavioural phenomena.
Building on the literature review, the study established that biodiversity protection is a highly complex and multi-faceted problem. Institutional designs are required to address a range of problem attributes, such as the existing knowledge base, value and incentive systems, distribution of decision-making authorities, and coordination of interactions among a large number of actors. In this context, the study examined two analytical problems. The first was how to approach a large diversity of problem attributes that may contribute to the resolution or creation of complex environmental problems. The second was how to examine diverse and complex institutional designs.Thesis (PhD Doctorate)
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Griffith School of Environment
Science, Environment, Engineering and Technology
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Chester, Charles C. "Biodiversity over the edge : civil society and the protection of transborder regions in northern America /." Thesis, Connect to Dissertations & Theses @ Tufts University, 2002.
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Submitted to the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Thesis (Ph.D.)--Tufts University, 2002.Adviser: William R. Moomaw. Includes bibliographical references. Access restricted to members of the Tufts University community. Also available via the World Wide Web;
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Maass, Petra. "The cultural context of biodiversity conservation." Doctoral thesis, Göttingen Univ.-Verl. Göttingen, 2007. http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-1735-0000-000D-F23A-C.
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Buchanan, Karen Sarah. "Contested copper extraction & biodiversity conservation." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2008. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/1444123/.
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Competition over the future development of natural resources, especially biodiversity and land, and valuable mineralised deposits beneath, lies at the root of a conflict within farming communities and with a transnational mining company in Ecuador. This qualitative study uses political ecology's theoretical framework to examine compelling development planning themes---land-use conflicts, competing rural development perspectives, local sovereignty over decision making, poverty, unequal power relations, human and environmental rights, biodiversity conservation, and natural resource extraction activities. From a discourse analysis approach, the research goals are to understand and theorise: the environmental and development claim-making process within a contested land-use and development intervention how claim-makers utilise knowledge to construct development and environmental discourses which in turn articulate their opposing claims either supporting a large-scale open cast copper mining-based economy or promoting biodiversity conservation together with ecologically-adapted alternative forms of local economic development to extractive industries how multiscalar discourse coalitions use their claims and counter claims in this dynamic struggle for power to determine which of two competing visions for the future economic development of the Intag valley will prevail how the socio-environmental process of claim-making affects the balance of power between empowered and disempowered claim-makers through the use of discursive claims and finally the impacts of the conflict and the claim-making process on the structure and agency dimension and on the moments of the social process dialectic in terms of material practices, institutions, social relations, beliefs, discourse, knowledge and power. The findings advance understanding of the dialectical social process of claim-making from all sides and levels of a multiscalar socio-environmental conflict arising from the tensions between alternative forms of local economic development which can inform development planning practice and theory and ultimately contribute to the avoidance, reduction, and resolution of resource based conflicts in fast-developing Andean economies and transition economies elsewhere.
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Wragg, Fiona Catherine. "Biodiversity and conservation of African mammals." Thesis, Leeds Beckett University, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.401768.
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Bull, Joseph. "Biodiversity offsets for moving conservation targets." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/24900.
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Conservation is difficult for moving targets, such as migratory species or landscapes subject to environmental change. Biodiversity offsetting is a novel approach that involves active compensation for biodiversity lost through development, with an objective of no net loss of biodiversity overall. In this thesis, I explore the use of biodiversity offsets for moving targets. My case study is the conservation of the migratory saiga antelope Saiga tatarica alongside industry in the Ustyurt plateau, Uzbekistan. Key challenges for offsetting include: specification of an appropriate frame of reference for evaluating no net loss, determination of requisite ecological gains, and the degree of flexibility permitted in biodiversity trades. I use bespoke simulation models to predict whether no net loss of biodiversity can be achieved within various hypothetical frames of reference, i.e. against different socio-ecological baselines and counterfactual scenarios. The reference frame determines the feasibility and effort required in achieving conservation objectives, and I shed light upon those ecosystem dynamics for which offsets may be appropriate. I develop a socio-ecological counterfactual for saigas and their Ustyurt habitat, relying upon satellite imagery and secondary data sets. Even with limited data, it proves possible to develop an instructive counterfactual for intervention. To calculate offset requirements, I first quantify impacts of industrial activity on the Ustyurt. Vegetation impacts are measured, mapped and projected to the landscape scale, and the influence on mobile species such as saigas is considered. Via quantitative comparison, I show that the application of different available offset calculation methodologies to these data - which all purport to achieve no net loss of biodiversity - would result in divergent offset requirements. This implies that offset methodologies should be tailored to specific moving target problems, rather than generalised. Finally, I use conservation planning software to compare the performance of flexible and non-flexible offsets. Zonation is used to model the effect of permitting flexibility in the biological, spatial and temporal constraints placed upon offsetting, and RobOff to assess the optimum return on investment under uncertainty. I find that a mixture of flexible and non-flexible offsets is desirable for conserving moving targets in the Ustyurt. We must give deeper consideration to the dynamic nature of ecosystems when designing conservation interventions. Biodiversity offsets have potential in this regard. To realise the potential, we should specify appropriate frames of reference, tailor metrics, and consider allowing flexible biodiversity trades.
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Pilgrim, John D. "Biodiversity management : application of biodiversity data to inform conservation and industry practice." Thesis, Anglia Ruskin University, 2016. http://arro.anglia.ac.uk/701892/.
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This submission presents a small selection of my publications on a theme – the application of biodiversity data to inform both conservation and industry practice. The published work presented here demonstrates my ability to generate new biodiversity data, to interpret how to apply those data to improve conservation outcomes, and to apply the same biodiversity data in different ways to reduce industry impacts. The core biodiversity data I use are related to species’ distributions and conservation status, as direct indicators of their irreplaceability and vulnerability. This thesis comprises five peer-reviewed journal papers and a double-blind peer-reviewed published report. Several of these are well-cited: the submitted publications have cumulatively received in excess of 500 citations. My submitted publications have extended understanding in my area of specialisation, and had clear impact on scientific and professional practice. This is demonstrated not only by incorporation of these publications’ findings into conservation action and policy, but also by the professional advice that I am regularly sought to give as a recognised authority in my field to leading global companies, financial institutions, conservation donors and non-governmental organisations. My submitted work is the result of collaborations with leaders in my field. It includes the generation of new knowledge that has directly informed applied conservation of highly iii threatened species in Asia. It contains substantial scientific advances, such as an innovative approach I developed to resolve the long-standing and intractable problem of ‘limits to biodiversity offsets’. In some cases, it has had a clear practical impact on conservation – by guiding substantial donor funding towards, and even greater development investment away from, species and sites of highest global significance to conservation. In other cases, it has demonstrated influence on policy at a global level – such as shaping the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s policy on biodiversity offsets.
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Pilgrim, John D. "Biodiversity management: application of biodiversity data to inform conservation and industry practice." Thesis, Anglia Ruskin University, 2016. https://arro.anglia.ac.uk/id/eprint/701892/1/Pilgrim_2016.pdf.
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This submission presents a small selection of my publications on a theme – the application of biodiversity data to inform both conservation and industry practice. The published work presented here demonstrates my ability to generate new biodiversity data, to interpret how to apply those data to improve conservation outcomes, and to apply the same biodiversity data in different ways to reduce industry impacts. The core biodiversity data I use are related to species’ distributions and conservation status, as direct indicators of their irreplaceability and vulnerability.
This thesis comprises five peer-reviewed journal papers and a double-blind peer-reviewed published report. Several of these are well-cited: the submitted publications have cumulatively received in excess of 500 citations.
My submitted publications have extended understanding in my area of specialisation, and had clear impact on scientific and professional practice. This is demonstrated not only by incorporation of these publications’ findings into conservation action and policy, but also by the professional advice that I am regularly sought to give as a recognised authority in my field to leading global companies, financial institutions, conservation donors and non-governmental organisations.
My submitted work is the result of collaborations with leaders in my field. It includes the generation of new knowledge that has directly informed applied conservation of highly
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threatened species in Asia. It contains substantial scientific advances, such as an innovative approach I developed to resolve the long-standing and intractable problem of ‘limits to biodiversity offsets’. In some cases, it has had a clear practical impact on conservation – by guiding substantial donor funding towards, and even greater development investment away from, species and sites of highest global significance to conservation. In other cases, it has demonstrated influence on policy at a global level – such as shaping the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s policy on biodiversity offsets.
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Kerr, Jeremy Thomas. "Biodiversity and conservation across landscapes and regions." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1999. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk2/ftp02/NQ39277.pdf.
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Chu, Wing-hing, and 朱永興. "Conservation of terrestrial biodiversity in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1998. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31215191.
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Chu, Wing-hing. "Conservation of terrestrial biodiversity in Hong Kong /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1998. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B19737439.
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Kelly, Andrew H. H. "The role of local government in the conservation of biodiversity." Wollongong, N.S.W. : University of Wollongong, 2006. http://www.library.uow.edu.au/adt-NWU/public/adt-NWU20050311.094226.
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Nel, Jeanne Lindsay. "Enhancing the conservation of freshwater biodiversity through improved freshwater conservation planning techniques." Doctoral thesis, University of Cape Town, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6145.
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Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references.
Freshwater ecosystems and biota are among the most endangered in the world. This current situation is even more disturbing when future threats of escalating human demand and global climate change are considered. Urgent measures are therefore needed to conserve freshwater ecosystems and sustain the services they provide. These may take the form of formal protection but also need to include less restrictive mechanisms, such as implementing integrated catchment management and environmental water requirements. Systematic conservation planning provides a strategic and scientifically defensible framework for doing this. Pioneered in the terrestrial realm, uptake of systematic conservation planning for freshwater ecosystems has been slow. While broad principles are applicable, approaches need to be freshwaterspecific. The lack of freshwater-specific frameworks and tools is a key factor hampering the application of systematic conservation planning in the freshwater realm. The aim of this thesis was to address this need by developing a suite of frameworks and practical applications for planning in freshwater settings. The development of a framework for the rapid assessment of river ecosystem endangerment and protection levels provided a common currency for comparing the state of biodiversity across terrestrial and aquatic realms. It showed, for the first time, that the state of river ecosystems in South Africa is dire, far worse than that of terrestrial ecosystems. In addition, river ecosystems have very low levels of representation in protected areas, with many not represented at all. A more optimistic finding was that river systems in protected areas appear to be in a better overall condition than those outside of protected areas, emphasizing the potential of protected areas in conserving freshwater ecosystems. Currently, however, protected area systems worldwide show significant gaps in their conservation of freshwater biodiversity. A framework was therefore developed for locating and designing protected area systems for the benefit of river biodiversity. Conservation objectives were established for improving river biodiversity pattern and processes in both new and existing protected areas. These included representation of river ecosystems and freshwater fish species, representation of large-scale biodiversity processes associated with free-flowing rivers and catchment-estuarine linkages, and improving the persistence of river reaches already contained within protected areas. Data were collated in a Geographic Information System (GIS) and a conservation planning algorithm was used as a means of integrating the multiple objectives in a spatially efficient manner. Realistically, protected areas can only play a partial role in overall efforts to conserve freshwater biodiversity and need to be supplemented with other off-reserve conservation strategies. In addition, conservation strategies that focus only on representation of biodiversity in isolated areas are conceptually flawed, especially given the inherent connectivity of freshwater ecosystems. Such conservation strategies need to be augmented with approaches that address the persistence of freshwater biodiversity. A framework for planning for the persistence of freshwater biodiversity was therefore developed, synthesizing concepts from freshwater ecology and terrestrial conservation planning. When considering issues of persistence, making use of a multiple-use zoning strategy is a practical option because it helps to emphasize that different levels of protection, and hence utilization, can be afforded to different conservation areas. This helps to strengthen the linkages between people and conservation, and aligns more closely with planning categories used by water resource managers and land use planners. Planning for both representation and persistence should be achieved simultaneously to maximize spatial efficiency. Several methods of planning for representation and persistence were explored. An existing conservation planning algorithm (MARXAN) was adapted for use in freshwater settings through the incorporation of directional connectivity considerations. When using a conservation planning algorithm, the manner in which spatial efficiency between persistence and representation is achieved depends on whether or not a multiple-use zoning strategy will be applied during design. Given the practicalities of multiple-use zoning at local levels of planning, it is recommended that zones should be used in the design phase, rather than merely allocated at the end once the design is complete. In summary, research and practice in conservation has tended to focus on terrestrial biodiversity; while water resources management has tended to have a more utilitarian focus. It is high time to elevate freshwater biodiversity concerns on the agendas of both these sectors. By developing common conservation frameworks around which the water and conservation sector can engage and debate, this thesis attempts to enhance the integration of freshwater biodiversity concerns into both these sectors.
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Gurung, Ghana S. "Reconciling biodiversity conservation priorities with livelihood needs in Kangchenjunga conservation area, Nepal /." Zurich : University of Zurich, departement of geography, division of human geography, 2006. http://opac.nebis.ch:80/F/?func=service&doc_library=EBI01&doc_number=005288202&line_number=0002&func_code=WEB-FULL&service_type=MEDIA.
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Songsakul, Thitima. "Problems in contracting for biodiversity use and conservation." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 2001. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk3/ftp04/NQ59536.pdf.
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Perhans, Karin. "Cost-efficient conservation strategies for boreal forest biodiversity /." Uppsala, Sweden : Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2008. http://diss-epsilon.slu.se/archive/00001772/.
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Thesis (doctoral)--Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 2008.Thesis documentation sheet inserted. Includes appendix of reprints of five papers and manuscripts co-authored with others. Includes bibliographical references. Also partially issued electronically via World Wide Web in PDF format; online version lacks appendix of papers.
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Franks, Erin. "Incentivizing Biodiversity Conservation: The Ecological ICMS in Brazil." Scholarship @ Claremont, 2012. http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cmc_theses/377.
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This study evaluates the effectiveness of the ecological ICMS (ICMS-e) in the Brazilian Amazon, an intragovernmental transfer for incentivizing biodiversity conservation. Tax funds are passed from state governments to municipalities in proportion to the amount of protected area within their borders; biological reserves, sustainable use areas, and indigenous lands are all considered. Econometric analysis using a fixed effects model found that the policy had little positive effect on increasing protected areas compared to the significant negative influence of poor land tenure, agricultural influences, and lack of monitoring for illegal deforestation. However, the policy may increase municipal governments' acceptance of and support for protected areas, especially if combined with institutional support.
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Means, Jackson C. "Biodiversity, conservation and mimicry rings of Appalachian millipedes." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/99341.
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The Appalachian Mountains contain some of the highest millipede diversity on the planet, including many endemic and range-restricted species. Millipedes have extremely low dispersal capacity, strict environmental requirements for survival and, in the case of the family Xystodesmidae, are completely blind. Coupled with the complex topology of the Appalachians, xystodesmid millipedes have speciated in the eastern United States to a greater degree than in any other region. Many of the taxonomic relationships within the Xystodesmidae remain to be tested using modern molecular techniques, and numerous species await description. The subtribe Nannariina, for example, contains 3 genera and 19 species, yet evidence suggests the tribe may actually contain over 100 species. Traditional taxonomic work has been hindered by a paucity of researchers in the field, and a necessary reliance on morphological characters for species delimitation. The external male genitalia, known as gonopods, are the structures which have most often been used to define species boundaries. However, in many groups, including the Xystodesmidae, the gonopods are extremely simple, making it difficult to discern whether similarity between gonopods is a result of shared ancestry or morphological convergence. Further complicating matters, somatic characters are often uniform between species, and some obvious phenotypes, such as color pattern and hue, are shared between genera in aposematic mimicry rings. Leading to the formation of mimicry rings between distantly related genera, their bright coloration functions to advertise a cyanide-based defense. Some species have been recorded as having six color patterns, each a member of a different mimicry rings. The factors which drive some taxa to participate in mimicry rings, while others have a myriad of hues and patterns, unmatched by other species, are unknown. Here I investigate the phylogenetic relationships between the tribes and genera of the Xystodesmidae, with the aims of (1) understanding the role of homoplasy within the Xystodesmidae, (2) delineating tribal and generic boundaries within the family, (3) describing species in the genus Nannaria for the purposes of revising the subtribe Nannariina, and (4) investigating mimicry and color variability through a detailed color atlas for North American Xystodesmidae. I found that 95% of the morphological characters traditionally used in xystodesmid taxonomy are homoplasious (HI > 0.5), delineated the Apheloriini, Appalachioria and Sigmoria, described 34 new Nannaria species, and created a color and mimicry dataset of 956 Xystodesmidae for use in future studies of color variability.PHD
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Cranston, Kayla A. Cranston. "Building & Measuring Psychological Capacity for Biodiversity Conservation." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2016. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1472034188.
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Ferreira, Eduardo Manuel Silva Loureiro Alves. "Biodiversity and conservation of the middle-Araguaia herpetofauna." Doctoral thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/4266.
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Doutoramento em BiologiaA conservação da biodiversidade nunca foi uma assunto tão popular como nas últimas décadas, mas esta popularidade crescente é devida à pior das razões: o passo acelerado da extinção de espécies e habitats. Os ecossistemas tropicais são, ao mesmo tempo, os mais diversos e os mais ameaçados, em parte porque muitos países destas regiões emergem ainda de situações de instabilidade social, económica e política. O Brasil é o maior país Neotropical, onde se encontram alguns dos biomas com maior diversidade e mais ameaçados do planeta. Actualmente, é também um país líder ao nível da planificação e implementação de medidas de conservação da biodiversidade. Vários dos biomas tropicais mais diversos e ameaçados encontram-se em território brasileiro. Dois destes biomas, a Amazónia e o Cerrado, convergem numa região ecotonal sujeita a uma elevada pressão humana, conhecida como o arco do desmatamento. O Araguaia, um dos maiores rios do Brasil, corre ao longo desta paisagem e os efeitos do desmatamento são já evidentes em toda a sua bacia. Por causa do acelerado ritmo de degradação deste ecossistema, torna-se urgente obter uma imagem clara da biodiversidade regional e compreender como e se a estratégia de conservação para esta região é capaz de lidar com as correntes ameaças e alcançar o seu objectivo a longo prazo: conservar a biota regional. Tendo a herpetofauna como grupo-alvo, os nossos objectivos principais foram: aumentar o conhecimento das comunidades de anfíbios e répteis squamata da região do curso médio do Rio Araguaia; compreender a importância deste rio nos padrões intraespecíficos de estrutura e diversidade genética para diferentes espécies com diferentes características ecológicas; avaliar o potencial de diferentes metodologias para o estudo e monitorização da herpetofauna regional. Os nossos resultados revelam que a amostragem continuada e o uso de diferentes técnicas são essenciais para a obtenção de uma imagem precisa da diversidade da herpetofauna local. As comunidades locais de anfíbios e lagartos apresentaram maior riqueza específica na Área de Protecção Ambiental Bananal/Cantão (APABC), uma área tampão, do no Parque Estadual do Cantão (PEC), uma área de conservação estrita. A APABC é caracterizada por uma maior heterogeneidade de habitats e os nosso resultados corroboram a teoria da heterogeneidade espacial e resultados recentes que revelam uma maior diversidade de lagartos nas zonas interfluviais do Cerrado, do que nas matas de galeria. Os resultados aqui apresentados não corroboram a hipótese de que os ecótonos apresentam maior diversidade do que os biomas em redor. Os nossos resultados revelaram ainda que o Rio Araguaia afecta de forma diferente a estrutura genética de várias espécies de anfíbios e lagartos. Estas diferenças poderão estar relacionadas com a ecologia das espécies, nomeadamente com o uso de diferentes habitats, a vagilidade, ou a estratégia alimentar. Sugerimos que a gestão integração de diferentes unidades de conservação, com diferentes estatutos, podem ajudar a preservar melhor a biota regional.
Biodiversity conservation has never been such a popular matter as in the last decades, but this increasing popularity is due to the worst reason: the fast pace of extinction of species and habitats. Tropical ecosystems are both the most diverse and most threatened, in part because many countries from these regions are now emerging from decades of social, economic and political instability. Brazil is the largest country in the Neotropics and one of the world’s megadiverse countries. Nowadays, it is also a leading country in terms of planning and implementing biodiversity conservation measures. Brazil harbors several of the most diverse and threatened tropical biomes. Two of them, Amazonia and Cerrado, converge in an ecotonal region subjected to high human pressure, known as the deforestation arc. Araguaia, one of the largest Brazilian rivers, runs along this landscape and the effects of deforestation are already evident throughout its basin. Because of the fast pace of degradation in this ecosystem, it becomes urgent to get a clear picture of the regional biodiversity and understand how and if the conservation strategy for the region is able to cope with the current threats and accomplish its long-term objectives of preserving the regional biota. Having herpetofauna as the target group, our main goals are: to improve the knowledge on the amphibian and lizard assemblages in the region of the middle Araguaia River; to understand the intra-specific patterns of genetic structure and diversity for different species with different ecological features; to assess the potential of different methodologies for the study and monitoring of the regional herpetofauna. Our results revealed that continued sampling and the use of several techniques are essential to achieve an accurate picture of the diversity of the local herpetofauna. The local lizard and amphibian assemblages presented higher species richness in the Área de Protecção Ambiental do Bananal/Cantão (APABC), a buffer area, than in Parque Estadual do Cantão (PEC), a strict conservation area. APABC is characterized by an higher habitat heterogeneity and our results corroborate the theory of spatial heterogeneity, as well as the conclusions of recent studies that reveal a higher diversity of lizards in the interfluvial áreas of Cerrado, than in gallery forest. The results here presented do not corroborate the hypothesis that ecotones present greater diversity than the surrounding areas. Our results also reveal that River Araguaia differently affects the genetic structure of several species of amphibians and lizards. These differences might be related with species ecology, namely with the use of different habitats, vagility or feeding strategy. We suggest that integrated management of different conservation units, with different conservation statuses might help to better preserve the regional biota.
FCT - SFRH/BD/23191/2005
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Routson, Rafael Joan. "Conservation of Agro-biodiversity in Baja California Oases." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/228179.
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Agro-biodiversity in the desert oases of Baja California, Mexico is a product of isolation and integration through time and across the various spaces of the peninsula. The oases hold heirloom perennial crop species first introduced by Jesuit missionaries (1697-1768) and represent geographies of historical dissemination. I selected fifteen Jesuit mission oases and surveyed the oasis gardens for species richness and abundance. To understand the cultural, political and economic forces that create these patterns of persistence within the oases, I conducted interviews on farming system practices, geographical remoteness, market integration, land tenure, tourism, protected area status and cultural practices. In all, I surveyed 241 gardens and documented eighty-nine total perennial crop species. Historical records in 1774 describe twenty-one perennial crop species in cultivation after the Jesuit expulsion. I calculated species-area relationships and rank-abundance for total perennial and mission crop species in each oasis and inventory comparisons for those oases with quantitative historical data to analyze retention of historic mission species. A high persistence of mission species indicates that oases serve as agro-biodiversity refugia, or protected source areas for agricultural species. These mission-oases act as a network of interconnected sites that are also isolated from one another and the Mexican mainland by the rugged environment, limited transportation infrastructure, and by sea. Within the network, these fifteen oases span a range of small and hours distant from the nearest resource center, to fully urbanized with international ports and airports. I describe how phases and processes of isolation and connectivity shape and transform the agro-biodiversity profiles in this archipelago of peninsula oases.
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Fungomeli, Maria Mashirma <1977>. "Coastal Forests of Kenya-Ecology, Biodiversity & Conservation." Doctoral thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2021. http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/9877/3/Fungomeli_Maria_PhD_Thesis_Coastal_Forests_of%20_Kenya_Final_2021.pdf.
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Aims: the broad objective of this study is to investigate the ecological, biodiversity and conservation status of the coastal forests of Kenya fragments.
The specific aims of the study are:
(1) to investigate current quantitative trends in plant diversity; (2) develop a spatial and standardised vegetation database for the coastal forests Kenya; (3) investigate forest structure, species diversity and composition across the forests; (4) investigate the effect of forest fragment area on plant species diversity; (5) investigate phylogenetic diversity across these coastal remnants (6) assess vulnerability and provide conservation perspectives to concrete policy issues; (7) investigate plant and butterfly diversity correlation.
Methods: I performed various analytical methods including species diversity metrics; multiple regression models for species-area relationship and small island effect; non-metric multidimensional scaling; ANOSIM; PERMANOVA; multiplicative beta diversity partitioning; species accumulation curve and species indicator analysis; statistical tests, rarefaction of species richness; phylogenetic diversity metrics of Phylogenetic diversity index, mean pairwise distance, mean nearest taxon distance, and their null-models: and Co-correspondence analysis.
Results: developed the first large standardised, spatial and geo-referenced vegetation database for coastal forests of Kenya consisting of 600 plant species, across 25 forest fragments using 158 plots subdivided into 3160 subplots, 18 sacred forests and seven forest reserves; species diversity, composition and forest structure was significantly different across forest sites and between forest reserves and sacred forests, higher beta diversity, species-area relationship explained significant variability of plant diversity, small Island effect was not evident; sacred forests exhibited higher phylogenetic diversity compared to forest reserves; the threatened Red List species contributed higher evolutionary history; a strong correlation between plants and butterfly diversity.
Conclusions: This study provides for the first time a standardized and large vegetation data. Results emphasizes need to improve sacred forests protection status and enhance forest connectivity across forest reserves and sacred forests.
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Amin, Ariane Manuela. "Essays on development and biodiversity conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa." Thesis, Clermont-Ferrand 1, 2014. http://www.theses.fr/2014CLF10453/document.
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La présente thèse est composée d’un ensemble de travaux de recherche en économie appliquée qui s’inscrivent dans le champ contemporain de l’économie de la biodiversité. La thèse s’intéresse spécifiquement aux liens entre développement économique, bien-être local et conservation de la biodiversité avec comme zone d’étude l’Afrique subsaharienne. Un chapitre introductif présente les questions de recherche débattues dans cette thèse et situe notre contribution dans la littérature.Le reste de la thèse est composé de deux parties regroupées en études macroéconomiques et en études de terrain. La partie 1 (composé du chapitre 2 et du chapitre 3) aborde le lien biodiversité-développement sous un angle macroéconomique en considérant les interactions spatiales entre pays. Le chapitre 2 examine l’impact du développement en Afrique Subsaharienne sur la biodiversité mesuré à partir d’indicateurs récents sur les espèces menacés. Le chapitre 3 s’intéresse aux mécanismes qui soutiennent les politiques publiques de conservation en Afrique Subsaharienne et teste l’effet du tourisme, de l’aide environnementale et des effets transfrontaliers sur l’effort de conservation. La partie 2 (composé du chapitre 4 et du chapitre 5) présente deux études de cas en Côte d’Ivoire. Le chapitre 4 évalue monétairement les coûts et les bénéfices de la conservation pour les populations locales. Le chapitre 5 examine les préférences des populations pour la conservation et identifie les facteurs clés qui déterminent ces préférences locales. Le chapitre 6 fait une synthèse des résultats en tire les implications en termes de recommandations de politiques et présente de potentielles extensions de la thèseThis thesis is composed of a set of research in applied economics that enroll in the contemporary field of economics of biodiversity. The thesis focuses specifically on the links between economic development, local welfare and biodiversity conservation in sub-Saharan Africa region. An introductory chapter presents the subject of the thesis as well as the research field and situates our contribution.The rest of the thesis is composed of two parts divided into macroeconomic studies and case studies. Part 1 (composed of chapter 2 and chapter 3) addresses the link biodiversity and development under a macroeconomic perspective by taking into account spatial interactions between countries. In chapter 2, we examine the impact of development in sub-Saharan Africa on biodiversity using recent indicators on threatened species. In chapter 3, we focus on the mechanisms that support public conservation policies in Sub-Saharan Africa and tested the effect of tourism, environmental aid and spillover effects on conservation effort. Part 2 (composed of chapter 4 and chapter 5) presents two case studies in Ivory Coast. Chapter 4 presents a cost benefit analysis using contingent valuation and market price method. It evaluates the costs and benefits of conservation for local populations. In chapter 5 we examine people's preferences for conservation and identify key factors that determine local preferences. In the last chapter we draw implications of results and present potential extensions of this thesis
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Arnold, Suzanne N. "Running the Gauntlet to Coral Recruitment through a Sequence of Local Multiscale Processes." Fogler Library, University of Maine, 2007. http://www.library.umaine.edu/theses/pdf/ArnoldSN2007.pdf.
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Kiess, Carolin. "Die Sanierung von Biodiversitätsschäden nach der europäischen Umwelthaftungsrichtlinie." Berlin : Springer, 2008. http://d-nb.info/988332256/04.
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Kartikasari, Sri Nurani. "Your biodiversity in my backyard : key local stakeholders' perceptions of biodiversity conservation in Gorontalo, Indonesia." Lincoln University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10182/1188.
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The establishment of protected areas (PAs) has been the key national strategy in biodiversity conservation, through preserving the unique wildlife and ecosystems in Indonesia. As well as their status as sites rich in biodiversity, PAs are also important for socio-economic interactions. Hence the management of PAs has been fraught with technical, social and economic problems. To ensure greater local participation and support in tropical forest conservation initiatives, it is vital to understand how local stakeholders perceive them. This research was undertaken in Gorontalo Province by examining the views of local stakeholders through a combination of qualitative interviews and quantitative ranking exercises. The findings revealed that respondents only understood the concept of biodiversity on a general level. Most respondents defined biodiversity in terms of its elements; only a few were able to describe the interactional attributes, by which biodiversity functions within the ecosystems. Their appreciation of forest biodiversity was primarily due to economic and ecological benefits they derive from local forests. Accordingly, respondents ranked the provision of ecological services from the forests as the strongest reason for protecting it. Using Wood et al. (2000) analytical framework to examine the root causes of biodiversity loss, the findings indicated respondents’ familiarity with human-induced forces resulting in the degradation and loss of natural forests, and they understood how these affect local biodiversity, both within and beyond the forest. Some critical disconnections between national policy in forest conservation and the reality of the local use of forest resource became apparent. At the core of these disconnections was an unequal share of benefits of such policy to local stakeholders. They identified extraction of species and physical alteration of the forest ecosystem as direct drivers of forest loss; these were perceived as rooted in poverty, institutional failures in forest management, ignorance of the wider forest functions, and conflict of development policies at the local level. The main reason for biodiversity loss can be summed up as widespread and persistent failure to properly understand, quantify, or value the goods, services, functions and capital value of the natural forests, at both national and local levels. Overall, most respondents held negative attitudes towards protected forests and their positive attitudes towards conservation activities were linked with tangible benefits they enjoy from the forest. A key finding of this study is that the conservation of biodiversity cannot be considered in isolation from broader patterns of natural resource use and the socio-political context in which people carry out their lives. This study suggests that the implementation of the centrally-controlled and preservationist conservation approach in Gorontalo has been ineffective in achieving conservation goals. This is due to the lack of a clear connection between this policy and the reality of local forest users.
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Robleño, Moreno Irene. "Fallow lands as a tool for farmland biodiversity conservation." Doctoral thesis, Universitat de Lleida, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/398837.
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Agri-environmental schemes (AES) have been designed to counteract the dramatic decline in farmland biodiversity across Europe driven by agricultural intensification. This study aimed to shed light on these aspects for the specific case of fallow fields located in a semi-arid region of the north-eastern Iberian Peninsula. Knowledge of the vegetation assembly response (in terms of functionality) to the different agricultural management and landscape conditions improves understanding of their effect on higher trophic levels, and may potentially contribute to enhancing their viability. In this study, different management practices were experimentally tested to show their effects on the habitat suitability of two groups of species which represent farmland biodiversity and ecosystem services: steppe bird species insect pollinators, respectively. Moreover, the surrender habitat assemblage was also taken into account. This study aims to improve current conservation measures by providing valuable information about the different aptitudes of management strategies, according to the preferences of the target species studied.El diseño de las medidas agroambientales tiene como principal objetivo frenar la importante pérdida de biodiversidad asociada a la intensificación agrícola que ha tenido lugar en Europa. Este estudio tiene como objetivo contribuir a incrementar dicho conocimiento para el caso específico de los barbechos en las zonas semi-áridas del noreste de la Península Ibérica. Conocer las respuestas de la comunidad vegetal –en cuanto a variaciones en sus características funcionales- a diferentes manejos agrícolas y condiciones del paisaje permite una mejor comprensión de sus efectos sobre niveles tróficos superiores, pudiendo contribuir a mejorar su viabilidad. En el presente estudio fueron evaluadas de forma experimental diferentes prácticas agrícolas con el objetivo de determinar la idoneidad del hábitat de dos grupos de especies representantes de la biodiversidad en zonas agrícolas –aves esteparias- y servicios ecosistémicos –polinizadores-. Además la configuración paisajística de los alrededores también fue tenida en cuenta. Este estudio proporciona información valiosa sobre la adecuación de los diferentes manejos agrícolas en barbechos de acuerdo a las preferencias de las especies de interés para la conservación y así contribuir en la mejora y efectividad de las medidas aplicadas en la actualidad.
El disseny de mesures agroambientals en espais agrícoles té com a principal objectiu frenar l'important pèrdua de biodiversitat associada a la intensificació de l'agricultura que ha tingut lloc a Europa en els darrers decennis. El treball que aquí es presenta té com a objectiu aportar nou coneixement en aquest àmbit, en concret sobre la gestió dels guarets en les zones semi-àrides del nord-est de la Península Ibèrica. Així, el coneixement de la resposta de la comunitat vegetal -pel que fa a variacions en les seves característiques funcionals- a diferents manejos agrícoles i a condicions del paisatge, ha de permetre una millor comprensió dels seus efectes sobre nivells tròfics superiors i contribuir a millorar la seva viabilitat. En aquest sentit, en el present estudi han estat avaluades, de forma experimental, diferents pràctiques agrícoles amb l'objectiu de determinar la idoneïtat de l'hàbitat per a dos grups d'organismes: d’una banda les aus estepàries, com a representants de la biodiversitat en aquestes zones agrícoles, i d’una altra, els pol•linitzadors, indicadors de l’eficiència dels serveis ecosistèmics. En aquest context, la configuració paisatgística de l’entorn ha estat també tinguda en compte. Aquest estudi proporciona informació acurada sobre l'adequació dels diferents manejos agrícoles als requisits i preferències de les espècies d'interès per a la seva conservació en aquests espais, i alhora aporta propostes de millora per assolir una major efectivitat de les mesures agroambientals fins ara implementades.
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Watson, Keri B. "Conservation of Ecosystem Services and Biodiversity in Vermont, USA." ScholarWorks @ UVM, 2018. http://scholarworks.uvm.edu/graddis/822.
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Supporting a growing human population while avoiding biodiversity loss is a central challenge towards a sustainable future. Ecosystem services are benefits that people derive from nature. People have drastically altered the earth’s land surface in the pursuit of those ecosystem services that have been ascribed market value, while at the same time eroding biodiversity and non-market ecosystem services. The science required to inform a more balanced vision for land-cover change in the future is rapidly developing, but critical questions remain unanswered regarding how to quantify ecosystem services and ascribe value to them, and how to coordinate efforts to safeguard multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity together. This dissertation addresses several of these challenges using Vermont as a model landscape. Specifically, we begin by estimating the economic value of flood mitigation ecosystem services and show that the externalized value of ecosystem services can be quite high. Second, we assess the role of demand from human beneficiaries in shifting the spatial distribution of ecosystem services, and address the biodiversity and human wellbeing implications of that shift. Third we analyze the tradeoffs and synergies inherent in pursing multiple ecosystem services and biodiversity through conservation, and show that overall ecosystem service conservation is more likely to boost biodiversity outcomes than to undermine them. Finally, I implement statewide scenarios of land-cover change and flood risk in order to assess our ability to quantify ecosystem service outcomes and identify spatial priorities for the future despite land-cover change dynamics that are complex and unpredictable.
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Ambrose-Oji, Bianca Anna Augusta Elaine. "South West Cameroon : blinking participatory biodiversity conservation to livelihoods." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/8929.
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Oldekop, Johan. "The conservation of biodiversity inside and outside protected areas." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2011. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/the-conservation-of-biodiversity-inside-and-outside-protected-areas(a4c6a143-5dac-40ce-ac51-4e9ce68c661a).html.
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In recent decades there has been a push to try and include communities in natural resource conservation initiatives. This thesis uses a multidisciplinary approach and a series of case studies in the Ecuadorian Amazon to look at the role that common property regimes can have in conservation initiatives. Results show that community managed forests can have positive conservation outcomes. Local communities, however, will often integrate into local market economies creating significant tradeoffs between livelihoods, local management decisions and natural resource conservation. Nonetheless, resource scarcity can drive the evolution of local resource management institutions and communities have the potential to accurately monitor changes in natural resources. These results suggest that local communities have the potential to play an important role in conservation practices but that local economic incentives can affect the way in which communities manage their resources.
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Montague-Drake, Rebecca School of Biological Earth & Environmental Sciences UNSW. "Strategic management of artificial watering points for biodiversity conservation." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, 2004. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/30122.
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Since pastoralism began in Australia???s rangelands, the number of artificial watering points (AWPs) has increased dramatically, such that today, few areas of rangeland are further than 10 km from water. This increased availability of water has caused many ecological impacts. Unfortunately, such impacts are poorly understood in the context of an Australian conservation reserve, thus hindering strategic management. This study examined the spatial distribution of vertebrate (kangaroos, small mammals, lizards and avifauna) and vegetative variables around open AWPs as well as AWPs that have been closed since pastoralism (sheep-grazing) ceased nearly thirty years ago in Sturt National Park, arid New South Wales. The study also examined vertebrate use of AWPs, with a particular emphasis on kangaroos and avifauna. The study revealed that most variables showed few differences in spatial distribution with distance from open and closed AWPs, thus suggesting that the observed piospheric impacts were primarily attributable to historical sheep-grazing. Indeed, piospheric patterns were weak suggesting some recovery over the last thirty years. That kangaroos did not exhibit water-focused grazing is no surprise, since despite their regular use of AWPs, particularly during hot, dry times, the current spatial arrangement of AWPs facilitates regular travel to, and from, such resources allowing kangaroos, like much other fauna, to distribute themselves in relation to food and shelter preferences rather than in relation to water supply. In contrast, the majority of avifaunal groups (excluding ground-dwelling species) were clustered around open AWPs, often irrespective of season, because of food and water requirements. Such spatial concentrations of avifauna are thought to cause a range of interspecific effects. Experimental AWP closure and GIS modelling showed that whilst closure of AWPs will increase the average distance to water, which will have key benefits, the majority of areas in Sturt National Park would still be accessible to most water-dependent species even if all unused AWPs were closed. Strategic retention of AWPs to replace water sources lost since European settlement, aid threatened and migratory species??? conservation and enhance nature-based tourism opportunities is thus recommended and an example of a strategic management and monitoring plan outlined.
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Gordon, James Edward. "Biodiversity conservation and non-governmental organisations in Oaxaca, Mexico." Thesis, Durham University, 2005. http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/2623/.
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The lack of local scale biodiversity assessment in Oaxacan conservation is examined. Biodiversity assessment is a prerequisite of systematic, scientifically directed conservation and in Oaxaca, as in many other parts of the world, conservation is not planned according to scientific prescriptions. This thesis investigates the reasons for this in two ways. First, it considers the technical demands of biodiversity assessment from the point of view of local conservation NGOs. Second, it considers the institutional context in which the concept of biodiversity is translated from scientific discourses to Oaxacan NGOs. It is argued that tree diversity assessment techniques as currently promoted in scientific discourses are not necessarily appropriate to the needs of local NGOs and that biodiversity is itself a contested concept in Oaxaca. This results in the lack of priority given by Oaxaca's local conservation NGOs to biodiversity assessment. It is further shown that non-systematic conservation has made an important contribution to biodiversity conservation in Oaxaca, and it is argued that it is unrealistic to expect scientific prescriptions for biodiversity planning to be translated, without modification, to rural Oaxaca.
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Cheung, Ting-on, and 張定安. "Use of GIS in biodiversity conservation in Hong Kong." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2004. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B3011052X.
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Wheatley, Christopher John. "Biodiversity under climate change : biogeography, prospects and conservation opportunities." Thesis, University of York, 2018. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/22014/.
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Global climate change is one of the largest threats faced by biodiversity globally, with a wide range of impacts already observed and greater impacts projected to occur by the end of this century. Early identification of which species are most threatened by climate change is crucial to ensuring conservation action can be taken to prevent species losses. In this thesis I analyse the performance of a wide range of methodologies used to assess the risk to individual species from climate change, finding overall poor agreement between the different methods and validation using historic data sources demonstrated few were good predictors of climate change risk. A comprehensive trend-based climate change vulnerability assessment for European birds and butterflies was carried out, using the best performing methodology identified in this thesis. Differing patterns of climate change risk were identified for the two taxonomic groups, with a mix of risk and opportunities for birds but an overall substantially higher level of risk for butterflies. A large proportion of the species categorised as high climate risk are not of conservation concern currently and may be important targets for conservation intervention in the near future. Finally, a spatial prioritisation analysis for Europe identified where geographically the most important areas for conservation are located, and how the distribution of highest priority areas may change in the future. An examination of how the spatial scale at which conservation prioritisation is performed at can influence the effectiveness of the process found the currently used national scale approach within Europe is significantly less effective than either a full continental scale or a rescaled continental approach. Comparisons of these spatial prioritisations with the European protected area network show that under climate change existing sites are likely to become increasingly important in preventing the loss of species across the continent.
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Rankou, Hassan. "The Moroccan flora biodiversity, conservation & climate change effects." Thesis, University of Reading, 2017. http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/74986/.
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The integrated approach of combining floristic studies, IUCN conservation assessments, threat evaluation and Ecological Niche Modelling embraced in this research shows the importance and the value of the threatened Moroccan flora within the Mediterranean basin hotspot. Morocco is characterized by a high vascular plant diversity with approximately 3193 species and subspecies of which 22% are endemic. The new checklist of the endemic Moroccan flora following the new classification of APG III is elaborated in this research. It contains 879 species and subspecies in 55 families and 287 genera with comments on their geographical distribution and ecoregions. The conservation assessments and red listing of the Moroccan flora, according to IUCN criteria and categories, reveals a high extinction risk and thus the flora is of conservation concern, which is poorly recognized at present, both nationally and internationally. This research presents the initial part of the Moroccan Red Book as an important first step towards the recognition of the dangers to Moroccan biodiversity hotspots, the conservation of threatened species and the raising of public awareness at both national and international levels. The Ecological Niche Modelling approach identifies the current and future areas of high biodiversity richness, confirms that climate change is affecting the Moroccan flora and recognises the areas where species are most at risk, and refugia where the threatened species could be transferred and conserved. Current natural plant distribution ranges and their associated habitats will either reduce, or disappear in some cases, or shift to new refugia. This latter highlights the places to be prioritised in terms of optimising biodiversity conservation efforts: the Atlas Mountains (High Atlas, Anti Atlas and Middle Atlas), Rif Mountains and coastal areas (North Atlantic and the Middle Atlantic of Morocco). The approach adopted here of combining floristic studies, IUCN Red listing, Ecological Niche Modelling and threat evaluations provides powerful tools for conservation assessments, highlights species richness in specific floristic hotspots and estimates the predicted actual or potential species geographic range. This research has combined these new techniques to set the conservation priorities for the Moroccan flora and to inform stakeholders and policy makers. This is key to identifying and ameliorating the effects of the threats endangering the Moroccan plant diversity mainly habitat loss and degradation, direct and indirect human disturbance, changes in vegetation dynamics and climate change. A set of conservation action priorities are elaborated and include; species and habitat protection, ecological monitoring and research, communication and education.
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Evans, James Philip Martin. "Biodiversity conservation and brownfield sites : a scalar political ecology?" Thesis, University of Birmingham, 2003. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk//id/eprint/185/.
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This thesis develops a multi-scalar political ecology of biodiversity conservation on brownfield sites in Birmingham, U.K. While urban brownfield biodiversity is increasingly recognised as a valuable resource, political pressure to develop such spaces is also growing. Forty-five interviews were conducted with practitioners and policy makers, supported by genealogical and discursive analyses of a range of texts, to interrogate this tension. Common discourses structuring ecological, conservation and planning activities are traced across national and international levels, to contextualise the formulation and implementation of biodiversity action plans at the local level. Because urban landscapes are characterised by disequilibrium, planning policies and ecological models under-represent the worth of these spaces. The mediation of these discourses through local networks of actors engaged in the biodiversity action plan process is explored socially and geographically. A scalar political ecology of urban planning is developed through the consideration of wildlife corridors, and a case study of a specific brownfield site. The thesis offers an integrative analysis of socioecological transformation, and urban ecological governance. It is argued that while the BAP process has the potential to reconfigure urban geographies, it is currently sterile because such forms of sustainable governance contradict the dominant ‘scalar fix’ of capitalism.
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Tarasova, O. "Introducing the science of biodiversity conservation to ukrainian universities." Thesis, Видавництво СумДУ, 2012. http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/26794.
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Reboleira, Ana Sofia Pereira Serrenho. "Biodiversity and conservation of subterranean fauna of Portuguese karst." Doctoral thesis, Universidade de Aveiro, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10773/10865.
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Doutoramento em BiologiaAs regiões cársicas de Portugal ocupam uma parte considerável do território e albergam mais de 2000 grutas, que são habitadas por animais subterrâneos com características adaptativas únicas. Estes animais estão entre os mais raros, ameaçados e desprotegidos a nível mundial, comummente pelo simples fato de serem desconhecidos, o que associado à relativa inacessibilidade do seu habitat, constitui um desafio para o seu estudo. O presente trabalho centra-se no estudo da biodiversidade subterrânea do carso de Portugal, de forma a contribuir para a sua conservação. Os invertebrados subterrâneos têm sido ignorados no que concerne à sua proteção, sobretudo porque o conhecimento era escasso e desorganizado. Este trabalho começa por apresentar uma revisão de todas as fontes bibliográficas sobre fauna subterrânea em Portugal, incluindo um catálogo de espécies troglóbias e estigóbias, acompanhado das respetivas localizações, para congregar, pela primeira vez, o estado do conhecimento da riqueza específica, biogeografia e conservação das áreas estudadas. Para compreender os padrões de biodiversidade subterrânea, foi realizado um ano de trabalho de campo intenso e padronizado em mais de 40 cavidades de 14 unidades cársicas. Deste esforço resultou a descoberta e descrição de nove novos taxa, compreendendo três novos géneros e seis novas espécies para a ciência. Utilizando sistemas de informação geográfica foram mapeadas as distribuições das espécies subterrâneas do carso de Portugal e a sua riqueza foi comparada com a de outras áreas do mundo. Para explicar a sua riqueza específica subterrânea, foram testados vários fatores ambientais e efetuada a estimativa de espécies subterrâneas, numa escala regional. A evapotranspiração e consequentemente a produtividade primária ao nível da superfície poderão ser fatores importantes na variação da riqueza específica nas diferentes unidades cársicas, mas a profundidade e as características geológicas únicas de cada maciço parecem desempenhar um papel determinante nos padrões de biodiversidade subterrânea. Com o intuito de avaliar a sensibilidade de organismos subterrâneos à contaminação, foram testados os efeitos letais de dois tóxicos em crustáceos estigóbios com diferentes graus de troglomorfismo. Foram igualmente abordados aspectos gerais de ecotoxicologia de águas subterrâneas e perspectivas de futuro. Os principais problemas relacionados com a conservação dos habitats subterrâneos em Portugal estão associados à destruição direta do habitat e à sua contaminação. Estes carecem de proteção específica, o que implica a gestão adequada à superfície e a criação de áreas prioritárias de conservação. Integrando toda a informação gerada, o presente estudo estabelece uma hierarquização de locais prioritários para a conservação da fauna subterrânea em zonas cársicas de Portugal.
This research is a contribution to the study of subterranean biodiversity in karst areas of Portugal, towards its conservation. The relative inaccessibility of the subterranean environment is a challenge for the study of its fauna, often accessible only in caves but more widely distributed. The subterranean animals are among the most rare, threatened and worldwide underprotected, often by the simple fact of being unknown. Karst areas of Portugal occupy a considerable part of the territory and harbor more than 2000 caves. The complex biogeographical history of the Iberian Peninsula allowed the survival of several relict arthropod refugees in the subterranean environment. Subterranean invertebrates have been ignored, as for as the protection of karst systems are concerned in Portugal, largely because knowledge was scarce and disorganized. Reviewing all the bibliographic sources about subterranean fauna from Portugal and listing troglobiont and stygobiont species and locations, was essential to understand the state of knowledge of species richness and the biogeography and conservation status for the studied areas. In order to understand subterranean biodiversity patterns in karst areas from Portugal, one year of intense fieldwork was performed in more than 40 caves from 14 karst units. Several new species for science were discovered and 7 taxa comprising 2 new genera and 5 new species were described. Bearing in mind that spatial distribution of subterranean species is crucial to ecological research and conservation, the distribution of hypogean species, from Portuguese karst areas, was mapped using geographic information systems. Also, its subterranean richness was compared with other areas of the world and missing species were estimated on a regional scale. The subterranean biodiversity patterns were analyzed, and several factors were tested to explain richness patterns. Evapotranspiration and the consequent high productivity on the surface may be determinant in the species richness in the different karst units of Portugal, but the depth of the caves and the unique geological features of every massif seemed to play a more important role. In order to evaluate the tolerance of organisms to groundwater contamination, the acute toxicity of two substances were tested on stygobiont crustaceans with different degrees of troglomorphism. Our study showed that the high levels of endemism contribute to remarkably different toxicological responses within the same genus. The major problems related to conservation of subterranean habitats were associated to direct destruction and their contamination. These ecosystems lack of specific protection, implying an adequate management of surface habitats and the establishment of priority areas. Integrating all the previous information, this study establishes a ranking of sites for conservation of subterranean fauna in karst areas of Portugal.
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Silan, Giulia <1991>. "Grassland biodiversity: habitat types, ecological processes and conservation status." Doctoral thesis, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/10579/20598.
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Under the global change scenario, it is increasingly important to monitor habitat and ecosystem attributes to prevent their loss and degradation. While different approaches have been proposed to achieve this goal, little effort has been devoted in linking the monitoring of habitat attributes with the ecosystem services provided. The present research was aimed at filling this gap by assessing the relationship between environmental and biotic attributes of grassland communities and the provisioning of four ecosystem services (i.e., biodiversity, productivity, climate regulation and pollination). Our approach revealed that different community attributes can be related to the supply of different ecosystem services. Specifically, it was possible to identify threshold values in the community attributes (e.g., vascular species cover and richness) corresponding to different values of ecosystem services. A methodological framework that considers different and standardized indicators is useful to pinpoint better strategies to biodiversity conservation, in order to maximise ecosystem services provisioning to human well-being.
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Cristancho-Pinilla, Edwin Arvey. "Benefitting from biodiversity-based innovation." Thesis, University of Sussex, 2017. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/72011/.
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This thesis argues for the need for a more comprehensive discussion of biodiversity use in relation to enhancing benefits of this use for biodiverse countries and promoting more equitable sharing of these benefits. The findings from this doctoral research reveal that biodiversity-based innovation is a social shaping process that has resulted in large benefits. The cumulative capability to use species from biodiversity gives meanings that contribute to the species shaping process, with organisations and institutional changes providing direction and increasing the rate of the shaping process. In showing how innovation takes place and how the appropriation of benefits occurs, this research contributes to studies on science policy and innovation in relation, especially, to biodiversity-based innovation. The thesis introduces the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Nagoya Protocol as representing change to the governance of biodiversity. The theoretical approach draws on evolutionary and institutional economics, both of which inform and extend a question that is central in the sociology of technology: That is how are technology (innovation understood as an output) and social practices shaped collectively? Three cases are used to trace what occurs in the shaping process of species from biodiversity: (i) The Jersey cow is a breed within the species Bos Taurus or modern taurine cattle. The isolated character of Jersey delimited the scope of the breed at a point in time when it was being bred locally and allow us to identify its shaping as a ‘technology', and the broader diffusion of its use. The Jersey cow is used to introduce the theoretical framework and the analysis. (ii) Maca, originally from Peru, is a root crop with nutritional and, allegedly, fertility enhancing properties. It was domesticated in Peru and only a few world regions have conditions favouring its production. Maca is commercialised as flour and used as a raw material. (iii) Quinua has great potential as a staple food crop. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) declared 2013 to be the International Year of Quinoa on the basis of its unique and nutritious character. Three Andean countries (Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru) report exports of quinua grain, although dozens of countries around the world are engaged in performing agronomic testing for its commercial production. A comparative analysis of the three cases helps to identify the science and technology policy issues related to implementation of the CBD and the Nagoya Protocol. The case studies demonstrate the innovation process of species from biodiversity. Benefits arise from the diffusion of the use of the species (via commercialisation), which accrued to individuals or groups. The characterisation of the innovation process highlights how the voices and agency of actors and organisations affected the shaping process. The governance over the goods that emerged from the use of the species defined the appropriation of benefits.
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Faul, Andre Karel. "Biodiversity enhancement in Cape Flats urban habitats." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/2823.
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Thesis (MSc (Conservation Ecology and Entomology))--University of Stellenbosc, 2005.Biodiversity is under enormous pressure from an increasing human population. Urbanisation, agriculture, and mining are just some of the factors responsible for the continuous degradation of the natural environment. Of these, urbanisation is one of the leading factors of diversity loss. To address this problem, it is necessary to understand the relationship between biodiversity and urban areas, as well as the relationship between society and biodiversity. This study focuses on these relationships and suggest ways in which urban biodiversity can be maximised without compromising on development. In order to create an urban environment that successfully supports maximised biodiversity, new methods and ideas must be developed to promote the protection of urban ecosystems. The Cape Floristic Region in South Africa is a good example of an area that requires immediate action in order to prevent enormous losses in biodiversity. Data have shown drastic decreases in natural vegetation cover in this area, and with its close to 9000 species, of which approximately 60% occurs nowhere else in the world. This state of affairs should be regarded as a serious crisis. This study consists of three main parts, the first being a literature review on the current relationships between the urban environment, society, and biodiversity. The second and third parts report on two empirical investigations on the campus of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Stellenbosch in the City of Cape Town. The first of these investigates the possibility of using spirituality connected to nature as a promotional tool for conservation through rehabilitation or restoration of damaged urban vegetation habitats. For this purpose students’ and staff members’ opinions of the urban nature at the campus were tested. In the second investigation the options of restoring biodiversity to the campus was considered by exploring the best options available for rehabilitation while taking the current biodiversity status on and around the premises into account. This was carried out through three smaller projects that included the physical reintroduction of plant species, vegetation analysis, and bird identification and attraction. The response of employees and students at the Faculty of Health Sciences was found to be in favour of restoring vegetation and animal life to the campus. This is supported by a belief that their attitude towards their work would improve with improved natural surroundings. Initial rehabilitation attempts highlighted the complexity of rehabilitation practices by bringing forward challenges and problems experienced with the reintroduction of plant species. Despite these problems, increased plant diversity in experimental areas showed the possibility of successfully completing the project. Biodiversity analysis showed that methods of controlling vegetation used by the university are doing more harm than good, as it results in indigenous vegetation being displaced by exotic vegetation. This study introduces a number of questions regarding the relationship between urbanisation and biodiversity and to what extent the two should be linked. Hopefully it is a step in the direction towards marrying the urban and natural environment, and to create a sustainable urban environment where society no longer sees nature as something outside the city boundaries.
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Felley, Mary Louise. "A biodiversity conservation policy and legal framework for Hong Kong." Thesis, Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1996. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B17457592.
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Pearch, Malcolm J. "Small mammal biodiversity in Nepal." Available from the University of Aberdeen Library and Historic Collections Digital Resources. Restricted: no access until June 2, 2014, 2009. http://digitool.abdn.ac.uk:80/webclient/DeliveryManager?application=DIGITOOL-3&owner=resourcediscovery&custom_att_2=simple_viewer&pid=26193.
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Gari, Josep A. "The political ecology of biodiversity : biodiversity conservation and rural development at the indigenous and peasant grassroots." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2000. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.365588.
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LeClerc, Joshua Elliott. "Bird Conservation Value of Golf Courses." W&M ScholarWorks, 2004. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539626454.
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Fitzsimons, James Andrew Fitzsimons James Andrew. "The contribution of multi-tenure reserve networks to biodiversity conservation." Connect to this title online, 2004. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au/adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20050817.103606/.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Deakin University, 2004.Title from PDF title page (viewed on Aug. 23, 2005). Appendix 19 (p. 297-313): Attitudes and perceptions of land managers and owners in the Grassy Box Woodlands Conservation Management Network : a draft confidential report for the New South Wales National Parks & Wildlife Service. 2002. Includes bibliographical references.
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Fitzsimons, James Andrew, and mikewood@deakin edu au. "The contribution of Multi-tenure reserve networks to biodiversity conservation." Deakin University. School of Ecology and Environment, 2004. http://tux.lib.deakin.edu.au./adt-VDU/public/adt-VDU20050817.103606.
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A consistent and integrated approach to nature conservation across the landscape and regardless of tenure is widely recognised as essential in ensuring the effective conservation of biodiversity. 'Multi-tenure reserve networks', which incorporate public and private lands managed for conservation, are considered a means of achieving landscape scale conservation. Biosphere Reserves (BR) and Conservation Management Networks (CMN) are characteristic models in Australia. This thesis aims to evaluate the role of such networks in protecting biodiversity, specifically by: (1) analysing the spatial configuration (size, shape, connectivity) of networks and their individual components; (2) evaluating the contribution of networks (in real terms and in reporting procedures) to biodiversity conservation objectives; (3) analysing the influence of the attitudes and perceptions of land managers on the functionality of networks; and (4) evaluating the influence of coordinating bodies on network functionality. In order to account for deficiencies in existing classifications of conservation lands, a new classification system was developed for this thesis - the Conservation Lands Classification. This classification incorporates conservation mechanisms on public and private lands and forms the basis for comparing network components in three Australian case studies - the Bookmark BR located in the Murray Mallee of South Australia, the Gippsland Plains CMN on the eastern Gippsland Plains of Victoria and the Grassy Box Woodlands CMN across the inland slopes of New South Wales. The spatial configuration of individual components within networks was measured using spatial analysis techniques within a geographic information system (GIS). GIS was also used to measure the contribution that networks made to a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system through the ecosystems they protected. The attitudes and perceptions of landowners and managers within the networks were obtained using questionnaires. Questionnaires were also sent to network coordinators. Statistical and descriptive analysis was conducted on the results. The sizes of individual components varied markedly between the three networks, however within each network public reserves were on average larger than private conservation lands. Although levels of physical connectivity varied between networks, Bookmark BR and Gippsland Plains CMN showed greater similarity to each other than to the Grassy Box Woodlands CMN. The findings raise important questions about the real and perceived differences in the BR and CMN models. All networks, and particularly those components outside the public protected area estate, contributed to enhancing the protection of ecosystems unrepresented or under-represented in the reserve system, although the extent of this contribution varied between networks. Trade-offs between reserve design efficiency and a contribution to a comprehensive, adequate and representative reserve system were evident between networks. Bookmark BR was characterised by high connectivity, strong reserve design integrity but a lower contribution to protecting under-reserved ecosystems, whereas the opposite was evident in the Grassy Box Woodlands CMN. Over 88% of managers considered their involvement in multi-tenure reserve networks to be a positive or very positive experience. A lack of resources and time for management were considered major limitations of these networks. The majority (80%) of private land managers within networks were willing to be included in a national reserve system of conservation lands. This has important implications for the Australian National Reserve System, which currently incorporates mostly public land. The changing nature of the network coordination arrangements suggests an organic fluid evolution of network structures is likely, contrasting with the desire for legalistic and administrative rigidity promoted by government agencies. The thesis concludes that all the networks studied contribute in varying degrees to biodiversity conservation. The key factors influencing the current and potential contribution that such networks make are: (1) the aims, directions and restrictions set by or imposed upon the coordinating body; and (2) the biophysical nature of the surrounding bioregion and resultant historical land use and tenure pattern. Although the successful operation of such 'multi-tenure' networks ultimately relies on the willing participation of private landholders, ongoing institutional support is likely to be required for maintaining networks in the longer term. Considering networks are increasingly formed outside of the influence of government institutions, this presents a significant challenge for effective coordinated conservation.