Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Special metrics'

Der Laplace-Operator auf kompakten Riemannschen Mannigfaltigkeiten besitzt eine natürliche Verallgemeinerung auf kompakte Riemannsche Orbifolds und das Spektrum des so gewonnenen Operators besteht ausschließlich aus Eigenwerten endlicher Vielfachheit. Die Feststellung, dass das Spektrum Informationen über die Geometrie einer Mannigfaltigkeit (oder, allgemeiner, einer Orbifold) enthält, begründete ein ganzes Teilgebiet der Mathematik. Es ist eine offene Frage der sogenannten Spektralgeometrie, ob eine Mannigfaltigkeit und eine singuläre Orbifold isospektral sein (d.h., dasselbe Spektrum mitsamt den Vielfachheiten der Eigenwerte besitzen) können. Angesichts diverser Obstruktionen zur Existenz eines solchen Beispiels für die bekannten Beispiele isospektraler guter Orbifolds, soll diese Arbeit die Spektralgeometrie schlechter Orbifolds erhellen. Zu diesem Zweck geben wir die ersten Beispiele für isospektrale Metriken auf schlechten Orbifolds an. Diese basieren auf bestimmten gewichteten projektiven Räumen, auf denen wir mittels einer Verallgemeinerung von Schüths Version der Torus-Methode nicht-trivial isospektrale Metriken konstruieren.<br>The Laplace Operator on compact Riemannian manifolds naturally generalizes to compact Riemannian orbifolds and the spectrum of the resulting operator consists only of eigenvalues with finite multiplicities. The observation that the spectrum contains information about the geometry of a manifold (and, more generally, an orbifold) gave rise to a whole field of mathematics. It is an open question of so-called spectral geometry, whether a manifold and a singular orbifold can be isospectral (i.e., have the same spectrum with the same multiplicities of the eigenvalues). Given the various obstructions to the existence of such an example for the known examples of isospectral good orbifolds, this work is an attempt to shed light on the spectral geometry of bad orbifolds by giving the first examples of isospectral Riemannian metrics on bad orbifolds. In our case these are particular fixed weighted projective spaces equipped with non-trivially isospectral metrics obtained by a generalization of Schüth''s version of the torus method.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2005.<br>Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-90). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Type I noise storms constitute a sizeable fraction of the active-Sun component of solar radiation at meter wavelengths. The storms occur over a prolonged duration as intense, narrow-band spikes, superposed on a low-intensity broadband continuum, in the 30-400 MHz frequency range. Either component of the noise storm radiation has a very high degree of ordinary-mode circular polarization (~ 100 %), and is widely believed to be generated by the plasma emission mechanism. Existence of large sunspot groups or active region complexes, with a high degree of complexity and strength in the associated magnetic topology, have a remarkable spatio-temporal correlation to the occurance of noise storms. Hence type I noise storm events were employed as tracers in estimating the solar cycle activity, with specific relevance to resolving the mimimum-phase occuring between solar cycles 22 and 23, to a precise yet unique epoch of 1998 October,in consonance with the monthly average sunspot count and the 10.7 cm solar radio flux data. The latter have a proven close link with associated sunspot activity. Spatio-temporal correlation of energetic eruptive event termed Coronal Mass Ejection ( CME ), with the type I noise storm events has been convincingly established, from the point of view of ``Space Weather'' prediction. A particular aspect of this study has been the choice of limb-event CMEs as against the halo ones; this criterion has aided in an unambiguous position-angle determination for the eruption- site of the CMEs. Noise storms are found to be the precursors, temporally succeeded by the CME events over a time-scale of 1 to 14 hours. Large scale reconfiguration of the photospheric magnetic field topology, by way of reconnection, merging, cancellation or submergence, in the ambience of pre-existing lines of magnetic flux, triggered by the shearing and twisting motion of the footpoints, and leading to the sigmoid-to-arcade evolution of coronal magnetic loops, traces the event-specific linkage involving the type I noise storms and CMEs. Phenomena that occur at metric wavelengths in the solar corona, and vary on short time scales, are investigated, with the aid of a prototype, custom-built antenna-receiver system to the Gauribidanur RadioHeliograph ( GRH ). The GRH is a transit-mode instrument, while the time-delay control implemented on the prototype enables a radio source to be followed, as it traverses the sky at the sidereal rate. The delay-tracking scheme has been implemented on the front-end electronics, as this would eliminate the otherwise cumbersome task of mechanical-steering of the log-periodic dipole array, while also permitting radio observations over a significantly wider frequency band. The performance of the Gauribidanur Prototype Tracking System ( GPTS ) has been validated on the basis of exhaustive tests, in order to characterise its attenuation, phase, and pointing-accuracy, and optimised for solar observations at 77.5 MHz. Continuous Sun observation was performed with the GPTS, over a period from 24th of June, 2002 to 20th of August, 2002. The daily schedule involved solar observations at seven beam-positions on either side of the local meridian,spaced apart by ~ 9 deg., for about four hours each day. Absolute radio flux calibration was performed by following an identical observing schedule for the intense, unresolvable radio source Cygnus A. Periods of enhanced radio emission, corresponding to global rise in the solar radio radiation, were detected on several days. On each of those days of enhanced activity, the absolute deviation from the mean-flux, corresponding to the various beam-positions for that day, was determined. From this, the intra-day quasi-periodicity in solar radio flux was found to be 110 minutes, with the fluctuation in flux being 3 (+/- 1.5) sfu. Positional information from the Nancay (sic) Radioheliograph data, and features of the causative Active Regions of the underlying photospheric disk from the full-disk H-alpha images of the Big Bear Solar Observatory, along with the radio-spectral data published in the Solar Geophysical Data Reports led to conclusion that, heightened flux emission had been the result of the type I noise storms, known for their sharply defined directivity characteristics. The continuum component of type I noise storms is studied for variation in the frequency-dependent flux characteristics. Swept-frequency data from the Gauribidanur Radio Spectrograph, on 26th and 27th September 2000, in the 30-80 MHz band, were analyzed. The quiet-sun and burst components in the acquired data were excised-out. Absolute flux calibration was performed from spectral observations of Cygnus A in the same band. The spectral-index of the continuum was found to be ~ +3.7 . From a knowledge of the continuum source-size at various other spot frequency imaging observations, the source-size of the particular event was estimated, from interpolation and curve-fitting, to be 13.2 +/- 1.2 arcmin. From a knowledge of the continuum radio flux and its source-size, the brightness-temperature was found to vary from 1.07 x 1e7 to 1.96 x 1e7 K, in the 50 - 80 MHz band. Plasma emission is widely believed to bethe radiation mechanism for the continuum. The excitation of plasma waves by trapped, energetic electron beams moving along the coronal magnetic loops, and their coalescence with the low-frequency ion-acoustic waves or upper-hybrid waves excited due to shock-waves generated by magnetic reconnections above the active region complexes, at sites of coronal density inhomogeneities, are the cause for the noise storm radiation. From knowing the brightness-temperature in the source-region, the supra-thermal density in the electron-beam is estimated. Corroborative evidence, in the form of complementary observations for source-size, extent of the active region complexes, and the associated variations in strength and polarity of magnetic flux on the photosphere, the density enhancement over that of the tenuous coronal density, as per the Newkirk's model, above such active regions, the emission-measure, density, and brightness-temperature in the large-scale coronal loops interconnecting the trans-equatorial active regions in this case, in extreme uv and soft X Ray wavelengths, is applied to validate the assumptions, and estimations on various parameters involved in this plasma emission phenomenon. The burst component of type I noise storms is studied with the newly commissioned high temporal and spectral resolution spectrograph at the Gauribidanur Radio Observatory. The bursts reveal themselves as narrow-band, spiked events on the dynamic spectral records, and their occurance is of a stochastic nature. Isolated Type I bursts were chosen based on their bandwidth (2-2.5 MHz ), fractional-bandwidth ( 1.5 ), lifetime ( 1.5 seconds ), and their radio flux (~ 20-40 sfu ) distribution. The dynamic~- spectrum was calibrated from galactic background observations towards the direction of the North and the South Galactic poles. The flux calibration scheme is ideally suited for those radio telescopes capable of a low spatial resolution, wherein the predominant contribution to the system temperature arrives from the galactic background radiation. The frequency and time profiles of the bursts were analyzed on a case-by-case basis. The results of the study reveal that, a majority of the frequency profiles show a remarkable gaussian symmetrical distribution as compared to the less significant assymmetry in either the ascending or the descending limb ( which appear as enhanced tail-like features ) of the corresponding gaussians. This, in consonance with their narrow emission bandwidth, endorses the view that, the source region for Type I bursts are in a state of extreme homogeneity, as regards their plasma density and temperature. The time profiles on the other hand show a greater level of asymmetry on either their ascending or descending segments; deviations from the gaussian fit, to each of the bursts' time profiles, reveal a higher incidence in abrupt rise or fall on either of the limbs, to cases where the profiles conform to a symmetric gaussian. Since the rise and decay in the time profiles correspond to growth of plasma instabilities and damping of the plasma waves, respectively, they portray a region of the turbulent corona that is replete with magnetic reconnections contributing to the energetics of plasma waves.

Human activities have transformed natural landscapes into human-dominated areas at unprecedented rates in the last centuries. Land cover transformation is associated with loss of natural habitat, thus a threat to biodiversity. Because habitat loss will likely continue in the future due to population growth and increase demand for natural resources, an important question in ecological studies is whether land cover features (i.e. amount, variety, shape, configuration) can be used as predictors to estimate species loss from habitat modification. This thesis investigates the predictive ability of landscape features in predicting species distributions at the landscape level and across large regions. It tests several predictions from classic hypotheses such as the species-area relationship and habitat fragmentation, utilizing a macroecological approach. Response variables (e.g. species richness, species’ probability of occurrence) and independent variables (e.g. proportion of natural areas, metrics of fragmentation, temperature, etc.) are analysed in cell sizes of 25-900km2 covering large regions (e.g. southern Ontario, New York State). Bird species were chosen as the main biological model. Most literature assumes that species richness should vary positively as a function of remaining natural area, following the well-known species–area relationship (i.e. classic SAR). Prior studies have shown that avian species richness has a peaked, rather than a monotonic increasing, relationship with the proportion of natural land cover in landscapes of southern Ontario. The first chapter of the thesis showed improvements in the predictive power of classic SARs by proposing the “Lost-habitat SAR”, which demonstrates that richness of open-habitat species can be predicted when we partition human-dominated land cover into an ‘‘available human-dominated’’ component and ‘‘lost’’ habitat (i.e. parts of the landscape that can no longer be utilized by any species). The second chapter addresses a current contention in the literature about the effect of habitat fragmentation beyond habitat amount at the landscape level. Specifically, I tested the effect of fragmentation (e.g. number of patches) on both avian richness and the probability of occurrence (pocc) of individual species, after controlling for habitat amount in 991 landscapes, each 100-km2, in southern Ontario. The analysis showed that overall species richness responds primarily to habitat amount, and that the effect of habitat fragmentation, holding the total amount of habitat constant, is negligible. The probability of occurrence of a few bird species did relate negatively to the size, number and isolation of the patches within the landscape. We argue that the evidence is inconsistent with the hypothesis that reducing habitat fragmentation would be an effective conservation strategy for birds at the landscape level. Chapter 3 tested the speculation in the climate change literature that habitat loss may impede the colonization or movement of species whose ranges are shifting northwards in response to climate. Using the same 100-km2 landscapes of southern Ontario, I examined individual bird species’ probability of occupancy as a function of the amount of remaining natural land cover for three groups of species: i) those whose northern range limit falls within the study area, ii) those whose southern range limit is in the study area, and iii) those whose ranges cover the entire study area. The results showed that the probability of occupancy of southern-edge species is a positive function of the amount of natural land cover (forest) in the landscape, while the probability of occupancy of northern-edge species is a negative function of natural land cover. Hence, I conclude that at southern range limits species faces the dual stresses of climatic warming and habitat conversion. Whereas, at northern (potentially expanding) range edges, partially disturbed landscapes are more readily occupied than undisturbed landscapes. In the final chapter, I challenge widely accepted hypothesis that habitat loss causes biodiversity loss by testing whether conserving natural land cover would conserve species diversity. More specifically, I tested whether broad-extent relationships between avian species richness and natural land cover are independent of: 1) whether species distribution data come from systematic censuses (atlases) versus range maps, and 2) the grain size of the analysis in grid cells covering southern Ontario, CA, and New York State, US. My findings showed that over regional extents, range-map-based richness relates strongly to temperature, irrespective of spatial grain, and that censused species richness relates to temperature less strongly. Moreover, range-map richness is a negative function of the proportion of natural land cover, while realized richness is a peaked function. Therefore, I conclude that conserving natural land cover would not conserve species diversity in southern Ontario or in New York State, since greater natural cover does not imply higher richness. We argue that habitat loss has become a panchreston. It may be misguiding conservation biology strategies by focusing on a threat that is too general to be usefully predictive.

L’objectif de la thèse est de présenter de nouveaux résultats d’analyse sur les espaces métriques mesurés. Nous étendons d’abord à une certaine classe d’espaces avec doublement et Poincaré des inégalités de Sobolev pondérées introduites par V. Minerbe en 2009 dans le cadre des variétés riemanniennes à courbure de Ricci positives. Dans le contexte des espaces RCD(0,N), nous en déduisons une inégalité de Nash pondérée et un contrôle uniforme du noyau de la chaleur pondéré associé. Puis nous démontrons la loi de Weyl sur les espaces RCD(K,N) compactes à l’aide d’un théorème de convergence ponctuelle des noyaux de la chaleur associés à une suite mGH-convergente d’espaces RCD(K,N). Enfin nous abordons dans le contexte RCD(K,N) un théorème de Bérard, Besson et Gallot fournissant, à l’aide du noyau de la chaleur, une famille de plongements asymptotiquement isométriques d’une variété riemannienne fermée dans l’espace de ses fonctions de carré intégrable. Nous introduisons notamment les notions de métrique RCD, de métrique pull-back, et de convergence faible/forte de métriques RCD sur un espace RCD(K,N) compacte, et nous prouvons un résultat de convergence analogue à celui de Bérard, Besson et Gallot<br>The aim of this thesis is to present new results in the analysis of metric measure spaces. We first extend to a certain class of spaces with doubling and Poincaré some weighted Sobolev inequalities introduced by V. Minerbe in 2009 in the context of Riemannian manifolds with non-negative Ricci curvature. In the context of RCD(0,N) spaces, we deduce a weighted Nash inequality and a uniform control of the associated weighted heat kernel. Then we prove Weyl’s law for compact RCD(K,N) spaces thanks to a pointwise convergence theorem for the heat kernels associated with a mGH-convergent sequence of RCD(K,N) spaces. Finally we address in the RCD(K,N) context a theorem from Bérard, Besson and Gallot which provides, by means of the heat kernel, an asymptotically isometric family of embeddings for a closed Riemannian manifold into its space of square integrable functions. We notably introduce the notions of RCD metrics, pull-back metrics, weak/strong convergence of RCD metrics, and we prove a convergence theorem analog to the one of Bérard, Besson and Gallot

As optical designs become more sophisticated and incorporate aspheric and free form surfaces, the need to specify limits on mid-spatial frequency manufacturing errors becomes more critical, particularly as we better understand the effects of these errors on image quality. While there already exist methods based on Fourier analysis to specify these errors in most commercial interferometry software, the method of calculation and the power spectral density (PSD) results remain obscure to many in the optical design and manufacturing field. We suggest that the structure functions (SF) contains the same information as in the Fourier based PSD but in a way that is much more transparent to analysis, interpretation and application as a specification. The units of measure are more familiar and the concept behind the analysis is simpler to understand. Further, the information contained in the structure function (or PSD) allows a complete specification of an optical surface from the finest measurable detail of roughness to the overall figure. We discuss the origin of the structure function in the field of astronomy to describe the effects of air turbulence on image quality, the simple mathematical definition of the structure function and its easy means of calculation and how its results should be scaled depending on the location of the optical surface in a system from pupil to image plane. Finally, we give an example of how to write a specification of an optical surface using the structure function.

The aim of this master thesis is to study the exponential decay of solutions of elliptic partial equations. This work is based on the results obtained by Agmon. To this purpose, first, we define the Agmon metric, that plays an important role in the study of exponential decay, because it is related to the rate of decay. Under some assumptions on the growth of the function and on the positivity of the quadratic form associated to the operator, a first result of exponential decay is presented. This result is then applied to show the exponential decay of eigenfunctions with eigenvalues whose real part lies below the bottom of the essential spectrum. Finally, three examples are given: the harmonic oscillator, the hydrogen atom and a Schrödinger operator with purely discrete spectrum.

A promising structural health monitoring (SHM) method for implementation on real world structures is impedance-based health monitoring. An in-service system is envisioned to include on board processing and perhaps wireless transfer of data. Ideally, a system could be produced as a slap-on or automatically installed addition to a structure. The research presented in this dissertation addresses issues that will help make such a system a reality. Although impedance-based SHM does not typically use an analytical model for basic damage identification, a model is necessary for more advanced features of SHM, such as damage prognosis, and to evaluate system parameters when installing on various structures. A model was developed based on circuit analysis of the previously proposed low-cost circuit for impedance-based SHM in combination with spectral elements. When a three-layer spectral element representing a piezoceramic bonded to a base beam is used, the model can predict the large peaks in the impedance response due to resonances of the bonded active sensor. Parallel and series connections of distributed sensor systems are investigated both experimentally and with the developed model. Additionally, the distribution of baseline damage metrics is determined to assess how the large quantities of data produced by a monitoring system can be handled statistically. A modification of the RMSD damage metric has also been proposed that is essentially the squared sum of the Z-statistic for each frequency point. Preferred excitation frequencies for macro-fiber composite (MFC) active sensors are statistically determined for a long composite boom under development for use in rigidizable inflatable space structures.<br>Ph. D.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:16:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TatianaXC.pdf: 546242 bytes, checksum: 32d2bd23fe599a131f51f3299a41cc73 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009-03-27<br>OBJECTIVE: The aim of this work was to analyse some oxidative stress parameters in patients of Systemic L?pus Erythematosus. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Determinations of reduced glutathione content in whole blood were carried out. The activity of superoxide dismutase, gluthatione peroxidase and catalase in erythrocytes and the concentration of reactive substances of acid thiobarbituric in plasma of patients female (n =19) with SLE no activity of disease (Mex-SLEDAI < 2), with average ages of 32 ? 11 years, through the spectrophotometrical methods and from healthy individuals (n =30). Statistical data were analyzed by student t-test, p<0,05. RESULTS: Our data indicated a significant decrease on the activity of catalase and significant increase on the concentration of reactive substances of acid thiobarbituric in patients with SLE comparing with healthy individuals. There was no significant difference in other parameters. CONCLUSION: The results showed that oxidative stress has a role in the pathogenesis of the disease in SLE, even in patients without active disease.<br>OBJETIVO: Analisar os par?metros de estresse oxidativo no L?pus Eritematoso Sist?mico. PACIENTES E M?TODOS: Foram realizadas as determina??es do conte?do de glutationa reduzida no sangue total, da atividade da super?xido dismutase, da glutationa peroxidase e da catalase nos eritr?citos e da concentra??o de Subst?ncias Reativas ao ?cido Tiobarbit?rico no plasma de 19 pacientes do sexo feminino com LES sem atividade de doen?a (Mex-SLEDAI < 2), com m?dia de idade de 32 ? 11 anos, atrav?s de m?todos espectrofotom?tricos e comparada a um grupo de 30 indiv?duos sadios nas mesmas condi??es. As pacientes com LES apresentaram tempo de doen?a em torno de 5 ? 3 anos. Os dados estat?sticos foram analisados atrav?s do teste tstudent considerando um n?vel de signific?ncia de P<0,05. RESULTADOS: Foi verificado que a concentra??o de Subst?ncias Reativas ao ?cido Tiobarbit?rico foi significantemente mais elevada e a atividade da catalase foi significantemente diminu?da nos pacientes com LES em compara??o ao controle. N?o houve diferen?a significativa nos outros par?metros. CONCLUS?O: O aumento da peroxida??o lip?dica e a diminui??o da atividade da catalase sugerem que o estresse oxidativo tem um papel na patog?nese da doen?a no LES, mesmo em pacientes sem doen?a ativa

Les octocoralliaires vivant en symbiose avec des dinoflagellés photosynthétiques représentent l’un des principaux groupes benthiques des récifs coralliens tropicaux. Ils sont notamment abondants au sein des écosystèmes perturbés où les changements environnementaux entraînent le déclin des coraux scléractiniaires. Bien que la nutrition joue un rôle fondamental dans la régulation de l’abondance d’une population, l’acquisition de nutriments par les octocoralliaires reste à ce jour méconnue. Les objectifs de cette thèse étaient de caractériser la nutrition autotrophe et hétérotrophe des espèces d’octocoralliaires de mer Rouge, depuis la surface jusqu’à la zone mésophotique supérieure. Les résultats démontrent que par rapport aux scléractiniaires, la fixation de carbone autotrophe chez les octocoralliaires est plus faible en surface, mais équivalente en profondeur. De plus, l’assimilation de composés azotés dissous est bien inférieure chez les octocoralliaires, en comparaison avec les scléractiniaires. Ces résultats suggèrent que les octocoralliaires dépendent largement de sources alimentaires hétérotrophes pour satisfaire leurs besoins nutritionnels. Une telle mixotrophie leur confère une grande plasticité trophique, ce qui pourrait contribuer à une plus grande résistance aux changements environnementaux en cours<br>Octocorals living in symbiosis with photosynthetic dinoflagellates are one of the major benthic groups of tropical coral reefs. They are notably abundant within disturbed ecosystems where environmental changes have led to the decline of reef-building corals. Although nutrition plays a fundamental role in regulating the abundance of a population, the acquisition of nutrients by octocorals has received little attention to date. The aims of this thesis were to characterize the acquisition and assimilation of autotrophic and heterotrophic nutrients by octocoral species from the Red Sea, from the shallow down to the upper mesophotic zone. The results show that the autotrophic carbon fixation in octocorals is lower at shallow depth compared to scleractinians, but equivalent at mesophotic depths. In addition, the assimilation of dissolved nitrogen compounds is lower in octocorals than in scleractinian corals. These results suggest that octocorals strongly depend on heterotrophic food sources to meet their nutritional requirements. Such mixotrophy provides octocorals with a wide trophic plasticity, which may contribute to their higher resistance to cope with already on-going environmental changes

Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro<br>Neste estudo, procuramos avaliar a composição e abundância de espécies de anfíbios e répteis em uma paisagem fragmentada de Mata Atlântica, no município de Cachoeiras de Macacu, Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Amostramos a herpetofauna da região na área contínua de floresta da Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu (REGUA), em 12 fragmentos do entorno com tamanhos e graus de isolamento diferentes, e áreas de pasto (matriz). Utilizamos para amostragem destes animais as metodologias de buscas ativas visuais e armadilhas de interceptação e queda, além de encontros ocasionais. No total foram registradas 55 espécies de anfíbios anuros pertencentes a 12 famílias e entre os répteis foram registradas 26 espécies, sendo uma espécie de anfisbena, uma de jacaré, nove de lagartos e 15 de serpentes. Para os anfíbios, houve uma dominância de espécies da família Hylidae, que representaram mais da metade do total de espécies encontradas no estudo. Já entre os répteis, houve uma predominância de espécies de serpentes da família Dipsadidae. Considerando apenas os registros feitos pelas metodologias empregadas, a área contínua de floresta da REGUA possui uma riqueza de espécies de anfíbios (N = 30) e de lagartos (N = 4) menor do que o conjunto de fragmentos (N = 36 e N = 8), mas superior ao que foi encontrado na matriz (N = 25 e N = 1). Entretanto, para os anfíbios, mais de um terço das espécies (N = 11) que ocorreu na mata contínua não ocorreu nos fragmentos ou na matriz, o que sugere que estas espécies podem ser mais sensíveis a alterações do hábitat. A maior riqueza de espécies encontrada no conjunto de fragmentos pode ser parcialmente explicada pelo fato de muitas espécies tanto de anfíbios quanto de lagartos que são típicas de áreas abertas, terem sua ocorrência favorecida neste tipo de condição de ambiente relativamente menos fechado dos fragmentos. Quando avaliamos o efeito de métricas da paisagem, observamos diferentes respostas entre os anfíbios e os lagartos. Enquanto para os anfíbios houve uma tendência de fragmentos mais distantes terem uma menor riqueza de espécies e de modos reprodutivos associados a estas espécies, para os lagartos a área dos fragmentos parece ser uma importante variável na estruturação das comunidades. Entretanto, por particularidades das características fisiológicas e ecológicas de anfíbios e lagartos, é possível que outros fatores expliquem a distribuição diferenciada das espécies. De forma geral, as áreas de matriz amostradas pareceram ser hostis a espécies florestais tanto de anfíbios quanto de lagartos. Além disso, para anfíbios, a presença de ambientes reprodutivos pode ser fator crucial para a ocorrência de algumas espécies. De forma similar ao encontrado em outros estudos, para a manutenção da diversidade de anfíbios e lagartos na paisagem fragmentada tratada neste estudo é necessário preservar o grande bloco florestal e aumentar a conectividade deste com os fragmentos, o que poderia permitir a área contínua servir de área-fonte de dispersores para os remanescentes florestais.<br>In this study, we evaluated the composition and abundance of species of reptiles and amphibians in a fragmented landscape of Atlantic Forest in the municipality of Cachoeiras de Macacu, Rio de Janeiro State. We sampled the herpetofauna of the region in continuous forest area of Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu (REGUA) in 12 fragments with different sizes and degrees of isolation, and pasture areas (matrix). For sampling amphibians and reptiles we used visual encounter surveys and pitfall traps, supplemented with records obtained in occasional encounters. In total we recorded 55 amphibians species belonging to 12 families and 26 reptiles species, being one amphisbenian, an alligator, nine lizards and 15 snakes. For the amphibians, there was a dominance of species of the family Hylidae, which accounted for over half the total species found in the study. Among reptiles, there was a predominance of species of snakes family Dipsadidae. Considering only the records made by the methodologies employed, the area of continuous forest of REGUA has a species richness of amphibians (N = 30) and lizards (N = 4) lower than the set of fragments conjunctly (N = 36 and N = 8), but higher than that found in the matrix (N = 25 and N = 1). However, for the amphibians, more than a third of species (N = 11) that occurred in the continuous forest did not occur in fragments or in the matrix, suggesting that these species may be more sensitive to changes in habitat. The highest species richness found in the set of fragments can be partly explained by the fact that many species both amphibians and lizards that are typical of open areas, have favored the occurrence of this type of condition relatively less closed environment of the fragments. When we evaluated the effect of landscape metrics, we found different responses between amphibians and lizards. While there was a trend for more distant fragments to keep a lower amphibian species richness and reproductive modes associated with these species, for the lizards, the size of the remnant area seemed to be an important variable in structuring communities. However, by peculiarities of the physiological and ecological characteristics of amphibians and lizards, it is possible that other factors explain the differential distribution of species. In general, the matrix areas sampled appeared to be hostile to both forest species of amphibians and lizards. In addition to amphibians, the presence of reproductive environments can be a crucial factor for the occurrence of some species. As found in other studies, to keep the species diversity of amphibians and lizards in fragmented landscape studied here it is necessary to preserve the large forest block and to increase its connectivity with the surrounding fragments, which could allow the continuous forest area to serve as area-source to dispersers for the smaller remnants.

La forte augmentation du volume de données multimédia impose la mise au point de solutions adaptées pour une exploration visuelle efficace des bases multimédia. Après avoir examiné les processus de visualisation mis en jeu, nous remarquons que ceci demande une structuration des données. L’objectif principal de cette thèse est de proposer et d’étudier ces méthodes de structuration des bases multimédia en vue de leur exploration visuelle.Nous commençons par un état de l’art détaillant les données et les mesures que nous pouvons produire en fonction de la nature des variables décrivant les données. Suit un examen des techniques de structuration par projection et classification. Nous présentons aussi en détail la technique du Clustering Spectral sur laquelle nous nous focaliserons ensuite.Notre première réalisation est une méthode originale de production et fusion de métriques par corrélation de rang. Nous testons cette première méthode sur une base multimédia issue de la vidéothèque d’un festival de films. Nous continuons ensuite par la mise au point d’une méthode de classification supervisée par corrélation que nous testons avec les données vidéos d’un challenge de la communauté multimédia. Ensuite nous nous focalisons sur les techniques du Clustering Spectral. Nous testons une technique de Clustering Spectral supervisée que nous comparons aux techniques de l’état de l’art. Et pour finir nous examinons des techniques du Clustering Spectral semi-supervisé actif. Dans ce contexte, nous proposons et validons des techniques de propagation d’annotations et des stratégies permettant d’améliorer la convergence de ces méthodes de classement<br>The large increase in multimedia data volume requires the development of effective solutions for visual exploration of multimedia databases. After reviewing the visualization process involved, we emphasis the need of data structuration. The main objective of this thesis is to propose and study clustering and classification of multimedia database for their visual exploration.We begin with a state of the art detailing the data and the metrics we can produce according to the nature of the variables describing each document. Follows a review of the projection and classification techniques. We also present in detail the Spectral Clustering method.Our first contribution is an original method that produces fusion of metrics using rank correlations. We validate this method on an animation movie database coming from an international festival. Then we propose a supervised classification method based on rank correlation. This contribution is evaluated on a multimedia challenge dataset. Then we focus on Spectral Clustering methods. We test a supervised Spectral Clustering technique and compare to state of the art methods. Finally we examine active semi-supervised Spectral Clustering methods. In this context, we propose and validate constraint propagation techniques and strategies to improve the convergence of these active methods

Submitted by Franciele Moreira (francielemoreyra@gmail.com) on 2018-04-11T11:57:10Z No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Lucas Pereira Martins - 2018.pdf: 2113878 bytes, checksum: 4c38a4d425f42506d50aa62bf6661c3f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5)<br>Approved for entry into archive by Luciana Ferreira (lucgeral@gmail.com) on 2018-04-12T11:22:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Lucas Pereira Martins - 2018.pdf: 2113878 bytes, checksum: 4c38a4d425f42506d50aa62bf6661c3f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5)<br>Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-12T11:22:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Lucas Pereira Martins - 2018.pdf: 2113878 bytes, checksum: 4c38a4d425f42506d50aa62bf6661c3f (MD5) license_rdf: 0 bytes, checksum: d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-03-15<br>Conselho Nacional de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq<br>Understanding how species interact with each other is essential to advance our knowledge on community ecology. However, there are still gaps regarding how interspecific interactions affect and are affected by the variation in the composition of species that constitute the ecological networks. In particular, studies of beta diversity are interesting to understand how sets of biotic filters may affect species’ geographic distribution and persistence on communities. Another interesting question is if variations in species composition may cause changes on how ecological networks are structured. In this dissertation, we propose to evaluate patterns of beta diversity and structure on insect-plant interaction networks. Specifically, in the first chapter we aimed to test if beta diversity is affected by the trophic level to which the assemblage belongs, and by the degree of specialization of species at higher trophic levels to their host species. For this, we used a tritrophic system comprising plants of the family Asteraceae, endophagous herbivores and parasitoids sampled in remnants of Brazilian Cerrado. Our main results show that total beta diversity of parasitoids (higher trophic level) was lower than those of the other trophic levels, while there was no difference between total beta diversity of plants and herbivores. Furthermore, the degree of specialization of the assemblages of herbivores and parasitoids was positively associated to the beta diversity of these groups. In the second chapter, we evaluated if species beta diversity among sites affects dissimilarity in network structure, and if this relationship changes across time. Overall, the relationship between spatial beta diversity and dissimilarity in plant-herbivore network structure was context-dependent, thus indicating that different ecological processes (i.e., niche-based and neutral) may drive the organization of antagonistic networks across time.<br>Compreender como as espécies interagem entre si é essencial para avançar o nosso conhecimento em ecologia de comunidades. No entanto, ainda existem lacunas no que se refere a como interações interespecíficas influenciam e são influenciadas pela variação na composição de espécies que constituem as redes ecológicas. Em particular, estudos de diversidade beta são interessantes para entender como conjuntos de filtros bióticos podem influenciar a distribuição geográfica e persistência de espécies nas comunidades. Outra questão interessante é se variações na composição de espécies podem causar mudanças no modo como redes ecológicas são estruturadas. Nesta dissertação, propomos avaliar padrões de diversidade beta e estrutura de redes de interações inseto-planta. Especificamente, no primeiro capítulo visamos testar se a diversidade beta é influenciada pelo nível trófico ao qual a assembleia pertence, e pelo grau de especialização de espécies de níveis tróficos superiores às suas espécies hospedeiras. Para isso, utilizamos um sistema tritrófico composto por plantas da família Asteraceae, herbívoros endófagos e parasitoides amostrado em remanescentes de Cerrado brasileiro. Nossos principais resultados demonstram que a diversidade beta total de parasitoides (nível trófico superior) foi menor do que a dos demais níveis tróficos, enquanto que não houve diferença entre a diversidade beta total de plantas e herbívoros. Além disso, o grau de especialização das assembleias de herbívoros e parasitoides foi positivamente relacionado à diversidade beta destes grupos. No segundo capítulo, avaliamos se a diversidade beta de espécies entre locais influencia a dissimilaridade na estrutura de redes ecológicas, e se esta relação muda através do tempo. De modo geral, a relação entre diversidade beta espacial e dissimilaridade na estrutura de redes planta-herbívoro foi contexto-dependente, indicando assim que diferentes processos ecológicos (i.e., baseados em nicho e neutros) podem determinar a organização de redes antagonistas através do tempo.

碩士<br>國立臺北科技大學<br>土木與防災研究所<br>101<br>The change of hydrological environment in a watershed due to land use variation is usually slow and imperceptible. Since there are complicated relationships among water quality, water resource and ecosystem, the change of geographical environment will result in a variation of ecological environment and impacts of water quality. The rivers and the Feitsui reservoir at the Taipei water source district is an important source of water supply in Taipei Area. The control and management of water quality is a primary concern in this area. Therefore, it is an urgent need to establish the knowledge in land uses, water quality and ecology in the watershed. The objective of the study is to use the landscape ecological metrics to assess land use change and associated impacts on water quality and ecology. The SPOT satellite images of 1995 and 2012 were implemented classification, change detection, and the landscape ecology metrics calculation at eight sampling sites in the district. The results showed that the agricultural area has expanded and partially replaced the area of forest and road at the Pinglin, Hu Liao Tan of Peishih River and Cukeng Dam of Nanshih River. The change was less in Bihu and in the upstream of Tungho River. It can also conclude from the study that when it tends to the downstream location in the special district, the cluster of construction zone, the contiguity of agricultural zone, the meander of road zone and the polymerization of water zone increase, but the fractional of forest zone decrease. This study performed the correlation analysis for landscape metrics of each area and ecological indices of water quality. The result showed that it could bring out negative influences when large area and long length of edge of construction zone and road exist, which is the results of human activities. The trend was getting worse in agricultural blocks when the quantity of patches increased, the density elevated and there were situation such as perforation and fragmentation. There were positive effects in blocks of grass and forest if they were in large area of blocks and adjacent to each other, because they functioned like the buffer strips. It can see from the study that it is capable of evaluating the landscape distribution and the change of water quality in this area by comparing the spatial and temporal variation of landscape metrics.

This dissertation builds upon the ideas introduced by Liben-Nowell and Kleinberg in The Link Prediction Problem for Social Networks [42]. Link prediction is the problem of predicting between which unconnected nodes in a graph a link will form next, based on the current structure of the graph. The following research contributions are made: • Highlighting the difference between the link prediction and link detection problems, which have been implicitly regarded as identical in current research. Despite hidden links and forming links having very highly significant differing metric values, they could not be distinguished from each other by a machine learning system using traditional metrics in an initial experiment. However, they could be distinguished from each other in a "simple" network (one where traditional metrics can be used for prediction successfully) using a combination of new graph analysis approaches. • Defining temporal metric statistics by combining traditional statistical measures with measures commonly employed in financial analysis and traditional social network analysis. These metrics are calculated over time for a sequence of sociograms. It is shown that some of the temporal extensions of traditional metrics increase the accuracy of link prediction. • Defining traditional metrics using different radii to those at which they are normally calculated. It is shown that this approach can increase the individual prediction accuracy of certain metrics, marginally increase the accuracy of a group of metrics, and greatly increase metric computation speed without sacrificing information content by computing metrics using smaller radii. It also solves the “distance-three task” (that common neighbour metrics cannot predict links between nodes at a distance greater than three). • Showing that the combination of local and temporal approaches to link prediction can lead to very high prediction accuracies. Furthermore in “complex” networks (ones where traditional metrics cannot be used for prediction successfully) local and temporal metrics become even more useful.

abstract: RF convergence of radar and communications users is rapidly becoming an issue for a multitude of stakeholders. To hedge against growing spectral congestion, research into cooperative radar and communications systems has been identified as a critical necessity for the United States and other countries. Further, the joint sensing-communicating paradigm appears imminent in several technological domains. In the pursuit of co-designing radar and communications systems that work cooperatively and benefit from each other's existence, joint radar-communications metrics are defined and bounded as a measure of performance. Estimation rate is introduced, a novel measure of radar estimation information as a function of time. Complementary to communications data rate, the two systems can now be compared on the same scale. An information-centric approach has a number of advantages, defining precisely what is gained through radar illumination and serves as a measure of spectral efficiency. Bounding radar estimation rate and communications data rate jointly, systems can be designed as a joint optimization problem.<br>Dissertation/Thesis<br>Doctoral Dissertation Electrical Engineering 2017

碩士<br>淡江大學<br>資訊工程學系資訊網路與通訊碩士班<br>97<br>In the IEEE 802.16j multi-hop relay (MR) network, the design of an effective path selection scheme is an important issue for throughput gain and overhead reduction. This paper proposes a new metric, called SEL, to evaluate the relay path and thereby determine the appropriate one among the possible paths. SEL mainly considers both link spectral efficiency and link load. Based on SEL, a comprising function is also developed to formulate the path cost to select the appropriate relay path. As confirmed by the performance evaluation, the proposed path selection scheme with SEL consideration significantly outperforms the existing path selection scheme in network throughput and map overhead.

Wildlife biologists and land managers tasked with the recovery of the endangered Lower Keys marsh rabbit (LKMR; Sylvilagus palustris hefneri) were in need of a current population estimate as well as a method to estimate the LKMR population annually. Habitat loss and fragmentation from population growth and development have threatened the existence of the LKMR. Establishing and understanding long-term habitat availability for the LKMR is important for determining causes of historical population declines as well as designing and implementing successful recovery plans. I conducted a range-wide pellet survey and a mark-recapture study to estimate the LKMR population. I evaluated the fit of 5 models and considered the variation in behavioral response model the best model. I correlated (r2 = 0.913) this model's rabbit abundance estimates to pellet density in 11 patches and generated a range-wide population estimate of 317, a western clade population of 257, an eastern clade population of 25, and translocated LKMR populations of 35 and 0 on Little Pine and Water keys, respectively. This prediction equation provides managers a quick, efficient, and non-invasive method to estimate LKMR abundance from pellet counts. To quantify the amount of habitat loss and fragmentation that occurred over the last 50 years, I systematically delineated and compared potential LKMR habitat using 1959 and 2006 aerial photographs. Additionally, I investigated if other factors could have reduced the amount of suitable habitat available for the LKMR with a comparison of habitat loss and fragmentation on a developed island and an undeveloped island. Range-wide, I found that number of habitat patches increased by 38, total class area decreased by 49.0%, and mean patch size decreased by 44.3%. Mean shape index increased by 4.2% and mean proximity index decreased by 13%. Both the 1959 and 2006 connectance indices were low while the 2006 set decreased 12.1%. I observed the same patterns of habitat loss and fragmentation on both the developed and undeveloped islands as I did in the range-wide landscape analysis. I found that LKMR habitat has declined in area and become more fragmented over the last 50 years. Habitat loss and fragmentation by development have directly endangered the LKMR; however, sea level rise and woody encroachment also could have historically caused habitat loss and fragmentation. Although development in LKMR habitat was halted, sea-level rise and woody encroachment could continue to alter LKMR habitat.

Spiranthes parksii Correll is an endemic terrestrial orchid to the Post Oak Savannah of East Texas and is currently listed as federally endangered. The construction of Twin Oaks landfill, approximately 20 km east of College Station, TX, will destroy an estimated 379 S. parksii individuals and 44.7 ha of its habitat. Research has been funded to mitigate for this loss and includes documenting demographics, life cycle, local and landscape habitat, and on-site transplantation of S. parksii. Results found that S. parksii was highly variable between years at Twin Oaks and might be due to seasonal rainfall in rosette and early flowering growth. It was also found variable in its production of a rosette and influorescence from year to year. Individual plants were found to occur farther from drainages in higher count years, probably due to soil moisture, although further research should be conducted to confirm this hypothesis. A significant difference (p = 0.026) was found for percent canopy cover > 2 m above 1 m x 1 m quadrats with and without S. parksii, with a mean of 55 percent with S. parksii and 97 percent without S. parksii. A Non-Metric Multidimensional Scaling ordination revealed three different combinations of herbaceous species that occur with S. parksii, which were driven by the presence of three dominant bunch grasses of the Post Oak Savannah: Schizachyrium scoparium, Chasmanthium laxum var. sessiliflorum, and Andropogon ternarius. A close to significant difference (p = 0.07) was found for the leaf litter depth between quadrats with and without S. parksii, with a fewer number of stacked leaves with S. parksii. Analysis of aerial images indicated woody encroachment on Twin Oaks from 1958 to 2004 in areas that have not been mechanically cleared. Additionally, S. parksii was found to persist in an open savannah landscape and likely occurred in the same locations and more widespread in 1958 than are currently found. Transplantation of S. parksii was documented to be successful by a soil-intact method. While a bare-root method showed success with S. cernua, no conclusions can be made of its success for S. parksii due to a low sample size (n = 10).

Dans cette thèse, nous étudions le spectre conforme d'une surface fermée et le spectre de Steklov conforme d'une surface compacte à bord et leur application à la géométrie conforme et à la topologie. Soit (Σ, c) une surface fermée munie d'une classe conforme c. Alors la k-ième valeur propre conforme est définie comme Λ_k(Σ,c)=sup{λ_k(g) Aire(Σ,g)| g ∈ c), où λ_k(g) est la k-ième valeur propre de l'operateur de Laplace-Beltrami de la métrique g sur Σ. Notons que nous commeçons par λ_0(g) = 0. En prennant le supremum sur toutes les classes conformes C sur Σ on obtient l'invariant topologique suivant de Σ: Λ_k(Σ)=sup{Λ_k(Σ,c)| c ∈ C}. D'après l'article [65], les quantités Λ_k(Σ, c) et Λ_k(Σ) sont bien définies. Si une métrique g sur Σ satisfait λ_k(g) Aire(Σ, g) = Λ_k(Σ), alors on dit que g est maximale pour la fonctionnelle λ_k(g) Aire(Σ, g). Dans l'article [73], il a été montré que les métriques maximales pour λ_1(g) Aire(Σ, g) peuvent au pire avoir des singularités coniques. Dans cette thèse nous montrons que les métriques maximales pour les fonctionnelles λ_1(g) Aire(T^2, g) et λ_1(g) Aire(KL, g), où T^2 et KL dénotent le 2-tore et la bouteille de Klein, ne peuvent pas avoir de singularités coniques. Ce résultat découle d'un théorème de classification de classes conformes par des métriques induites d'une immersion minimale ramifiée dans une sphère ronde aussi montré dans cette thèse. Un autre invariant que nous étudions dans cette thèse est le k-ième invariant de Friedlander-Nadirashvili défini comme: I_k(Σ) = inf{Λ_k(Σ, c)| c ∈ C}. L'invariant I_1(Σ) a été introduit dans l'article [34]. Dans cette thèse nous montrons que pour toute surface orientable et pour toute surface non-orientable de genre impaire I_k(Σ)=I_k(S^2) et pour toute surface non-orientable de genre paire I_k(RP^2) ≥ I_k(Σ)>I_k(S^2). Ici S^2 et RP^2 dénotent la 2-sphère et le plan projectif. Nous conjecturons que I_k(Σ) sont des invariants des cobordismes des surfaces fermées. Le spectre de Steklov conforme est défini de manière similaire. Soit (Σ, c) une surface compacte à bord non vide ∂Σ, alors les k-ièmes valeurs propres de Steklov conformes sont définies comme: σ*_k(Σ, c)=sup{σ_k(g) Longueur(∂Σ, g)| g ∈ c}, où σ_k(g) est la k-ième valeur propre de Steklov de la métrique g sur Σ. Ici nous supposons que σ_0(g) = 0. De façon similaire au problème fermé, on peut définir les quantités suivantes: σ*_k(Σ)=sup{σ*_k(Σ, c)| c ∈ C} et I^σ_k(Σ)=inf{σ*_k(Σ, c)| c ∈ C}. Les résultats de l'article [16] impliquent que toutes ces quantités sont bien définies. Dans cette thèse on obtient une formule pour la limite de σ*_k(Σ, c_n) lorsque la suite des classes conformes c_n dégénère. Cette formule implique que pour toute surface à bord I^σ_k(Σ)= I^σ_k(D^2), où D^2 dénote le 2-disque. On remarque aussi que les quantités I^σ_k(Σ) sont des invariants des cobordismes de surfaces à bord. De plus, on obtient une borne supérieure pour la fonctionnelle σ^k(g) Longueur(∂Σ, g), où Σ est non-orientable, en terme de son genre et le nombre de composants de bord.<br>In this thesis, we study the conformal spectrum of a closed surface and the conformal Steklov spectrum of a compact surface with boundary and their application to conformal geometry and topology. Let (Σ,c) be a closed surface endowed with a conformal class c then the k-th conformal eigenvalue is defined as Λ_k(Σ,c)=sup{λ_k(g) Aire(Σ,g)| g ∈ c), where λ_k(g) is the k-th Laplace-Beltrami eigenvalue of the metric g on Σ. Note that we start with λ_0(g) = 0 Taking the supremum over all conformal classes C on Σ one gets the following topological invariant of Σ: Λ_k(Σ)=sup{Λ_k(Σ,c)| c ∈ C}. It follows from the paper [65] that the quantities Λ_k(Σ, c) and Λ_k(Σ) are well-defined. Suppose that for a metric g on Σ the following identity holds λ_k(g) Aire(Σ, g) = Λ_k(Σ). Then one says that the metric g is maximal for the functional λ_k(g) Aire(Σ, g). In the paper [73] it was shown that the maximal metrics for the functional λ_1(g) Aire(Σ, g) at worst can have conical singularities. In this thesis we show that the maximal metrics for the functionals λ_1(g) Aire(T^2, g) and λ_1(g) Aire(KL, g), where T^2 and KL stand for the 2-torus and the Klein bottle respectively, cannot have conical singularities. This result is a corollary of a conformal class classification theorem by metrics induced from a branched minimal immersion into a round sphere that we also prove in the thesis. Another invariant that we study in this thesis is the k-th Friedlander-Nadirashvili invariant defined as: I_k(Σ) = inf{Λ_k(Σ, c)| c ∈ C}. The invariant I_1(Σ) was introduced in the paper [34]. In this thesis we prove that for any orientable surface and any non-orientable surface of odd genus I_k(Σ)=I_k(S^2) and for any non-orientable surface of even genus I_k(RP^2) ≥ I_k(Σ)>I_k(S^2). Here S^2 and RP^2 denote the 2-sphere and the projective plane respectively. We also conjecture that I_k(Σ) are invariants of cobordisms of closed manifolds. The conformal Steklov spectrum is defined in a similar way. Let (Σ, c) be a compact surface with non-empty boundary ∂Σ then the k-th conformal Steklov eigenvalues is defined by the formula: σ*_k(Σ, c)=sup{σ_k(g) Longueur(∂Σ, g)| g ∈ c}, where σ_k(g) is the k-th Steklov eigenvalue of the metric g on Σ. Here we suppose that σ_0(g) = 0. Similarly to the closed problem one can define the following quantities: σ*_k(Σ)=sup{σ*_k(Σ, c)| c ∈ C} and I^σ_k(Σ)=inf{σ*_k(Σ, c)| c ∈ C}. The results of the paper [16] imply that all these quantities are well-defined. In this thesis we obtain a formula for the limit of the k-th conformal Steklov eigenvalue when the sequence of conformal classes degenerates. Using this formula we show that for any surface with boundary I^σ_k(Σ)= I^σ_k(D^2), where D^2 stands for the 2-disc. We also notice that I^σ_k(Σ) are invariants of cobordisms of surfaces with boundary. Moreover, we obtain an upper bound for the functional σ^k(g) Longueur(∂Σ, g), where Σ is non-orientable, in terms of its genus and the number of boundary components.

Die Kulturlandschaft und ihre Bewirtschaftung haben sich seit dem Beginn der großräumigen Intensivierungsprozesse (z.B. Meliorationen, synthetischer Düngung und Herbizidgebrauch) in den 1950/60er Jahren in Mitteleuropa dramatisch geändert. Viele der ehemaligen artenreichen Grünlandflächen wurden in den letzten Jahrzehnten beseitigt (z.B. durch Umbruch zu Acker). Dies führte zu einem allgemeinen Grünlandrückgang in Deutschland. Heute werden die meisten Ackerflächen und die restlichen Grünlandflächen sehr intensiv bewirtschaftet. Die gegenläufige Entwicklung, die Umwandlung von Äckern zu Grünland, ist eher eine regionale Erscheinung, z.B. im Hügeland oder im Zuge von Kompensationsmaßnahmen. Die Artenzusammensetzung dieser Grünländer unterscheidet sich jedoch häufig von solchen mit längerer Habitatkontinuität. Um die Effekte von solch weiträumigen Meliorationsmaßnahmen auf die Phytodiversität, die Landschaftsstruktur und die hiermit einhergehende Grünlandfragmentierung sowie deren Auswirkungen auf die Pflanzenarten des Grünlandes zu erfassen, ist es nötig, historische Daten aus den 1950er Jahren, bevor die gravierenden, ackerbaulichen Intensivierungen begannen, auszuwerten. Feucht- sowie artenreiche Frischgrünländer waren in den 1950/60er Jahren ein typischer und weit verbreiteter Habitattyp, gelten jedoch aktuell als sehr bedroht in Mitteleuropa. Wiederholungsstudien mit mehreren Untersuchungsflächen und einem Untersuchungs-zeitraum von 50-60 Jahren, der vor den weiträumigen Intensivierungen beginnt, fehlen bislang und klar verortete historische Vegetationsdaten sind selten. Obwohl der Graslandanteil in einigen Hügelregionen in Deutschland zugenommen hat ist die ökologische Qualität vieler dieser Flächen gering. Zusätzlich sind artenreiche Kalkmagerrasen als ein Relikt früherer Bewirtschaftsformen und typischer Bestandteil des Hügellandes durch Nutzungsaufgabe (Sukzession) und Nährstoffeintrag gefährdet. Das Ziel dieser Doktorarbeit war es, den Landschaftswandel und die Veränderungen im Grünland in sechs Flussauengebieten (sowie einem durch Naturschutzstatus geschützten Gebiet) und einem typischen Gebiet des Hügellandes in Norddeutschland zu untersuchen. Hierzu wurden sowohl der Grünlandanteil, die Habitatkontinuität, der aktuelle Habitattyp, der Fragmentierungsgrad als auch die Auswirkungen auf die Artenzahlen, Artenzusammensetzung und die funktionelle Diversität untersucht. Die Studien in den Flussauen basieren auf fein aufgelösten historischen Vegetationskarten und dazugehörigen Vegetationsaufnahmen aus demselben Zeitraum. In 2008 wurden diese sechs Gebiete (+1 geschütztes Gebiet) mittels einer Biotoptypenkartierung erneut erfasst. Innerhalb dieser kanpp 2800 ha (2500 + 293 ha) früherer Grünländer wurden randomisierte Punkte gelegt und zusätzlich Vegetationaufnahmen in allen aktuellen Grünländern (inklusive Sukzessionsstadien) angefertigt. Die Fallstudie (2500 ha) aus dem niedersächsischen Hügelland basiert auf aktuellen Vegetationsaufnahmen, die ebenfalls mittels randomisierter Punkte in den bestehenden Grünländern (394 ha) angefertig wurden. Zusatzdaten über z.B. die aktuelle Bewirtschaftung oder die Habitatkontinuität (Auswertung historischer Karten) wurden ebenfalls erfasst. Die erste Studie zeigte, dass die ehemaligen artenreichen Feucht- und Frischgrünländer in den ungeschützten Gebieten drastisch, um über 80% der ursprünglichen Fläche, zurückgegangen sind. Sie wurden größtenteils durch Äcker, Intensivgrünländer aber auch Brachestadien ersetzt. Bedingt durch diesen starken Flächenrückgang hat die Fragmentierung der Restflächen stark zugenommen. Die durch ein Naturschutzgebiet geschützte Untersuchungsfläche an der Havel zeigte im Vergleich relative geringe Veränderungen. Daraus lässt sich deuten, dass lokale Effekte wie Düngung oder Drainage und nicht überregionale Effekte wie Klimaerwärmung oder der Eintrag von Stickstoff durch Luft die Hauptursache für den dokumentierten Wandel sind. Die zweite Studie in den Grünländern der Auen zeigte, dass sich die Artenzusammensetzung in den letzten fünf bis sechs Jahrzehnten in allen Gebieten stark verändert hat, die Artenzahlen der Vegetationsaufnahmen um 30-50% und auch die funktionelle Diversität in ähnlichem Maße zurückgegangen sind. Die Ellenberg-Zeigerwerte (EIV) für Nährstoffverfügbarkeit sind im Vergleich zu den 1950/60er Jahren stark gestiegen und die Unterschiede zwischen den ungeschützen und dem geschützten Gebiet unterstützen ebenfalls die Annahme, dass Veränderungen größtenteils durch lokale Faktoren und nicht durch überregionale Effekte verursacht wurden. Der Trend in den ungeschützten Gebieten geht zu artenamen Grünlandgesellschaften, die von wenigen konkurrenzstarken und mahdtoleranten Arten dominiert werden. Frühblühende und auf Insektenbestäubung angewiesene Pflanzen sind stark zurückgegangen, mit entsprechenden Auswirkungen auf die Tierwelt. Die dritte Studie verknüpft den dramatischen Grünlandrückgang und die zunehmende Fragmentierung mit der Artenverarmung seit den 1950/60er Jahren. Hierfür wurden mittels definierter Kriterien eine Liste von 78 für das Feucht- und Frischgrünland charakteristischen Grünlandarten definiert, die die Grundlage für die weiteren Analysen bildeten. Die Artenzahlen auf Ebene der Vegetationsaufnahmen nahmen um 30-66% ab. Die getesteten Landschaftsstrukturmaße hatten keinen nachweisbaren Einfluss auf die Artenzahlen auf Landschaftsebene. Die Distanz zum nächstgelegenen und geeigneten Habitat für die charakteristischen Arten hatte einen geringen negativen Effekt auf die Artenzahl der Vegetationsaufnahmen. Die Ellenberg-Zeigerwerte (N, F) und die Diversitätsmaßzahlen an charakteristischen Arten weisen ebenfalls auf den Effekt der lokalen Bewirtschaftung und nicht auf Fragmentierung als treibende Kraft beim Rückgang und dem Wandel der Artengarnitur hin. Im Gegensatz zu den Untersuchungsgebieten in den Flussauen hat sich der Grünlandanteil in der Fallstudie im niedersächsischen Hügelland seit den 1950er Jahren verdoppelt. Es wurden sechs verschiedene Grünlandtypen mit einer Spanne von unter 15 bis zu deutlich mehr als 27 Arten pro Aufnahme erfasst. Die besonders artenreichen Bestände sind aber mit ca. 6% der Fläche sehr selten. Die Anzahl an insektenbestäubten Pflanzen als auch die absoluten Artenzahlen gehen mit steigender Nutzungsintensität (indiziert durch die Ellenberg-Zeigerwerte Nährstoffe (N) und Mahdtoleranz (M)) wie in den Untersuchungsgebieten in den Flussauen zurück. Artenreiche Grünländer kommen nur auf mit Schafen beweideten Flächen mit einer Habitatkontinuität von mindestens 100 Jahren vor. Grünländer mit mittleren Artenzahlen sind größtenteils auf früheren Äckern mit einer Habitatkontinuität von weniger als 30 Jahren zu finden. Die dargestellte Untersuchung hat dramatische Verluste in den Grünlandflächen der Flussauen aufgezeigt. Die Restflächen sind fragmentiert und die Artenzahlen sowie die funtionelle Diversität stark zurückgegangen. Die Fallstudie im niedersächsischen Hügelland zeigt, dass selbst in Landschaften mit hohem Grasslandanteil die ökologische Qualität von den meisten Grünländern nur noch gering ist.

Marine Inseln beherbergen einen großen Teil der biologischen Vielfalt unseres Planeten und weisen gleichzeitig einen hohen Anteil endemischer Arten auf. Inselbiota sind allerdings zudem besonders anfällig für anthropogene Einflüsse wie den globalen Klimawandel, Habitatverlust und invasive Arten. Für ihren Erhalt ist es daher wichtig, die ökologischen Prozesse auf Inseln detailliert zu verstehen. Aufgrund ihrer definierten Größe und isolierten Lage eignen sich Inseln als Modellsysteme in der ökologischen und evolutionären Forschung. Der Großteil der bisherigen Inselstudien hat sich allerdings mit kleinräumigen Mustern befasst, so dass standardisierte globale Daten zu den biogeographischen Eigenschaften und eine makroökologische Synthese ihrer Biota bislang fehlen. In dieser Arbeit stelle ich eine physische und bioklimatische Charakterisierung der Inseln der Welt vor und behandle die Frage, wie abiotische Inseleigenschaften die Diversität von Inselfloren beeinflussen. Ich bearbeite zwei Hauptaspekte dieser Fragestellung: Zuerst konzentriere ich mich auf historische und heutige Klimabedingungen und physische Inseleigenschaften als Triebfedern von Pflanzendiversitätsmustern auf Inseln. Hierbei setze ich einen Schwerpunkt auf die räumliche Anordnung von Inseln und Struktur von Archipelen. Als Zweites behandle ich taxon-spezifische Unterschiede in der Antwort von Diversitätsmustern auf abiotische Faktoren. Hierzu stelle ich eine globale Datenbank mit historischen und heutigen Klimabedingungen und physischen Eigenschaften, wie Fläche, Isolation und Geologie, von 17883 Inseln größer als 1 km² vor. Mit Hilfe von Ordinations- und Klassifikationsverfahren charakterisiere und klassifiziere ich die Inseln in einem multidimensionalen Umweltraum. Außerdem entwickele ich einen Satz von ökologisch relevanten Maßen zur Beschreibung von Isolation von Inseln und ihrer räumlichen Anordnung in Archipelen, darunter Maße zu Trittstein-Inseln, Wind- und Meeresströmungen, klimatischer Ähnlichkeit, Distanzen zwischen Inseln und umgebender Landfläche. Diese Maße berücksichtigen verschiedene Aspekte von Isolation, welche Immigration, Artbildung und Aussterben auf Inseln sowie Austausch zwischen Inseln beeinflussen. Um abiotische Bedingungen mit biotischen Eigenschaften von Inselfloren in Verbindung zu bringen, nutze ich eine für diese Arbeit erstellte Datenbank aus 1295 Insel-Artenlisten, die insgesamt ca. 45000 heimische Gefäßpflanzenarten umfassen. Dies ist der umfassendste und erste globale Datensatz für Pflanzen auf Inseln, der Artidentitäten anstatt lediglich Artenzahlen beinhaltet. Die globale Insel-Charakterisierung bestätigt quantitativ, dass sich Inseln in bioklimatischen und physischen Eigenschaften vom Festland unterscheiden. Inseln sind im Durchschnitt signifikant kühler, feuchter und weniger saisonal geprägt als das Festland. Die weiteren Ergebnisse zeigen, dass eine sorgfältige Beschreibung der räumlich-physischen Eigenschaften von Inseln und Archipelen nötig ist, um die Diversitätsmuster ihrer Biota zu verstehen. Isolation ist nach Inselfläche der zweitwichtigste Einflussfaktor für den Gefäßpflanzenartenreichtum auf Inseln. Von den verglichenen Isolationsmaßen eignet sich der Anteil an umgebender Landfläche am besten zur Erklärung der Artenzahlen. Außerdem erhöht sich durch die Berücksichtigung von Trittsteininseln, großen Inseln als Quell-Landflächen und klimatischer Ähnlichkeit der Quell-Landflächen die Vorhersagekraft der Modelle. Isolation spielt eine geringere Rolle auf großen Inseln, wo in situ Diversifizierung den negativen Effekt von Isolation auf Immigration ausgleicht. Die räumliche Struktur innerhalb von Archipelen ist von besonderer Bedeutung für β-Diversität, d.h. für den Unterschied in der Artenzusammensetzung der Inseln. Außerdem beeinflusst sie indirekt, durch den Effekt auf die β-Diversität, auch die γ-Diversität, d.h. die Diversität des gesamten Archipels. Die Ergebnisse heben die enorme Bedeutung der relativen räumlichen Position von Inseln zueinander für Diversitätsmuster auf Inseln hervor und zeigen die Notwendigkeit für Inselforschung und Naturschutz, Inseln im Kontext ihres Archipels zu betrachten. Die Ergebnisse für Farne auf südostasiatischen Inseln zeigen, dass die Bedeutung von physischen Inseleigenschaften für Diversität kontinuierlich mit der Größe der betrachteten Untersuchungsfläche von der Insel- bis zur Plotebene abnimmt, wohingegen der Einfluss von lokalen Umweltbedingungen zunimmt. Lokale Artgemeinschaften sind häufig gesättigt, wodurch die Anzahl an Arten, die aus dem regionalen Artenbestand einwandern können, limitiert wird. Um Vorhersagen über lokalen Artenreichtum zu machen, ist es daher wichtig, die Skalenabhängigkeit der Effekte des regionalen Artenbestandes zu berücksichtigen. Großgruppen von Pflanzen unterscheiden sich in ihrer Ausbreitungsfähigkeit, ihrem Genfluss, Artbildungsraten und Anpassungen an das Klima. Dementsprechend zeigen die vergleichenden Analysen zwischen taxonomischen Pflanzengruppen deutliche Unterschiede in der Reaktion von Artenreichtum und phylogenetischen Diversitätsmustern auf abiotische Faktoren. Die Arten-Fläche-Beziehung, d.h. die Zunahme von Artendiversität mit zunehmender Fläche, variiert zwischen den Pflanzengruppen. Die Steigung der Arten-Fläche-Beziehung ist für Spermatophyten größer als für Pteridophyten und Bryophyten, wohingegen der y-Achsenabschnitt kleiner ist. Unter der Annahme, dass Merkmale und klimatische Anpassungen innerhalb von taxonomischen Gruppen phylogenetisch konserviert sind, führen die Filterwirkung von Ausbreitungsbarrieren und Umwelteigenschaften sowie in situ Artbildung zu Gemeinschaften eng verwandter Arten (phylogenetic clustering). Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass physische und bioklimatische Inseleigenschaften, die mit der Filterwirkung und Artbildung in Verbindung stehen, die phylogenetische Struktur von Inselgemeinschaften beeinflussen. Die Stärke und Richtung der Zusammenhänge variieren zwischen taxonomischen Gruppen. Abiotische Faktoren erklären mehr Variation in phylogenetischer Diversität für alle Angiospermen und Palmen als für Farne, was auf Grund höherer Ausbreitungsfähigkeit und größerer Verbreitungsgebiete von Farnen den Erwartungen entspricht. Die abiotische Charakterisierung und Klassifizierung der weltweiten Inseln und die zugehörigen Daten ermöglichen eine integrativere Berücksichtigung von Inseln in der makroökologischen Forschung. In dieser Arbeit präsentiere ich die ersten Vorhersagen globaler Pflanzenartenvielfalt auf Inseln und die ersten Analysen zu unterschiedlichen Diversitätskomponenten (α, β, γ und phylogenetische Diversität) von Inselsystemen und ihren abiotischen Einflussfaktoren auf globalem Maßstab. Ich zeige, dass Zusammenhänge zwischen Umweltfaktoren und Artenzahl sowie phylogenetischen Eigenschaften von Inselgemeinschaften zwischen unterschiedlichen taxonomischen Gruppen in Abhängigkeit ihrer vorwiegenden Ausbreitungs- und Artbildungseigenschaften variieren können. Dies ist eine neue Sichtweise in der makroökologischen Inselforschung, die Rückschlüsse auf die Mechanismen hinter Diversitätsmustern von Pflanzen auf Inseln erlaubt. Ein detailliertes Verständnis davon, wie Diversität unterschiedlicher Pflanzengruppen durch Immigration und Diversifizierung auf Inseln entsteht, dürfte auch das Verständnis globaler Diversitätsmuster im Allgemeinen verbessern.

In this thesis we aim for a systematic way of extending Stone-Halmos duality theorems to categories including all compact Hausdorff spaces. To achieve this goal, we combine duality theory and quantale-enriched category theory. Our main idea is that, when passing from the two-element discrete space to a cogenerator of the category of compact Hausdorff spaces, all other involved structures should be substituted by corresponding enriched versions. Accordingly, we work with the unit interval [0, 1] and present duality theory for ordered compact spaces and (suitably defined) finitely cocomplete categories enriched in [0, 1]. In the second part, we study limits in categories of coalgebras whose underlying functor is a Vietoris polynomial one — intuitively, the topological analogue of a Kripke polynomial functor.<br>Nesta tese pretendemos estender de forma sistemática dualidades de StoneHalmos para categorias que incluem todos os espaços de Hausdorff compactos. Para atingir este objectivo combinamos teoria de dualidades e teoria de categorias enriquecidas em quantais. A nossa ideia principal é que ao passar do espaço discreto com dois elementos para um cogerador da categoria de espaços de Hausdorff compactos, todas as restantes estruturas envolvidas devem ser substituídas por versões enriquecidas correspondentes. Desta forma, consideramos o intervalo unitário [0, 1] e desenvolvemos teoria de dualidades para espaços ordenados compactos e categorias enriquecidas em [0, 1] finitamente cocompletas (apropriadamente definidas). Na segunda parte da tese estudamos limites em categorias de coalgebras cujo functor subjacente é um functor de Vietoris polinomial — intuitivamente, uma versão topológica de um functor polinomial de Kripke.<br>Programa Doutoral em Matemática

<p>Human society is presently beset by an array of anthropogenic social-ecological crises that threaten the sustainability of the social-ecological systems that sustain our livelihoods. While research alone will not rectify these issues, it can help to answer key questions that must be addressed to develop effective solutions. To address such questions in a cohesive, compelling manner, social-ecological research can be bounded, structured, and distilled through innumerable organizing principles or theoretical frameworks. For this dissertation, I focused on the geographic region of Tierra del Fuego and sought to draw from the array of disciplines and methods that use sound as a lens for biological, ecological, and/or social inquiry. I also endeavored to consider various temporal, spatial, and organizational scales while investigating a selection of topics with a) specific importance in the social-ecological systems of Tierra del Fuego and b) general relevance to global social-ecological challenges. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the dissertation, and Chapter 6 serves as a conclusion.</p><p><br></p><p> </p><p>The objective of Chapter 2, “Biogeographical and analytical implications of temporal variability in geographically diverse soundscapes”, was to provide some guidance to passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) practitioners on how to design appropriate temporal sampling schemes based on the temporal variability of the sounds one wishes to measure and the power and storage limitations of acoustic recorders. We first quantified the temporal variability of several soundscape measurements and compared that variability across sites and times of day. We also simulated a wide range of temporal sampling schemes in order to model their representativeness relative to continuous sampling.</p><p><br></p><p> </p><p>For Chapter 3, “Sentinels for sentinels: passive acoustic and camera trap monitoring of sensitive penguin populations”, we tested the utility of PAM to monitor behavior and abundance of Magellanic (<i>Spheniscus magellanicus</i>) and southern rockhopper penguins (<i>Eudyptes chrysocome</i>) at different spatial and temporal scales. We conducted <i>in situ</i> observations of the acoustic behavior of each species, and we compared acoustic metrics with penguin counts from narrowly focused camera traps and larger-extent observations of colony density. </p><p><br></p><p> </p><p>Chapter 4, “Acoustic monitoring shows invasive beavers (<i>Castor canadensis</i>) increase avian diversity in Tierra del Fuego”, is focused on impacts of the invasive North American beaver (<i>Castor canadensis</i>) on Fuegian bird communities. We sought to determine how bird communities might differ between intact riparian forests, beaver ponds, and beaver meadows created by pond drainage. We conducted PAM and classic avian point counts under each of these conditions across seasons to test for differences between impact conditions and to compare the two methodologies.</p><p><br></p><p> </p>For Chapter 5, “Human-nature connection and soundscape perception: insights from Tierra del Fuego, Argentina”, we evaluated the relationship between soundscape perception and nature relatedness by conducting surveys and soliciting responses to soundscape audio prompts. We also examined the potential for any demographic influences on nature relatedness or soundscape perception in the context of local social tensions.