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Fuda, Rebecca K. "A park under pressure| The impacts of human disturbance in Murchison Falls Conservation Area, Uganda." Thesis, State University of New York Col. of Environmental Science & Forestry, 2015. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=1596133.
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The extent of human disturbance is increasing, even in protected areas. I evaluated human disturbance impacts in Murchison Falls Conservation Area (MFCA), Uganda, a park in the Albertine Rift biodiversity hotspot, using two approaches. First, I quantified vegetation patterns and edge effects using remote sensing data in the MFCA interior, a boundary zone, and exterior zone. I observed abrupt changes in productivity between the park and adjacent unprotected areas, indicating a "hard edge", and found evidence of edge effects that extended 4-6 km into MFCA. Second, I evaluated the impact of restored oil pads, roads, the park boundary, and anthropogenic noise on mammal distribution using camera traps and occupancy modeling. Few species avoided, and some were attracted to, more disturbed sites, where restoration may have provided food resources. As human populations continue growing around MFCA and oil production begins, evaluating human disturbance impacts on the landscape will be increasingly important.
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Grant, Tanith-Leigh. "Leopard population density, home range size and movement patterns in a mixed landuse area of the Mangwe District of Zimbabwe." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005412.
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Trophy hunting is often employed as a conservation management tool for large predators. However, in order for this method to succeed, hunting levels must be sustainable. Very little robust population data exist for African leopards (Panthera pardus) in general, and almost no density or spatial ecology data exist for leopards in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe has one of the highest annual CITES leopard trophy hunting quotas in Africa, the sustainability of which has not been assessed, despite large scale landuse changes over the last 12 years. The focal area of this study was within the Mangwe district, in the south-west of Zimbabwe. The region is dominated by cattle and wildlife ranches, with high levels of leopard hunting, making it an important area for assessing leopard population density and spatial ecology. Three population density estimation methods were employed in my study: a spoor index survey, an unbaited camera-trapping survey and a baited camera-trapping survey. Using three calibration equations, spoor indices appeared to underestimate the leopard population (1.28-3.29 leopards/ 100 km²) as the equations were calibrated for areas with different habitats and leopard densities. In addition, the unbaited camera survey only produced six leopard photographs, unsuitable for individual identification and analysis. By contrast, the baited camera survey produced 292 identifiable leopard photographs, from which 13 individuals were identified. Density estimates calculated using the programme CAPTURE and the M[subscript]h model with the Mean Maximum Distance Moved Outside of Study Area (MMDMOSA) buffer method (4.79±0.83 leopards/100 km²), and the programme SPACECAP, using a buffer of 2.5 km (5.12±0.62 leopards/100 km²), appeared to generate the most reliable leopard population estimates. To assess the spatial ecology, three leopards (one male, two females) were captured and fitted with GPS collars. The home range estimates of the three leopards (95% Kernel UD: male 263 km², females 31 and 45 km²) were smaller than those of leopards in more arid regions, but larger than those of mesic habitats. This suggests that the Mangwe area has a higher quality habitat than the arid regions of Namibia, but less suitable habitat than protected bushveld areas (e.g. Kruger National Park, South Africa). My data represents the first robust leopard density and home range assessment for Zimbabwe. In addition, my results indicate that the current hunting quota issued to the Mangwe area is unsustainable. Consequently, I recommend revising the quota to five leopards for the entire area, and halving the current national leopard quota to 250, until a national leopard census is completed.
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Sullivan, Caryn Self. "Conservation of Antillean manatees in the Drowned Cayes area of Belize." [College Station, Tex. : Texas A&M University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2849.
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Coudrat, Camille N. Z. "Species distribution, abundance and conservation in Nakai-nam Theun National Protected Area, Central-Eastern Laos : implications for future local wildlife conservation project." Thesis, Oxford Brookes University, 2013. https://radar.brookes.ac.uk/radar/items/4ac18953-4f42-45da-b3c7-71853aecb201/1/.
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Southeast Asia is experiencing unprecedented biodiversity declines brought about by human population growth and economic development leading to unsustainable use of natural resources and loss of natural habitat. The scientific community has emphasized this biodiversity crisis in the past decade, calling for immediate action. In this context, I set my research as a case study in Nakai-‐Nam Theun National Protected Area (NNT NPA), central eastern Laos where wildlife hunting has been rampant and management strategy failing to prevent wildlife declines. This research aimed (1) to re-‐assess and bring forward the importance of NNT NPA for wildlife conservation, (2) to identify the key species for which NNT NPA is a priority for their conservation, (3) to use the data collected to develop a long-‐term project in the area for research and conservation. In addition to this local-‐level case study, I aimed (4) to identify the National near-‐future priorities for research and conservation of Lao non-‐ human primates (primates). For the latter, I reviewed the literature for the most reliable occurrence localities of Lao primate species across the country to model their potential distribution. I used the models to re-‐assess their current status and identify the remaining gaps in our knowledge that need to be addressed. For the research in NNT NPA, I collected baseline data on key species occurrence and threats within the area. From January 2011 to March 2012, I conducted transect surveys in 10 different sites in the area. At each site, I set four to 20 transects, each replicated up to three times. During the transect walks I recorded all diurnal primate species sighted. In addition, I used the camera-‐trap database of 2006 management staff. Using modelling softwares (MAXENT, ENFA, DISTANCE) to provide baseline predictions, I analysed both my transect survey and the camera-‐trap survey data to assess the current status and distribution of red-‐shanked doucs (Pygathrix nemaeus), four macaque species (Macaca arctoides, M. assamensis, M. leonina, M. mulatta), small-‐carnivores (i.e. Viveridae, Prionodontidae, Herpestidae and Mustelidae), small medium-‐sized cat species and muntjacs species (Muntiacus spp.) occurring in the area. My analysis of Lao primates distribution models at the National level reveals that (1) so-‐far unvisited regions of northestern Laos may hold populations of highly-‐ threatened colobines. Future research should focus on the taxonomy and distribution range limit between taxa of Nomascus, Pygathrix, T. francoisi s.l. and T. germaini s.l. The modelling results emphasise the need for more research on primate species in Laos, a country of high priority for primate conservation. My case-‐study research in NNT NPA reveals that (2) based on a MAXENT analysis, I predicted a conservative suitable habitat of ca. 1600 km2 in NNT NPA and through a distance analysis, I estimated an average group density of 2.8 groups/km2, yielding a potential for ca. 4900 groups in the area. The population of red-‐shanked doucs in NNT NPA likely -‐term global survival. (3) Based on a MAXENT analysis using records from both transects and camera-‐traps, the four resident macaque species were predicted to occupy a different geographical range and niche within NNT NPA. Macaca arctoides, M. assemensis, M. leonina and M. mulatta, respectively were predicted along a general environmental gradient: from low to high temperature and precipitation, and high to low elevation and slopes. The potential distribution of these four co-‐existing, and morphologically similar species will have important implication for their management and future research. (4) Of 20259 camera trap-‐days, from March 2006 to January 2011 only 21 images taken were of these four cat species. All these species were found with much lower survey efforts in NNT NPA in the 1990s. These species are readily camera-‐ trapped in other evergreen forest sites in South-‐east Asia. In combination, these factors indicate that the present low encounter rate is likely to represent their induced low density in NNT NPA due to high hunting pressure. This indicates that protected large forest blocks or mainly primary forests do not ensure the long-‐term survival of hunting-‐sensitive species. (5) Of the at least 21 small-‐carnivore species (Viverridae, Prionodontidae, Mustelidae, and Herpestidae) confirmed in Laos, 15 occur in Nakai-‐Nam Theun NPA of which ten were photographed during this survey: common palm civet Paradoxurus hermaphroditus, masked palm civet Paguma larvata, large Indian civet Viverra zibetha Chrotogale owstoni, spotted linsang Prionodon pardicolor, binturong Arctictis binturong, yellow-‐throated marten, ferret badger sp(p). Melogale sp(p)., hog badger Arctonyx collaris and crab-‐ eating mongoose Herpestes urva. The high rate of hunting with ground snares in the 5 area put some of these species at high risk of local extinction; however, NNT NPA remains one of the most important areas in Laos for small-‐carnivore species, in (6) Based on an ENFA and MAXENT analysis, Critically Endangered large-‐antlered muntjac M. vuquangensis and other resident muntjac species differ in their predicted potential distribution. The former is predicted at lower elevation range, in the western part of the NPA. NNT NPA represents the core habitat of M. vuquangensis and its conservation should be a priority in the area (7) Over my field work in NNT NPA I counted over 3000 ground snares (active or about to be set). Despite a management strategy in place and funding available, wildlife conservation in NNT NPA has not been successful. The major threat to wildlife is unsustainable hunting, using ground snares, by both Lao and Vietnamese hunters driven by a lucrative wildlife trade between the two countries. This indicates the urgent need for wildlife management improvement in the area, to be targeted on illegal hunting activities and the need for a long-‐term research and conservation project to improve our knowledge of this rich wildlife, ensure its long-‐term conservation and empower and educate local communities towards an integrated conservation strategy.
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Kahler, Benjamin M. "Area-sensitivity, landscape habitat associattions and distribution of breeding marsh birds within the glaciated region of Ohio, USA." The Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1367574841.
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van, Schalkwyk Irené. "Leopard conservation, tourism and local communities in the Cederberg." University of the Western Cape, 2019. http://hdl.handle.net/11394/7229.
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Magister Artium - MAThe Cederberg is increasingly associated with wildlife and ecotourism. Long-established rural communities practising subsistence farming reside in the Cederberg, some on the very boundary of the Cederberg Wilderness Area. Land uses related to tourism and conservation are currently reframing the Cederberg as a leisure landscape; a development that is not always compatible with sustaining the livelihoods of local inhabitants. Humans often occupy spaces to create a ‘civilised’ place of belonging for themselves and their domestic animals, and may regard certain indigenous wildlife species (such as baboons and leopards) as intrusive vermin. Livestock-keeping communities in the Cederberg are affected in particular by leopard conservation efforts. Livestock (sheep and donkeys in particular) is important to these farmers but often in danger of becoming prey to wild predators. In the Cederberg, the endangered Cape Mountain Leopard moves freely between the protected and inhabited spaces and often comes into contact with livestock owned by local subsistence farmers. This dissertation is rooted in the emerging sub-discipline of ‘animal geographies’. It explores divergent views of the term ‘wilderness’ as well as the treatment of ‘wild’ animals within the areas occupied by local people. It focusses on the community involvement in conservation practices and human-wildlife conflict issues, exploring community responses to their changing context and especially current conservation practices of CapeNature and the Cape Leopard Trust (the provincial conservation authority and an NGO respectively). Interviews with local people about current and historical leopard encounters are drawn upon in the analysis. The study is concerned to understand how conservation is impacting on local communities, and their responses to these shifts. Results suggest that there is substantial gap in the relationship with the communities and conservation authorities, especially regarding leopard conservation and livestock preservation. The communities of Wupperthal continue to suffer significant losses due to leopard predation. As it is now illegal to trap or kill leopards, residents have few strategies to protect their livestock. While some communities have a better relationship with CapeNature regarding the tourism activities within their community and other conservation initiatives, their considerable frustration was evident. The study explores the complex land issues in the region, and suggests possibilities for improvement in the relationship between local subsistence farmers and conservation authorities.
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Van, Eeden Daniël Greyling. "Aspects of the ecology and conservation status of selected wildlife in and around Tembe Elephant Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa." Connect to this title online, 2005. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03232007-095314/.
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Hernold, Henni. "Burunge Wildlife Management Area and effects on the villages around- : A case study in Babati district, Tanzania." Thesis, Södertörns högskola, Miljövetenskap, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:sh:diva-41305.
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This study took place in northern Tanzania in Babati district. Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) are establishments that endorse conservation of the wildlife and the environment, development and sustainable land-use in the rural areas. The aim of the organization is to provide local communities with economic benefits and including them in the projects of wildlife and habitat conservation (Kicheleri et al., 2018). However, it is unclear if the aim of the organizations has worked that well in the field. The aim of this study is to analyze some of the local attitudes, of the villages Minjingu, Vilima Vitatu and Kakoi, towards Burunge Wildlife Management Area. This study will also analyze how the membership with WMA has changed the living conditions for the inhabitants in the three villages, by conducting semi-structured interviews on villagers, a WMA secretary and the district council officer. Results indicate that the most common perception villagers have about WMA is that the household income has decreased, and the destruction on land and crops by wildlife has increased. The villagers are unhappy about how WMA handles different situations. Due to this, the majority of the respondents from all three studied villages stated they would like to end the membership with WMA.
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Collinson, Wendy Jane. "A standardised protocol for roadkill detection and the determinants of roadkill in the greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area, Limpopo Province, South Africa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002056.
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Despite evidence suggesting that road traffic is a major threat to biodiversity loss, very little is known about its actual impact on wildlife populations in South Africa. Globally, road density and traffic volumes are increasing, and although huge budgets are devoted to the construction and upgrading of roads, there is little or no allocation to mitigation measures for protecting fauna in most countries, particularly Africa. Further, no global standardised protocol exists for the rapid assessment of roadkill or the most economical and efficient approach for assessing roadkill rates. Using vehicle field trials, the reliability of detecting artificially deployed roadkill was assessed. Roadkill detection rates decreased significantly at speeds >50 km/h and were also significantly influenced by light conditions (i.e. detection success was greater when the sun was high) and the position of the roadkill on the road (i.e. smaller roadkill on verges were often missed). These results suggest that roadkill sampling was most effective between 1.5 hours after dawn and 1.5 hours before dusk and that driving at slower speeds (<50 km.h⁻ₑ) was required to detect roadkill. This protocol was implemented across three ecological seasons on a 100 km paved road and a 20 km unpaved road in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Driven daily over a 120-day period (three periods consisting each of 40 days), a total of 1,027 roadkill were recorded. These comprised 162 species from all terrestrial vertebrate groups with birds being the most commonly encountered roadkill (50% of all incidents). The high numbers of vertebrates identified as roadkill suggests that road traffic could have potentially unsustainable impacts on wildlife populations and hence the biodiversity of the area. Seventeen variables were identified as possible determinants of roadkill occurrence with season, rainfall, minimum and maximum temperature, habitat type, grass height, grass density, fence type and vehicle type significantly influencing roadkill numbers. Significantly more roadkill were detected on the paved road (9.91/100km) than on the unpaved road (1.8/100km) probably because of greater traffic volumes and the increased speed that vehicles travelled on the paved road. Warmer temperatures and increased rainfall in the preceding 24 hours also increased road mortality numbers as animals tended to become more active during these times. Interestingly, more roadkill was detected in open roadside habitats compared to dense roadside habitats on both the paved and unpaved roads and when grass on the roadside verge was of intermediate height. Open habitat possibly may provide a natural corridor for wildlife which ultimately end up on the road. Roadkill numbers increased when certain other physical barriers, such as cattle fences, were present, probably because these barriers were more penetrable than electric fencing. A series of mitigation measures are proposed to reduce the impacts of roads on wildlife in South Africa. These mitigation measures highlight the need to address the balance between the development of a country’s transport infrastructure and the conservation of its fauna. It is important that research on the impacts of roads becomes standardised to enable robust statistical comparisons which will provide a greater understanding of the potential threats to vertebrate biodiversity
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Sieber, Anika. "Land-use change, protected area effectiveness, and wildlife dynamics in post-Soviet European Russia." Doctoral thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.18452/17797.
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Die Biodiversitätskrise des Anthropozäns wird vor allem durch vom Menschen bedingte Umweltveränderungen verursacht. Naturschutzgebiete sind ein globaler Eckpfeiler des Umweltschutzes und besonders wichtig für den Erhalt von Großsäugern. Fortschreitender menschlicher Einfluss sowie zunehmender Verlust und die Zerteilung von Lebensräumen innerhalb und außerhalb von Naturschutzgebieten beeinflussen deren Effektivität und Wert für den Umweltschutz stark, besonders in Zeiten sozioökonomischer und institutioneller Schocks mit reduzierten Ressourcen für den Umweltschutz. Der Zusammenbruch der Sowjetunion im Jahr 1991 war solch ein Schock und das Ziel dieser Doktorarbeit war es, besser zu verstehen, wie dieser Schock die Landnutzung, die Effektivität von Naturschutzgebieten und die Populationsdynamik von Wildtieren beeinflusst hat. Der europäische Teil Russlands bot sich deshalb als Untersuchungsgebiet an, da es eine vom Menschen stark beeinflusste Region ist, welche Lebensraum für Großsäuger aufweist sowie ein Netzwerk von Naturschutzgebieten besitzt, die über Langzeitdaten zur Biodiversität verfügen. Diese Doktorarbeit verwendete umfassende Datensätze und interdisziplinäre Ansätze, um die Veränderungen in Landnutzung, Jagddruck, Naturschutzgebieten, Lebensräumen und Populationsdynamiken von Wildtieren in post-sowjetischer Zeit zu beobachten und auszuwerten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der sozioökonomische und institutionelle Schock nach 1991 einen verringerten Landnutzungsdruck zur Folge hatte, bedingt durch die weit verbreitete Aufgabe von Landwirtschaft und generell abnehmende Raten von Waldeinschlag. Naturschutzgebiete spielten eine wichtige Rolle beim Schutz der Biodiversität und profitierten von vergrößerten Lebensräumen für Großsäuger. Wildtierpopulationsdynamiken waren in post-sowjetischer Zeit wesentlich beeinflusst von Landnutzungswandel und Jagddruck. Diese Forschungsergebnisse leisten einen wertvollen Beitrag zur Unterstützung des Biodiversitätsmonitorings.The biodiversity crisis of the Anthropocene era is mainly caused by human-induced environmental changes such as land-use change and the overexploitation of wildlife. Protected areas are a cornerstone of the global conservation efforts and particularly important for preserving large mammals. Increasing human impact and continued loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitats inside and outside protected areas strongly affect their effectiveness and conservation value, especially during times of socio-economic and institutional shocks with reduced resources for nature conservation. The breakdown of the Soviet Union in 1991 was such a shock and the overall aim of this thesis was to contribute to a better understanding of how this shock affected land use, protected area effectiveness, and wildlife dynamics in European Russia. European Russia served as a representative area for such a study as it is a human-dominated region, which harbors large mammal species and a long-established network of scientific protected areas providing long-term biodiversity data. The overall aim of this thesis was assessed by using a broad range of data and interdisciplinary approaches to monitor and evaluate changes in land use and hunting pressure, protected areas, wildlife habitats, and species population dynamics in post-Soviet times. The results of this thesis revealed that the socio-economic and institutional shock after 1991 resulted in reduced land-use pressure due to widespread farmland abandonment and overall lowered rates of forest logging in European Russia. Protected areas played an important role in halting threats to biodiversity and benefitted from increased large mammals’ habitat within their zone of interaction. Wildlife dynamics were significantly affected by land-use change and hunting pressure in post-Soviet times. The findings of this thesis provide a valuable contribution to support biodiversity monitoring and overcome knowledge gaps on biodiversity conservation.
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Gould, Elizabeth A. "Ecotourism| Conserving biocultural diversity and contributing to sustainable development." Thesis, University of the Pacific, 2016. http://pqdtopen.proquest.com/#viewpdf?dispub=10194970.
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This thesis looks at how ecotourists can become aware of biocultural diversity (the intersection of biological and cultural diversity) and help contribute to sustainable development, which considers the needs of both present and future generations. The thesis will address the ecotourism industry and how people who travel with companies that cater to ecotourists can contribute to biocultural diversity and sustainable development. It will utilize a sustainable development framework and a critical theory approach for considering biological and cultural perspectives including human rights and social justice, the contribution of traditional knowledge, community involvement, and the effects of human impact and globalization. The primary audience of my research is people who travel the globe in search of the earth’s natural wonders. I highlight issues related to minimizing environmental impact, respecting local cultures, building environmental awareness, and providing direct financial benefits for conservation. My central research question is: How can travelers help to preserve the environment, be sensitive to local cultures, and contribute to a sustainable future? I ask: By understanding the distinct correlation between biological and cultural diversity, how can we utilize both traditional (and local) knowledge combined with scientific knowledge to help sustain and preserve our natural ecosystems?
I conclude with findings that point to the need for shared community authority, management, and decision making; mutual benefits; recognition of the rights, values, norms, power structures, and dynamics of local populations; respect for belief systems as well as traditional and local ecological knowledge; and the importance of contextual adaptation.
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Wurth, Ashley M. "Behavior and genetic aspects of boldness and aggression in urban coyotes (Canis latrans)." The Ohio State University, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1543529529011351.
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Martino, Robin M. "Matrix and Edge Effects on the Maintenance of Ecological Function in an Afromontane Protected Area." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1430913293.
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Kennedy, Sara I. "White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) Fawn Survival and Seasonal Movement Patterns of White-tailed Deer and Coyotes (Canis latrans) in the Cleveland Metropolitan Area." The Ohio State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1449221457.
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Lefler, Brian John. "Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) Ecological Knowledge of Piñon-Juniper Woodlands: Implications for Conservation and Sustainable Resource Use in Two Southern Nevada Protected Areas." PDXScholar, 2014. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2007.
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Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute) have inhabited the southern Great Basin for thousands of years, and consider Nuvagantu (where snow sits) in the Spring Mountains landscape to be the locus of their creation as a people. Their ancestral territory spans parts of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and California. My research identifies and describes the heterogeneous character of Nuwuvi ecological knowledge (NEK) of piñon-juniper woodland ecosystems within two federal protected areas (PAs) in southeastern Nevada, the Spring Mountains National Recreation Area (SMNRA) and the Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR), as remembered and practiced to varying degrees by 22 select Nuwuvi knowledge holders. I focus my investigation on four primary aspects of NEK. First, drawing from data obtained through ethnoecological research, I discuss how Nuwuvi ecological knowledge evolved through protracted observation and learning from past resource depletions, and adapted to various environmental and socio-economic drivers of change induced since Euro-American incursion. Second, I argue that Nuwuvi management practices operate largely within a framework of non-equilibrium ecology, marked by low to intermediate disturbances and guided by Nuwuvi conceptions of environmental health and balance. These practices favor landscape heterogeneity and patchiness, and engender ecosystem renewal, expanded ecotones, and increased biodiversity. I then consider the third and fourth aspects of NEK as two case studies that consider NEK at the individual, species, population, habitat, and landscape scales. These case studies operationalize NEK as a relevant body of knowledge and techniques conducive to collaborative resource stewardship initiatives with federal land management agency partners. In the first case study I suggest that the Great Basin piñon pines are Nuwuvi cultural keystone species (CKS), evaluating their central importance to Nuwuvi according to several criteria including number of uses, role in ritual and story, and uniqueness relative to other species. In the second case study I contend that local social institutions regulated Nuwuvi resource use in the past and in some cases continued to do so at the time of study. These local social institutions included a system of resource extraction and habitat entrance taboos that may have mitigated impacts and supported sustainable resource use and conservation. The implications of this research are that Nuwuvi ecological knowledge, disturbance-based adaptive management practices, and resource and habitat taboos are relevant to contemporary land management concerns in piñon-juniper woodlands, offering complementary approaches to adaptive management as practiced in the SMNRA and the DNWR despite divergent epistemological foundations. My research contributed to the Nuwuvi Knowledge-to-Action Project, an applied government-to-government consultation, collaborative resource stewardship, and cultural revitalization project facilitated by The Mountain Institute among seven Nuwuvi Nations, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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Rodgers, Erin V. "Scales of Resilience: Community Stability, Population Dynamics, and Molecular Ecology of Brook Trout in a Riverscape after a Large Flood." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1422195420.
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Wallace, Bethany F. "Coyote Spatial and Temporal Use of Recreational Parklands as a Function of Human Activity within the Cuyahoga Valley, Ohio." University of Akron / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=akron1374515496.
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Norwood, Robert Lee. "Tertiary wastewater treatment using riparian wetlands: A curriculum guide for high school students." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1997. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/44.
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Peel, Michael John Stephen. "Towards a predictive understanding of savanna vegetation dynamics in the eastern Lowveld of South Africa : with implications for effective management." Thesis, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/10157.
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The purpose of this study was to develop and test a predictive understanding of the
vegetation dynamics of the Lowveld of South Africa (30°35'E to 30°40'E and 24°00'S to
25°00'S). The study covered about 5000 km2 in Adjacent Private Protected Areas
(APPA) adjoining the Kruger National Park (KNP).
Data gathering (800 sites; 23 properties) commenced in 1989 and those recorded up to
2004 are reported here.
The value, both ecological and economic, of the wildlife and tourism industry dependent
on this savanna region is discussed in both historical and current perspectives. A range of
land-use objectives and anthropogenic interventions were exposed. The properties
ranged in size from 30 to 800 km2 and formed an effective and extensive manipulative
experiment for investigating interaction of bush density, animal stocking, use of fire and
landscape-scale processes. The first descriptive classification (at 1:250 000) of the area
was developed using Inverse Distance Weighted interpolations. This confirms similar
landscape/vegetation patterns in the KNP and Mocambique.
The current mode of determining stocking density or carrying capacity was interrogated
and indices suitable for complex multi-species systems developed. This was done in the
context of equilibrial/disequilibrial paradigms. Application of the original indices
resulted in drought-related declines in animal biomass of 4000 kg km2 over 20 years due
to overestimation of carrying capacity. The model proposed here uses rainfall, animal
type, biomass and vegetation parameters to determine stocking density for both coarse
(regional) and ranch-specific scales.
Principal driving determinants (rainfall, geology, soil type, tree density canopy cover,
animal numbers, feeding classes and fire) of vegetation structure and their influence on
the herbaceous layer were investigated. Groupings on ecological potential showed 'high'
potential areas are less sensitive to animal impact than those classified as 'low' potential. Sustainability, embedded in a forward-looking component viz. Strategic Adaptive
Management (SAM) with well-articulated endpoints viz. Thresholds of Potential Concern
(TPCs) was used to study fluctuations in animal populations with Connochaetes taurinus
(Blue wildebeest) as the case study.
The TPC approach provides strong pointers for proactive management aimed at
maintaining the system within bands defined by TPCs supporting operationally practical
and periodically reviewed objectives.Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.
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Makupa, Enock Estomihi. "Conservation efforts and local livelihoods in Western Serengeti, Tanzania: Experiences from Ikona Community Wildlife Management Area." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/5073.
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Over the past three decades, there has been a global paradigm shift in biodiversity conservation approaches from exclusive protected areas (PAs) towards people-centred conservation. This has encouraged the development of community-based conservation across the world, promoting reconciliation between livelihood improvement and biodiversity conservation. However, there is a growing body of literature that demonstrates mixed outcomes of community-based conservation approaches in contributing to improved conservation and local livelihoods, especially to the communities neighbouring PAs in Africa. This dissertation examines the experience of implementing one community wildlife management area (WMA) in Tanzania, with a particular focus on the effectiveness of Ikona WMA in contributing to improved conservation and local livelihoods in Western Serengeti. Specifically, the study investigates livelihood benefits and conservation impacts attributed to Ikona WMA in the study area. It also explores the success and challenges of implementing Ikona WMA and suggests areas for improvement.
Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered through field-based research in Nyichoka and Robanda villages, which participate in Ikona WMA, and Rwamchanga village, which does not. Research methods employed in this study include interviews, focus group discussions, and household surveys. With regard to livelihood benefits attributed to Ikona WMA, results show benefits to the communities participating in WMA at the community level, especially improvement of social infrastructure, while few or no benefits were realized at the household level. In addition, findings show variation in perceptions between and among the communities participating in Ikona WMA and the community not participating, and among conservation experts about community access to natural resources and benefits experienced at the household level in the study area.
Findings show that the communities participating in the WMA had more positive perceptions of Ikona WMA, and perceived more conservation impact than did the community not participating in the WMA. Both community members and WMA administrators perceived a decline of illegal activities, improvement of habitat, increase of wild animals, and increase of wildlife protection as the major conservation impacts attributable to Ikona WMA. Ikona WMA demonstrates some success in contributing to improved conservation and local livelihoods at the community level. However, the study reveals a number of challenges hindering effective implementation of Ikona WMA, including insufficient power over crucial decision making and ownership of wildlife resources, insufficient involvement of community members, unequal distribution of benefits at the village level, and insufficient transparency, accountability, and monitoring of village development projects. In addition, respondents identified low levels of education among community members and WMA staff members, weak collaboration with other conservation actors, and increases in both livestock and human populations as challenges to the WMA in the study area.
The study suggests that broad level participation of community members in decision making about wildlife conservation, empowerment of the local community, particularly with regard to financial resources, skills training, and true devolution of power over wildlife to the community, as well as fostering equity in benefit sharing at the village level, could help to cultivate community interest in wildlife conservation.Graduate
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Archabald, Karen L. "Can revenue sharing save wildlife? a case study of Jozani Chwaka Bay Conservation Area Zanzibar, Tanzania /." 2000. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/47147858.html.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2000.Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-95).
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-Yong, Li, and 王立詠. "Ecotourism Assessment on Influential Factors of Carrying Capacity of the Tainan Syh-Tsao Wildlife Conservation Area." Thesis, 2007. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/54827788622924326055.
Full textAbstract:
碩士立德管理學院
資源環境研究所
95
Recently, because people of Taiwan emphasizes more and more the qualities and needs of recreational activities, the eco-tourism is becoming the newest market of tourism. The year 2002 which is Eco-Tourism of Taiwan is declared by Executive Yuan. In addition, a series of processes of tourism which includes the areas of selecting, the rules making and the program designing are developed for Eco-tourism. How to control the carrying capacity for eco-tourism is very important, so the development of eco-tourism would depend on the best suitable amount of tourists in this area for eco-tourism. The carrying capacity, which the government cares about, contains several aspects including ecology, sociology and facility. However, how to ascertain those factors for the facility capacity and planning the suitable bearing capacity are two important issues to determine the successful eco-tourism. The main purpose of this research is to discuss the factors of bearing capacity, and explores the key factors which affects the facility capacity of wildlife conservation area and taking the Tainan Syh-Tsao Wildlife Conservation Area as experiment object. By using the literature analysis and the analysis for regional characters, this research selects three factors which could affect the carrying capacity for Tainan Syh-Tsao Wildlife Conservation Area mostly. Three factors, which include facility capacity in ecological, bearing capacity in sociology and bearing capacity in facility, have 26 detailed items. This research adopts the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to affirm the weight and the priority of these factors. The result from the first level of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) indicates the bearing capacity in ecology is most emphasized by scholars among three factors. The top ten items among 26 detailed items from the second level of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) are the usage of mobile ferry, heterogeneity, habitat reduce, the press toward soil from transportation, wasted gas from transportation, the usage of immobile ferry, the tramp at soil from tourists and the tramp at plant from tourists, and the notation for environment protection from resident and beautiful scenery view. Furthermore, this research tries to enhance the function and convenience of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) by using the computer software, MATLAB. The result from this research could be useful to develop eco-tourism by providing the factors of bearing capacity of eco-tourism to Tainan Syh-Tsao Wildlife Conservation Area in Tainan. Besides, this pattern for the factors of the bearing capacity toward eco-tourism, which is build in this research, could be the reference for bearing capacity in eco-tourism to expand similar area, the index to build the bearing capacity, and the reference to plan the program in wildlife conservation.
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Witucki, Peter F. "Do good fences make good neighbors? agriculturalist response to wildlife fencing in the Aberdares Conservation Area, Kenya /." 2005. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/62114303.html.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2005.Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 79-87).
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Boyers, Melinda. "Do zebra (Equus quagga) select for greener grass within the foraging area?" Thesis, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10539/10994.
Full textAbstract:
MSc., Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, 2011Spatial patterns in topography and forage distribution clearly determine large herbivore movements but our understanding of the foraging strategies that free-grazing herbivores adopt at different temporal and spatial scales is limited. Different foraging response patterns are displayed at different scales. Here fine-scale foraging strategies of Zebra (Equus quagga) were investigated by studying their selection for vegetation greenness in a Southern African savanna. Zebras have high-energy requirements thus the primary productivity and condition of the habitat plays an important role on their movements. Grass greenness was measured by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), a proxy for vegetation productivity and quality. Finer-scale studies are needed to understand the processes leading to a correlation between NDVI and herbivores performance. Data was collected at two different spatial scales, foraging area and feeding station. Food selection was recorded in relation to grass species and grass tuft greenness. Within the foraging area, grass species and greenness within zebra feeding stations were compared with random non used stations. Within the feeding station, species and greenness of grasses eaten by zebra were compared with those of grasses available but not eaten. Zebra selection was not consistent across scales. Although greenness was a factor in selection at feeding station levels and grass tuft levels; feeding station selection was limited to greenness due to season, and selection for species occurred only at the grass tuft level. However, zebra did select for the greener grass tufts within the feeding station even if it meant to eat ‘less palatable’ species (i.e. Eragrostis rigidior) instead of ‘very palatable’ species (i.e. Panicum maximum).
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Johnson, Laura Anne. "Fire, seasonally dry evergreen forest and conservation, Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand." Thesis, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1828/68.
Full textAbstract:
In recent years landscape-scale fires have occurred in mainland Southeast Asia, including important protected areas (PAs). There has been increasing concern that landscape-scale fires are degrading the seasonally dry evergreen forest (SEF) element of the forest mosaic to more open deciduous forest and savanna, with serious implications for biodiversity conservation. Present management approaches, including fire suppression and prescribed burning, have not been effective managing for landscape-scale fire.
Research was undertaken to investigate the occurrence, cause, effect, frequency and predictability of fire in SEF. SEF has the greatest species biodiversity in the forest mosaic and is potentially the most affected by fire, yet little research has been done on fire in SEF in mainland Southeast Asia. Huai Kha Khaeng (HKK) Wildlife Sanctuary in Thailand was selected as the study area. The objectives included: 1) investigate the area of SEF burned in HKK from 1988 to 2002; 2) investigate the conditions for fire in SEF; 3) determine whether the area of SEF in HKK declined as a result of fire; 4) determine the frequency of fire season years between 1984 and 2001 with the conditions for fire spread in SEF; and 5) determine whether there is a significant relationship between pre-fire season drought codes (Keetch-Byram Drought Index (KBDI) and Canadian Drought Code (DC)) and identified SEF fire season years for 1981 to 2003.
Methods included: development of a Landsat fire history with associated interviews and reconnaissance field checks; fieldwork lighting test fires and measuring fuel characteristics; remote sensing change detection work using Landsat imagery; generation of a twenty-one year daily relative humidity minimum record for SEF; and logistic regression of the pre-fire season drought code values with identified SEF ‘fire’ and ‘non-fire’ years.
Results showed: 1. Extensive areas of SEF have burned, but that Landsat imagery was not suitable for detecting fire in intact SEF. 2. SEF burned in years when there were fires burning adjacent to SEF in mid March and the moisture content of the SEF leaf litter fuel was less than 15%. 3. Fifteen percent of SEF in HKK has been either degraded or converted to deciduous forest forms in 12 years. 4. Conditions for fire spread in SEF occurred four times in 17 consecutive years. 5. A significant relationship exists between both the Keetch-Byram Drought Code (KBDI) and Canadian Drought Code (DC) and the SEF fire years.
Implications are that large-scale fires have adversely affected intact SEF in HKK, and that the current damaging situation can be expected to continue. Whereas the extent of burning in intact SEF is not known, the need to manage the situation is immediate. Landscape-scale fires in HKK can be managed by using January 31st drought code values to predict potential large-scale fire years, followed by an aggressive fire suppression campaign in those years. In other years, fires can be allowed to burn without serious threat to the forest mosaic, and should to some extent be encouraged to maintain open deciduous forests and savanna. Additional research is required to determine whether a similar approach can be used for protected areas in other parts of the region.
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Tsao, Tze-Wei, and 曹哲維. "Degradation of Organic Matters by Bacteria in the Salt Marsh Wetland Sediments of the Syh-Tsao Wildlife Conservation Area, Tainan." Thesis, 2005. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/12973323297197474357.
Full textAbstract:
碩士國立成功大學
地球科學系碩博士班
93
This study was to investigate the degradation of organic matters by bacteria with temporal and spatial variations in the salt marsh wetland sediments of the Syh-Tsao Wildlife Conservation Area, with the objective of determining relationships between degradation rates of organic matters and environmental factors. Amounts（100-7560 mg kg-1） and rates（0.02-9.25 mg kg-1 hr-1） of organic matters degradation were higher（about 14.14％ in amounts and 8.82％ in rates） in pond C as compared to those of the pond A in the salt marsh. Organic matter degradation had irregular changes in different depths and were higher in surface soils and decreased with depth. Rates of organic matters degradation ranged from 0.07-8.85 mg kg-1 hr-1 in 0-10 ㎝ soil layer and decreased with depth. The degradation rates（0.17-9.25 mg kg-1 hr-1） of organic matters in August through December were significantly greater than those in other months and seasons during the study period. Degradation rates of organic matters were significantly related to the nitrate, sulfate, and temperature in pond A（0.385＜r2＜0.507, p＜0.05）, and to the chloride, pH, and sulfate in pond C（0.562＜r2＜0.648, p＜0.05）. Bacterial activity was influenced by temperature and exposure of soil to O2, as it occurred in periods of low rainfall or low water level. The increase in bacterial activity contributes to enhance the degradation rates of organic matters and cycling of nutrients in wetlands. The results showed that environmental factors play an important role in the regulation of organic matters degradation. Increased turnover of organic matters may lead to increase the supply of bioavailable nutrients to emergent macrophytes and periphyton and higher nutrient concentrations in water.
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Dunphy-Daly, Meagan. "A meta-analysis of the value of marine protected areas for pelagic apex predators." Diss., 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10161/9961.
Full textAbstract:
A vast range of theoretical and empirical studies now suggests that MPAs can conserve marine biodiversity and, under some circumstances, increase fishery yields. However, despite the importance of pelagic apex predators to ecosystem function, the effectiveness of spatial management for the conservation of pelagic apex predator species is still unknown. I used fishery-dependent logbook and observer datasets to assess fishing effort and both the catch and size of pelagic apex predator species around five different MPAs. The US Hawaii-based deep-set or Atlantic pelagic longline fisheries fish the waters around these MPAs; both of these fisheries have experienced multiple management measures over time to protect species and maximize fishery yield. The MPAs selected for this study range in size, age, level of protection, and reason for establishment. I found that only two MPAs of the five appeared to be benefitting the pelagic apex predator species that I selected: the DeSoto Canyon and East Florida Coast MPAs, both in the Atlantic Ocean. The size of yellowfin tuna around the DeSoto Canyon MPA borders has increased over time, as has fishing effort. In contrast, the size of swordfish has decreased near the boundary of the East Florida Coast MPA, although the catch of swordfish has increased. The increase in catch of smaller swordfish was not a surprise because the East Florida Coast MPA was established around an area that is a nursery habitat for swordfish. These results are promising for the use of static MPAs for the conservation of pelagic apex predators, but three of the MPAs in my study did not show any indication of increased fishing effort, increased catch, or changes in pelagic apex predator size near their boundaries over time. Therefore, the characteristics of the DeSoto Canyon and East Florida Coast MPAs may provide a template for how to best design new MPAs for pelagic apex predators. Both of these MPAs were established with the specific intent of reducing pelagic apex predator bycatch, in areas where there were historically high catch rates. Both areas are relatively large (> 85,000 km2) and are also closed year-round. In combination, these characteristics may provide protection for pelagic apex predators.
Dissertation
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Ratshivhadelo, Tshimangadzo. "A study of land use conflicts in Mapungubwe area." Diss., 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11602/1181.
Full textAbstract:
MENVSCDepartment of Ecology and Resource Management
This study uses lens to understand conflict over the use of land and its resources in the Mapungubwe area. The main underlying assumption of the study is that various land use activities that are not compatible with each other lead to land use conflict. The aim of the study is to assess land use conflict in the Mapungubwe area. In particular, the study intends to find out the historical and contemporary land-use conflict, compare and contrast the historical conservation objectives with the current conservation objectives in the Mapungubwe area, find out the reasons that made farmers to oppose conservation objectives now and in the 1940s and to investigate the effects of historical and contemporary land use conflict in the Mapungubwe area. In order to achieve these objectives, primary and secondary data were collected. Secondary data that was used included historical documents about Mapungubwe, Hansards or House of Assembly debates of South Africa from 1940 to 1948, newspapers articles, books and journal articles. Secondary data were used to find out the historical land use conflict that took place in the Mapungubwe area. Primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews with private game farmers, commercial irrigation farmers, farm workers (former and current), Mapungubwe National Park officials and land claimants. Field observations were used to corroborate information collected through interviews. Primary data were collected in order to find out the contemporary land use conflict taking place in the Mapungubwe area. The main findings of this study are that land use conflict in Mapungubwe area is not new; rather it started in the 1940s when the United Party government intended to establish the Dongola Wildlife Sanctuary. However, the idea of a wildlife sanctuary led to land use conflict, particularly between farmers and the ruling United Party government. In other words, land use conflict was mainly among conservationists (who were members of United Party) and farmers. Unfortunately, the idea of a wildlife sanctuary in the Mapungubwe area was caught up in political battles between the governing United Party and the opposition National Party that eventually led to its abandonment following the electoral victory of the National Party in the general elections of 1948. The study also found that the contemporary Mapungubwe is also affected by land use conflict. The conflict is mainly because of various land use activities including irrigation farming, game farming, mining, settlement, and land claims that are not compatible with conservation. Land use activities including irrigation and ii game farming, settlement and mining are happening within and around Mapungubwe National Park. This has made it difficult to consolidate the core area of Mapungubwe National Park. As a result, although Mapungubwe National Park has been established in 1995, the park remains fragmented. This study has used Mapungubwe as a case study to demonstrate that the interest over land and its resources in an area by various stakeholders create land use conflict.
NRF
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Yang, Shun-chieh, and 楊舜傑. "The Effects of Microbes and Salinity on the Corrosion of Stainless Steel: The Hsih-Tsao Wildlife Conservation Area of Tainan City as an Example Site." Thesis, 2007. http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/24918935837470808367.
Full textAbstract:
碩士國立成功大學
地球科學系碩博士班
95
The experimental sites of this study were in the aquacultural ponds (ponds A, B, C, and D) and the water inlet (I) of the Hsih-Tsao Wildlife Conservation Area, Tainan City. The on-site and laboratory experiments were carried out in this study. In the field, the 304-type stainless steel pans were placed one year in ponds A, B, C, and D and at the water inlet (I) for their corrosion observations. The results revealed that there existed a seasonal change in the corrosion of 304-type stainless steel. In spring and summer, the corrosion of the stainless steel was remarkable, revealing three different kinds of corrosion patterns (formation of red-brown matter, formation of black matter, and appearance of etching). In the laboratory, the experimental results of corrosion tests on the 304-type stainless steel coupon demonstrated that the corrosion was somewhat correlated with salinity. Thus, the bacteria isolated from the adhesives on the corroded stainless pans in ponds A, B, C, D and the water inlet were cultivated in the sulfate-reducing medium with five different salinities (S1: 7.4‰, S2: 13.5‰, S3: 17.2‰, S4: 23.5‰, S5: 36.6‰), in which the 304-type stainless steel coupon was put in separately. The results showed that the corrosion was marked (loss of weight) while the coupon was in the low salinity medium, whereas the corrosion was not significant while that was in the high salinity medium. This suggests that salinity and microbes can be causative factors of corrosion. In the low salinity medium, salinity and microbes could cause the most severe corrosion of stainless steel, suggesting being a good reference for the anti-corrosion of stainless steel.
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Jenks, Kate Elizabeth. "Distributions of Large Mammal Assemblages in Thailand with a Focus on Dhole (Cuon alpinus) Conservation." 2012. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/open_access_dissertations/582.
Full textAbstract:
Biodiversity monitoring and predictions of species occurrence are essential to develop outcome-oriented conservation management plans for endangered species and assess their success over time. To assess distribution and patterns of habitat use of large mammal assemblages in Thailand, with a focus on the endangered dhole (Cuon alpinus), I first implemented a long-term camera-trapping project carried out with park rangers from October 2003 through October 2007 in Khao Yai National Park. This project was extremely successful and may serve as a regional model for wildlife conservation. I found significantly lower relative abundance indices for carnivore species, and collectively for all mammals compared to data obtained in 1999-2000, suggesting population declines resulting from increased human activity. I integrated this data into maximum entropy modeling (Maxent) to further evaluate whether ranger stations reduced poaching activity and increased wildlife diversity and abundances. I then conducted a focused camera trap survey from January 2008 through February 2010 in Khao Ang Rue Nai Wildlife Sanctuary to gather critical baseline information on dholes, one of the predator species that seemed to have declined over time and that is exposed to continued pressure from humans. Additionally, I led a collaborative effort with other colleagues in the field to collate and integrate camera trap data from 15 protected areas to build a country-wide habitat suitability map for dholes, other predators, and their major prey species. The predicted presence probability for sambar (Rusa unicolor) and leopards (Panthera pardus) were the most important variables in predicting dhole presence countrywide. Based on my experience from these different field ecological surveys and endeavors, it became clear that local people's beliefs may have a strong influence on dhole management and conservation. Thus, I conducted villager interview surveys to identify local attitudes towards dholes, document the status of dholes in wildlife sanctuaries adjacent to Cambodia, and determine the best approach to improve local support for dhole conservation before proceeding with further field studies of the species in Thailand. A photograph of a dhole was correctly identified by only 20% of the respondents. My studies provide evidence that some protected areas in Thailand continue to support a diversity of carnivore speices of conservation concern, including clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa), dholes, and small felids. However, dholes' impact on prey populations may be increasing as tiger (Panthera tigris) and leopards are extripated from protected areas. The next step in dhole conservation is to estimate the size and stability of their fragmented populations and also focus on maintaining adequate prey bases that would support both large felids and dholes
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Batho, Andrew Paul. "The use of wetland bird species as indicators of land cover change within the Mgeni Estuary and Beachwood Mangrove swamps." Thesis, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/10614.
Full textAbstract:
Because of the variety of ecological and economic functions they perform, estuaries and
mangrove swamps are recognised as amongst the most valuable habitats on earth.
However, estuaries and related mangrove swamps are threatened by human expansion and
exploitation which leads to changes in land cover change within and surrounding these
sensitive ecosystems. Such land cover changes can either have desirable or undesirable
effects on natural ecosystems. Examples of undesirable impacts of land cover change
include soil erosion and degradation, the removal of indigenous vegetation for human
development, and the pollution of water. Without an effective means of identifying,
monitoring and managing land cover changes over time, these sensitive ecosystems face a
bleak and uncertain future.
The researcher sought to determine whether wetland bird species could be used as an
effective method of monitoring the environmental health of estuaries and mangrove swamps.
In particular, the research sought to determine whether analysing fluctuations in the
populations of wetland bird indicator species, as evident in the CWAC Bird Census data,
could assist in monitoring and assessing undesirable and desirable land cover changes
within the Mgeni Estuary and Beachwood Mangrove Swamps.
An examination of the archival aerial imagery of the study area for the years 1991, 1997,
2003 and 2008 provided by the University and private companies, revealed significant
changes in land cover over the last two decades. The land cover changes identified
represent an actual decline or increase in the suitable foraging, roosting or reproductive
habitats of wetland bird indicator species within the study area. The research focused on
investigating whether fluctuations in wetland bird populations can be correlated with the
recorded changes in land cover over the last two decades. The research discovered a direct
and comprehensive link between fluctuations in specific populations of wetland bird indicator
species and the land cover changes identified within the study area over a 20 year period.Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.
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Havemann, Paul. "Maximizing the benefits of patrol systems in protected areas : using area coverage as a foundation for effective patrol planning in the uMkhuze Game Reserve." Thesis, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10413/9818.
Full textAbstract:
The uMkhuze Game Reserve in South Africa is a key biodiversity asset which protects diverse natural resources of regional, national and international importance. The park has a notorious history of poaching, which is considered to be the second most important threat to biodiversity. Paramilitary patrol operations are crucial to regulating poaching in the park, and to the collection of data important for the monitoring of the state of biodiversity. The effectiveness of the patrol system as a whole is gauged primarily from enforcement-related data, and it was the intention of this study to present a landscape level perspective that would bolster current evaluation metrics. Home range and use-availability analyses of patrol data collected in 2009 and 2010 were used to construct area coverage boundaries, and to understand whether the distribution of patrol effort within patrol areas was influenced by habitat type. Results suggest that average monthly patrol area coverage ranged from 8.38 km² to 23.15 km². This indicates that although designated patrol areas could be covered with relative ease within a few months, information gaps were consistently occurring in the system. To determine how differences in the amount of area covered by patrol units influenced the quantity of information collected, annual area coverage was correlated with the number of biological sightings, illegal incidents and snares reported. Results show that differences in the size of the area covered did not necessarily influence the quantity of information collected in the field. However, certain areas of the park remained unpatrolled annually. All patrol units visited habitats differently than expected based on the proportion of habitat types that were available to them. The preferential use of habitat types could result in incorrect inferences being made about information outputs generated by the patrol system. The number of biological sightings, illegal incidences and snares reported were associated with the total area of each habitat emphasizing the importance of covering habitats proportionately to their availability in the park.Thesis (M.Env.Dev)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.