Feral Horse Ecology in the Rocky Mountain Foothills of Alberta, Canada.

Feral horses have been present in western Canada since the early 1720s, though little is known about fundamental components of their ecology. In the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta, Canada, increasing socio-political conflict regarding feral horse management, their role, and their impacts in the Foothills ecosystem highlights a growing need for nuanced management approaches predicated on robust ecological information. My objective was to assess several key aspects of feral horse ecology within the largest known population of horses in western Canada, located west of the township of Sundre, Alberta. In Chapter 1, I provide a general introduction to the history and ecology of feral horses in western Canada and North America, to the study area, and to the key questions motivating the research. In Chapter 2, I begin by reviewing the causes and consequences of a lack of robust ecological information for many feral horse populations, and feral wildlife generally, and found that both political and biological asymmetries in feral populations can favor the persistence and expansion of populations of feral species relative to native species. Ideological opposition to the necessary study of feral populations as wildlife also has important implications for increasingly contested population management of feral species. In Chapter 3 I assessed key spatial and social characteristics of the population within the Sundre equine management zone (EMZ) using a combination of GPS telemetry and camera-trap data. Social characteristics such as band size and sex-ratio were consistent with earlier work and with feral horse populations generally. Home-ranges overlapped considerably between individual bands with sizes ranging from 47.6 to 93.0 km2. These were larger than those that were identified by Salter in 1978 within an area now encompassed in the Sundre EMZ, though were similar to those identified by Girard in nearby Bragg Creek, Alberta with the difference likely representing differences in methodology. Movement and detection rates of horses were greater in summer, and horses showed reduced diel activity in the middle of the day in summer, compared to winter. The number of foals detected, and the mean number of foals within each band was highest from June to August and composed less than 15% of the total individuals detected each year. Identification of individuals based on natural markings was possible, though the influence of non-independent movement and social grouping was evident, and problematic for capture-recapture analyses. In Chapter 4, I assessed density and total abundance of the population of horses in the Sundre equine management zone using space-to-event (STE) density models. Feral horse density was 0.602/km2, 0.606/km2 and 0.522/km2 respectively, from 2017 – 2019. Total abundance estimates were similar to minimum aerial count data with confidence intervals from estimates overlapping aerial counts in all years except 2017, suggesting the population declined by approximately 14% from 2018 to 2019. These results are similar to recent trends detected in minimum aerial counts that show a decline in counts of approximately 22% (2019 – 2021) and contrast with expectations based on increasing minimum counts in the Sundre population in recent decades, and populations of many other free-ranging feral horse populations. Reasons for the decline are likely to be multi-factorial and are difficult to determine based on the current data alone. I discuss potential causes and the implications these have for future management. In Chapter 5, I assessed habitat selection of feral horses with respect to several key landscape and vegetation characteristics of interest using GPS telemetry data, and compared summer occupancy of feral horses, cattle, and elk using camera-trap data. Variation was high among tracked individuals in selection for vegetation type, and counter to expectations, horses avoided native rangeland in summer, compared to greater selection of forestry cutblocks in all but one individual. This was also supported by higher summer horse occupancy probability with increasing areal coverage of cutblocks. This contrasted to cattle occupancy which declined strongly with increasing cutblock coverage. Cattle occupancy was also negatively influenced by terrain, though positively influenced by the presence of linear features and lower distance to roads. These results have important implications for the spatio-temporal partitioning of cattle and horses over summer and suggest that horses may avoid areas with high overlap with cattle. In Chapter 6, I summarize the findings from each chapter, and discuss their wider management implications

Atoll research bulletin.

no.494 (2001

Narrative Space and Spatial Transference in Jacob and Wilhelm Grimmʼs Fairy Tales

Abstract Owing to the lack of concrete information provided by the narratives and the genreʼs unspecified setting, narrative space in fairy tales has been largely overlooked or dismissed as an inactive background for the action. Research which has considered this topic typically views it in terms of its symbolic potential, studying space in order to learn about other narrative elements (e.g. characters) or the implied meanings of the texts. This dissertation views narrative space as a concrete, material aspect of the narrative which is significant in itself. The main research question posed in the dissertation is: what do fairy tales tell us about narrative space and what does narrative space tell us about fairy tales? The main aim of the dissertation is therefore twofold: first, it examines how narrative space is structured in fairy tales and how the fairy tale conveys space-related information; second, it asks whether there is anything about the traits and structure of fairy-tale space that can be seen as genre-specific, i.e. that sets the fairy tale apart from other short prose narrative genres. The research is based on a textual analysis of the English translation of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimmʼs collection Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Childrenʼs and Household Tales, 1857). While its primary focus is on fairy tales, the dissertation also considers other genres included in the collection (animal tales, legends, religious tales, etc.). The research combines the knowledge produced within fairy-tale scholarship (folklore and literature studies) with the methodological tools of narratology. By considering narrative space and spatial transference, the dissertation aims to prompt a reconsideration of the fairy-tale genre and its definitions. One of its key findings is therefore a revised definition of the fairy tale as a genre which encompasses two domains – the magical and the non-magical – separated by a firm boundary, which must be crossed in the course of the story. What sets this interdomain boundary apart is the fact that it can be crossed from both sides, but only temporarily and only if certain conditions are met. The examination of genres through the prism of the domain has led to a reconsideration of our initial genre classification and prompted the conclusion that aetiological tales, Schwank tales, and didactic tales, which were initially listed as independent genres, are modes (subgenres) rather than genres. The thesis also shows that fairy-tale space is dynamic and relational, and that the lack of explicit spatial information should not be seen as an indication of the insignificance of space, but rather an expression of the genreʼs stylistic parsimony. Although the findings are based on the study of the Grimmsʼ fairy tales, the dissertation aims to provide an analytical framework that is applicable to other fairy-tale corpora. KEYWORDS: fairy tale, narrative space, spatial transference, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, Kinder- und Hausmärchen, narratology, genreTiivistelmä Väitöskirja tarkastelee narratiivista tilaa ja tilallista siirtymää Jacob ja Wilhelm Grimmin julkaisemassa satukokoelmassa Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Lasten ja kotitalouksien tarinat, 1857). Tutkimuskohteen korpus, joka koostuu 215 erilaisesta tekstistä, on jaettu kahteen osaan: primaarikorpukseen, johon perinteiset sadut kuuluvat, ja sekundaarikorpukseen, johon kuuluvat eläinsadut, opettavaiset sadut, etiologiset sadut, kansantarinat, formulatarinat, legendat, uskonnolliset tarinat ja humoristiset (Schwank) tarinat. Sekundaarikorpuksen avulla voi analysoida perinteisiä satuja vertailemalla niitä muihin lyhytproosan narratiivisiin lajityyppeihin. Narratiivista tilaa ei ole tähän mennessä riittävästi tarkasteltu tieteellisessä kirjallisuudessa, jossa se tavallisesti käsitetään pelkkänä passiivisena taustana tapahtumille, joiden täytyy sijoittua jonnekin. Tällainen näkemys on jossain määrin ymmärrettävä ottaen huomioon pitkään jatkunut kiinnostuksen puute tilallisiin kysymyksiin humanistissa tieteissä ja sosiaalitieteissä (ennen ns. spatiaalista käännettä) sekä perinteisten satujen tilallinen epämääräisyys. Säästeliäänä laji-tyyppinä perinteinen satu nimittäin jättää kertomatta kaiken, mikä ei suoraan vaikuta juoneen, kuten henkilöiden ja ympäristön tarkemman kuvailun. Aikaisempi tutkimus keskittyy enimmäkseen perinteisen sadun abstraktiin ja epämääräiseen tilaan tai sen symboliseen ja metaforiseen merkitykseen. Huomion keskipisteessä ei siis ole tila sinänsä, vaan se mitä tila kertoo itse tarinan tai sen henkilöiden merkityksestä. Aikaisemmasta tutkimuksesta poiketen tämä väitöskirja tarkastelee narratiivista tilaa aineellisena kolmiulotteisena ympäristönä sekä autonomisena ja välttämättö-mänä kerronnan keinona, jolla on merkitystä sinänsä. Tutkimus keskittyy perinteisen sadun rakenteeseen, sen esittämiseen (ts. niihin narratiivisiin ja lingvistisiin strategioihin, joiden avulla tilaan liittyvää informaatiota välitetään) sekä eräisiin yleispiirteisiin. Väitöskirjassa tarkastellaan myös tilallista siirtymää tärkeänä edelly-tyksenä ihmisprotagonistin ja maagisen aineksen vuorovaikutukselle, joka puolestaan on perinteisen sadun lajityypin tärkein tekijä. Lisäksi tilallinen siirtymä toimii keinona kytkeä yksittäiset paikat laajempaan tilalliseen verkostoon. Tutkimus sijoittuu satujen tutkimuksen teoreettiseen viitekehykseen sekä narratologian metodologiseen ja analyyttiseen kehikkoon. Se ei sitoudu yhtenkään erityiseen satujen tutkimuksen teoriaan, vaan systematisoi ja kehittää edelleen eri lähestymistapojen tuottamaa tietoa. Erityisen tärkeitä tälle tutkimukselle ovat satujen tutkimuksen puolella Max Lüthin ja Alfred Messerlin sekä narratologian puolella Marie-Laure Ryanin ja Katrin Dennerleinin työt. Satujen rakenteen analyysissa sovelletaan Marie-Laure Ryanin kehittämää mallia, joka koostuu viidestä tilallisesta yksiköstä: tilallisesta kehyksestä, tarinan asetelmasta, tarinan tilasta, tarinan maailmasta ja narratiivisesta universumista. Sovellettaessa satuun tätä mallia paljastuvat sadun narratiivisen tilan moniker-roksisuus sekä monimutkaiset prosessit, joilla tilaa rakennetaan lukijan ja tekstin jatkuvassa vuorovaikutuksessa. Soveltaakseen yleistä mallia perinteisen sadun analysointiin tutkimus laajentaa mallia lisäämällä käyttöön uuden kategorian – alueen – johon kuuluvat ne tilat, joissa vallitsevat samanlaiset luonnonlait. Perin-teinen satu sisältää kaksi aluetta: ei-maagisen ja maagisen. Kahden kvalitatiivisesti vastakkaisen alueen olemassaolo ei ole luonteenomaista ainoastaan perinteisille saduille, vaan sama ilmiö tavataan myös eräissä narratiivisen lyhytproosan lajityypeissä kuten legendoissa ja uskonnollisissa kertomuksissa. Väitöskirja esittääkin sadun ominaispiirteiden syntyvän kahden alueen vuorovaikutuksesta ja niiden välisen rajan ylittämisen tavoista. Tarkemmin sanoen alueiden välinen raja on mahdollista ylittää sen kummaltakin puolelta, mutta vain tilapäisesti (liikkuvan henkilön on tarinan lopussa palattava omalle alueelleen) ja tiettyjen edellytysten vallitessa. Vaikka kyseiset edellytykset ovat erilaiset ei-maagisille ja maagisille henkilöille, ne tyypillisesti riippuvat kontaktin luomisesta kohdealueeseen, yleensä portinvartijan kautta. Maagiselle alueelle päästäkseen ei-maagisten henkilöiden on osoitettava myönteisiä ominaisuuksia kuten sääliä, rohkeutta ja anteliaisuutta tai seurattava tarinaan kuuluvia automaattisia ohjeita. Maagiselle alueelle joutuvat eksyneet tai hyljätyt henkilöt, mutta se voi myös houkutella ihmisiä puoleensa poikkeuksellisilla esineillä, eläimillä sekä visuaalisilla tai auditiivisilla signaaleilla joko auttaakseen tai vahingoittaakseen heitä tai pyytääkseen heidän apuaan. Pahantahtoinen maaginen voi pyytämättä tunkeutua ei-maagiselle alueelle tai manipuloida ei-maagista henkilöä kutsumalla häntä luokseen. Hyväntahtoinen maaginen sen sijaan saapuu ei-maagiselle alueelle (usein tahattomasti) ei-maagisen henkilön kutsusta, joka voi olla verbaalinen (eksplisiittinen kutsu, häälupaus, toive, maaginen tai muu verbaalinen formula, avunhuuto) tai ei-verbaalinen (itku, pahat ajatukset, lannistuminen tai epätoivoa ilmaiseva ele tai käytös). Toissijaisen korpuksen analysointi tilallisesta näkökulmasta johti tutkimuksessa sen alkuperäisen luokittelun tarkennukseen. Tietyntyyppisillä narratiiveilla (didaktiset, etiologiset, Schwank) ei näet ole pysyvää tilallista rakennetta, vaan niihin kuuluvien alueiden lukumäärä ja luonne voivat vaihdella. Niinpä päädytään siihen, etteivät nämä lajityypit ole riippumattomia, vaan niiden edustajat ovat alalajeja sellaisista lajityypeistä, joilla on vakiintunut määrä alueita. Tulokset sitä paitsi johtavat perinteisen sadun alkuperäisen työmääritelmän uudelleenarviointiin, jota (tilallisuus huomioon ottaen) voidaan luonnehtia sellaiseksi lajityypiksi, joka kuvaa kahta selvästi toisistaan erottuvaa ja laadultaan erilaista aluetta: ei-maagista ja maagista. Tarinan edetessä näiden alueiden on (tilapäisesti) jouduttava kosketuksiin, minkä aikaansaa tilallinen siirtymä – nimittäin alueiden välisen rajan ylitys. Rajan voi ylittää sen kummaltakin puolelta, mutta vain tilapäisesti ja mikäli tietyt ehdot täyttyvät. Tällä tapaa tutkimus korostaa narratiivisen tilan mahdollisuuksia lajityyppiluokittelun yhtenä mahdollisena kategoriana. Tutkimus osoittaa myös, ettei eksplisiittisen tilallisen tiedon puuttumista perinteisestä sadusta pidä tulkita sen merkityksettömyydeksi, vaan osoitukseksi kyseisen lajityypin säästeliäästä luonteesta. Toisin sanoen se tosiseikka, että perinteinen satu harvemmin kertoo tilasta avoimesti ja yksityiskohtaisesti, ei tarkoita tilan merkityksettömyyttä, vaan on osoitus siitä, että kyseisellä lajityypillä on muita keinoja välittää tilallista informaatiota joko paikkoja suoraan kuvaamalla ja nimeämällä tai kerronnan epäsuorilla viittauksilla henkilöihin, esineisiin, paikkoihin ja materiaaleihin. Kaiken kaikkiaan tämä tutkimus tunnistaa perinteisen sadun narratiivisen tilan kerronnan dynaamisena osana, joka rakentuu henkilöiden, esineiden, tapahtumien ja muiden tilojen vuorovaikutuksesta. Siinä mielessä tila ei ole (kuten sen aikaisempien määritelmien perusteella voisi luulla) pelkkä tapahtumien näyttämö ja tausta, vaan monimutkaisen suhdeverkoston osatekijä ja myös lajityyppiluokittelun tärkeä tekijä. AVAINSANAT: satu, narrativiinen tila, tilalllinen siirtymä, Kinder- und Hausmärchen, Jacob ja Wilhelm Grimm, narratologia, lajiSažetak U doktorskom se radu istražuju pripovjedni prostor i prostorno premještanje u bajkama objavljenim u zbirci Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Djetinje i kućne bajke, 1857.) Jacoba i Wilhelma Grimma. Korpus istraživanja, koji obuhvaća 215 žanrovski raznolikih tekstova, podijeljen je na dva djela: primarni korpus, koji obuhvaća bajke, te sekundarni korpus, koji obuhvaća priče o životinjama, poučne priče, etiološke priče, (usmene) pripovijetke, formulne priče, predaje, legende, vjerske priče i šaljive priče. Sekundarni korpus omogućava poredbenu analizu bajke i drugih kratkih proznih žanrova. Tema pripovjednog prostora u bajkama podzastupljena je u znanstvenoj literaturi, gdje se prostor bajke uglavnom tretira kao pasivna pozadina zbivanja koja ni na koji način ne utječe na njihov razvoj, te postoji naprosto jer se radnja mora negdje odvijati. Ovakav stav donekle je razumljiv s obzirom na dugotrajan manjak interesa za prostorne teme u humanističkim i društvenim znanstvenima (prije tzv. prostornog obrata), kao i slabo definirane prostorne parametre koje nudi sama bajke. Naime, u svom tradicionalnom obliku, bajka kao jezično ekonomičan žanr uglavnom izbjegava sve što izravno ne pridonosi razvoju radnje, poput opisa likova ili okoline. Postojeća istraživanja uglavnom naglašavaju apstraktnu, slabo definiranu prirodu prostora bajke ili su usmjerena na njegova simbolička i metaforička značenja. U središtu zanimanja stoga nije prostor kao takav, već kao izvor informacija o značenju priče ili drugim pripovjednim elementima (npr. likovima). Za razliku od dosadašnjih istraživanja, ovaj doktorski rad pripovjedni prostor bajke razumije kao materijalnu, trodimenzionalnu okolinu te autonoman i nužan pripovjedni element koji je značajan sam po sebi. U središtu istraživanja su struktura prostora bajke, njegova prezentacija (tj. pripovjedne i jezične strategije kojima se prenose informacije o prostoru) i opće odlike. Osim pripovjednim prostorom, doktorski se rad bavi i prostornim premještanjem koje je glavni preduvjet za ostvarivanje kontakta između ljudskog protagonista i čarobnog, što se pak smatra ključnom osobinom žanra bajke. Nadalje, premještanje omogućava povezivanje pojedinih lokaliteta u širu prostornu mrežu. Istraživanje je smješteno unutar teorijskog okvira tzv. istraživanja ili studija o bajkama (fairy-tale studies), te metodološko-analitičkog okvira naratologije. Pritom ne slijedi jedinstveni pravac unutar istraživanja bajke, već sistematizira znanje nastalo unutar različitih teorijskih orijentacija. Od osobite važnosti za ovo istraživanje radovi su Maxa Lüthija i Alfreda Messerlija (istraživanja o bajkama), te Marie-Laure Ryan i Katrin Dennerlein (naratologija). Analiza strukture pripovjednog prostora oslanja se na model koji je ponudila Marie-Laure Ryan, sastavljen od pet prostornih jedinica: prostornog okvira, smjestišta (eng. setting), prostora priče, pripovjednog svijeta i pripovjednog svemira. Primjena ovog modela na analizu bajke otkrila je slojevitost njenog pripovjednog prostora i složenost procesa njegove konstrukcije, koji se odvija kroz kontinuirano pregovaranja između čitatelja i teksta. Kako bi ovaj opći model prilagodilo istraživanju bajke, istraživanje ga je dopunilo novom kategorijom domene, koja obuhvaća prostore u kojima je na snazi određeni sustav prirodnih zakona. Bajka se sastoji od dvije domene: ne-čarobne („realistične“) i čarobne. Samo po sebi, postojanje dvaju kvalitativno oprečnih domena nije jedinstveno bajci, već obilježava i druge kratke prozne žanrove, poput legende i vjerske pripovijetke. U doktorskom se radu stoga tvrdi da osobitost žanra bajke proizlazi iz interakcije među domenama i načinima prelaska granice koja ih dijeli. Točnije, spomenuta se granica može prijeći s obje strane, ali samo privremeno (mobilni lik do kraja priče mora se vratiti u svoju ishodišnu domenu) i pod određenim uvjetima. Iako se uvjeti za prelaženje granice razlikuju za ljudske i čudesne likove, zajednička im je pretpostavka uspostavljanje kontakta s ciljnom domenom, najčešće otjelovljenom u liku čuvara ulaza. Kako bi ušli u čarobnu domenu, ljudski likovi moraju dokazati da posjeduju pozitivne kvalitete poput suosjećanja, hrabrosti ili velikodušnosti, ili da su upoznati s automatskim pravilima priče. U čarobnu se domenu pripuštaju izgubljeni ili zlostavljani likovi. Čarobno može i navabiti ljudske likove uz pomoć predmeta, životinja, te vizualnih ili auditivnih signala kako bi im naštetilo ili zatražilo njihovu pomoć. Zloćudno čarobno u ne-čarobnu domenu može nasilno prodrijeti ili manipulacijom iznuditi poziv od strane ljudskog lika. Dobroćudno čarobno u ne-čarobnu domenu stupa na poziv ljudskog lika. Taj poziv često je nehotičan, a javlja se u obliku verbalnih (izravan poziv, dopuštenje, vjenčani zavjet, želja, čarolije i druge verbalne formule, poziv u pomoć) i neverbalnih zaziva (plakanje, negativne misli, odustajanje, geste i ponašanje koji odaju očaj). Analiza sekundarnog korpusa istraživanja kroz prizmu prostora potaknula je reviziju njegove početne klasifikacije. Naime, uočeno je da pojedine skupine priča (konkretno, poučne, etiološke i šaljive priče) nemaju stabilnu prostornu strukturu, te da se broj i kvaliteta njihovih domena mijenjaju. Za njih je, stoga, zaključeno da nisu samostalni žanrovi već potkategorije ili modusi drugih žanrova, koje odlikuje stabilan broj domena. Osim toga, rezultati istraživanja potaknuli su i reviziju početne definicije žanra bajke, koji se (uzimajući prostor u obzir), može opisati kao pripovjedni žanr koji prikazuje dvije jasno razdvojene i kvalitativno oprečne domene: ne-čarobnu i čarobnu. U toku priče, te domene moraju stupiti u (privremeni) kontakt, koji je uvjetovan prostornim premještanjem, poglavito prelaženjem granice među domenama. Ta se granica može prijeći s obje strane, ali samo privremeno i pod određenim uvjetima. Istraživanje ovime upućuje na potencijal pripovjednog prostora kao relevantne kategorije klasifikacije žanrova. Istraživanje nadalje pokazuje da manjak eksplicitnih informacija o prostoru u bajkama ne treba tumačiti kao znak njegove nevažnosti, već kao odraz ekonomičnosti žanra. Drugim riječima, činjenica da bajka rijetko izravno i detaljno progovara o prostoru ne znači da njen prostor nije važan, već naprosto da je – zbog jezične ekonomičnosti – razvila alternativne strategije kojima na izravne (imenovanje, izravni opis) i neizravne (opisno pripovijedanje, uputnice na likove, predmete i materijale) načine otkriva detalje vlastitog pripovjednog prostora. Na koncu, istraživanje opisuje prostor bajke kao dinamičan pripovjedni element kreiran kroz brojne odnose između likova, predmeta, događaja i drugih prostora. U tom smislu, prostor nije, kao što sugeriraju starije definicije, tek spremnik za likove i pozadina događanja, već sudionik složenih odnosa kao i važan faktor klasifikacije žanrova. KLJUČNE RIJEČI: bajka, pripovjedni prostor, prostorno premještanje, Kinder- und Hausmärchen, Jacob i Wilhelm Grimm, naratologija, žan

Meanings of 'the Outdoors': Shaping outdoor education in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract The issue of human-nature relationships has become increasingly important given the environmental issues affecting the world. Thus, education which can encourage students to positively engage and connect with the world around them is vital. Outdoor education offers one way to help build relationships, but only if outdoor educators have an understanding and appreciation of the ways 'the outdoors' influences their pedagogy. Over the years, growing emphasis on adventure activities, social and personal development, and experiential learning styles, has subsumed the role of 'the outdoors' within outdoor education. Using an interpretive narrative framework, this research focuses on 'the outdoors' as a defining feature of outdoor education. A series of three semi-structured interviews with 11 outdoor educators provided opportunities to explore meanings of the outdoors and how those meanings influenced their understandings and practices of outdoor education. An inductive analysis of the interviews identified five primary themes; locations, activities, living simply, emotional responses, and relationships, and these were used to unpack the participants' beliefs and experiences of 'the outdoors' and outdoor education. In order to retain the richness and complexity of the meanings the participants shared, the findings are presented in a variety of formats including vignettes and poetic text. The findings are multi-layered, something that reflected the dynamic nature of 'the outdoors' and the ensuing opportunities offered for creative and critical thinking. There was also evidence that the participants were vigilant about adopting a multi-dimensional approach to outdoor education. This required integrating pragmatic pro-environmental actions, experiential opportunities, challenge activities, spontaneous learning moments, and quiet time into many of their sessions. In so doing, they ensured experiences for their students were holistic, meaningful, and engaging, as well as promoting a respectful relationship with 'the outdoors'. Some of these practices were constrained at times by the expectations of current secondary school educational orthodoxies, especially those relating to assessing pre-determined outcomes. Nonetheless, there was an unreserved belief that outdoor education has an increasingly distinct and important role to play in the school curriculum. How this will be enacted depends on the challenges and opportunities that rise and fall with changing social, political, and economic agendas

Assessing the ecological significance of linkage and connectivity for avian populations in urban areas

As urbanisation continues to fragment and degrade habitats there is a need to ensure that cities are managed to sustain ecosystem function and high biodiversity. Ecological theories suggest that areas with higher levels of functional connectivity sustain a more diverse avian population. By identifying the key habitat features that dictate the distribution and abundance of avian populations it is possible to inform planning policy to maximise biodiversity. Bird species presence and abundance across an urban gradient in Birmingham (UK) was surveyed at 70 sites over three sampling periods (between 2009 and 2010), in combination with a tree survey and digital analysis of land use. Functional connectivity was shown to increase the abundance of bird species and to ameliorate the impacts of urban development. Bird species were found to vary with their associations with vegetation structure and a proxy for invertebrate productivity. There was clear evidence for increasing native tree species in the urban matrix to support more bird species. Ringing data collected between 2008 and 2011 were used to examine bird movements through the city and the influence of habitat factors such as connectivity and built space in the matrix. Bird movements between ringing sites demonstrated the permeability of the city and the importance of connectivity in the landscape. This work showed that the composition of the matrix influences bird occupancy and turnover of sites. The novel findings presented in this thesis on the influence of the urban landscape on urban avian ecology should make an important contribution to urban conservation methods

The Emotions of Science: Using Social Media to Gauge Public Emotions toward Research topics

Online and in the real world, communities are bonded together by emotional consensus around core issues. Emotional responses to scientific findings often play a pivotal role in these core issues. When there is too much diversity of opinion on topics of science, emotions flare up and give rise to conflict. This conflict threatens positive outcomes for research. Emotions have the power to shape how people process new information. They can color the public\u27s understanding of science, motivate policy positions, even change lives. And yet little work has been done to evaluate the public\u27s emotional response to science using quantitative methods. In this thesis, we use a dataset of responses to scholarly articles on Facebook to model and analyze emotions toward topics in science