Engineering Division



Landcover Change And Population Dynamics Of Florida Scrub-jays And Florida Grasshopper Sparrows

I confronted empirical habitat data (1994-2004) and population data (1988-2005) with ecological theory on habitat dynamics, recruitment, survival, and dispersal to develop predictive relationships between landcover variation and population dynamics. I focus on Florida Scrub-Jays, although one chapter presents a model for the potential influence of habitat restoration on viability of the Florida Grasshopper Sparrow. Both species are unique to Florida landscapes that are dominated by shrubs and grasses and maintained by frequent fires. Both species are declining, even in protected areas, despite their protected status. I mapped habitat for both species using grid polygon cells to quantify population potential and habitat quality. A grid cell was the average territory size and the landcover unit in which habitat-specific recruitment and survival occurred. I measured habitat-specific recruitment and survival of Florida Scrub-Jays from 1988-2008. Data analyses included multistate analysis, which was developed for capture-recapture data but is useful for analyzing many ecological processes, such as habitat change. I relied on publications by other investigators for empirical Florida Grasshopper Sparrow data. The amount of potential habitat was greatly underestimated by landcover mapping not specific to Florida Scrub-Jays. Overlaying east central Florida with grid polygons was an efficient method to map potential habitat and monitor habitat quality directly related to recruitment, survival, and management needs. Most habitats for both species were degraded by anthropogenic reductions in fire frequency. Degradation occurred across large areas. Florida Scrub-Jay recruitment and survival were most influenced by shrub height states. Multistate modeling of shrub heights showed that state transitions were influenced by vegetation composition, edges, and habitat management. Measured population declines of 4% per year corroborated habitat-specific modeling predictions. Habitat quality improved over the study period but not enough to recover precariously small populations. The degree of landcover fragmentation influenced mean Florida Scrub-Jay dispersal distances but not the number of occupied territories between natal and breeding territories. There was little exchange between populations, which were usually further apart than mean dispersal distances. Florida Scrub-Jays bred or delayed breeding depending on age, sex, and breeding opportunities. I show an urgent need also for Florida Grasshopper Sparrow habitat restoration given that the endangered bird has declined to only two sizeable populations and there is a high likelihood for continued large decline. A major effect of habitat fragmentation identified in this dissertation that should apply to many organisms in disturbance prone systems is that fragmentation disrupts natural processes, reducing habitat quality across large areas. Humans have managed wildland fire for \u3e 40,000 years, so it should be possible to manage habitat for many endangered species that make Florida\u27s biodiversity unique. This dissertation provides methods to quantify landscape units into potential source and sink territories and provides a basis for applying adaptive management to reach population and conservation goals

Review of wildlife resources of Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Wildlife resources are reviewed for purposes of developing a Base Biological Monitoring Program (BMP) for Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in Santa Barbara County, California. The review and recommendations were prepared by review of applicable scientific literature and environmental documents for VAFB, discussing information needs with natural resource management professionals at VAFB, and observations of base field conditions. This process found that there are 29 federally listed vertebrates (endangered, threatened, or Category 2) that occur or may occur in the vicinity of VAFB. There are also 63 other state listed or regionally declining species that may occur in the vicinity of VAFB. Habitats of VAFB represent a very valuable environmental resource for rare and declining wildlife in California. However, little information is available on VAFB wildlife resources other than lists of species that occur or are expected to occur. Recommendations are presented to initiate a long-term wildlife monitoring program at VAFB to provide information for environmental impact assessment and wise land use planning

Kommunalpolitische Praxis und Konstruktiver Realismus

Der Konstruktivismus in seinen verschiedenen Formen hat die Wissenschaftstheorie in der zweiten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts nachhaltig beeinflusst. Als eine seiner interessantesten Varianten möchte der „Konstruktive Realismus“ (CR = Constructive Realism) besonders die Kulturabhängigkeit des Phänomens Wissenschaft betonen, indem er hinterfragt, was Wissenschafter eigentlich tun, wenn sie Wissen schaffen. Sowohl in seiner Theorie als auch in seiner Methodik schafft er mit seinen drei „Welt“-Begriffen der „Realität“, der „Mikrowelten“ und der „Lebenswelt“ seine eigene ontologische Struktur, welche er durch das epistemologische Instrument der „Verfremdung“ ergänzt. Die drei Kategorien der Realität mit ihren Mikrowelten, der Lebenswelt und der Verfremdung werden dann analytisch zur Erkundung wissenschaftlicher Handlungsweisen angewandt, um spezifisch - professionelle Tätigkeitsformen besser erkennen zu können. Die vorliegende Diplomarbeit unternimmt den neuartigen Versuch, ob sich die handlungstheoretische Frage der CR-Wissenschaftstheorie auch auf das Aktivitätsfeld des erfahrenen Kommunalpolitikers stellen und mit dem „Werkzeug“ dieser Erkenntnismethode erfolgreich beantworten lässt. Diese zweifellos spannende Erkundung wird in einer Reise durch den politischen Alltag auch reflexionswissenschaftlich abgehandelt und mündet in die Beantwortung der analog- spezifischen Fragestellung: Was tun Kommunalpolitiker eigentlich, wenn sie dabei sind, politisch erfolgreich zu handeln?The manifold of constructivist approaches wielded a strong influence on philosophy of science in the second half of the 20th century. As one of the most interesting version Constructive Realism emphasises the culture dependency of the phenomenon science by asking what scientists actually perform when they create knowledge. The constructivist-realistic approach creates its own ontology by distinguishing “realität”, “micro world” and “life world”; this ontology is completed by the method of “strangification” as the constructivist-realistic epistemological instrument. Realität, its constituents, the micro worlds, and strangification are employed analytically for the exploration of scientific performance in order to recognise specific professional activity forms. My M.A. Thesis attempts to answer the new issue whether the performance theoretical approach formulated by Constructive Realism can be applied to the fields of activity of an elder local politician and whether the epistemological tool of strangification provides answers to these issues. This exploration includes an intellectual travel through the political daily routine and leads to the answer of the specific issue: What perform local politicians when they act successfully