Browsing Environment, Resources and Sustainability by Supervisor "Murphy, Stephen D."
Now showing items 1-14 of 14
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The Application of Occupancy Modeling to Evaluate the Determinants of Distribution of Jaguars Panthera onca, Pumas Puma concolor, and Valued Prey Species in a Protected Area
(University of Waterloo, 2016-06-17)In the past four decades, both biodiversity and individual populations of numerous species in the tropics have consistently declined. Tropical forests constitute only 6% to 7% of the Earth’s surface, yet they contain more ... -
Are plant traits a practical indicator for monitoring ecological restoration projects?
(University of Waterloo, 2019-04-23)In order to restore ecosystems, we must have reliable monitoring indicators to identify the success of ecological restoration, and make effective management decisions. Indicators must be simple and inexpensive to measure ... -
A Broad-Scale Characterization of Corn (Zea mays)-Soybean (Glycine max) Intercropping as a Sustainable-Intensive Cropping Practice
(University of Waterloo, 2019-03-22)Sustainable-intensification (SI) is known as a strategy to enhance agriculture productivity, while minimizing negative impacts on the environment, and promoting social benefits. The SI concept broadened over the years to ... -
Ecological Economic Development Goals: Reincorporating the social sphere in ecological economic theory and practice
(University of Waterloo, 2018-04-30)The various approaches and methods within ecological economics all have their benefits, limitations, and internal debates. In this dissertation, I focus on macro-social theoretical ecological economics which seeks to find ... -
The effect of ecosystem change, restoration, and plant diversity on thermally imaged surface temperature
(University of Waterloo, 2020-12-07)The objective of this dissertation was to test and quantify the hypothesis from ecosystem thermodynamics: that the surface temperature of a terrestrial ecosystem changes with the state of the ecosystem in general, and with ... -
Evaluating the Effects of a Fire Disturbance on Native Alvar Vegetation: Implications for Woody Species Management and Conservation of Open Alvar Habitat
(University of Waterloo, 2018-10-22)The decline and loss of certain habitat types can be attributed in some part due to a change of disturbance mechanisms or fire exclusion. This is of particular concern for globally-rare open alvar community types, and the ... -
Exploring the Importance of Saproxylic Beetles (Coleoptera) as Indicators of Forest Biodiversity and Available Resources in Kitchener, Ontario
(University of Waterloo, 2017-10-23)Across North America insects have generally taken a backseat to more conspicuous animals (e.g. birds, mammals) and are not regularly monitored by ecosystem managers. They commonly enter the spotlight when an insect is an ... -
Learning to live with novelty: Implications of exotic earthworms and their interactions with seeds, mulch, and wood ash for ecological restoration
(University of Waterloo, 2019-05-24)A major challenge in restoration ecology is the biological invasion of ‘exotic’ species, some of which may spread widely and have undesirable impacts as ‘invasive’ species. Ongoing debates and changing perspectives suggest ... -
Management of introduced American bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeiana Shaw 1802) in the South Okanagan, British Columbia
(University of Waterloo, 2017-07-10)Introduced invasive species threaten biodiversity on a global scale. An estimated fifteen new species introduction and establishments occur in aquatic systems per decade in Canada. A particular introduced aquatic species ... -
Management of Urban Ecosystems and the Application of the Novel Ecosystem Evaluation Framework in the City of Kitchener
(University of Waterloo, 2016-03-31)Increasing urbanization and the impacts associated with human settlements are major factors in the degradation of ecological integrity and main contributors to the emergence of novel ecosystems. As landscapes across Southern ... -
New urban ecological restoration techniques: Testing the short-term effects of adding deciduous leaf litter and plant residue compost on topsoil quality and native herbaceous plant establishment
(University of Waterloo, 2016-09-27)Urban expansion has led to native habitat destruction. Meanwhile, cities produce large quantities of plant residue wastes. To explore the potential to use plant residues to restore native habitats in cities, this thesis ... -
Quantifying the soil organic carbon sequestration performance and carbon emissions offset potential of the City of Calgary’s Willow Biomass and Marginal Land Reclamation Demonstration Project
(University of Waterloo, 2019-06-10)The primary objective of this study was to measure the soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration performance of The City of Calgary Dewatered Biosolids Land Application Program – Willow Biomass and Marginal Land Reclamation ... -
Rethinking restoration ecology of tallgrass prairie: considering belowground components of tallgrass restoration in southern Ontario
(University of Waterloo, 2019-03-13)Agriculture, urban development, and woody encroachment have reduced the North American tallgrass prairie ecosystem to less than 1% of its historical extent. The remnants of this now rare habitat are currently challenged ... -
The use of plant functional traits to detect changes in urban wetland management regimes within Kitchener, ON
(University of Waterloo, 2019-08-14)Humans have modified their surrounding environment in ways that often lead to changes in ecosystem structure and function. Ecosystem management efforts are necessary to bring back functioning attributes of ecosystems for ...