Characterization and conservation of small populations

Author

Gregory Joseph Witteman

Date of Award

5-1992

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Major Professor

Stuart L. Pimm

Abstract

The following dissertation contains a body of work that addresses both theoretical and applied issues for small and variable populations. The first section is an overview. The second part explores the extent to which non-cyclic, non-equilabrating, yet deterministic trends are found in populations. Part three defines, tests, and explores the applied implications of a model that relates a population's probability of becoming extinct when faced with a combination of demographic accidents, environmental events, and Alee effects. The fourth section explores the effect that habitat fragmentation has on Hawaiian forest bird communities over a variety of scales. It proposes both a theoretical foundation for, and explores the applied implications of scale dependant fragmentation effects. The final section reflects work completed in the first year of an on-going effort to create a self-sustaining wild population of a species that is currently only found in captivity.

Recommended Citation

Witteman, Gregory Joseph, "Characterization and conservation of small populations. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 1992.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/11040