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Theses and Dissertations
This collection contains theses and dissertations of graduate students of the University of Alberta. The collection contains a very large number of theses electronically available that were granted from 1947 to 2009, 90% of theses granted from 2009-2014, and 100% of theses granted from April 2014 to the present (as long as the theses are not under temporary embargo by agreement with the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies). IMPORTANT NOTE: To conduct a comprehensive search of all UofA theses granted and in University of Alberta Libraries collections, search the library catalogue at www.library.ualberta.ca - you may search by Author, Title, Keyword, or search by Department.
To retrieve all theses and dissertations associated with a specific department from the library catalogue, choose 'Advanced' and keyword search "university of alberta dept of english" OR "university of alberta department of english" (for example). Past graduates who wish to have their thesis or dissertation added to this collection can contact us at erahelp@ualberta.ca.
Items in this Collection
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Fall 2017
The degree to which predator and prey distributions overlap in space influences the probability of encounters between predator and prey, kills of prey, and consequently, how each species’ abundance varies in time and in space. Predator and prey attempt to increase or decrease overlap respectively
for moose was available due to human disturbance. Further, I found that a higher proportion of moose were killed as the distance to oil sands mines decreased. I also found that wolves selected to move on linear features associated with oil extraction and such selection facilitated faster movement
through movement and habitat selection, processes that are sensitive to habitat heterogeneity. If predator and prey respond differently to novel habitat heterogeneity such as a zone of influence in and around human disturbance, it may provide prey with a refuge or facilitate predator hunting efficiency
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Fall 2015
The boreal ecotype of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) is federally listed as Threatened due to population declines throughout its distribution. High mortality rates of neonate calves (≤ 4 weeks old) due to predation are a key demographic factor contributing to population declines and
of boreal caribou with parturient females dispersing widely on the landscape, a behaviour hypothesized to reduce predation risk. I assessed potential evolutionary drivers of dispersion using simulation analyses that tracked caribou-wolf encounters during the calving season. I specifically assessed
relating maternal selection and use of resources to the probability of neonate survival. These analyses included spatially explicit covariates of predator-specific risk. Surprisingly, variation in landscape disturbance had minimal effect on calf survival; rather, survival was best explained by predation