Relative Effects of Landscape Structure Variables, and Interactions with Life-History Traits, on the Abundance and Distribution of Wetland-Dependent Vertebrate Species

Abstract

This thesis is formatted using the integrated thesis format, and therefore each data chapter was written as an independent manuscript. Chapters 2 and 3 have been published in, and Chapter 4 has been submitted to, a peer-reviewed journal when this thesis was completed. The text of each published chapter was reproduced in whole, but supplementary figures were added. There is some repetition in the introductions, methods and discussions; however I have cross-referenced between chapters to reduce repetition as much as possible. I performed the majority of work described in this thesis as follows. I proposed and developed the research questions in cooperation with Lenore Fahrig and Kathryn Lindsay, and I was primarily responsible for the design of the studies used to address these questions. I carried out all field work for Chapter 3 and collected all data for Chapters 2 and 4. I analysed all of the data and wrote all first drafts of the data chapters. I have permission from each publisher to reproduce published manuscripts in my thesis. I have also received permission from my co-authors Lenore Fahrig and Kathryn Lindsay to use the work in this thesis. A specific chapter that has been published elsewhere is copyrighted material and must be cited using the journal citation information provided below. However, to reference my thesis as a whole or an unpublished chapter, I recommend using the following citation: v Quesnelle, P.E. 2014. Relative effects of landscape structure variables, and interactions with life-history traits, on the abundance and distribution of wetland-dependent vertebrate species. Ph.D. Thesis,