Date of Award:

12-2024

Document Type:

Dissertation

Degree Name:

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department:

Mathematics and Statistics

Committee Chair(s)

Noelle Beckman

Committee

Noelle Beckman

Committee

Luis Gordillo

Committee

Nancy Huntly

Committee

Brynja Kohler

Committee

John R. Stevens

Abstract

The dynamics of how plants and animals use space in their habitats has important implications for the fields of ecology and conservation. However, understanding and responding to these spatial and temporal dynamics is often limited by data availability, financial resources and biases. As average global temperatures increase, suitable habitats shift poleward and require local populations to move with suitable habitat, adapt to the changing environment, or risk extinction. Capacity to persist without movement may be estimated by considering changes to a combination of habitat characteristics. Capacity to track suitable habitat may be modeled through synthesizing information on species demographic mechanisms and dispersal patterns. In this dissertation, I present mathematical and statistical approaches to making best use of limited data to investigate ecological space use under global change.

Included in

Mathematics Commons

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