University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Open Access Master's Theses 2011 INFLUENCE OF INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES ON THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF WILDLIFE IN MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA Samuel Ayebare University of Rhode Island,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses Recommended Citation Ayebare, Samuel, "INFLUENCE OF INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES ON THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF WILDLIFE IN MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA" (2011). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 112. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/112 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. INFLUENCE OF INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITIES ON THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF WILDLIFE IN MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK, UGANDA BY SAMUEL AYEBARE A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2011 MASTER OF SCIENCE THESIS OF SAMUEL AYEBARE APPROVED: Thesis Committee: Major Professor: Yeqiao Wang Peter Paton Peter August Howard Ginsberg Nasser H. Zawia DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2011 ABSTRACT Activities carried out by resource extraction industries in and adjacent to protected areas have increased the risk to biodiversity conservation in different parts of the world. Oil and natural gas developments in the Albertine rift, one of Africa’s biodiversity hotspots, have raised concerns about the potential impacts to wildlife populations and the associated land-cover change. The influence of oil and gas industrial activities on the spatial distribution of wildlife in Murchison Falls National Park was examined by conducting wildlife surveys along 2-km long transects that radiated away from well pads and access roads.