Paterson, Victoria Louise (2012) Population dynamics of rodents and their parasite communities in a naturally fragmented landscape. PhD thesis http://theses.gla.ac.uk/4028/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/
[email protected] Population dynamics of rodents and their parasite communities in a naturally fragmented landscape Victoria Louise Paterson Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of PhD University of Glasgow College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine July 2012 Abstract An island system with corresponding mainland sites, was used to study woodland rodent dynamics and their parasite communities within a naturally fragmented landscape. The study site, hosts and parasite species investigated within this thesis allowed the investigation of how natural fragmentation affects demographic and population dynamics of rodents (chapter 3). Reduced habitat connectivity is known to affect nearly every process in biology. Low degrees of fragmentation and high connectivity between habitats have been shown to provide the most stable conditions for populations to persist, as movement of organisms is less restricted.