The impact of land clearing on geneticpopulation structure and parasite abundance in the ornate dragon lizard, Ctenophorus ornatus

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[Truncated abstract] Habitat degradation and modification for agricultural purposes have become a leading cause of species decline worldwide. The loss of suitable habitat has the most drastic effects on population persistence, however even when fragments of habitat are retained, remnant populations are still vulnerable. If the altered environment between populations is not conducive to dispersal and therefore gene flow, populations can become isolated and suffer from genetic erosion, reducing their evolutionary potential. In light of this, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of research investigating the genetic effects of landscape changes. However, because the extensive loss and fragmentation of habitat typically occur together, it is difficult to discern the specific effects of fragmentation on patterns of gene flow and genetic variation. In this thesis, I examined the genetic effects of land clearing while minimising the effects of habitat loss. This was done by compar

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