Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), a mysticete with a cosmopolitan distribution, demonstrate
marked behavioural plasticity. Recent studies show evidence of social learning in the transmission of specific
population level traits ranging from complex singing to stereotyped prey capturing behaviour. Humpback
whales have been observed to employ group foraging techniques, however details...
Coastal and riparian flooding are costly and disruptive natural hazards and already a regular part of life in some areas of the USA. Flooding events caused by sea-level rise and climate change are expected to increase in frequency and severity in the future, creating social, ecological, and economic problems at...
Hatchery supplementation of anadromous salmon is extensive across the Pacific Northwest region with millions of juvenile salmon stocked annually. The influence of hatchery-origin fish as prey items in recipient ecosystems has been explored, but influences of these fish on broader stream nutrient dynamics has not been well-studied. Salmon-derived nutrients (SDN)...
Direct behavioral observations of multiple free-ranging animals over long periods of time and large geographic areas is prohibitively difficult. However, recent improvements in technology, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) collars equipped with motion-sensitive activity monitors, create the potential to remotely monitor animal behavior. Accelerometer-equipped activity monitors quantify animal motion...
Light availability strongly influences stream primary production, water temperatures and resource availability at the base of stream food webs. In headwater streams, light is regulated primarily by the riparian forest, but few studies have evaluated the influence of riparian forest stand age and associated structural differences on light availability. In...
Annual grass invasion into shrub-dominated ecosystems is associated with changes in nutrient cycling that may alter nitrogen (N) limitation and retention. Carbon (C) applications that reduce plant-available N have been suggested to give native perennial vegetation a competitive advantage over exotic annual grasses, but plant community and N retention responses...
In We have analyzed natural variation in mitochondrial form and function among a set of Caenorhabditis briggsae isolates known to harbor mitochondrial DNA structural variation in the form of a heteroplasmic nad5 gene deletion (nad5 Delta) that correlates negatively with organismal fitness. We performed in vivo quantification of 24 mitochondrial...
Background:
Coral reef ecosystems are declining in response to global climate change and anthropogenic impacts. Yet patterns of standing genetic variation within cnidarian species, a major determinant of adaptive potential, are virtually unknown at genome-scale resolution. We explore patterns of genome-wide polymorphism and identify candidate loci under selection in the...
Understanding local and geographic factors influencing species distributions is a prerequisite for conservation planning. Our objective in this study was to model local and geographic variability in elevations occupied by native and nonnative trout in the northwestern Great Basin, USA. To this end, we analyzed a large existing data set...
Published June 1942. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog