Pacific lamprey Entosphenus tridentatus is a valuable icon and traditional food source for Indigenous people of western North America. Native Americans have utilized traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) since time immemorial to guide their ways of life, transmitting cultural values and natural history to further generational knowledge. Pacific lamprey are in...
Juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) exhibit an array of life history tactics in Oregon's Willamette River Basin, yet we do not know to what extent it is driven by phenotypic plasticity or whether it is predetermined and how conditions in the early rearing environment may affect phenotype expression. We have...
Reintroduction programs are increasingly being used to save animals from extinction and aid in their recovery. The California Condor (Gymnogyps californianus), one of the most endangered birds in the world, is a remarkable example of how reintroduction programs can help rapidly increase a species' population numbers and range following a...
Several dolphin species have global distributions. The extent of their radiation and limits to gene flow are presumably a product of oceanographic features both recent and historical, behavioral specializations and social organization. Rough-toothed dolphins (Steno bredanensis) are globally distributed in tropical and subtropical waters and are generally found in depths...
Ontogenetic niche theory predicts that as organisms grow they make size-specific changes in habitat use and diet to optimize growth and survival. A variety of factors contribute to growth and survival in different habitats, ultimately leading to variation in life history that can affect population dynamics. An understanding of the...
Large wood has been utilized in many restoration projects to improve in-stream habitat in the Pacific Northwest for salmon. However, the benefits of this practice remain the subject of ongoing debate and evaluation of these projects has scarcely been done for non-salmonid species such as lamprey. In this study we...
In this study, I examine the influence of habitat gradients created by the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington USA on a recently established Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) population in the Spirit Lake basin. My goal was to evaluate the responses of fish in seven streams across a volcanic...
Substantial scientific investment has been directed towards understanding factors that influence distribution patterns and animals' remarkable ability for precise orientation and navigation, yet fundamental gaps in our knowledge remain. In my dissertation, I applied emerging genetic technologies to conduct a top-down and bottom-up investigation of animal movement and cue perception....
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...
Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) populations in south-central Oregon are near their lowest levels since census efforts began in 1961. I investigated fawn survival, cause-specific mortality, and factors contributing to mortality from 2010 – 2012 to identify potential causes for the decline. I also explored pre-parturition and parturition site characteristics.
I...