From July 1985 to April 1987 the pelagic zooplankton community of Crater Lake, Oregon was studied to determine taxonomic structure, absolute and relative densities, and spatial and temporal distributional patterns. Samples were collected using vertically-towed zooplankton nets. The community structure consisted of two cladoceran and nine rotifer species, which were...
Over half of the U.S. coastline is found in Alaska, and the majority of the state’s economic activity occurs along the coast. Increased coastal development poses a potential threat to nearshore habitats in Alaska. The installation of artificial reef (AR) systems can mitigate habitat loss; however, few AR systems have...
This report summarizes a study which sought to provide toxicity data for pulp mills near Coos Bay through a series of toxicity bioassays. The study also surveyed benthic and beach fauna to identify macro-organisms so individual assessments of water quality requirements could be made.
We evaluated the impact of predation on juvenile steelhead Oncorhynchus mykiss and yearling and subyearling Chinook Salmon O. tshawytscha by piscivorous waterbirds from 11 different breeding colonies in the Columbia River basin during 2012 and 2014. Fish were tagged with both acoustic tags and PIT tags and were tracked via...
Following a four-year period of writing, member comment, and multiple revisions, the AFS Position Paper and Policy on Mining and Fossil Fuel Extraction was approved unanimously by the membership at the Society's annual business meeting August 19, 2015, in Portland, Oregon. The entire document can be read at fisheries.org/policy_statements; a...
We conducted a 3-year study of helminth parasites to assess their effect on the lesser prairie-chicken Tympanuchus pallidicinctus. Helminth parasites were found in most of the examined wild prairie chicken carcasses: 95% had eye worm Oxyspirura petrowi, 92% had stomach worm Tetrameres sp., and 59% had caecal worm Subulura sp....
The ability to ascertain gender and age of juvenile grouse is essential for determining gender-specific population age structure and studying timing of reproductive events, respectively. We examined outer rectrix feathers from juvenile Lesser Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) captured at 30–40 and 50–60 days post-hatching. Blood samples were collected from most chicks...
We used mark-recapture methods to estimate age-specific apparent survival rates for male Lesser Prairie-Chickens (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus), a gamebird of conservation concern. A total of 311 male prairie-chickens (135 yearlings, 176 adults) were captured and banded during a 5-year study in southwest Kansas. Time-since-marking models were used to estimate apparent survival...
Invertebrates are an important food source for grouse chicks, especially within the first 2 weeks of life. Invertebrate abundance is highly patchy and dependent upon herbaceous cover and vegetation structure. We examined the relationship between invertebrate biomass (from sweepnet samples) and habitat structure at lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) brood-use and...
We conducted this 2-year study to determine if lesser prairie-chickens Tympanuchus pallidicinctus and ring-necked pheasants Phasianus colchicus used the same habitats where their ranges overlapped in southwestern Kansas. Telemetry locations of 50 transmitter-equipped lesser prairie-chickens and 28 pheasants were used to monitor habitat use by the two species. Additionally, vegetation...
The distribution and range of the greater sage-grouse Centrocercus urophasianus have been reduced by 56% since the European settlement of western North America. Although there is an unprecedented effort to conserve the species, there is still considerable debate about the vegetation composition and structure required for nesting and brood-rearing habitat....
Mortality due to infectious diseases is seldom reported in the Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). A case of necrotic enteritis associated with Clostridium perfringens type A is described in a free-ranging adult male sage-grouse in eastern Oregon. Clostridial enteritis is known to cause outbreaks of mortality in various domestic and wild...
Cumulative loss of habitat and long-term decline in the populations of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) have led to concerns for the species’ viability throughout its range in the southern Great Plains. For more efficient conservation past and present distributions of genetic variation need to be understood. We examined the...
The distribution and geographic range of Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) have been reduced by 56% since European settlement. Although loss and fragmentation of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.) habitats have been cited as the primary causes for the decline of the species, degradation of existing habitat also has been considered an important...
Macroinvertebrates are important for processing leaf detritus in temperate streams, but studies about their role in tropical streams often present conflicting results. Via digestive tract analyses, we assessed the diets of Phylloicus sp. larvae (Trichoptera: Calamoceratidae), collected from streams of two southeastern Brazil river basins (Araguari, Sao Francisco). We classified...
Mercury (Hg) is a globally distributed environmental
contaminant with a variety of deleterious effects
in fish, wildlife, and humans. Breeding songbirds may be
useful sentinels for Hg across diverse habitats because they
can be effectively sampled, have well-defined and small
territories, and can integrate pollutant exposure over time
and space....
Mining impacts on stream systems have historically been studied over small spatial scales, yet
investigations over large areas may be useful for characterizing mining as a regional source of stress to
stream fishes. The associations between co-occurring stream fish assemblages and densities of various
“classes” of mining occurring in the...
In this report, a response is given to the charge of this study. Volume I: Summary Report includes a synopsis of the technical considerations followed by the main findings and recommendations. The full technical background for these summary statements is given in detail in Volume II: Technical Background Report, and...
We estimated annual survival rates (S) of 23 radio-marked Northern Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis caurina) at the Quartz and Timbered Rock burns and adjacent areas in southwest Oregon. We used known-fate models in program MARK to test for differences in survival among three groups (owls dwelling inside of burned areas,...
An understanding of the interactions among local environmental factors (e.g., physical habitat and water quality) and aquatic assemblages is essential to conserve biodiversity in tropical and subtropical headwater streams. We evaluated the relative importance of multiple physical and chemical habitat variables that influence the richness of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera...
An exploratory study of 48-hour Pacific oyster embryo
bioassays employing spent sulfite liquor (SSL) in test
concentrations ranging from 10 to 45 ppm was made at two
incubation temperatures, 20° and 24° C. Fourteen separate
bioassays, each employing embryos originating from three to
four different parentages, were conducted at the...
A study of the population ecology of Columbia River fall chinook
salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha (Walbaum), was made in an attempt
to determine the cause of a serious decline in this run which occurred
in the early 1950's. Fluctuations in abundance of major salmon runs
the North Pacific were examined to...
The movements of a population of adult sockeye salmon
(Oncorhynchus nerka) were followed in a small tributary of Brooks
Lake, Alaska until spawning was nearly complete in 1963. The objectives
of the study were to describe the movements of sockeye
salmon on the spawning ground of an entire small stream,...
The acute toxicity of Diquat (1:1-ethylene-2:2' dipyridylium
dibromide) and Dichlobenil (2, 6-dichlorobenzonitrile) to six selected
pond invertebrates was determined using the median tolerance limit
estimation method. Diquat was more toxic to the amphipod, Hyalella
azeteca than to the aquatic insects Callibaetis, Limnephilus,
Enallagma, Libellula, and Tendipedidae. The addition of mud...
The fatty acids of coho salmon were identified and then a study
was conducted to determine the effects of exercise on the fatty acids
of salmon forced to swim against water velocities of 52, 54, 56, and
59 cm/sec, The shorter and lighter salmon were less competent at
a given...
The fishes of Upper Klamath Lake appeared to distribute
themselves in three general groups during the summers of 1964
and 1965: (1) the chubs--unrestricted as to distribution with slight
seasonal variations; (2) rainbow trout and yellow perch -- restricted
to certain water conditions that exist only along the northern marsh...
The effects of sublethal concentrations of kraft mill effluents
(KME) on the growth, food consumption, and swimming ability of
juvenile chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tschawytscha (Walbaum),
were studied from February 1966 to May, 1967.
The KME used in these studies was obtained from two pulp and
paper mills producing paper from...
The black crappie was evaluated as a pond fish in four experimental
ponds in the Willamette Valley. Two ponds were stocked with
largemouth bass, bluegill sunfish, and black crappie (1:9:3), and
two ponds with largemouth bass and black crappie (1:3).
Total biomass was greatest in the three-species ponds (80 kg/...
Of 149 wild animals from two western Oregon river drainage
areas and other localities in which "salmon poisoning" disease (SPD)
is enzootic, including ten mammalian and two avian species, 79
harbored Nanophyetus salmincola, the SPD vector. The shorttail
weasel, Mustela erminea; river otter, Lutra canadensis; spotted
skunk, Spilogale putorius; Norway...
The reproductive characteristics of the mountain cottontail
rabbit, Sylvilagus nuttalli (Bachman), were investigated from 269
specimens collected in central Oregon between 28 May 1968 and
28 August 1969.
Male rabbits were in breeding condition between mid-February
and 3 July 1969. Nearly 77% of the females bore four litters between
7...
The individual stocks of sockeye salmon that make up the
annual spawning migration to the Bristol Bay region of Western
Alaska are produced in the lakes and streams of ten major river
systems, which discharge into the bay over a shoreline distance of
120 miles. The hypothesis adopted in this...
The experiment was conducted at the Soap Creek farm ponds
near Corvallis, Oregon. Oregon Moist Pellet and Purina Trout
Chow at three different rates of feeding for each diet were used
to feed fingerling channel catfish stocked at the rate of 1,000 per
acre. A complete random design and Fisher's...
Reproductive characteristics of introduced eastern cottontail
rabbits, Sylvilagus floridanus (J. A. Allen), were determined from
486 rabbits collected between January 1, 1968 and June 30, 1969,
near Corvallis, Oregon.
Sex ratios were 1:1 for all rabbits collected and for all embryos
20 days or more gestation. On the basis of...
This thesis reports the results of a study on the influence of biologically
stabilized kraft mill effluent (SKME) on the food relations and
production of juvenile chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tschawytscha
(Walbaum), in laboratory streams. Experiments were conducted at
the Oak Creek Fisheries Research Laboratory, Oregon State University,
during 1967 and...
A study of the distribution, relative abundance and diet of
fishes sympatric with juvenile sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka
(Walbaum), within the freshwater nursery areas of the Naknek River
system was undertaken from 1961 to 1963. The study was part of an
extensive investigation to determine what factors in the freshwater...
Descriptions and distributions are given of 28 species of
Liparidae occurring or possibly occurring below 200 m between San
Francisco and northern Vancouver Island, with keys for their identifications.
Nine genera are included: Careproctus, Elassodiscus,
Lipariscus, Nectoliparis, Rhinoliparis, Acantholiparis, Paraliparis,
and two new genera are described, Odontoliparis and Osteodiscus.
Eight...
Blackside dace, Rhinichthys osculus nubilus (GIRARD), were
collected from ten western Oregon streams and examined for variation
among morphological and meristic characters. Several characters were
observed to vary between populations studied. Number of vertebrae,
number of scales in and above the lateral line, length of snout, and
depth of body...
One means of evaluating the temperature requirements of an
animal is to determine changes temperature causes in the uses and
losses of energy and materials in the food the animal consumes. To
develop energy budgets for cichlids (Cichlasoma bimaculatum) at different
temperatures (20, 24, 28, 32 and 36 C) data...
Plumage development and growth were studied in young whooping
cranes (Grus americana) from hatching until 450 days of age. The
downy stage of the young cranes lasted about six weeks; the development
of the juvenal plumage took until 100 days of age, and the molt
to the adult or all...
The effects of a sublethal concentration of dieldrin (0. 2 ppb)
in the water on the growth and body composition of underyearling rainbow
and cutthroat trout held in aquaria and fed different rations of tubificid
worms or Oregon moist pellets were studied at Oak Creek Fisheries
Research Laboratory, Oregon State...
The effects of three levels of dissolved oxygen (8, 5 and 3 mg/l)
upon the feeding, growth and bioenergetics of juvenile coho salmon,
Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum), were determined in laboratory
studies. Experiments with individual fish were conducted during the
summer, fall and spring to measure rates of food consumption,
standard...
The production of crop-milk in band-tailed pigeons was investigated
to estimate losses of squabs that occur from hunting
pigeons during September.¹ Living birds held captive were examined
with a cystos cope and pigeons killed by hunters were examined in the
field to determine changes in gross appearance of crops and...
Juvenile Oncorhynchus mykiss migrate extensively in freshwater during fall. We used individual tagging to study the spatial origin, influences, and outcomes of fall migration on fish that emigrated from summer rearing tributaries during fall (early-emigrants) and those that did not (late-emigrants) in the South Fork John Day River, Oregon. Fall...
Deciding which textbook to assign to students is often a very difficult decision. A textbook should offer more than just a synthesis of information, it should inspire curiosity, cause one to reflect, and provide a framework for making decisions. Most reviews reflect a single opinion, sometimes based on personal preferences....