Many herbivores of the Pacific Northwest rely on forest understory shrub leaves for a source of nitrogen, energy, and moisture. I measured nitrogen, protein-binding capacity, and condensed tannin concentration as indicators of available nitrogen; cell wall constituents and lignin as indicators of available energy; and moisture concentration in young and...
Western redcedar (Thuja plicata Donn.) is a valuable commercial species found in
the northwestern United States and southwestern Canada. This dissertation includes four
papers focused on wood and stem characteristics of second-growth western redcedar, and
how those characteristics vary within the stem or how they are influenced by cultural
practices....
Spotted knapweed, Centaurea maculosa Lam. (Compositae) is an extremely
successful introduced weed species in the northwestern United States. Multiple factors
may be responsible for its success, including chemical defense. Two different types of
putative chemical defense agents are the focus of this thesis. The first is a bitter-tasting
sesquiterpene lactone,...
Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a common soil bacterium that causes crown gall
disease on many dicotyledonous plant species. It has been exploited for use in genetic
engineering because it is able to promote transfer of any DNA segment to plant
chromosomes. Many molecular factors in both the plant and bacterium contribute...