Within the sagebrush steppe ecosystem, invasive annual grasses are of growing management concern as they outcompete native vegetation, change the fundamental nutrient cycling processes, decrease biodiversity, and increase frequency of wildfires. The most widely used and effective management tool to decrease invasive annual grass abundance, is the use of pre-emergent...
Hemlock dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium tsugense subsp. tsugense) is an arboreal, hemiparasitic plant that principally parasitizes western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). Hemlock dwarf mistletoe exerts a profound influence on infected trees that can drastically change the structure of the tree crown due to reduced growth, top dieback, branch deformation and death, resulting...
Wind turbines serve an increasing proportion of total energy generation, with expanded onshore and offshore installations proceeding worldwide. Continued construction, expansion, and operation of wind energy installations must be managed in conjunction with effects on local and migratory wildlife, specifically bird and bat species that may be affected by wind...
It is well known that in-stream large wood affects river channel shape, sediment deposits, stream flow, and available habitat for aquatic species. However, less is known about how wildlife interact with this large wood. Previous research has shown that small mammals and birds utilize woody debris in river channels for...
Bird and bat collisions with wind turbines are a problem that needs to be better quantified for its impact to be fully understood. This thesis documents portions of the design of a sensor patch module for use on wind turbines blades to detect impacts caused by birds and bats. This...
Livestock grazing is the prominent land use in Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis [Beetle & A. Young] S.L. Welsh) steppe and has been present since the late 1800’s. There have been calls to remove livestock grazing from rangelands as historic grazing practices resulted in the degradation of some...
Food webs are fundamental in ecology, as they offer a way to better understand the interrelatedness, connectivity, and complexity within a given ecosystem. The use of network analysis to model food webs can provide insights about the importance of physical templates on the organization of biological systems in streams using...
Mountainous headwater streams make up ~80 % of stream length globally and are strongly connected with catchment hillslopes and riparian areas, which can influence water quantity, quality, and availability for downstream uses. Accordingly, effective management of headwater streams and riparian zones to maintain desired ecosystem services downstream is critical, particularly...
Riparian forests provide a myriad of ecosystem functions for adjacent streams and rivers, and due to these linkages, changes in riparian forest conditions can have direct implications for stream ecosystems. Resource managers in the coast redwood forests (Sequoia sempervirens) of northern California (USA) are actively thinning second-growth stands to accelerate...
Oregon's estuaries are important ecosystems for scientific study. Consequently, knowledge of what research has been conducted helps us identify benchmarks and plan new projects. A comprehensive bibliography of published research, technical reports, local documents, and data sets is one means of recording this knowledge. For these reasons, the Guin Library...