Red Crossbills (Fringillidae: Loxia curvirostra), irruptive finches which feed on conifer seeds, have long presented an evolutionary conundrum. Variable morphology and vocalizations in the species can be classified into several flight call types, which may be discrete lineages. The key conifer hypothesis suggests that each type diverged by specializing on...
The effects of climate change on coastal communities along the United States Atlantic coast are becoming an increasing threat. The effectiveness and sustainability of traditional built protections that have been used to armor coasts against these threats has come into question as they require costly replacement and maintenance and are...
Literature-based review on designing an experimental project regarding placement and orientation of artificial nest boxes related to successful nest box adoption and chick survival in Barn owls within the Willamette Valley.
Skin condition assessment of wildlife can provide insight into individual and population health. Yet, logistics can limit skin condition assessment of large whales. We developed a standardized, quantitative protocol using photographs to assess skin condition of blue whales in New Zealand, and demonstrate the value gained by testing hypotheses, documenting...
A literature review for a research project being done in partnership with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, which will look at non-breeding California sea lion males in the Columbia River Basin that have been preying on migratory salmon. This will be...
The ability to observe species in their natural setting using remote cameras is an increasingly important tool for in-field research. Remote cameras for terrestrial studies are inexpensive and widely available, but there are few comparable options for researching aquatic habitats. For this study, a do it yourself (DIY) underwater camera...
A deep neural network was developed and trained to identify the sounds of pomacentrids (damselfishes) in the National Park of American Samoa. Four years of continuous, passive acoustic data were recorded by a single stationary hydrophone. Deep neural networks enable the full utilization of such large datasets by automating laborious...
Investigating the insectivorous diet of the Trowbridge’s shrew (Sorex trowbridgii) across forest types can illustrate how forest management affects biotic communities. I used DNA metabarcoding methods with ANML primers to identify stomach and intestines contents from shrews caught in pitfall traps in the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest (HJA) and Willamette...
Coastal blue carbon ecosystems offer a variety of important ecosystem services, including exceptional rates of carbon sequestration and long-term carbon storage. Because these ecosystems disproportionately influence global carbon cycling, understanding their soil characteristics may help guide long-term climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. Recently, Kauffman et al. (2020) observed the...
Juniper (Juniperus spp.) encroachment into the sagebrush steppe ecoregion is one of the main causes of sagebrush degradation and can alter the understory vegetative community by outcompeting native shrubs and grasses, which reduces the available forage and cover for small mammals. Coyotes (Canis latrans) are generalist, omnivorous predators in the...
The detection of white-nose syndrome (WNS) in King County, WA in 2016 prompted the National Park Service to mobilize region-wide bat monitoring and disease surveillance. One of the goals of the Pacific West Region WNS response plan was to implement acoustic monitoring to determine the distribution of bat species and...
This paper is an assignment for my Ichthyology class at Oregon State University. I was tasked with creating a new fish species that is scientifically possible and telling a fictional story of its discovery.
Dwelling on the bottom of large rivers to high alpine streams, freshwater sculpins (genus Cottus) occur in high densities across the Pacific Northwest, with 21 currently recognized species found in the Pacific Northwest. Sculpin fill many ecological roles, with some species serving as important prey sources, and others competing with...
This study used a factorial mesocosm design to quantify American bullfrog (Lithobates castebeianus) eDNA to assess the relationship between body size, density, and eDNA shedding rates.
2018 Library Undergraduate Research Awards nomination materials, reflective learning essay, and research paper.
In this study, pocket gopher and gray-tailed vole holes and hills were counted within four distinct habitats using quadrats and a gridding method over a period of five field days. The study was conducted to determine which...
The Pantanal is one of the largest wetlands in the world, covering 195,000 km2 across Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. It has a unique annual flooding regime with the majority of land being completely inundated during the wet season, which provides important habitat for threatened species such as jaguars (Panthera onca)...
Increased coastal development poses a potential threat to nearshore habitats in Alaska, and artificial reefs (AR) are an increasingly popular tool for mitigating habitat loss. Although well studied in tropical and temperate locations, less is known about AR efficacy in high latitude locations. Since ARs are heavily influenced by ecological...
Nanophyetus salmincola is a well-studied parasite of their definitive mammal hosts. However, the conditions that signal the time for shedding of N. salmincola cercariae from their first host, the juga snail (Juga silicula), is not fully understood. A digenetic trematode indigenous to the American Pacific Northwest, N. salmincola can be...
Honko Mangrove Conservation and Education is a Western non-governmental organization based in Madagascar that serves as a source of public science education and caters to diverse audiences. My thesis examines barriers of culture, language and epistemology that may constrain Honko’s ability to conduct effective public education, if they decide to...
Mangroves provide numerous ecosystem services, including biodiversity values such as nesting sites for piscivorous waterbirds. High concentrations of pisicivoirous birds are hypothesized to affect ecosystem dynamics, yet few studies have examined their effects in mangroves. We examined the effects of nutrient enrichment by colonial waterbirds at a mangrove rookery in...