This thesis presents my research on the hardware and software for
control of a novel robot based on the Stewart Platform. The robot has
six actuators which must be adjusted to arrive at the desired position
of the platform. This position must be specified by six position
parameters; namely the...
Water temperature in rivers and streams is an important factor for aquatic ecosystem health. Measurement of stream temperature has traditionally been accomplished by point temperature measurements, continuous point temperature loggers, and more recently, airborne remote sensing techniques such as Forward-Looking Infrared Radar (FLIR) or Thermal Infrared Radiometry. While each of...
Previous studies of bird communities in the mid-Willamette Valley, Oregon, indicated that Oregon white oak (Ouercus garryana) stands supported more cavity-using bird
species than sympatric stands of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). Mature Oregon oak stands are being harvested and few are regenerating. I compared cavity availability for hole-using fauna among 10...
Triticale, a newly man-made cereal from a wheat-rye cross offers a
unique food and feed potential because of its higher protein content
with nutritionally balanced amino acid composition as compared to other
cereal grains. However, some cereal proteins such as trypsin inhibitors,
present in triticale and rye, can affect the...
Nine feeding trials and four laboratory scale experiments were conducted in this study. The study consisted of: (1) use of grass straw:corn juice (CJ) silages with fishmeal and/or alfalfa hay supplementation in beef heifers, sheep, pregnant dairy heifers, water buffaloes and Hereford cows; (2) use of cull onions:grass straw silages...
Snags provide critical habitat for nearly one-third of wildlife species in forests of the Pacific Northwest, so historic declines in snags are thought to have had a strong impact on biodiversity. Resource managers often create snags to mitigate the scarcity of snags within managed forests, but information regarding the function...
Thirty-three genotypes of red fescue were selected on the
basis of diverse origin, anthesis date, and type of spreading from a
space-planted introduction nursery.
Open-pollinated, single-cross, and top-cross progeny
nurseries were established into a randomized block with four replications,
20, 9, 8 entries, respectively, with nine plants per entry
on...
Paleozoic limestones, dolomites, quartz arenites, and other
clastic rocks were mapped in the vicinity of Dobbin Summit and
Clear Creek in the central Monitor Range. Sedimentary rock units
present in this area represent the shallow-shelf eastern assemblage
and basin and also the basin-slope facies of the traditional limestoneclastic
assemblage.
The...
Soil erosion by mass wasting is the major problem on forest
lands of the Pacific Northwest, The clay fractions of soils from a
large number of sites in Oregon's Western Cascades were characterized
in order to determine the relationships of various clay materials to
mass movements. Each site was either...
The study involved three separate research efforts
in which 10 Holstein calves and 85 purebred Hampshire and
Suffolk ewe and ram lambs were employed. The objectives of
the experiments were to characterize appetite, describe its
inheritance and evaluate its associations with animal
performance.
In the calf experiment, appetite was determined...
The effects of different fallow moisture levels and tillage
systems on the amount of nitrate-nitrogen accumulation in the 0-30 cm
soil profile were studied.
Fallow moisture treatments simulating typical dry, normal and
wet precipitation cycles were established on trial plots.
Data were obtained for nitrate-nitrogen, soil moisture and
nitrogen mineralization...
Copper and zinc are heavy metals commonly present in highway stormwater runoff. Discharge of these metals to surface waters inhabited by sensitive aquatic species including threatened and endangered salmonids has necessitated the need for improved treatment techniques. Although copper is of the greater toxicological concern, zinc is often present at...
Lime was applied at different rates to filbert trees grown in
containers in an acid soil. As lime application rate increased, the
leaf Mn and extractable soil Mn were significantly reduced. In
control trees leaf Mn was over 1300 ppm, but no growth reduction or
Mn toxicity symptoms were found....
In the past decade considerable research in several disciplines has
been oriented toward the design of optimal capacity expansion plans for
water resource systems. The emphasis of most of these efforts has been
directed toward minimization total cost outlays in project planning.
This focus somewhat limits the full applicability of...
The behavior and stream habitat utilization of juvenile hatchery-reared coho salmon (Ovicozihynchus kisutch) and wild cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki) were examined to assess the nature of interactions between the species potentially resulting from introductions of hatchery coho salmon in streams. Habitat utilization was monitored in Mill Creek, Polk Co., Oregon...
Studies of avian movement ecology afford essential insights regarding species' life histories, population dynamics, habitat and resource requirements, and other ecological relationships. While it is widely recognized that events in different stages of the annual cycle have important implications for processes in avian ecology, evolution, and conservation, challenges associated with...
I studied developmental rates in a suite of temperate and tropical passerine bird species from the New World to test the hypothesis that tropical passerines exhibit slower patterns of growth and development than temperate birds. I also investigated how the expression of several developmental rates varied with life history traits...