Over the last 20 years, there has been rapid growth in the amount of installed wind power in the Pacific Northwest, specifically in the Columbia River Gorge. The variable and non-dispatchable nature of this resource requires that it be balanced in some form by other sources on the grid. In...
The research involved development of two ecological
simulation models to explain the complex dimensionality of
chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) life history
structure (represented by the age composition of the
spawning stock) and management difficulties entailed in the
complexity.
Since different sizes of chinook salmon are thought to
adapt differently to...
As the negative impacts of a fossil fueled electricity market are becoming more prevalent and destructive, the necessity for alternative energy techniques increases as well. However, before commercial implementation is underway, these alternatives must be assessed from three important perspectives: environmentally, economically, and socially, which are known as the three...
My thesis explored the effects of environmental variability on population
dynamics and community composition of aquatic insects. Environmental variability in
the form of flow regime in streams can limit the distribution and life-history traits of
aquatic insects. I used tributaries to the McKenzie River in Oregon with dramatically
different flow...
The decline of many Pacific salmon stocks has stimulated interest in the early life history and habitat requirements of juvenile salmon. Although estuarine habitat associations of juvenile salmon have been investigated in many coastal areas of the eastern Pacific Ocean, until recently, little was known about juvenile salmonid ecology within...
Current life cycle assessment tools are often deficient in assisting design for sustainable manufacturing efforts. Integrating an improved assessment method into a decision support framework will provide a means for designers and engineers to better understand the impacts of their decisions. A unit process modeling-based sustainability assessment method is presented...
Grape phylloxera, Daktulosp/iaira vitfoliae (Fitch) development was studied under field and laboratory conditions. The aphid-like insect feeds on Vitis vinfera L. roots producing swellings that decay and lead to vine decline. The only long-term economic solution for control of grape phylloxera (GP) is to plant vines grafted onto a resistant...
Steelhead and rainbow trout are common names for marine-migratory (anadromous) and freshwater-resident forms of Oncorhynchus mykiss, a partially migratory salmonid fish. Anadromous and resident forms are sympatric and can produce offspring with a life history different from their own (i.e., steelhead parents can produce rainbow trout offspring and vice versa)....
Aquatic ecosystems continue to be increasingly affected by climate warming. For salmonids in the Pacific Northwest of North America, increasing temperatures pose tighter thermal constraints on their habitat use as well as aspects of their individual performance, such as disease resistance. This thesis examines the effect of temperature on the...
Chinook salmon returns to the Columbia River basin have declined due to impacts of a growing human population, despite significant mitigation expenditures. Consequently, fisheries managers have become focused on recovery and long-term viability of at-risk populations. A viable population depends, in part, on the connectivity and quality of diverse habitat...