Parasites are ubiquitous members of ecological communities, capable of contributing to the decline of vulnerable populations. Therefore, monitoring parasite level is a critical component for host management. Molecular tools, such as quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), can be valuable additions to monitoring protocols that assess parasitic disease risk to hosts....
Ribonucleotide reductase is a remarkable enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting
step in the synthesis of the 2'-deoxynucleoside triphosphates. The intent of this project
was to characterize the ribonucleotide reductase encoded by the orthopoxvirus,
vaccinia. The first objective was to study the structural and functional features of the
viral small subunit...
The development of a market for currently non-merchantable forest material, such as harvest residues of tops and limbs of trees or small diameter trees, has been suggested as a possible win-win solution that could: (i) provide a financial incentive to help motivate treatments to reduce wildfire risk or restore forest...
Forest management in the face of fire risk is a challenging problem because fire spreads across a landscape and because its occurrence is unpredictable. Additionally, management must be adjusted over time as unpredictable fire events are realized. Land managers have some control over the vegetation conditions that facilitate fire spread,...
Increasing rates of species imperilment and the loss of biological diversity in naturally functioning ecosystems can be directly linked to accelerated urban development and the conversion of natural habitats to satisfy the needs of man. In combating this loss of biodiversity, scientists and policy makers alike recognize the relevance of...
An integrated model combining a wildlife population simulation model, and timber harvest and growth models was developed to explore the tradeoffs between the likelihood of persistence of a wildlife species and timber harvest values on a landscape in the Central Oregon Cascades. Simulated annealing, a heuristic optimization technique, was used...
In this thesis I examine the question: can allowing a wildfire to burn this year result in a net positive economic gain? To answer this question I created 2,500 multiple sets of paired scenarios (called a fire of interest) which consist of ignitions, vegetation growth, and timber harvest over the...
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Claire A. Montgomery
In this thesis I examine the question: can allowing a wildfire to burn
This study seeks to explore the relationship between social capital and well-being in the rural Western United States. Mixed methods were employed to understand the concepts from multiple angles, using both profile and process indicators. An econometric approach used profile indicators and relied on data from 414 counties in the...
Biological invasions threaten native biodiversity, alter ecosystem function, and are a major cause of economic losses across the planet. The most impactful invaders alter disturbance regimes and initiate state shifts to outside the historical range of variability of the ecosystem. Concern for ecological and economic losses has prompted a rapid...
The goal of this study was to advance methods for assessment of forest road hydrologic
response and sediment yield at a catchment scale. This research looked at the effect of
soil depth estimation on the Distributive Hydrology Soil Vegetation Model (DHSVM),
assessed the uncertainty and accuracy of hydrologic modeling of...
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Determining the Best Technique for Estimating Soil Depths for Claire Creek ............. 15