Riparian areas in the Pacific Northwest provide important biotic and abiotic
features, such as down wood, moist microsites, and abundant invertebrate prey that
benefit aquatic and terrestrial amphibians. Reported high densities of amphibians from
streams and riparian areas in the Pacific Northwest highlight their importance in riparian
food webs. Amphibians...
Riparian zone vegetation can influence terrestrial and aquatic food webs through variations in the amounts, timing, and nutritional content of leaf and other litter inputs. Differences in vegetation composition and density, as well as riparian topography, may modulate the strength and quality of these inputs. Changes in inputs to small...
An estimated 99% of native wet prairie has been lost in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, but a large number of seasonal wetlands remain on private lands dedicated to grass seed production within the historical wet prairie landscape. Because agriculture is known to alter physical and chemical wetland conditions, I investigated...
Loss of lowland estuarine and freshwater off-channel habitats along the Pacific Northwest coast has contributed to the decline of salmonid populations. These habitats serve as nursery grounds for juvenile salmonids providing them with food, winter shelter, and a transition zone between freshwater and saltwater. Lowland areas have undergone anthropogenic alterations...
The species compositions and densities of the littoral and pelagic zooplankton
assemblages in Crater Lake were compared. The littoral and pelagic zooplankton
assemblages of most lakes are typically different due to different habitat conditions in the
two zones. The littoral zone of Crater Lake lacks many of the habitat characteristics,...
The Van Dyke's salamander (Plethodon vandyke,) is a rare species endemic to Washington State. It has been found in cool moist microhabitats along streams, splash zones of waterfalls, and headwater seeps. We explored the association of the Van Dyke's salamander with hydrologic condition, geomorphology, disturbance characteristics, and vegetation structure in...
Shan-Mei, a Tsou aboriginal village in Taiwan, is widely known as a legend of environmental conservation, where ecotourism has been successfully combined with integrated community development. Indigenous knowledge containing "ecological wisdom" and decision-making based on consensus are perceived to be the greatest contributors to this achievement. I conducted three months...
Understanding the mechanisms that regulate local species diversity and community structure is a perennial goal of ecology. Local community structure can be viewed as the result of numerous local and regional processes; these processes act as filters that reduce the regional species pool down to the observed local community. In...
Metals are a persistent form of freshwater pollution and have been shown to bioaccumulate in aquatic macroinvertebrates through direct contact with contaminated water, sediments, and through consumption of contaminated organisms. This research explored the longitudinal bioaccumulation patterns of 5 common trace metals (Cr, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) in the...