Digital Commons Network^™

Root Nodules Of Red Alder (Alnus Rubra) And Sitka Alder (Alnus Viridis Ssp. Sinuata) Are Inhabited By Taxonomically Diverse Cultivable Microbial Endophytes, Robyn Dove, Emily R. Wolfe, Nathan U. Stewart, Abigail Coleman, Sara Herrejon Chavez, Daniel J. Ballhorn

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The root nodules of actinorhizal plants are home to nitrogen-fixing bacterial symbionts, known as Frankia, along with a small percentage of other microorganisms. These include fungal endophytes and non-Frankia bacteria. The taxonomic and functional diversity of the microbial consortia within these root nodules is not well understood. In this study, we surveyed and analyzed the cultivable, non-Frankia fungal and bacterial endophytes of root nodules from red and Sitka alder trees that grow together. We examined their taxonomic diversity, co-occurrence, differences between hosts, and potential functional roles. For the first time, we are reporting numerous fungal endophytes of alder root nodules. …

Provisioning Services Decline For Both People And Critically Endangered Wildlife In A Rainforest Transformation Landscape, Katherine J. Kling, Timothy M. Eppley, A. Catherine Markham, Patricia C. Wright, Be Noel Razafindrapaoly, Rajaona Delox, Be Jean Rodolph Rasolofoniaina, Jeanne Mathilde Randriamanetsy, Pascal Elison, Mcantonin Andriamahaihavana, Dean Gibson, Delaid Claudin Rasamisoa, Josia Razafindramanana, Natalie Vasey, Carter W. Daniels, Cortni Borgerson

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The loss and degradation of forests and other ecosystems worldwide threaten both global biodiversity and the livelihoods of people who use natural resources. Understanding how natural resource use impacts landscape provisioning services for both people and wildlife is thus critical for designing comprehensive resource management strategies. We used data from community focus groups, botanical plots and an inventory of plant species consumed by the Critically Endangered red-ruffed lemur (Varecia rubra) to assess the availability of key provisioning services for people and endemic wildlife on the Masoala Peninsula, a rainforest transformation landscape, in northeastern Madagascar (Masoala National Park and 13 surrounding …

A Genus In The Bacterial Phylum Aquificota Appears To Be Endemic To Aotearoa-New Zealand, Jean F. Power, Carlo R. Carere, Holly E. Welford, Daniel T. Hudson, Kevin C. Lee, John W. Moreau, Anna-Louise Reysenbach, Thijs J.G. Ettema, Multiple Additional Authors

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Allopatric speciation has been difficult to examine among microorganisms, with prior reports of endemism restricted to sub-genus level taxa. Previous microbial community analysis via 16S rRNA gene sequencing of 925 geothermal springs from the Taupō Volcanic Zone (TVZ), Aotearoa-New Zealand, revealed widespread distribution and abundance of a single bacterial genus across 686 of these ecosystems (pH 1.2-9.6 and 17.4-99.8 °C). Here, we present evidence to suggest that this genus, Venenivibrio (phylum Aquificota), is endemic to Aotearoa-New Zealand. A specific environmental niche that increases habitat isolation was identified, with maximal read abundance of Venenivibrio occurring at pH 4-6, 50-70 °C, and …

Tiny Drifters Amidst Global Change: Examining Environmental Drivers, Trophic Impacts, And Management Strategies Of Estuarine Plankton Communities In The Anthropocene, Taylor Nicole Dodrill

Dissertations and Theses

Plankton productivity supports estuarine food webs, and has been tied to the success of fisheries, macroinvertebrates, and cultured shellfish yields. Climate change and alterations to nutrient loads are thought to be influencing plankton assemblages, with toxin-producing harmful algal blooms (HABs) on the rise and nutritional quality of plankton declining globally. These shifts in plankton communities may contribute to low biomass yields and toxin-based closures of important fisheries. The objectives of this dissertation are to identify environmental drivers, trophic impacts, and management strategies to understand and respond to changing estuarine plankton communities. To address these objectives, I used a combination of …

People, Place, And Planet: Global Review Of Use-Inspired Research On Water-Related Ecosystem Services In Urban Wetlands, Jason Sauer, Heejun Chang

Geography Faculty Publications and Presentations

With climate change and urbanization, city planners and developers have increasing interest and practice in constructing, restoring, or incorporating wetlands as forms of green infrastructure to maintain water-related ecosystem services (WES). We reviewed studies that valued in functional or monetary units the water regulation and purification services of urban wetlands around the globe. We used the adaptive management cycle (AMC) as a heuristic to determine the step that a study would represent in the AMC, the connections between the cycle steps that were used or considered, and the stakeholders involved. Additionally, we identified the social, ecological, and/or technological dimension(s) of …

Drivers And Dynamics Of Phytoplankton Communities And Harmful Algal Blooms In Mountain Lakes, Lara Stephanie Jansen

Dissertations and Theses

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms (cyanoHABs) are a complex and widespread disturbance in freshwater water bodies, impacting water quality for wildlife and human populations. While cyanobacteria often bloom in warm lakes impacted by human development like agriculture, blooms are increasingly reported in cooler waters with limited development in the surrounding watershed. As much of cyanoHAB research has focused on lakes in highly developed watersheds, the understanding of factors leading to cyanobacteria dominance and blooms in the absence of major development remains limited. Mountain lakes can serve as ideal systems to study bloom-forming cyanobacteria in watersheds with minimal development. In addition, mountain lakes …

Human-Modified Landscapes Driving The Global Primate Extinction Crisis, Erik Joaquín Torres-Romero, Vincent Nijman, David Fernández, Timothy M. Eppley

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The world's primates have been severely impacted in diverse and profound ways by anthropogenic pressures. Here, we evaluate the impact of various infrastructures and human-modified landscapes on spatial patterns of primate species richness, at both global and regional scales. We overlaid the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) range maps of 520 primate species and applied a global 100 km2 grid. We used structural equation modeling and simultaneous autoregressive models to evaluate direct and indirect effects of six human-altered landscapes variables (i.e., human footprint [HFP], croplands [CROP], road density [ROAD], pasture lands [PAST], protected areas [PAs], and Indigenous …

Urban Green Roofs Can Support A Diversity Of Parasitoid Wasps, Aramee C. Diethelm, Susan Masta

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Green roofs are often installed atop buildings to provide ecological services such as mitigating storm water runoff and cooling air within urban heat islands. We found that green roofs in Portland, Oregon, also can support biodiversity, including a diverse assemblage of parasitoid wasps, with 20 morphospecies from 10 families present on the four roofs we surveyed. The roofs with greater plant diversity and structural complexity harbored comparatively more parasitoid morphospecies than the structurally simpler Sedum-dominated roofs. The oldest green roof supported much greater diversity than the younger roofs, including a comparably planted roof three times its size. Parasitoid wasps from …

21st Century Learning Ecosystem Opportunities: Research And Findings, Jill Castek, Kathy Harris, Gloria Jacobs, Jen Vanek,

21CLEO Presentations and Publications

The 21st Century Learning Ecosystem Opportunities (21 CLEO) research was launched to increase understanding of the complexities of learning ecosystems. This report is a summary that aims to share insights about working learners employed in frontline service work, the types of education and training initiatives offered to them, and the outcomes from participating in such employer supported education and training initiatives. The findings shared here are drawn from the collection of presentations, blog posts, and other publications through which we have shared our insights along the way (cited throughout), as well as new material developed as part of our final …

Spatial Analysis Of Burn Severity And Streamflow Response In The Western Conus, Will Brendan Long

Dissertations and Theses

Wildfire increases the magnitude of runoff in catchments, which can lead to the degradation of ecosystems, risk to infrastructure, and loss of life. The Labor Day Fires of 2020 provided an opportunity to compare multiple large and severe wildfires with the objective of determining potential changes to hydrologic processes in Oregon Cascades watersheds. Geographic information systems (GIS) were implemented to determine the total percentage burned and percentage of high burn severity class of six watersheds on the west-slope of the Oregon Cascade Range. In addition, two control watersheds were included to contrast the influence of climatic effects. Spatial arrangement of …

Using An Affinity Analysis To Identify Phytoplankton Associations, Weiju Zhu, Zhaojian Ding, Yangdong Pan, Quanxi Wang

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Phytoplankton functional traits can represent particular environmental conditions in complex aquatic ecosystems. Categorizing phytoplankton species into functional groups is challenging and time-consuming, and requires high-level expertise in species autecology. In this study, we introduced an affinity analysis to aid the identification of candidate associations of phytoplankton from two data sets comprised of phytoplankton and environmental information. In the Huaihe River Basin with a drainage area of 270,000 km2 in China, samples were collected from 217 selected sites during the low-water period in May 2013; monthly samples were collected during 2006–2011 in a man-made pond, Dishui Lake. Our results indicated that …

Efficiency In The Upper Deschutes Basin: Understanding The Hydrosocial Implications Of Irrigation Canal Piping, Rebecca Anderson

Dissertations and Theses

In response to water scarcity, irrigation efficiency projects aim to conserve water for in-stream flow and agricultural use. Piping irrigation canals is a common irrigation efficiency method which reduces the loss of incidental recharge, resulting in trade-offs within a hydrosocial system. Few studies have focused on the consequences of canal piping and none have integrated a critical analysis of the social factors involved in deciding what constitutes 'efficient' water use. This study seeks to fill this gap by combining natural and social science to give attention to the scales and perspectives involved in irrigation efficiency canal piping and the material …

Citizens' Preferences On Green Infrastructure Practices And Their Enhancement In Portland, Oregon, Katsuya Tanaka, Hal T. Nelson, Nicholas Mccullar, Nishant Parulekar

Public Administration Faculty Publications and Presentations

Green infrastructure (GI) has been gaining increasing attention due to its efficiency in controlling and purifying urban stormwater runoff, creating environmental amenities, and biodiversity conservation. Nevertheless, the existing knowledge of people's preferences for GI is not yet sufficient for evidence-based policymaking for enhancing GI. This study analyzes citizens' perceptions of the relative importance of six GI practices and estimates their willingness to pay (WTP) to enhance them. To this end, the study applies two types of stated preference methods (best-worst scaling and contingent valuation) to citizen survey data collected in Portland, Oregon. We found that GI practices that are more …

"We've Created Cheap Energy Off The Backs Of Salmon": Dam Removal Politics And Alliances In The Lower Snake River Basin, Krista Harrington

Dissertations and Theses

Dams, once considered by many to be good for water development in the Western U.S., might not be a part of a climate resilient future. Dams have come under increasing scrutiny due to undesirable ecological implications. Although dam removal proposals are growingly popular in recent decades, they are controversial since they impact different stakeholders in different ways. In the Pacific Northwest, the Lower four Snake River dams have long been criticized for their negative impacts on salmon. In February 2021, US Congressman Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) proposed a comprehensive framework to deconstruct the Lower four Snake River dams as an attempt …

Extreme Winds Alter Influence Of Fuels And Topography On Megafire Burn Severity In Seasonal Temperate Rainforests Under Record Fuel Aridity, Cody Evers, Andres Holz, Sebastian Upton Busby, Max Nielsen-Pincus

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nearly 0.8 million hectares of land were burned in the North American Pacific Northwest (PNW) over two weeks under record-breaking fuel aridity and winds during the extraordinary 2020 fire season, representing a rare example of megafires in forests west of the Cascade Mountains. We quantified the relative influence of weather, vegetation, and topography on patterns of high burn severity (>75% tree mortality) among five synchronous megafires in the western Cascade Mountains. Despite the conventional wisdom in climate-limited fire regimes that regional drivers (e.g., extreme aridity, and synoptic winds) overwhelm local controls on vegetation mortality patterns (e.g., vegetation structure and …

Modeling Environmental Factors Related To Drought-Induced Tree Mortality Based On Lidar And Hyperspectral Imagery, Lauren Nicole Sharwood

Dissertations and Theses

Climate change is projected to bring more frequent and prolonged droughts, causing widespread forest die-off. Identifying tree mortality over large spatial extents in response to the most recent California drought will help forest managers and conservationists understand where there may be a greater likelihood of future die-offs. In order to find more at-risk areas, this study evaluated how interacting site-specific topographic, climate, substrate, and stand characteristics mediated tree mortality in the Central Sierra Nevada during the 2012-2016 drought. The author used lidar and hyperspectral imagery provided by the National Ecological Observatory Network to identify individual dead trees using the Random …

The 2019 Conference On Health And Active Transportation: Research Needs And Opportunities, David Berrigan, Astrid Dannenberg, Michelle Lee, Kelly Rodgers, Janet R. Wojcik, Behram Wali, Calvin P. Tribby, Ralph Buehler, James F. Sallis, Multiple Additional Authors

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

Active transportation (AT) is widely viewed as an important target for increasing participation in aerobic physical activity and improving health, while simultaneously addressing pollution and climate change through reductions in motor vehicular emissions. In recent years, progress in increasing AT has stalled in some countries and, furthermore, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created new AT opportunities while also exposing the barriers and health inequities related to AT for some populations. This paper describes the results of the December 2019 Conference on Health and Active Transportation (CHAT) which brought together leaders from the transportation and health disciplines. Attendees charted a course …

Exploring Linkages Between Landscape Patterns And Freshwater And Estuarine Bivalves In The Coast Range Of Oregon, Kaegan Michael Scully-Engelmeyer

Dissertations and Theses

Spatial configurations of landscape variables (biotic, abiotic, and socio-ecological) affect and are affected by ecological processes and species in watersheds. This dissertation explores relationships among landscape patterns, ecosystem processes and bivalve species dynamics in coastal watersheds in Oregon, USA. I approached this broad topic through two primary avenues of research: investigating cross-ecosystem threats from pesticide use in forestland management to downstream aquatic environments, and the landscape ecology of an at-risk freshwater mussel species.

Terrestrial land use activities present cross-ecosystem threats to riverine and marine species and processes. Specifically, pesticide runoff can disrupt hormonal, reproductive, and developmental processes in aquatic organisms, …

Our Peer The Pigeon: Impacts Of The Covid-19 "Anthropause" On Psu Campus Urban Foragers, Audrey Douglass

University Honors Theses

The 2020 COVID Pandemic presented a paradigm shift dubbed, by some scholars, the 'Anthropause', an ecological epoch in which humans faded from the public sphere. As was the case for many urban species that depend on the foraging of food waste, this meant a fundamental disruption to their food systems and to the entire urban eco-web. The PSU Campus Park Blocks presents a unique opportunity to observe animal behavior, while also a succinct microcosm to study food waste flow changes, and compare species layout to other urban parks in the METRO area. Decreased food waste output from proximal …

Tribal Revegetation Project Final Project Report: 92-Acre Area, Area 5 Radioactive Waste Management Complex, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, Jeremy Spoon, Brittany Kruger, Richard Arnold, Kate Monti Barcalow, Tribal Revegetation Committee, Trc

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Nuwu (Southern Paiute), Newe (Western Shoshone), and Nuumu (Owens Valley Paiute) are linguistically related, Numic-speaking peoples who are part of the broader Uto-Aztecan language group. Numic peoples view the land as a holistic, living, sentient being with feelings and purpose. The land is personified with human characteristics and it needs to be experienced to be understood through “learning by doing.” Numic peoples do not support ground disturbing activities within their ancestral lands, including activities tied to the storage of low-level radioactive waste or classified materials on the NNSS, which they view as culturally inappropriate. These deep-rooted ancestral connections are the …

Rock Glaciers And Related Cold Rocky Landforms: Overlooked Climate Refugia For Mountain Biodiversity, Stefano Brighenti, Scott Hotaling, Debra S. Finn, Andrew G. Fountain, Masaki Hayashi, David Herbst, Jasmine E. Saros, Lusha M. Tronstad, Constance I. Millar

Geology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Mountains are global biodiversity hotspots where cold environments and their associated ecological communities are predicted to be threatened by climate warming. Considerable research attention has been devoted to understanding the ecological effects of alpine glacier and snowfield recession. However, much less attention has been given to identifying climate refugia in mountain ecosystems where present-day environmental conditions will be maintained, at least in the near-term, as other habitats change. Around the world, montane communities of microbes, animals, and plants live on, adjacent to, and downstream of rock glaciers and related cold rocky landforms (CRL). These geomorphological features have been overlooked in …

Ecohydrology Of Epiphytes: Modelling Water Balance, Cam Photosynthesis, And Their Climate Impacts, Gretta Miller, Samantha Hartzell, Amilcare Porporato

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications and Presentations

Epiphytes are aerial plants, often characterized by CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism) photosynthesis, which make up a significant portion of the biomass in some rainforests. Their unique characteristics have not yet been included in ecohydrological models, and their potential impact on local hydrometeorology is largely unexplored. This work introduces a water balance model for epiphytes, which adapts the soil‐plant‐atmosphere continuum model to represent a plant system without soil and couples it to the Photo3 photosynthesis model, which includes CAM photosynthesis. The model, which is parameterized with field data of Guzmania monostachia, accurately captures the observed hydraulic and photosynthetic behaviour of …

A Historical Ecology Of Aridland Springs In Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Nuwu/Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute/Chemehuevi) Ancestral Territory, Nevada, Yarrow Sarah Valentine Geggus

Dissertations and Theses

Aridland springs are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world. Vital to desert ecologies and Indigenous cultures, these complex and individualistic ecosystems have layered histories. To inform management in the changing landscape of Desert National Wildlife Refuge, a 1.6 million acre protected area in Southern Nevada, I conducted a historical ecology study of a sample of ten upland springs. Through a six-part interdisciplinary methodology including interviews, archaeological survey, botanical survey, and archival research, I summarize findings into three broad eras: the Nuwu/Nuwuvi pre-Contact Era, the Settler Era, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Era.

For millennia, Nuwu/Nuwuvi drank …

Wildfire Risk Assessment For A Municipal Watershed In Western Oregon, Usa: Methods For Projecting The Impact Of Mid-21st Century Climate Change On Wildfire Hazard, Andy Mcevoy

Dissertations and Theses

In the western United States, climate change is projected to lead to significant changes in regional wildfire regimes. Historically, forests west of the Cascade crest in Oregon and Washington, USA (westside) have been characterized by low-frequency wildfire events, but climate change projections indicate that wildfire could become a more common disturbance, altering ecological processes and impairing ecosystem services like surface water quality and quantity. Wildfire risk assessments based on simulation models have been used in high frequency fire regimes to evaluate contemporary and future risk, but present unique challenges in westside forests because characteristic low annual burn probabilities result in …

Fire, Native Ecological Knowledge, And The Enduring Anthropogenic Landscapes Of Yosemite Valley, Douglas Deur, Rochelle Bloom

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Yosemite Valley is a place with rich and enduring traditions of Indigenous Ecological Knowledge, manifesting in specific management practices that, in turn, leave discernible imprints upon the natural landscape. Historically, the Native American inhabitants of Yosemite Valley have employed a variety of techniques that materially enhance the availability of culturally preferred plant communities. This chapter identifies specific techniques that appear consistently in the oral traditions and written historical accounts of the valley. These methods included anthropogenic burning, pruning and coppicing, clearing underbrush beneath trees, hand eradication (“weeding”) of certain competing species, selective harvesting, smoking, “knocking” of dead wood from the …

Trail Impact Monitoring In Forest Park, James Mitchell

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Forest Park is an appropriately named 5,200 acre natural area located in northwest Portland, Oregon. A recent study estimated park usage near half a million annual visits and found "trails" to be the park’s most highly valued feature. Unfortunately, many trails were not designed for such traffic as evidenced by slipping hazards, erosion and other ecological impacts. In response to these observations, I partnered with Portland Parks & Recreation to conduct an objective trail impact assessment prescribed by the Forest Park Natural Resource Management Plan. I modified methods from past studies to expand on a recently completed trail condition class …

Book Review: Blue Infrastructures: Natural History, Political Ecology And Urban Development In Kolkata, Dana E. Hellman, Melissa Haeffner

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

What role does a river play in shaping urban justice and resilience? Jenia Mukherjee tackles this provocative question with an equally provocative answer: rivers are critical infrastructures with biophysical and social histories, both of which inform their physical condition and socio-ecological assets. In Blue Infrastructures, Mukherjee masterfully illuminates the intersection of materiality and history in the urban environment, exploring its implications for a just and resilient future city. Tracing the uses and evolution of Kolkata's “blue infrastructures”—rivers, wetlands, seas, etc.—from the colonial period to the present, Mukherjee's analysis addresses a pressing question in this era of the Urbanocene: How …

Reframing Native Knowledge, Co-Managing Native Landscapes: Ethnographic Data And Tribal Engagement At Yosemite National Park, Rochelle Bloom, Douglas Deur

Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Several Native American communities assert traditional ties to Yosemite Valley, and special connections to the exceptional landmarks and natural resources of Yosemite National Park. However, tribal claims relating to this highly visible park with its many competing constituencies—such as tribal assertions of traditional ties to particular landscapes or requests for access to certain plant gathering areas—often require supporting documentation from the written record. Addressing this need, academic researchers, the National Park Service and park-associated tribes collaborated in a multi-year effort to assemble a comprehensive ethnographic database containing most available written accounts of Native American land and resource use in Yosemite …

A Framework For Incorporating Benefits From Urban Forests Into Planning For Livable Cities: A Case Study Of Forest Park, Carole Hardy

Environmental Science and Management Professional Master's Project Reports

Urban forests provide an escape from the noise and chaos of cities. Other services can be overlooked and under-valued. Urban forests cool and filter the air, sequester carbon, filter water removing toxins and sediments from urban runoff, provide habitat for wildlife and improve human health and well-being. Commonly urban forests in the United States (US) lack funds for restoration and research because there is lack of understanding of the need to actively manage what are perceived as wild lands. Generally urban forests are highly disturbed and novel ecosystems that require ongoing active management to remove invasive species, replant native species …

Mathematical Silences, Matthew Nathan Petersen

Dissertations and Theses

Previous studies have shown that mathematicians employ lengthy silences in their collaborations, contrary to the norms that govern every-day collaborations. Such results shows the relevance of an investigation of silence in mathematical collaboration. This dissertation builds off these results in a series of three papers. The first paper describes a methodology that can be employed in the investigation of silence in mathematical collaboration. The second paper analyses silence in the mathematical collaboration of students in junior-level introductory proof classes. It identifies two forms of mathematical activity, reading and ruminating, that students regularly engage in, and which violate the norms of …