Life Sciences Commons^™

Atypical Activation Of The G Protein Gα By The Oncogenic Mutation Q209p, Marcin Maziarz, Anthony Leyme, Arthur Marivin, Alex Luebbers, Prachi P. Patel, Zhe Chen, Stephen R. Sprang, Mikel Garcia-Marcos

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The causative role of G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) pathway mutations in uveal melanoma (UM) has been well-established. Nearly all UMs bear an activating mutation in a GPCR pathway mediated by G proteins of the G family, driving tumor initiation and possibly metastatic progression. Thus, targeting this pathway holds therapeutic promise for managing UM. However, direct targeting of oncogenic Gα mutants, present in ∼90% of UMs, is complicated by the belief that these mutants structurally resemble active Gα WT. This notion is solidly founded on previous studies characterizing Gα mutants in which a conserved catalytic glutamine (Gln-209 in Gα) is replaced …

Primary Emissions Of Glyoxal And Methylglyoxal From Laboratory Measurements Of Open Biomass Burning, Kyle J. Zarzana, Vanessa Selimovic, Abigail R. Koss, Kanako Sekimoto, Matthew M. Coggon, Bin Yuan, William P. Dubé, Robert J. Yokelson, Carsten Warneke, Joost A. De Gouw, James M. Roberts, Steven S. Brown

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

We report the emissions of glyoxal and methylglyoxal from the open burning of biomass during the NOAA-led 2016 FIREX intensive at the Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, MT. Both compounds were measured using cavity-enhanced spectroscopy, which is both more sensitive and more selective than methods previously used to determine emissions of these two compounds. A total of 75 burns were conducted, using 33 different fuels in 8 different categories, providing a far more comprehensive dataset for emissions than was previously available. Measurements of methylglyoxal using our instrument suffer from spectral interferences from several other species, and the values reported here …

Speciated Online Pm1 From South Asian Combustion Sources-Part 1: Fuel-Based Emission Factors And Size Distributions, J. Douglas Goetz, Michael R. Giordano, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Ted J. Christian, Rashmi Maharjan, Sagar Adhikari, Prakash V. Bhave, Puppala S. Praveen, Arnico K. Panday, Thilina Jayarathne, Elizabeth A. Stone, Robert J. Yokelson, Peter F. Decarlo

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Combustion of biomass, garbage, and fossil fuels in South Asia has led to poor air quality in the region and has uncertain climate forcing impacts. Online measurements of submicron aerosol (PM1) emissions were conducted as part of the Nepal Ambient Monitoring and Source Testing Experiment (NAMaSTE) to investigate and report emission factors (EFs) and vacuum aerodynamic diameter (dva) size distributions from prevalent but poorly characterized combustion sources. The online aerosol instrumentation included a qmini aerosol mass spectrometer (mAMS) and a dual-spot eight-channel aethalometer (AE33). The mAMS measured non-refractory PM1 mass, composition, and size. The AE33-measured black carbon (BC) mass and …

Genetics Of A De Novo Origin Of Undifferentiated Multicellularity, Matthew D. Herron, William C. Ratcliff, Jacob Boswell, Frank Rosenzweig

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The evolution of multicellularity was a major transition in evolution and set the stage for unprecedented increases in complexity, especially in land plants and animals. Here, we explore the genetics underlying a de novo origin of multicellularity in a microbial evolution experiment carried out on the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. We show that large-scale changes in gene expression underlie the transition to a multicellular life cycle. Among these, changes to genes involved in cell cycle and reproductive processes were overrepresented, as were changes to C. reinhardtii-specific and volvocine-specific genes. These results suggest that the genetic basis for the experimental evolution …

High-And Low-Temperature Pyrolysis Profiles Describe Volatile Organic Compound Emissions From Western Us Wildfire Fuels, Kanako Sekimoto, Abigail R. Koss, Jessica B. Gilman, Vanessa Selimovic, Matthew M. Coggon, Kyle J. Zarzana, Bin Yuan, Brian M. Lerner, Steven S. Brown, Carsten Warneke, Robert J. Yokelson, James M. Roberts, Joost De Gouw

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Biomass burning is a large source of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and many other trace species to the atmosphere, which can act as precursors to secondary pollutants such as ozone and fine particles. Measurements performed with a proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer during the FIREX 2016 laboratory intensive were analyzed with positive matrix factorization (PMF), in order to understand the instantaneous variability in VOC emissions from biomass burning, and to simplify the description of these types of emissions. Despite the complexity and variability of emissions, we found that a solution including just two emission profiles, which are mass spectral representations of …

Characterization Of A Catalyst-Based Conversion Technique To Measure Total Particulate Nitrogen And Organic Carbon And Comparison To A Particle Mass Measurement Instrument, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Agnieszka Kupc, Bartlomiej Witkowski, Ranajit K. Talukdar, Yong Liu, Vanessa Selimovic, Kyle J. Zarzana, Kanako Sekimoto, Carsten Warneke, Rebecca A. Washenfelder, Robert J. Yokelson, Ann M. Middlebrook, James M. Roberts

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The chemical composition of aerosol particles is a key aspect in determining their impact on the environment. For example, nitrogen-containing particles impact atmospheric chemistry, air quality, and ecological N deposition. Instruments that measure total reactive nitrogen (Nr Combining double low line all nitrogen compounds except for N2 and N2O) focus on gas-phase nitrogen and very few studies directly discuss the instrument capacity to measure the mass of Nr-containing particles. Here, we investigate the mass quantification of particle-bound nitrogen using a custom Nr system that involves total conversion to nitric oxide (NO) across platinum and molybdenum catalysts followed by NOĝ'O3 chemiluminescence …

Science, Advocacy, Policy, Planning: Tools For Advancing Transportation Equity, Garrett S. Mcallister

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

The theme of this portfolio is how different tools and approaches can be used for advancing transportation equity. Broadly defined, transportation equity is about fairness in transportation. There are a number of ways this fairness can be assessed. The most common way to assess transportation equity is by looking at the fairness of outcomes, distributed geographically, socially, or even by mode of transportation. Equity can also be defined by the fairness of processes. The first half of the portfolio illustrates some of the problems with the current transportation system and how it is unhealthy (Piece 1) and unjust (Piece 2). …

Hawai'i Wildlife Fund V. County Of Maui, Lowell J. Chandler

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Hawai’i Wildlife Fund v. County of Maui, the Ninth Circuit held that the plain language of the Clean Water Act provides jurisdiction over indirect discharges of pollutants from a point source into groundwater that is shown to be connected to navigable waters. The court found that studies confirmed pollutants entering the Pacific Ocean were fairly traceable to the County of Maui’s sewage disposal wells. In affirming the district court’s ruling, the Ninth Circuit held that Maui County violated the Clean Water Act by discharging pollutants into a navigable water without the required permit. The court also concluded the …

Non-Methane Organic Gas Emissions From Biomass Burning: Identification, Quantification, And Emission Factors From Ptr-Tof During The Firex 2016 Laboratory Experiment, Abigail R. Koss, Kanako Sekimoto, Jessica B. Gilman, Vanessa Selimovic, Matthew M. Coggon, Kyle J. Zarzana, Bin Yuan, Brian M. Lerner, Steven S. Brown, Jose L. Jimenez, Jordan Krechmer, James M. Roberts, Carsten Warneke, Robert J. Yokelson, Joost De Gouw

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Volatile and intermediate-volatility non-methane organic gases (NMOGs) released from biomass burning were measured during laboratory-simulated wildfires by proton-transfer-reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PTR-ToF). We identified NMOG contributors to more than 150 PTR ion masses using gas chromatography (GC) pre-separation with electron ionization, H3O+ chemical ionization, and NO+ chemical ionization, an extensive literature review, and time series correlation, providing higher certainty for ion identifications than has been previously available. Our interpretation of the PTR-ToF mass spectrum accounts for nearly 90ĝ€-% of NMOG mass detected by PTR-ToF across all fuel types. The relative contributions of different NMOGs to individual exact ion masses are …

Aerosol Optical Properties And Trace Gas Emissions By Pax And Op-Ftir For Laboratory-Simulated Western Us Wildfires During Firex, Vanessa Selimovic, Robert J. Yokelson, Carsten Warneke, James M. Roberts, Joost De Gouw, James Reardon, David W.T. Griffith

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Western wildfires have a major impact on air quality in the US. In the fall of 2016, 107 test fires were burned in the large-scale combustion facility at the US Forest Service Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory as part of the Fire Influence on Regional and Global Environments Experiment (FIREX). Canopy, litter, duff, dead wood, and other fuel components were burned in combinations that represented realistic fuel complexes for several important western US coniferous and chaparral ecosystems including ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, lodgepole pine, subalpine fir, chamise, and manzanita. In addition, dung, Indonesian peat, and individual coniferous ecosystem fuel …

Streamlined Preparation Of Genomic Dna In Agarose Plugs For Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis, Linda D. Hicks, Charlotte M. Van Der Graaf, Jacob Childress, Emily Cook, Karen Schmidt, Frank Rosenzweig, Eugene Kroll

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Genome analysis using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) has been used in applications ranging from typing bacterial strains to radiobiology to cancer research. While methods for running PFGE have been significantly improved since its invention, the method for preparing chromosomal DNA itself has remained essentially unchanged. This limits the applicability of PFGE, especially when analyses require many samples. We have streamlined sample preparation for routine applications of PFGE through the use of deep-well 48-well plates. Besides saving time, our protocol has the added advantage of reducing the volume of expensive reagents. Our improved protocol enables us to reduce throughput time and …

Chemical Characterization Of Fine Particulate Matter Emitted By Peat Fires In Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, During The 2015 El Niño, Thilina Jayarathne, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Ashley A. Gilbert, Kaitlyn Daugherty, Mark A. Cochrane, Kevin C. Ryan, Erianto I. Putra, Bambang H. Saharjo, Ati D. Nurhayati, Israr Albar, Robert J. Yokelson, Elizabeth A. Stone

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Fine particulate matter (PM2:5) was collected in situ from peat smoke during the 2015 El Niño peat fire episode in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Twenty-one PM samples were collected from 18 peat fire plumes that were primarily smoldering with modified combustion efficiency (MCE) values of 0.725-0.833. PM emissions were determined and chemically characterized for elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), water-soluble OC, water-soluble ions, metals, and organic species. Fuel-based PM2:5 mass emission factors (EFs) ranged from 6.0 to 29.6 g kg1 with an average of 17:36:0 g kg1. EC was detected only in 15 plumes and comprised 1% of PM mass. …

Nepal Ambient Monitoring And Source Testing Experiment (Namaste): Emissions Of Particulate Matter From Wood-And Dung-Fueled Cooking Fires, Garbage And Crop Residue Burning, Brick Kilns, And Other Sources, Thilina Jayarathne, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Prakash V. Bhave, Puppala S. Praveen, Chathurika M. Rathnayake, Robiul Md Islam, Arnico K. Panday, Sagar Adhikari, Rashmi Maharjan, J. Douglas Goetz, Peter F. Decarlo, Eri Saikawa, Robert J. Yokelson, Elizabeth A. Stone

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

The Nepal Ambient Monitoring and Source Testing Experiment (NAMaSTE) characterized widespread and under-sampled combustion sources common to South Asia, including brick kilns, garbage burning, diesel and gasoline generators, diesel groundwater pumps, idling motorcycles, traditional and modern cooking stoves and fires, crop residue burning, and heating fire. Fuel-based emission factors (EFs; with units of pollutant mass emitted per kilogram of fuel combusted) were determined for fine particulate matter (PM2.5), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), inorganic ions, trace metals, and organic species. For the forced-draft zigzag brick kiln, EFPM2.5 ranged from 12 to 19gkg-1 with major contributions from OC (7%), sulfate …

Investigating Biomass Burning Aerosol Morphology Using A Laser Imaging Nephelometer, Katherine M. Manfred, Rebecca A. Washenfelder, Nicholas L. Wagner, Gabriela Adler, Frank Erdesz, Caroline C. Womack, Kara D. Lamb, Joshua P. Schwarz, Alessandro Franchin, Vanessa Selimovic, Robert J. Yokelson, Daniel M. Murphy

Chemistry and Biochemistry Faculty Publications

Particle morphology is an important parameter affecting aerosol optical properties that are relevant to climate and air quality, yet it is poorly constrained due to sparse in situ measurements. Biomass burning is a large source of aerosol that generates particles with different morphologies. Quantifying the optical contributions of non-spherical aerosol populations is critical for accurate radiative transfer models, and for correctly interpreting remote sensing data. We deployed a laser imaging nephelometer at the Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory to sample biomass burning aerosol from controlled fires during the FIREX intensive laboratory study. The laser imaging nephelometer measures the unpolarized scattering phase …

Analysis Of Motility In Multicellular Chlamydomonas Reinhardtii Evolved Under Predation, Margrethe Boyd, Frank Rosenzweig, Matthew D. Herron

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The advent of multicellularity was a watershed event in the history of life, yet the transition from unicellularity to multicellularity is not well understood. Multicellularity opens up opportunities for innovations in intercellular communication, cooperation, and specialization, which can provide selective advantages under certain ecological conditions. The unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii has never had a multicellular ancestor yet it is closely related to the volvocine algae, a clade containing taxa that range from simple unicells to large, specialized multicellular colonies. Simple multicellular structures have been observed to evolve in C. reinhardtii in response to predation or to settling rate-based selection. Structures …

Deciphering The Origin, Evolution, And Physiological Function Of The Subtelomeric Arylalcohol Dehydrogenase Gene Family In The Yeast Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Dong Dong Yang, Gustavo M. De Billerbeck, Jin Jing Zhang, Frank Rosenzweig, Jean Marie Francois

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Homology searches indicate that Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain BY4741 contains seven redundant genes that encode putative aryl-alcohol dehydrogenases (AAD). Yeast AAD genes are located in subtelomeric regions of different chromosomes, and their functional role(s) remain enigmatic. Here, we show that two of these genes, AAD4 and AAD14, encode functional enzymes that reduce aliphatic and aryl-aldehydes concomitant with the oxidation of cofactor NADPH, and that Aad4p and Aad14p exhibit different substrate preference patterns. Other yeast AAD genes are undergoing pseudogenization. The 5' sequence of AAD15 has been deleted from the genome. Repair of an AAD3 missense mutation at the catalytically essential Tyr73 …

Identification Of Novel Mites (Miniature Inverted-Repeat Transposable Elements) In Coxiella Burnetii: Implications For Protein And Small Rna Evolution, Shaun Wachter, Rahul Raghavan, Jenny Wachter, Michael F. Minnick

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

Background: Coxiella burnetii is a Gram-negative gammaproteobacterium and zoonotic agent of Q fever. C. burnetii’s genome contains an abundance of pseudogenes and numerous selfish genetic elements. MITEs (miniature invertedrepeat transposable elements) are non-autonomous transposons that occur in all domains of life and are thought to be insertion sequences (ISs) that have lost their transposase function. Like most transposable elements (TEs), MITEs are thought to play an active role in evolution by altering gene function and expression through insertion and deletion activities. However, information regarding bacterial MITEs is limited.

Results: We describe two MITE families discovered during research on small non-coding …

Crystal Structure Of The Major Quadruplex Formed In The Promoter Region Of The Human C-Myc Oncogene, Sascha Stump, Tung-Chung Mou, Stephen R. Sprang, Nicholas R. Natale, Howard D. Beall

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

The c-MYC oncogene mediates multiple tumor cell survival pathways and is dysregulated or overexpressed in the majority of human cancers. The NHE III1 region of the c-MYC promoter forms a DNA quadruplex. Stabilization of this structure with small molecules has been shown to reduce expression of c-MYC, and targeting the c-MYC quadruplex has become an emerging strategy for development of antitumor compounds. Previous solution NMR studies of the c-MYC quadruplex have assigned the major conformer and topology of this important target, however, regions outside the G-quartet core were not as well-defined. Here, we report a high-resolution crystal structure (2.35 Å) …

Colonization Of And Adaptation To Tidal Marshes In The Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus Sandwichensis), Phred M. Benham

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Intraspecific patterns of geographic variation reflect a dynamic history of colonization and divergence in response to spatially varying selective pressures. Analysis of this phenotypic variation has long stimulated biological thought, yet many outstanding questions remain regarding the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms driving patterns of geographic variation. In my dissertation, I collected data on demographic history, physiological traits contributing to salinity tolerance, and acclimation responses to different salinities to elucidate the mechanisms shaping colonization and adaptive divergence in tidal marsh populations of Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis). Specifically, I addressed two main questions related to adaptive divergence in this species: (1) how …

Avian Community Responses To Bison Grazing In North American Intermountain Grasslands, Danielle A. Fagre

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Grassland and shrubland songbird species are a guild of conservation concern in North America. Many of these species have experienced severe population declines, due to habitat loss and land use change. This makes the conservation and management of remaining habitat of crucial importance for this guild. Grazing by large herbivores is an ecosystem process in grassland systems, and in North America, one of the major historic grazers was the Plains bison (Bison bison). Bison are considered ecosystem engineers, because they modify habitat to be more or less suitable for other species, such as grassland and shrubland songbirds. Bison …

Metabolic Energy Requirements During Load Carriage: Implications For The Wildland Firefighter Arduous Pack Test, Jeffrey T. Strang, Christopher J. Alfiero, Charles Dumke, Brent Ruby, Matthew Bundle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Despite extensive and ongoing scientific study into the metabolic requirements of load carriage, an understanding quantifying the effect of speed, load, sex and body mass has yet to come forth and the extent to which established models predict these requirements is largely untested. Specifically, because existing experimental efforts have typically focused on relatively modest walking speeds using loads representing a fixed portion of the subject’s mass, extending the available predictions to applications where individuals complete a common task carrying an identical absolute load provides estimates of unknown accuracy. PURPOSE: Here, we measured the energy use in a large subject group …

Camera Traps In Wildlife Research: Through My Lens, Bryson P. Allen

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Wildlife species can be difficult to study because they can have very large ranges and can be wary of observers. Researchers have been using camera traps in recent decades as a way to study wildlife behavior and population metrics. Here I explore the history of these tools in wildlife biology, their possible applications, and limitations.

Quantifying False Positives In Avian Survey Data, Kaitlyn M. Strickfaden

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Imperfect detection is a known issue when conducting count-based surveys in wildlife studies. False positive detections, observed occurrences of individuals that truly are not present, are often assumed to not occur. This assumption can bias detection rates and create misleading results when calculating population estimates. Survey methods such as the dependent double-observer method are suggested to reduce the occurrence of false positives (Nichols et al. 2000). My study quantified and compared rates of false positives in a single-observer method and a dependent double-observer method using computer-generated auditory surveys. I categorized volunteer observers as either inexperienced or experienced and asked them …

Field Measures Of Wilderness Character For Bitterroot Recommended Wilderness, Bitterroot National Forest., Carly Stinson

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

In order to know whether an area should become Wilderness, both managers and interested members of the public need to have an idea of what this area is like. My coworker Jamie Drysdale and I collected this data over nine weeks last summer. We followed protocols laid out in Keeping it Wild: An Interagency Strategy to Monitor Trends in Wilderness Character Across the Wilderness Preservation System. We collected data on things such as campsites, invasive plants, installations and developments, trail users, motorized or mechanized use, erosion, and signage. From this data I created maps of the different areas showing each …

Spatial Patterns Of Winter Roadside Gray Wolf Sightability In Yellowstone National Park, Jeremy Sunderraj

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

Imperfect detection is ubiquitous among wildlife research and can affect research conclusions and management. Detection probability is often included in observation-based models. We leveraged research of gray wolves (Canis lupus) in northern Yellowstone National Park (YNP) to evaluate how the probability of sighting radio collared wolf packs from ground-based observation locations was affected by the characteristics of each spatial location (i.e., distance from the road, visibility (from a viewshed analysis), habitat openness, carcass presence, and wolf group size). We used two complementary approaches focusing on sightings during early (mid-November to mid-December) and late (March) winter periods between 1995 and 2017. …

Conflicting Hydraulic Effects Of Xylem Pit Structure Relate To The Growth-Longevity Tradeoff In A Conifer Species, Beth Roskilly

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Consistent with a ubiquitous life history tradeoff, trees exhibit a negative relationship between growth and longevity among and within species. However, the mechanistic basis of this life history tradeoff is not well understood. In addition to tradeoffs among multiple traits based on resource allocation conflicts, life history tradeoffs may arise from tradeoffs based on single traits under opposing selection. While a myriad of factors likely contribute to the growth-longevity tradeoff in trees, we hypothesized that conflicting functional effects of xylem structural traits contribute to the growth-longevity tradeoff. We tested this hypothesis by examining the extent to which xylem morphological traits …

Demographics And Growth History Of Whitebark Pine On Undisturbed Sites Across The Northern Us Rocky Mountains, Sarah Flanary

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Along with fluctuating precipitation and temperatures in the form of climate change, whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) has seen a territory wide increase in mortality leading to a decline in population. While the most direct influences on whitebark pine health and mortality are mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) outbreaks, fire exclusion policies, and the spread of white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola), climate change can impact the intervals and severity of such beetle, rust, and fire disturbances, and may affect the growth and health of whitebark pine directly. The objectives of this study were to identify whitebark pine stands within the …

An Interdisciplinary Approach To The Target Elucidation Of Novel Antibiotic 31g12, Larissa A. Walker

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Staphylococcus aureus is a Gram-positive bacterial pathogen responsible for nosocomial and community-acquired infections that can quickly acquire antibiotic resistance. We have identified a novel triazole antimicrobial 31G12 based on the natural product core of nonactin isolated from the fermentation of Streptomyces griseus, that is active against many Gram-positive bacteria as well as antibiotic resistant methicillin-resistant S. aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus. The synthesis and characterization indicate that 31G12 exists as a mixture of two rotamers at room temperature and displays bacteriostatic activity against S. aureus with moderate mammalian cell toxicity. We have currently identified potential protein targets of 31G12 in …

Bottom-Up And Top-Down Controls On Food Webs In Headwater Streams, Miriam O. Bayer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Headwater streams account for 70% of stream channel length in the USA and are important as hotspots of nutrient uptake and native biodiversity. Biofilm, the mixed auto- and heterotrophic microbial community covering stream substrates, is where the majority of nutrient processing occurs, and forms the base of stream food webs, particularly in heavily shaded, oligotrophic streams. Both bottom-up (e.g., nutrients, light) and top-down (i.e., consumption) processes are known to affect periphyton, the autotrophic component of biofilm, but little is known about what controls the biofilm community as a whole. Top-down effects are common in streams, where fish are often the …

Lewis’S Woodpecker Nest Success And Habitat Selection In Cottonwood Floodplain Versus Burned Conifer Forests, William M. Blake

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Breeding habitat selection influences reproductive outcomes. Habitat selection may be adaptive and benefit populations, but it can also be maladaptive with negative consequences for populations. Understanding habitat selection and its influence on reproductive success, especially in species of concern, is critical for effective management. Lewis’s Woodpecker (Melanerpes lewis) is a Species of Concern that has experienced national population declines. We studied its abundance and reproductive success in two commonly selected breeding forest types (i.e., cottonwood floodplain and mixed-conifer burned), and nest-site characteristics (nest availability, food availability, and vegetation attributes) that have the potential to yield strong differences in …