Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Commons^™

The Influence Of Canopy Cover And Climate On Early Life-Stage Vital Rates For Northern Red-Legged Frogs (Rana Aurora), And The Implications For Population Growth Rates, Kecly Mcharry

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Many amphibian species are in decline due to habitat loss and changing climates. Understanding how habitat characteristics and climate influence vital rates, and if they act in concert or in opposition can inform management decisions. This study investigated the potential interaction of canopy cover and climate on early stage vital rates of northern red-legged frogs. Demographic data were collected from sample populations in experimental canopy cover treatments across a latitudinal distribution. Rearing cages were used to estimate hatch success, and mark-recapture surveys to estimate tadpole survival. Ambient air temperature was used as an index of climate because it is easily …

Habitat Use And Movement Patterns Of Two Redwood Forest Salamanders, Aneides Vagrans And Ensatina Eschscholtzii, With An Examination Of The Efficacy Of Pit Tags For Marking Small Plethodontids, Christian Brown

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The habitat use and movements of small, secretive salamanders are generally poorly understood, in part due to the difficulty associated with marking and recapturing such animals. This study was designed to test the efficacy, both in the laboratory and in the field, of using passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags to mark and track two small-bodied plethodontid salamander species native to coastal northwestern California, Aneides vagrans, the Wandering Salamander, and Ensatina eschscholtzii, the Ensatina Salamander.

Aneides vagrans inhabits tree crowns. Using cover objects and visual encounter surveys, I searched for A. vagrans in the angiosperm understory canopy at least twice …

Movement, Habitat, And Home Range Of Introduced Bullfrogs (Lithobates Catesbeianus) On Mad River Gravel Ponds (Humboldt Co., Ca, Usa), With Implications For Hydro-Modification As A Method Of Management, Madeline C. Cooper

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

American Bullfrogs are a non-native, invasive species in California (USA), where they are known to have deleterious effects on many native species. Carnivorous adults prey on native amphibians and fish, while herbivorous tadpoles outcompete native tadpoles for algal food resources. Bullfrogs have been successful at colonizing old tailing ponds and other pools left over from mining activities, and these relict pools are common on many rivers in California. Information on the dispersal capabilities of Bullfrogs could help predict range expansions and inform management decisions. Unfortunately, this information is lacking from both their native and invaded range. From May to August …

Modeling The Spread Of Sudden Oak Death Across A Heterogeneous Landscape In Redwood National Park Using A Spatially-Explicit Epidemiological Model, Laura A. Morgan

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The pathogen Phytophthora ramorum, the causal agent of Sudden Oak Death (SOD), is responsible for the deaths of millions of oak (Quercus spp.) and tanoak (Notholithocarpus densiflorus) trees in California and Oregon (USA). A recent infection in Redwood National Park (RNP) in California (USA) provided an opportunity to adapt an existing SOD model to assess the efficacy of current and proposed management strategies. A common method of SOD treatment includes killing both infected and uninfected hosts in the area of infection, as well as the area surrounding the infection to create buffers to account for undetected …

Darlingtonia Californica Phytotelma Organisms: Spatial Relations Within The Metacommunity, Stefani Marie Brandt

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The California pitcher plant, Darlingtonia californica, provides a unique setting to research community ecology because it harbors small ponds of water, or phytotelmata, in its modified leaves. Each phytotelma hosts a unique community of various invertebrates who live among carcasses of drowned plant prey. These pitchers and their inquiline communities are relatively small yet abundant in the wild, resulting in an ideal natural setup for community composition comparisons. There have been no previous studies that research D. californica inquiline communities across multiple geographic regions concurrently. This study sought to survey phytotelma communities throughout the range of D. californica at …

An Estimation Of Potential Salmonid Habitat Capacity In The Upper Mainstem Eel River, California, Emily J. Cooper

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In Northern California’s Eel River watershed, the two dams that make up the Potter Valley Project (PVP) restrict the distribution and production of anadromous salmonids, and current populations of Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and steelhead trout (O. mykiss) in the upper mainstem Eel River are in need of recovery. In anticipation of the upcoming FERC relicensing of the PVP, this project provides an estimation of the extent of potential salmonid habitat and its capacity for steelhead trout and Chinook Salmon in the upper mainstem Eel River watershed above the impassable Scott Dam. Using three fish passage …

Lower Prairie Creek Project, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

Information on the Prairie Creek fish hatchery from 1927 through 1936. This report includes details on fish species and population numbers, as well as information on the landowners and the construction of the hatchery.

Lower Prairie Creek Project Redwood National Park "Forest Owners", Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

"This file addresses forest ownerships, using deeds, patents, and maps in the Humboldt County Recorder’s Office, Eureka Courthouse. Pretty boring to wade through, these records, nonetheless, document how the public domain of northwestern California—the ancient redwood forests—came to be concentrated in the hands of timber companies. ... Land in the Lower Prairie Creek Project area (plus much, much other forest lands) was obtained through fraudulent patents and deed transactions involving David Evans and his associates for transfer to Scottish investors and eventually to “legitimate” timber companies. The end result, of course, is that what once belonged to indigenous people and …

Molt In Individuals: A Description Of Prealternate Molt Phenology In A Population Of Snowy Plovers In Humboldt County, California, Alexa Dejoannis

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Molt in birds is an essential physiological process. Intrinsic and extrinsic conditions, such as age, sex, location, or food stress, may cause individual variation in molt phenology. This study describes the timing of prealternate molt in western snowy plovers (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) wintering in Humboldt County, California, USA. Between July 2014 and April 2015, I photographed uniquely marked plovers twice a month and assigned dates of initiation and completion. I modeled sex, age, hatch date, and breeding location as predictors of molt phenology. I observed prealternate molt from October to April, which is earlier than previously described. Males …

Evaluating Brandt’S Cormorant (Phalacrocorax Penicillatus) Reproductive Success: Effects Of Parental Care Behaviors And Estimating Individual Chick Survival, Shannon Murphy

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Variation in reproductive success is widely measured in seabird biology in an effort to indicate changes in the marine environment, or understand basic questions about ecology or conservation of seabirds. When variation in seabird reproductive success is suggested to indicate changes in the marine environment without identifying the proximate causes of such variation, inference is limited to association, and the proximate causes themselves could prove more effective as indicators. My study informs this problem by examining and quantifying proximate causes of variation in reproductive success, at the level of nests and individual chicks.

I used video of Brandt’s Cormorant ( …

Genetic Structure And Connectivity Of The Endangered Giant Kangaroo Rat (Dipodomys Ingens) In A Heterogeneous Environment, Nathan Alexander

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Movement ecology and dispersal are important aspects of species’ life histories that can inform conservation and management. Dispersal is often cryptic and difficult to detect, but recent advances genetic technology and applications have provided new approaches to identifying and describing dispersal patterns. Giant kangaroo rats (Dipodomys ingens) are an endangered heteromyid that appear to persist in small subpopulations in a heterogeneous environment of their northern range, the Ciervo-Panoche Natural Area, California. Previous work suggested high levels of genetic diversity between populations with genetic distances not being correlated to geographic distances. Here, I identified landscape population structure through clustering …

Early Seral Mixed-Conifer Forest Structure And Composition Following A Wildfire Reburn In The Sierra Nevada, Erin Alvey

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Before the era of modern fire suppression, California’s northern Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer and yellow pine forests were self-regulating; recurring short-interval, low-mixed severity wildfires maintained forest structure and composition, which in turn exerted bottom-up controls on subsequent wildfires. As a result of fire suppression, and coupled with the effects of climate warming and other anthropogenic disturbances, the fundamental structure of mixed-conifer and yellow pine forests has shifted. Wildfires may now be increasing in size, severity, and frequency across western North America. However, little is known about the post-fire impacts of repeat wildfire on a forest after a long era of suppression. …

Juvenile Survival And Adult Return As A Function Of Freshwater Rearing Life History For Coho Salmon In The Klamath River Basin, Molly Gorman

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The Scott and Shasta rivers, Klamath River tributaries, experience spatial disparity in habitat quality in spring and summer as a result of historical and current land-use. Juvenile Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) born in the upper tributary reaches often rear in natal streams before migrating to sea. However, those born in the lower reaches often encounter unsuitable habitat and emigrate during their first spring to seek non-natal rearing habitats. It is assumed that these early outmigrants are population losses. This study evaluated first-summer survival, and contribution to the adult population, of non-natal rearing juveniles in the Klamath River Basin. …

Research Notes Lower Prairie Creek Project Redwood National Park, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

Project Description: to conduct Phase 1 of a narrative history project for the Lower Prairie Creek Watershed, funded by Save the Redwoods League. Phase1 of this project will be to compile reference materials, sources, conduct scoping with NPS staff and other local stakeholders to develop historical research themes that will be needed for a future narrative history of the Lower Prairie Creek Watershed. It will result in a detailed chapter outline to be submitted to NPS.

Research Notes Lower Prairie Creek Project, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

No abstract provided.

Centerville Slough Project, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

An extensive cultural resources document for the Eel River Estuary Preserve was prepared in 2014 to identify resources within the initial project area. With new project proposals and an expanded Area of Potential Effect (APE), several additional structures were surveyed. This addendum looked at three barns and a house, none of which will be affected by proposed projects. They were surveyed because they fall within the expanded APE.

Some of the research conducted for the 2014 historic resources document was applicable to the addendum, including land ownerships and newspaper references. For the present report, additional research was conducted in the …

Eel River Estuary And Centerville Slough Enhancement Project Historic Resources Addendum, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

A collaborative project-Eel River Estuary and Centerville Slough Enhancement Project-involves governmental agencies, non-profits, and landowners with the goal of restoring and improving habitats and agricultural opportunities on lower Eel River and in the area of Centerville in Humboldt County. Multiple project objectives include restoration of ecosystem functions on a landscape, although altered by diking and ditching, still retains a unique complex of wetlands, sloughs, a major river system, and the Pacific Ocean. Modification of artificial controls such as culverts and tide gates, reconnection of watercourses, sediment reduction, and better management of flooding potential are ongoing projects with more proposed, all …

Rohner Creek Flood Control Project: Research, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

Compilation of research materials that include deeds, tax assessments, newspaper references and directories.

Rohner Creek Flood Control Project Research, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

Compilation of deeds, tax assessments, census records, newspaper references and directories relating to the Rohner Creek Flood Control Project.

Date range: 1902-1962

Arcata Marsh History: Union Wharf, Mad River Canal, Reclamation, Lumber Mills, City Designs, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

A report of the Arcata Marsh including information about Wiyot residents, white settlement, the Union Wharf, the Mad River Canal, the abandoned wharf, reclamation, lumber mills, and city designs. Includes many maps and photographs.

Research Notes On Bayside And Jacoby Creek, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

Newspaper references on Bayside and Jacoby Creek from the Humboldt Times, Arcata Union, Blue Lake Advocate and more. Bulk dates cover 1860-1930.

Research Notes On Big Lagoon Families, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

Compilation of census information and newspaper references; bulk dates 1880-1940 but includes information through 2013.

Wildlands Conservancy/Connick Ranch Research, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

Susie Van Kirks research notes on the Wildlands Conservancy and Connick Ranch. Includes newspaper references, interviews, as well as deed, survey and patent information.

Bald Hills Region And Lyons Family, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

Susie Van Kirk's reference notes and research on the Bald Hills Region and the Lyons Family. Newspaper references date from 1856-1997.

Trinity River Watershed Analysis River/Floods/Weather, Susie Van Kirk

Susie Van Kirk Papers

Newspaper references and analyses concerning the Trinity River from 1861 through 1965.

Note: Exact publication date for report is unknown, definitely published post 1965.