Treesearch

1. While collaborative science is becoming the norm in ecology, many ecologists participating in collaborations are less aware of the body of research that studies the processes by which collaborative teams organize and communicate.2. Here, we discuss how we successfully used a shared leadership model in the Dry Rivers Research Coordination Network. We discuss how this model promoted our success in different stages of the project, using the Tuckman model of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning.3. Shared leadership in the forming phase helped us recruit a...

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service faces unique requirements to consider potential future demand for Tongass National Forest timber in their periodic land management planning efforts. In support of this need, the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station has completed five prior timber demand analyses for southeast Alaska to assist with meeting statutory requirements to estimate planning-cycle demand for Tongass National Forest timber. Using the materials balance model (used in prior analyses) and updated harvest figures, mill production data, and export volumes,...

Ambient acoustic conditions shape how animals perceive and interact with their environments, yet their role in structuring space use remains underexplored. Noise can mask biologically informative sounds which can impact foraging success, physiological fitness, and displace animals from viable habitat. Here, we test how landscape variables and soundscape characteristics across a mixed-use forest landscape affect spatial distribution of a nocturnal predator with specialized hearing. We used passive acoustic recordings to assess the effects of noise levels within biologically relevant...

Indicator species can facilitate the assessment, management, and conservation of biodiversity. The White-headed Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus albolarvatus) is a species of conservation concern that is considered an indicator species for mature ponderosa pine ecosystems, a priority restoration habitat that has declined by 90% in the northern Blue Mountains, USA. Here, we employed passive acoustic monitoring at 227 randomly selected locations across two National Forests in the northern Blue Mountains. Autonomous recording units were deployed for an average of 4.41 weeks per station (SD = 1.21)...

Forests can affect stream structure and function, but evaluations linking freshwater biodiversity to watershed-scale forest-stand conditions are limited. We evaluated competing hypotheses about spatial patterns of freshwater biodiversity by combining species inventories of vertebrates and invertebrates from traditional and environmental DNA (eDNA) methods across 24 temperate watersheds of young to old forests (37 to 124 y old). Freshwater taxonomic and functional richness of invertebrates were, on average, 1.2-fold and 1.5-fold higher, respectively, in older forests (>75 y) than in younger...

Laminated root rot (LRR; caused by the fungus Coniferiporia sulphurascens) is the most damaging root disease of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) in the Pacific Northwest, USA and southwestern Canada. LRR’s influences on tree mortality and forest productivity have been well-documented in young commercial Douglas-fir forests (<50 years); however, much less is known about the role of LRR in the dynamics of older forests and how root disease might alter trajectories of forest succession. The objective of this study was to examine the association between LRR, and changes in forest community...

Fluvial export of dissolved carbon plays an important role in watershed‐scale biogeochemistry. Predicted changes in climate are expected to impact watershed hydrologic regimes, and in turn, the sources and export of dissolved carbon from watersheds. Here, we utilize high resolution measurements of discharge and dissolved carbon concentration to examine how concentration‐discharge (CQ) relationships vary seasonally and during high flow events over the main runoff season (May–October) in a temperate forested watershed in Southeast Alaska. Concentration‐discharge relationships for dissolved...

In July 2025, 73 scientists, students, managers, and educators from 23 institutions gathered to “take the pulse” of ecological responses and change in the aftermath of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. The Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument, located in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, was established in 1982 to support research, education, and recreation around the volcano while letting the blast zone recover with minimal human intervention (Public Law 97-243). Mount St. Helens is now the most well-studied volcano in the world for ecological research (Swanson and Crisafull...

The migration of juvenile anadromous salmonids in the Interior Columbia River Basin requires passing various hydroelectric dams, which pose risks of injury or death. Mark‐recapture studies are used to estimate direct and indirect survival of juvenile salmonids during dam passage. In these studies, data interpretation can be challenging when ideal study parameters are constrained by small sample sizes and inadequate replication as a result of unpredictable events. Even ideal field studies are complicated by fish that cannot be recaptured and whose survival is uncertain. To address cases...

Wildfire can influence erosion regimes and alter sediment delivery to river systems, which can change the sediment size composition of rivers. Understanding how wildfire impacts streambed grain size distributions is essential in understanding broader wildfire impacts on aquatic habitat and downstream water resources. In Western Washington, Oregon, and Northern California, the Aquatic and Riparian Effectiveness Monitoring Program (AREMP) has been collecting ongoing monitoring data since 2002. Since the beginning of the monitoring program, approximately 37% of AREMP monitored sites have...