Treesearch

Forest ecosystems are the most important terrestrial carbon (C) storage globally, and presently mitigate anthropogenic climate change by acting as a large and persistent sink for atmospheric CO2. Yet, forest C density varies greatly in space, both globally and at stand and landscape levels. Understanding the multi-scale drivers of this variation is a prerequisite for robust and effective climate change mitigation in ecosystem management. Here, we used airborne light detection and ranging (Lidar) and a novel high-resolution simulation model of landscape dynamics (iLand) to identify the...

Inexpensive remote temperature data loggers have allowed for a dramatic increase of data describing water temperature regimes. This data is used in understanding the ecological functioning of natural riverine systems and in quantifying changes in these systems. However, an increase in the quantity of yearly temperature data necessitates complex data management, efficient summarization, and an effective data-cleaning regimen. This note focuses on identifying events where data loggers failed to record correct temperatures using data from the Sauk River in Northwest Washington State as an...

This article uses perceptions of commercial tour operators in Juneau, Alaska, to examine the extent to which the commercial outdoor recreation and tourism industry in this area reflects principles of McDonaldization—efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. Data from interviews with 23 operators suggest that this industry in Juneau illustrates these principles. The large-scale nature of this industry in the Juneau area necessitates elements of McDonaldization with examples such as the efficiency of short and packaged activities, the predictability of activities with certainty,...

Midday depressions in stomatal conductance (gs) and photosynthesis are common in plants. The aim of this study was to understand the hydraulic determinants of midday gs, the coordination between leaf and stem hydraulics and whether regulation of midday gs differed between deciduous and evergreen broadleaf tree species in a subtropical cloud forest of Southwest China. We investigated leaf and stem hydraulics, midday leaf and stem water potentials, as well as midday gs of co-occurring deciduous and evergreen tree species. Midday gs was correlated positively with midday stem water potential...

Distribution of fishes, both occupancy and abundance, is often correlated with landscape-scale characteristics (e.g., geology, climate, and human disturbance). Understanding these relationships is essential for effective conservation of depressed populations. We used landscape characteristics to explain the distribution of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the Oregon Plan data set, one of the first long-term, probabilistic salmon monitoring data sets covering the full range of potential habitat. First we compared data structure and model performance between the Oregon Plan data set and...

Most species of pine and spruce synthesize and accumulate variable quantities of alkaloids in their tissues. These compounds express numerous types of biological activities in bioassay and could potentially offer resistance against enemies, although this function has never been confirmed for any known enemies of pine or spruce under natural conditions. The present study takes a complementary, and intensive, common garden approach to examine genetic variation in Pinus ponderosa Lawson & C. Lawson var. ponderosa C. Lawson alkaloid production. It also investigates the potential trade-off...

Recent studies in Southeast Alaska suggest the ecology of Glaucomys sabrinus differs from populations in the Pacific Northwest. In Southeast Alaska, densities were the highest reported for the species, populations were not as closely linked to old-forest attributes, and individuals had a more diverse diet that was less dependent on mycophagy. Pacific Northwest communities are comprised of several arboreal rodents; Southeast Alaska has a depauperate mammal fauna. I hypothesized that Southeast Alaska populations had a broader realized niche because of competitive release. The red squirrel...

Large population sizes and global distributions generally associate with high mitochondrial DNA control region (CR) diversity. The sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is an exception, showing low CR diversity relative to other cetaceans; however, diversity levels throughout the remainder of the sperm whale mitogenome are unknown. We sequenced 20 mitogenomes from 17 sperm whales representative of worldwide diversity using Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) technologies (Illumina GAllx, Roche 454 GS Junior). Resequencing of three individuals with both NGS platforms and partial Sanger sequencin...

In late 2008, a group of business people and entrepreneurs in southeast Alaska became aware of a compressed wood brick product that could be used as an alternative fuel in existing wood-burning stoves and heating equipment. The product differed from many others on the market in that it contained no additive to promote binding and burn characteristics. In 2009, local materials in the form of sawmill residuals and chipped material from land clearing were collected, dried, and shipped to a producer in the northeast United States. A set of returned samples was sent to the University of Alaska...

Vital to the work of the Cerulean Warbler Technical Group has been the collaboration among members to evaluate population status and coordinate planning for future activities, principally in conservation implementation. Two plans have been produced, one a general strategy for the conservation and management of the species over its entire range, and a more restricted plan for conservation of non-breeding populations, their landscapes, and the economic vitality of the local communities. In the process several notable conservation implementation successes have been achieved affecting nearly...