Treesearch

Abstract - We examined the temperature dependence of interactions between juvenile steelhead 'Oncorhynchus mykiss' and juvenile Sacramento pikeminnow 'Ptychocheilus grandis' in laboratory streams. Growth of dominant steelhead in water 20-23 degree C was reduced by more than 50% in trials with Sacramento pikeminnow compared with trials with steelhead alone. Comparison of the two- species treatment with one with an equal density of fish comprised of steelhead alone indicated that the per capita effect of Sacramento pikeminnow was similar to the intraspeci fic effect of steelhead in water 20-23...

Abstract - An individual-based model of stream trout is analyzed by testing its ability to reproduce patterns of population-level behavior observed in real trout: (1) "self-thinning," a negative power relation between weight and abundance; (2) a "critical period" of density-dependent mortality in young-of-the-year; (3) high and age-specific interannual variability in abundance; (4) density dependence in growth; and (5) fewer large trout when pool habitat is eliminated. The trout model successfully reproduced these patterns and was useful for evaluating their theoretical basis. The model...

Abstract - Despite their promise for simulating natural complexity,individual-based models (IBMs) are rarely used for ecological research or resource management. Few IBMs have been shown to reproduce realistic patterns of behavior by individual organisms.To test our IBM of stream salmonids and draw conclusions about foraging theory,we analyzed the IBM ’s ability to reproduce six patterns of habitat selection by real trout in simulations contrasting three alternative habitat-selection objectives:maximizing current growth rate, current survival probability,or ‘‘expected maturity ’’(EM). EM...

Abstract - Private forest managers often seek guidelines on how much dead wood should be retained in streams in order to adequately fulfill ecosystem functions. There are three approaches to answering this question for a particular reach of channel. The first approach uses an understanding of ecologic functions of dead wood in streams to determine the amount needed to fulfill ecologic and geomorphic functions. This approach fails because the complexities of sizes, shapes, and arrangements of dead wood in a variety of lotic ecosystems overwhelm any scientific specification of target...

Abstract - Debris flows in the Pacific Northwest can play a major role in routing sediment and wood stored on hillslopes and in first- through third-order channels and delivering it to higher-order channels. Field surveys following a large regional storm event investigated 53 debris flows in the central Oregon Coast Range to determine relationships among debris flow characteristics and the age class of the surrounding forest. The volume of sediment and wood delivered by debris flows was strongly correlated with runout length. Debris flows that initiated at roads were significantly longer...

In a drainage network,sediment is transferred through a series of channel/valley segments (natural sediment storage reservoirs) that are distinguished from their neighbors by their particular capacity to store and transport sediment. We propose that the sediment transport capacity of each reservoir is a unique positive function of storage volume, which influences sediment mobility and availability through variations in bed surface texture, channel gradient, and availability of valley floor sediments for erosion.

Abstract - Redwood Sciences Laboratory, a field office of the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station has developed and refined methods and instrumentation to monitor turbidity and suspended sediment in streams of northern California since 1996. Currently we operate 21 stations and have provided assistance in the installation of 6 gaging stations for agencies, municipalities, universities, and citizens groups. These installations employ a method called Turbidity Threshold Sampling (TTS), an automated data collection and sampling system in which a data logger employs...

Our primary objective is to relate estimated suspended sediment loads to land use and geology.

ABSTRACT.—The dramatic amphibian population declines reported worldwide likely have important effects on their predators. In the Sierra Nevada, where amphibian declines are well documented and some are closely tied to the introduction of nonnative trout, the mountain garter snake, Thamnophis elegans elegans, preys predominately on amphibians. We surveyed 2103 high-elevation lakes in the Sierra Nevada, quantified the distributional relationship between the mountain garter snake and anuran amphibians (Pseudacris regilla, Rana muscosa, and Bufo spp.) and used this information to evaluate the...