Treesearch

Ambient concentrations of O3, PM2.5, NH3, NO, NO2, HNO3, SO2 and VOCs were measured at Devils Postpile National Monument (DEPO) during the summer seasons of 2013 and 2014. The measurements were impacted by the Aspen and Rim Fires in 2013, and the French and King Fires in 2014. While O3 concentrations were not discernibly perturbed by the fire events, the 70 ppb threshold (8-hour average) corresponding to both the current California Ambient Air Quality Standard (CAAQS) and the new National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) was exceeded on five days during 2013, and on 16 days during...

The upper Missouri River basin in the northwestern US contains disjunct Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) populations of conservation concern. To assist efforts aimed at understanding Artic grayling distribution, we developed a quantitative PCR assay to detect the presence of Arctic grayling DNA in environmental samples. The assay amplified low concentrations of Arctic grayling DNA consistently, and did not amplify non-target species, including sympatric salmonid fishes.

The spread of Mysis diluviana, a small glacial relict crustacean, outside its native range has led to unintended shifts in the composition of native fish communities throughout western North America. As a result, biologists seek accurate methods of determining the presence of M. diluviana, especially at low densities or during the initial stages of an invasion. Environmental DNA (eDNA) provides one solution for detecting M. diluviana, but building eDNA markers that are both sensitive and species-specific is challenging when the distribution and taxonomy of closely related non-target taxa...

Loach minnow (Rhinichthys cobitis) and spikedace (Meda fulgida) are legally protected with the status of Endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and are endemic to the Gila River basin of Arizona and New Mexico. Efficient and sensitive methods for monitoring these species’ distributions are critical for prioritizing conservation efforts. We developed quantitative PCR assays for detecting loach minnow and spikedace DNA in environmental samples. Each assay reliably detected low concentrations of target DNA without detection of non-target species, including other cyprinid fishes with...

We used non-native invasive plant data from the US Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, spatial statistical methods, and the space (cover class)-for-time approach to quantify the invasion potential and success ("invasibility") of three major invasive shrubs (multiflora rose, non-native bush honeysuckles, and common buckthorn) in broadly classified forest-type groups in seven Upper Midwest states. Smoothed maps of presence and cover percent showed a strong clustering pattern for all three invasive shrubs despite their different ranges. The species are clustered...

Understanding the role of stream hydrologic and morphologic variables on the selection of spawning sites by salmonid fishes at high resolution across broad scales is needed for effective habitat restoration and protection. Here we used remotely sensed meter-scale channel bathymetry for a 13.5 km reach of Chinook salmon spawning stream in central Idaho to describe habitat quality and set boundary conditions for a two-dimensional surface water model coupled with a three-dimensional hyporheic flux model. Metrics describing ambient hyporheic flow intensity and habitat quality, which is...

Identification of genes underlying genomic signatures of natural selection is key to understanding adaptation to local conditions. We used targeted resequencing to identify SNP markers in 5321 candidate adaptive genes associated with known immunological, metabolic and growth functions in ovids and other ungulates. We selectively targeted 8161 exons in protein-coding and nearby 50 and 30 untranslated regions of chosen candidate genes. Targeted sequences were taken from bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) exon capture data and directly from the domestic sheep genome (Ovis aries v. 3; oviAri3)....

This study examines conversion narratives of Iraq War military veterans who have become antiwar political activists. I examine how antiwar veterans construct and emplot prewar, wartime, and postwar narrative periods to shape and reclaim their moral identities as patriots fighting for a just cause, and how through a communal antiwar story they work to both challenge and reappropriate the rhetorical framework they associate with justifications for the invasion of Iraq. The study draws on in-depth interviews with forty members of Iraq Veterans Against theWar (IVAW). In sum, the research...

Fire regimes are ultimately controlled by wildland fuel dynamics over space and time; spatial distributions of fuel influence the size, spread, and intensity of individual fires, while the temporal distribution of fuel deposition influences fire's frequency and controls fire size. These "shifting fuel mosaics" are both a cause and a consequence of fire regimes. This paper synthesizes results from two major fuel dynamics studies that described the spatial and temporal variability of canopy and surface wildland fuel characteristics found in US northern Rocky Mountain forests. Eight major...

Forest hydrology studies the distribution, storage, movement, and quality of water and the hydrological processes in forest-dominated ecosystems. Forest hydrological science is regarded as the foundation of modern integrated water¬shed management. This chapter provides an overview of the history of forest hydrology and basic principles of this unique branch of hydrological sciences and forest ecology. Then, the chapter presents the general methodology and techniques that are widely used in forest hydrological investigations. A sum¬mary of key world-wide discoveries on the forest-water...