Treesearch

The recent introduction of Sirex noctilio F. (Hymenoptera: Siricidae) into North America has raised interest in native siricids and their parasitoids to better understand the potential impact of S. noctilio. In the southeastern United States, we assessed various techniques to capture native siricids and their parasitoids using traps, lures, and trap trees. During 2009-2011, in total, 2,434 wasps were caught including Eriotremex formosanus (Matsumura), Sirex nigricornis (F.), Tremex columba (L.), and Urocerus cressoni (Norton) (Siricidae), and Ibalia leucospoides ensiger Norton (Hymenoptera:...

Fishes of the genus Cottus have long been taxonomically challenging because of morphological similarities among species and their tendency to hybridize, and a number of undescribed species may remain in this genus. We used a combination of genetic and morphological methods to delineate and describe Cottus schitsuumsh, Cedar Sculpin, a new species, from the upper Columbia River basin, Idaho-Montana, USA. Although historically confused with the Shorthead Sculpin (C. confusus), the genetic distance between C. schitsuumsh and C. confusus (4.84-6.29%) suggests these species are distant relatives...

Mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) (MPB) outbreaks are increasingly prevalent in western North America, causing considerable ecological change in pine (Pinus spp.) forests with important implications for wildlife. We reviewed studies examining wildlife responses to MPB outbreaks and postoutbreak salvage logging to inform forest management and guide future research. Our review included 16 studies describing MPB outbreak relationships with 89 bird species and 6 studies describing relationships with 11 mammalian species, but no studies of reptiles or amphibians. We included...

Sahara Mustard (Brassica tournefortii; hereafter mustard), an exotic plant species, has invaded habitats throughout the arid southwestern United States. Mustard has reached high densities across aeolian sand habitats of southwestern deserts, including five distinct sand habitats in the eastern Coachella Valley, California. We examined trends in ground-dwelling arthropod community structure concurrent with mustard invasion in 90 plots within those habitats from 2003 to 2011 (n = 773 plot_years). We expected arthropod communities to respond negatively to mustard invasion because previous...

Mexican Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis lucida) are common in older forests within their range but also persist in many areas burned by wildfire and may selectively forage in these areas. One hypothesis explaining this pattern postulates that prey abundance increases in burned areas following wildfire. We observed movement to wintering areas within areas burned by wildfire by four radio-marked Mexican Spotted Owls in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico. These movements occurred during the winters of 2004-2005 and 2005-2006, with some owls migrating in both winters and others in only one....

Information on population dynamics is key to gauging the status of threatened or endangered species. We monitored demography of a population of threatened Mexican spotted owls (Strix occidentalis lucida) in the Sacramento Mountains, New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. We estimated reproductive output for territorial pairs of owls; used mark-recapture methodology and Pradel's reparameterized Jolly-Seber models to estimate annual apparent survival rates, recapture rates, recruitment rates, and annual rate of population change (lRJS) for 2005-2009; and used estimates of lRJS to assess short-term...

The genus Hygrocybe probably contains more pretty mushrooms than any other. They provide an unrivalled bright, crisp and colourful delight to the eye—hands down, a photographer's favourite, drawing amateur and professional alike with their beauty. To the inquisitive they also provide an interesting subject for investigation, because, as mentioned in a past OMPHALINA article, how they make their living has not been elucidated. It seems that they are not saprobes (decayers of organic material), as had long been thought, but what type of partnerships they have established, and with whom,...

No student of natural history can have escaped the proliferation of new names in the last few decades, certainly evident in mycology. Of course, the most obvious need for a new name comes about when an organism is discovered whose existence was hitherto unknown, i.e. a species, genus, or larger group new to science. However, for the layman the sudden profusion of new names for seemingly old organisms or groups of organisms is causing some confusion and consternation, particularly when several names replace a former single name. In this discussion we shall use genera as an example to show...

Forest ecosystem carbon (C) stocks and stock change in the United States (US) have been documented using Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) procedures and guidance with 1990 as a baseline reference for all United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change reports. In the US, estimates of forest C stocks and stock change are obtained from data collected and maintained by the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program of the US Forest Service. Over the course of the IPCC monitoring period, the FIA program made a transition from state-by-state multiyear periodic inventories...

Although lumber is ubiquitous on the international stage, not all lumber is similar or interchangeable in properties, applications, and in the production of potential downstream value-added or secondary wood products. As such, this chapter is divided into the three broadest generally recognized categories of lumber. Section 3.1 focuses on softwood lumber that is mainly used for building construction but also a multitude of other uses. Section 3.2 focuses on temperate hardwood lumber used in products ranging from industrial pallets to the finest custom furniture. Section 3.3 focuses on...