Publications

Migration is the regular seasonal movement of animals from one place to another, often from a breeding site to a nonbreeding site and back. Because the act of migration makes it difficult to follow individuals and populations year round, our understanding of the ecology and evolution of migrating organisms, particularly birds, has been severely impeded. Exciting new advances in satellite...

Conceptual1,2,3,4 and numerical5,6,7,8 models of nitrogen cycling in temperate forests assume that nitrogen is lost from these ecosystems predominantly by way of inorganic forms, such as nitrate and ammonium ions. Of these, nitrate is thought to be particularly mobile, being responsible for nitrogen loss to deep soil and stream waters. But human activities—such as fossil fuel combustion

Sagebrush lands in the Intermountain West are declining rapidly in quality and extent. Consequently, populations of many bird species dependent on these ecosystems also are declining. The greater sage-grouse has been petitioned for listing as a threatened and endangered species, and other species of sagebrush-obligate birds have special conservation status in most states. We identified...

From early April through September each year, famous residents grace the small western town of Corvallis, Oregon. Two ospreys have become mascots of the town since the pair's arrival in 1994. Their nest, built on a 90-foot power pole near the twin bridges over the Willamette River, could be seen by many commuters on their way in and out of town. After the 2002 nesting season, the nest...

Fire is a natural feature of sagebrush grasslands in the Great Basin. The invasion of exotic annual grasses, such as Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass), has changed the environment in these ecosystems. Invasive annual grasses provide a dense and continuous source of fuel that extends the season for fires and increases the frequency of fires in the region. Frequent fires eventually eliminate...

We are integrating field surveys with information obtained from satellite imagery to determine how birds respond to the habitat changes in shrubland regions in the Intermountain West. Our objectives are to determine the primary causes that change shrubland habitats, the spatial and temporal scales at which shrubland landscapes change, and the mechanisms by which distribution and...

Soil bacteria are important contributors to primary productivity and nutrient cycling in arid land ecosystems, and their populations may be greatly affected by changes in environmental conditions. In parallel studies, the composition of the total bacterial community and of members of the Acidobacterium division were assessed in arid grassland soils using terminal restriction fragment...

In the winters of 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, we tracked 67 radio-marked Dunlin (Calidris alpina) throughout the complex agricultural landscape of the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Individual birds were tracked across 8-week sampling periods and indicated a high degree of regional fidelity throughout the three winter sampling periods. Birds exhibited varied degrees of fidelity to specific...

A National Association of Geoscience Teachers Far Western Section (NAGT-FWS) field conference is an ideal forum for learning about the geology and natural history of the San Francisco Bay area. We visit classic field sites, renew old friendships, and make new ones. This collection of papers includes field guides and road logs for all of the Bay-area trips held during the NAGT-FWS 2001...

Effects of color bands on adult birds have been investigated in many studies, but much less is known about the effects of bands on birds banded at hatch. We captured Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) chicks at hatch on the Alaskan North Slope and attached 0–3 bands to them. The chicks were resighted and reweighed during the subsequent two weeks. The number of chicks banded varied...

Sturgeon are an important fishery resource world-wide, providing food and income through commercial, sport, and tribal fisheries. However, sturgeon populations are imperiled in many areas due to overharvest, habitat loss, and pollution. White Sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) are found along the west coast of North America from San Francisco Bay, USA to British Columbia, Canada. The...

Appropriately enough, much of this book is devoted to discussing management challenges and techniques. However, the impetus for action—the desire to save whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) - necessarily arises from the extent to which we cherish it for its beauty and its connections with other things that we value. Whitebark pine is at the hub of a fascinating web of relationships. It is...