John Day Research Articles

Middle Eocene trees of the Clarno Petrified Forest, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon

One of the iconic fossils of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Oregon, USA, is the Hancock Tree—a permineralized standing tree stump about 0.5 m in diameter and 2.5 m in height, embedded in a lahar of the Clarno Formation of middle Eocene age. We examined the wood anatomy of this stump, together with other permineralized woods and leaf impressions from the same stratigraphic level, to gain an understanding of the vegetation intercepted by the lahar. Wood of the Hancock Tree is characterized by narrow and numerous vessels, exclusively scalariform perforation plates, exclusively uniseriate rays, and diffuse axial parenchyma. These features and the type of vessel-ray parenchyma indicate affinities with the Hamamelidaceae, with closest similarity to the Exbucklandoideae, which is today native to Southeast and East Asia. The Hancock Tree is but one of at least 48 trees entombed in the same mudflow; 14 others have anatomy similar to the Hancock Tree; 20 have anatomy similar to Platanoxylon haydenii (Platanaceae), two resemble Scottoxylon eocenicum (probably in order Urticales). The latter two wood types occur in the nearby Clarno Nut Beds. Two others are distinct types of dicots, one with features seen in the Juglandaceae, the other of unknown affinities, and the rest are very poorly preserved and of unknown affinity. Leaf impressions in and immediately below the layer containing the trees include the extinct genera Macginitiea and Platimeliphyllum (Platanaceae), and Trochodendroides (Saxifragales).

Guidance does not fill the gap

Editor Colin Parish Tel: 020 8872 3153 Email: colin.parish@rcnpublishing.co.uk Managing director Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Senior editor Gary Bell Assistant editor Sophie Blakemore Acting assistant editor Jennifer Sprinks Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production editor Duncan Tyler Art directors Ken McLoone, Paul Swainson Picture editor Phil Brecht Digital director John Day IT and new media manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter

Message for managers: well done

Editor Colin Parish Tel: 020 8872 3153 Email: colin.parish@rcnpublishing.co.uk Managing director Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Senior editor Gary Bell Assistant editor Sophie Blakemore Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production editor Duncan Tyler Art directors Ken McLoone, Paul Swainson Picture editor Phil Brecht Digital director John Day IT and new media manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter

Quantifying barotrauma risk to juvenile fish during hydro-turbine passage

We introduce a method for hydro turbine biological performance assessment (BioPA) to bridge the gap between field and laboratory studies on fish injury and turbine engineering design. Using this method, a suite of biological performance indicators is computed based on simulated data from a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of a proposed hydro turbine design. Each performance indicator is a measure of the probability of exposure to a certain dose of an injury mechanism. If the relationship between the dose of an injury mechanism (stressor) and frequency of injury (dose–response) is known from laboratory or field studies, the likelihood of fish injury for a turbine design can be computed from the performance indicator. By comparing the values of the indicators from various turbine designs, engineers and biologists can identify the more-promising designs and operating conditions to minimize hydraulic conditions hazardous to passing fish. In this paper, the BioPA method is applied to estimate barotrauma induced mortal injury rates for Chinook salmon exposed to rapid pressure changes in Kaplan-type hydro turbines. Following the description of the general method, application of the BioPA to estimate the probability of mortal injury from exposure to rapid decompression is illustrated using a Kaplan hydro turbine at the John Day Dam on the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA. The estimated rates of mortal injury increased from 0.3% to 1.7% as discharge through the turbine increased from 334 to 564m3/s for fish assumed to be acclimated to a depth of 5m. The majority of pressure nadirs occurred immediately below the runner blades, with the lowest values in the gap at the blade tips and just below the leading edge of the blades. Such information can help engineers focus on problem areas when designing new turbine runners to be more fish-friendly than existing units.

Petrified wood of southwestern Oregon: Implications for Cenozoic climate change

Over 1900 petrified wood specimens were collected from six localities spanning the Eocene to Miocene along a northeast transect parallel to the dip of the Payne Cliffs Formation and Western Cascades Group in southwestern Oregon. This study also presents new 40Ar/39Ar plateau age data for Cenozoic deposits in southern Oregon. Lower to Middle Eocene deposits yielded 305 specimens of petrified wood from sandstones and conglomerates of the basal part of the Payne Cliffs Formation with only 6% of dicotyledons exhibiting distinct growth rings and none having ring porous or semi-ring porous wood. Middle Eocene exposures just stratigraphically above the first locality produced 278 specimens from the lower to the middle part of the Payne Cliffs Formation, with 66% of the dicotyledons exhibiting distinct growth rings. Two specimens of Palmoxylon were also collected from sediments at this locality. An Upper Eocene exposure produced 792 petrified wood specimens from volcaniclastic sediments with 88% of the dicotyledons exhibiting distinct growth rings. Sediments at this locality also produced one specimen of Cibotium oregonensis (Oregon tree fern) and several specimens of Palmoxylon. Middle Oligocene deposits yielded 218 petrified wood specimens from volcaniclastic sediments of the middle part of the Western Cascades Group with 97% of the dicotyledons exhibiting distinct growth rings. An Upper Oligocene exposure yielded 254 specimens from volcaniclastic sediments of the upper part of the Western Cascades Group with all dicotyledons exhibiting distinct growth rings and 59% having ring porous or semi-ring porous wood. Further, this study establishes a 40Ar/39Ar plateau age date of 24.09±0.24Ma from plagioclase crystals in a tuffaceous sandy to pebbly siltstone at this locality. Finally, Lower Miocene rocks yielded 101 specimens, including 20 dicotyledons, of which 70% were ring porous or semi-ring porous, with most specimens consisting of gymnosperms. The increase over time in the percentages of dicotyledon specimens with distinct growth rings and with ring porous and semi-ring porous wood from this study suggests an overall climatic shift from tropical (Early Eocene) to cool temperate (Early Miocene) in southwestern Oregon. These results are consistent with a similar climatic shift evidenced by paleoecological reconstructions for the Eocene to Miocene of the John Day Fossil Beds in central Oregon.

A familiar story

Follow us: Read more at: Visit us at: @NSComment nursingblog.rcnpublishing.co.uk Nursing Older People Editor Lisa Berry Tel: +44 (0)20 8872 3169 Email: lisa.berry@rcnpublishing.co.uk Managing director Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Senior editor Gary Bell Assistant editor Sophie Blakemore Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production editor Karen Davies Art directors Ken McLoone, Paul Swainson Picture editor Phil Brecht Digital director John Day IT and new media manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter

Step into the void

Editor Colin Parish Tel: 020 8872 3153 Email: colin.parish@rcnpublishing.co.uk Managing director Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Senior editor Gary Bell Assistant editor Sophie Blakemore Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production editor Duncan Tyler Art directors Ken McLoone, Paul Swainson Picture editor Phil Brecht Digital director John Day IT and new media manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter

Why we need guidance

Editor Colin Parish Tel: 020 8872 3153 Email: colin.parish@rcnpublishing.co.uk Managing director Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Senior editor Gary Bell Assistant editor Sophie Blakemore Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production editor Duncan Tyler Art directors Ken McLoone, Paul Swainson Picture editor Phil Brecht Digital director John Day IT and new media manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter

Modeling freshwater mussel distribution in relation to biotic and abiotic habitat variables at multiple spatial scales

The habitat requirements of many native freshwater mussels remain unclear despite their imperiled status and ecological importance. To explore scale-specific habitat associations in the three genera of mussels found in the western United States (Anodonta, Gonidea, and Margaritifera) we used a multiscale random forest modeling approach to assess functional habitat parameters throughout a 55 km segment of the upper Middle Fork John Day River in northeastern Oregon. We characterized mussel occurrence and density with respect to the hierarchical, hydrogeomorphic structure by sampling reaches of varying valley confinement and channel units nested within individual reaches. Each genus exhibited unique longitudinal trends and channel unit-use patterns. In particular, the large-scale longitudinal trends in Margaritifera occurrence were associated with hydrogeomorphic characteristics at the reach and channel unit scale, with Margaritifera densities peaking in narrow valley segments and in riffles and runs. At the scale of the channel unit, all mussel genera responded to variation in physical habitat characteristics, particularly those that indicated more stable parts of the channel. Our results suggest that spatial patterns in freshwater mussels are associated with the hierarchical structuring of the lotic ecosystem and may provide guidance to restoration efforts.

Waking up to innovation: a tighter economic climate has the U.K.'s National Health Service looking for radical transformation.

John Day is a physicist at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom. He has an innovation that he believes will not only improve patient care but also save the National Health Service (NHS) time and money. Day and his colleagues have developed an endoscope that can be used not only to look at tissue in the esophagus but also diagnose cancer in situ. This eliminates the need to take a sample and wait for the results, which benefits both the patient and the clinician by allowing for earlier diagnosis.

Time for us to work together

Editor Claire Picton Managing editor Nick Lipley Tel: +44 (0)20 8872 3166 Email: nick.lipley@rcnpublishing.co.uk Managing director Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Senior editor Gary Bell Assistant editor Sophie Blakemore Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production editor Duncan Tyler Art director Ken McLoone Designer Sujata Aurora Picture editor Phil Brecht Deputy picture editor Helen Jones Digital director John Day IT and new media manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter

It was the year of reports

@NSComment nursingblog.rcnpublishing.co.uk Primary Health Care Editor Julie Sylvester Tel: +44 (0)20 8423 1066 email: julie.sylvester@rcnpublishing.co.uk Managing director Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Senior editor Gary Bell Assistant editor Sophie Blakemore Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Art director Paul Swainson Picture editor Phil Brecht Deputy picture editor Karen Gordon Digital director John Day IT and new media manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter

Spreading the warmth

Consultant editor Editor Lisa Berry Tel: +44 (0)20 8872 3169 Email: lisa.berry@rcnpublishing.co.uk Managing director Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Senior editor Gary Bell Assistant editor Sophie Blakemore Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production editor Karen Davies Art directors Ken McLoone, Paul Swainson Picture editor Phil Brecht Digital director John Day IT and new media manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter

Spatial Ecological Processes and Local Factors Predict the Distribution and Abundance of Spawning by Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) across a Complex Riverscape

Processes that influence habitat selection in landscapes involve the interaction of habitat composition and configuration and are particularly important for species with complex life cycles. We assessed the relative influence of landscape spatial processes and local habitat characteristics on patterns in the distribution and abundance of spawning steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss), a threatened salmonid fish, across ∼15,000 stream km in the John Day River basin, Oregon, USA. We used hurdle regression and a multi-model information theoretic approach to identify the relative importance of covariates representing key aspects of the steelhead life cycle (e.g., site access, spawning habitat quality, juvenile survival) at two spatial scales: within 2-km long survey reaches (local sites) and ecological neighborhoods (5 km) surrounding the local sites. Based on Akaike’s Information Criterion, models that included covariates describing ecological neighborhoods provided the best description of the distribution and abundance of steelhead spawning given the data. Among these covariates, our representation of offspring survival (growing-season-degree-days, °C) had the strongest effect size (7x) relative to other predictors. Predictive performances of model-averaged composite and neighborhood-only models were better than a site-only model based on both occurrence (percentage of sites correctly classified = 0.80±0.03 SD, 0.78±0.02 vs. 0.62±0.05, respectively) and counts (root mean square error = 3.37, 3.93 vs. 5.57, respectively). The importance of both temperature and stream flow for steelhead spawning suggest this species may be highly sensitive to impacts of land and water uses, and to projected climate impacts in the region and that landscape context, complementation, and connectivity will drive how this species responds to future environments.

Thankful for being asked

Follow us: Visit us at: @NScomment Nursing Older People Editor Lisa Berry Tel: +44 (0)20 8872 3169 Email: lisa.berry@rcnpublishing.co.uk Managing director/publisher Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Senior editor Gary Bell Assistant editor Sophie Blakemore Head of production Fiona Maclean Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production editor Karen Davies Art directors Ken McLoone, Paul Swainson Picture editor Phil Brecht Digital director John Day IT and new media manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter

New Records for Gomphus lynnae Paulson (Odonata: Gomphidae), with a Description of the Nymph

Gomphus (Gomphurus) lynnae Paulson, known from only a few localities in the states of Washington and Oregon, U.S.A., is reported from 10 localities in a 260 km stretch of the John Day River in Gilliam, Grant, Sherman, and Wheeler counties and a 59 km stretch of the Owyhee River in Malheur County, Oregon, all within the Columbia River watershed. We collected adults, nymphs and exuviae from several localities and two nymphs were associated with adults. Nymphs of this rare species have not been fully characterized. The nymph is described and illustrated; its closest congener is G. externus Hagen, from which it is distinguished by the lack of a distinct postero-lateral spine on abdominal segment 6, shorter postero-lateral spine on abdominal segment 9, and the presence of only two or three denticles, sometimes lacking, on the lateral margins of abdominal segment 8. Nymphs of G. lynnae occupy substrates of mixed sand and silt in riffle/run areas of large, slow flowing rivers.

Archival genetic analysis suggests recent immigration has altered a population of Chinook salmon in an unsupplemented wilderness area

Detecting genetic population shifts (i.e. allele frequency differences) through time is a primary function of effective conservation monitoring, but it is equally vital to understand the underlying causative factors of change which may be revealed through analyses of long-term, temporal trends. We compared archival and contemporary Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) collections from the John Day River in Oregon, USA, to evaluate the temporal relationships among four primary spawning areas over a span of 28 years (1978–2006). Although it lies amid many hatchery-supplemented salmon populations of the Columbia River, the John Day River has itself experienced no directed supplementation. Using a combined panel of 13 microsatellite and 92 single nucleotide polymorphism loci, we observed significant temporal heterogeneity across sample sites and tested for two likely evolutionary influences: stochastic processes (i.e. genetic drift) and gene flow via immigration. Based on abundance and effective population size estimates, we found no evidence indicating a recent bottleneck. We observed a sharp temporal decline in probability of self-assignment of John Day River fish, particularly for the North Fork tributary. There was a corresponding increase in assignment to distant Snake River populations, attributed to accumulating introgression from out-of-basin sources over time. Our study demonstrates that low level immigration sustained over multiple generations can alter the genetic composition of natural populations, and while immigration may help maintain genetic population diversity, it risks reducing adaptive advantages in local ecosystems.

Does safety outweigh privacy?

Follow us: Visit us at: @NSComment Learning Disability Practice Editor Colin Parish Tel: +44 (0)20 8872 3153 Email: colin.parish@rcnpublishing.co.uk Managing director/Publisher Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Senior editor Gary Bell Assistant editor Sophie Blakemore Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production editor Duncan Tyler Assistant production editor Sharon Everitt Art director Ken McLoone Designer Sujata Aurora Picture editor Phil Brecht Digital director John Day IT and new media manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter

Unanimous on dementia

Follow us: Visit us at: @NScomment Nursing Older People Editor Lisa Berry Tel: +44 (0)20 8872 3169 Email: lisa.berry@rcnpublishing.co.uk Managing director/publisher Rhonda Oliver Editor in chief Jean Gray Senior editor Gary Bell Assistant editor Sophie Blakemore Senior production editor Julie Hickey Production editor Karen Davies Assistant production editor Sharon Everitt Art directors Ken McLoone, Paul Swainson Picture editor Phil Brecht Digital director John Day IT and new media manager Alex Oldfield Web editor Amanda Carter

Body Size and Growth Rate Influence Emigration Timing of Oncorhynchus mykiss

AbstractJuvenile Oncorhynchus mykiss migrate extensively in freshwater during the fall. We used individual tagging to study the spatial origin, influences, and outcomes of fall migration on fish that emigrated from summer rearing tributaries during the fall (early emigrants) and those that did not (late emigrants) in the South Fork John Day River, Oregon. Fall migration amplified body size differences between early and late emigrants. There were more early emigrants from a lower‐gradient stream than from a higher‐gradient stream. Early emigration was positively related to individual summer growth rate and fall body size. Oncorhynchus mykiss dispersed downstream into higher‐order streams during the fall. Early emigrants shifted to an alternative location and experienced significantly greater winter growth than did late emigrants that remained in tributaries. Early emigrants initiated smolt migration sooner the following spring than did late emigrants. Early and late emigration from the South Fork John Day River was associated with asynchronous emigrant‐to‐adult survival rates.