Northwest California Research Articles

Estimating habitat value using forest inventory data: The fisher (Martes pennanti) in northwestern California

Managing forests for multiple objectives requires balancing timber and vegetation management objectives with needs of sensitive species. Especially challenging is how to retain the habitat elements for species that are typically associated with late-seral forests. We develop a regionally specific, multivariate model describing habitat selection that can be used – when linked to an institutional forest inventory program – to assess, monitor and forecast habitat conditions for a key wildlife species. We use the fisher (Martes pennanti) in northwestern California as our example and develop a predictive model for resting habitat that is created using data from the specific region where it will be used. We explore how this resting habitat model differs from a similar model developed for the Sierra Nevada and consider the implications for forest management. We developed the model using MaxEnt by comparing vegetation data at 99 randomly selected fisher resting structures on public and tribal lands in northwestern California with 883 Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) plots within the same ecoregion. A total of 58 alternative vegetation models were specified and the top 10 were nearly identical in their performance (Gain>1.08; Area Under the Curve [AUC]>0.89). We chose a five-variable model (canopy closure, tree age, total basal area, volume of “large” wood and basal area of hardwoods) because it included the fewest variables and included only those that could be affected by management. This model was similar to the Sierra Nevada model, but did not include topographic features (e.g., slope) nor did it include a variable representing the density of small trees. The absence of variables related to topography may make it easier for managers to affect positive change in resting habitat suitability since all variables can be influenced by management actions. Moreover, the model indicates that small trees appear to be less important (compared to southern Sierra Nevada) and therefore the probability of producing high-value resting habitat without higher fire risk is greater. We also created a spreadsheet that simplifies the process of generating habitat predictions from new data. Since metrics of stand structure and wildlife habitat are sensitive to sample design, collecting new data with FIA protocols will provide the most accurate estimates of predicted habitat with this model. Together, the Sierra Nevada and northwest California models provide managers in California a quantitative means to assess and monitor resting habitat suitability using current and future data that are part of an institutionally supported program to inventory forest vegetation.

Mineral parageneses, regional architecture, and tectonic evolution of Franciscan metagraywackes, Cape Mendocino‐Garberville‐Covelo 30′ × 60′ quadrangles, northwest California

The Franciscan Complex is a classic subduction‐zone assemblage. In northwest California, it comprises a stack of west vergent thrust sheets: westernmost Eastern Belt outliers; Central Belt mélange; Coastal Belt Yager terrane; Coastal Belt Coastal terrane; Coastal Belt King Range/False Cape terranes. We collected samples and determined P‐T conditions of recrystallization for 88 medium‐fine‐grained metasandstones to assess their subduction‐exhumation histories and assembly of the host allochthons. Feebly recrystallized Yager, Coastal, and King Range strata retain clear detrital features. Scattered neoblastic prehnite occurs in several Coastal terrane metasandstones; traces of possible pumpellyite are present in three Yager metaclastic rocks. Pumpellyite ± lawsonite ± aragonite‐bearing Central Belt metasandstones are moderately deformed and reconstituted. Intensely contorted, thoroughly recrystallized Eastern Belt affinity quartzose metagraywackes contain lawsonite + jadeitic pyroxene ± aragonite ± glaucophane. We microprobed neoblastic phases in 23 rocks, documenting mineral parageneses that constrain the tectonic accretion and metamorphic P‐T evolution of these sheets. Quasi‐stable mineral assemblages typify Eastern Belt metasandstones, but mm‐sized domains in the Central and Coastal belt rocks failed to achieve chemical equilibrium. Eastern Belt slabs rose from subduction depths approaching 25–30 km, whereas structurally lower Central Belt mélanges returned from ∼15–18 km. Coastal Belt assemblages suggest burial depths less than 5–8 km. Eastern and Central belt allochthons sequentially decoupled from the downgoing oceanic lithosphere and ascended into the accretionary margin; K‐feldspar‐rich Coastal Belt rocks were stranded along the continental edge without undergoing appreciable subduction, probably during Paleogene unroofing of the older, deeply subducted units of the Franciscan Complex in east‐vergent crustal wedges.

Factors related to the distribution and prevalence of the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Rana cascadae and other amphibians in the Klamath Mountains

The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which causes the disease chytridiomycosis, has been associated with declines and extinctions of montane amphibians worldwide. To gain insight into factors affecting its distribution and prevalence we focus on the amphibian community of the Klamath Mountains in northwest California. The Cascades frog (Rana cascadae), one of the most common amphibians in these mountains, experienced increased mortality as a result of Bd exposure in laboratory trials and has experienced recent, dramatic declines in other parts of California. We surveyed 112 sites in the Klamaths, all of which supported R. cascadae between 1999 and 2002, for amphibians and Bd to (1) determine the distribution of Bd, (2) evaluate changes in the distribution of R. cascadae, and (3) assess associations between potential biotic and abiotic drivers and Bd infection. Bd was widely distributed in the Klamath Mountains – we detected the pathogen at 64% of sites. R. cascadae was found at 79% of sites, and was often infected with Bd. These results suggest that Bd has not caused dramatic declines in R. cascadae in the Klamaths in recent years. Subadult R. cascadae had a higher Bd prevalence than other R. cascadae life stages (subadults: 36%, adults: 25%, metamorphs: 4%, larvae: 1%), and while the probability of infection decreased over the season for adults, it did not for subadults, suggesting that subadults may be more vulnerable to chytridiomycosis than other R. cascadae life stages. Bd prevalence in R. cascadae was highest early in the season at high-elevation sites, which may indicate that populations inhabiting high elevation sites may have a greater risk of being affected by chytridiomycosis. Three other common amphibian species also tested positive for Bd: Pacific chorus frog (Pseudacris regilla), western toad (Anaxyrus boreas), and rough-skinned newt (Taricha granulosa).

Spatial relationships in a dendritic network: the herpetofaunal metacommunity of the Mattole River catchment of northwest California

We investigated the aquatic and riparian herpetofauna in a 789 km 2 river catchment in northwest California to examine competing theories of biotic community structuring in catchment stream networks. Research in fluvial geomorphology has resulted in multi-scale models of dynamic processes that cyclically create, maintain, and destroy environments in stream networks of mountain catchments. These models have been applied to understanding distributions of invertebrates, algae, fishes and their habitats across entire basin networks, but similar approaches with herpetofauna are rare. We examined multi-scale spatial patterns of multiple species as they related to variation in channel types, channel settings, and within-channel attributes that result from these processes. From 83 reaches distributed randomly throughout the watershed, we distinguished four channel types: 1) high gradient with cascade structure; 2) 2� 4% gradient with steppool structure controlled by moderately steep valleys; 3) slightly entrenched, lower gradient, plane-bed structure; and 4) low gradient, shallow, unconfined, multiple or migrating pool/riffle channels in broad alluvial valleys. The composition of herpetofauna differed in five of six pair-wise comparisons among these channel types, indicating a minimum of three distinct mesoscale assemblages. We used non-parametric multiple regression (NPMR) to examine relationships at multiple spatial scales. NPMR revealed species-specific associations with channel settings and within-channel environments among species sharing the same sets of channel types. Morphological adaptations, biophysical limits and natural histories of each species best explained their associations with distinct sets of attributes surrounding and within channel types. While each set of species has similarly adapted to fluvial and geomorphic disturbance processes structuring channels at the mesoscale, species within each set have adapted to a unique set of attributes that are best discerned when their spatial relationships are examined across multiple spatial scales. We evaluated the various spatial patterns against hypotheses of stream community organization and metacommunity perspectives.

Pollination Biology of Darlingtonia californica (Sarraceniaceae), the California Pitcher Plant

The pollination ecology of Darlingtonia californica Torr., including especially the identity of its pollinators, has remained enigmatic for more than a century. The flowers of this well-known charismatic species are unusual in form and color, and have been the subject of much speculation. Accordingly, in this study we sought to identify D. californica's floral visitors and determine their potential effectiveness as pollinators, in the context of D. californica's unusual floral morphology. We also used hand-pollinations and emasculations to determine whether plants were pollen-limited at five study sites in northwest California, and to evaluate the potential for self-pollination in natural populations of D. californica. A generalist solitary bee, Andrena nigrihirta, visited and pollinated D. californica flowers at five sites in northern CA. Despite very low visitation rates, individual flowers at all study sites were predicted to receive at least one visit by A. nigrihirta. Other regular floral visitors included thrips and several species of spiders. Plants at all five study populations were found to be pollen-limited with respect to the number of seeds produced per capsule. Fruit and seed production by emasculated flowers indicated a large degree of cross-pollination. However, emasculated flowers did not produce as many fruits and seeds as unmanipulated flowers, suggesting that self-pollination contributes to D. californica reproductive success as well. Observations of A. nigrihirta on flowers revealed that the shape and orientation of D. californica's ovary and petals promote stigma contact both when pollinators enter and exit a flower, contrary to previous thought. Our findings provide evidence that D. californica is melittophilous, and suggest a resolution of the long-standing mystery surrounding the pollination of this rare species.

Integrated Artificial Neural Network for Spatiotemporal Modeling of Rainfall–Runoff–Sediment Processes

This article tries to develop an integrated artificial neural network (ANN) model for spatial and temporal forecasting of daily suspended sediment discharge at multiple gauging stations in Eel River watershed in northwest California. Complexity of runoff–sediment process and its variability in space and time and also lack of historical sediment data cause difficulties in spatiotemporal modeling of this process. Initially, and for comparison purpose, six single-station ANN models, which are customary in modeling sediment yield, were developed. Then an integrated ANN model for modeling multiple stations was proposed and its spatiotemporal modeling ability was examined through a cross-validation technique for a station. In this way, different multilayer perceptron neural networks were trained using Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm to estimate daily values of suspended sediment discharge. Various combinations of input and hidden layers' neurons were applied and the optimum architectures of the models were selected according to the obtained evaluation criteria in the terms of Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient, root mean-squared error, and ratio of absolute error of peak flow. To improve the model, input data were classified into two clusters by k-means clustering scheme. Afterwards, clustered data were used as inputs for two integrated models and their performances were evaluated. The proposed integrated ANN model shows reasonable performance in spatiotemporal modeling both before and after clustering. Nevertheless, clustering decreases the complexity of the model.

Interannual Variability of the Cyclonic Activity along the U.S. Pacific Coast: Influences on the Characteristics of Winter Precipitation in the Western United States

Abstract This study examines the observed interannual variability of the cyclonic activity along the U.S. Pacific coast and quantifies its impact on the characteristics of both the winter total and extreme precipitation in the western United States. A cyclonic activity function (CAF) was derived from a dataset of objectively identified cyclone tracks in 27 winters (1979/80–2005/06). The leading empirical orthogonal function (EOF1) of the CAF was found to be responsible for the EOF1 of the winter precipitation in the western United States, which is a monopole mode centered over the Pacific Northwest and northern California. On the other hand, the EOF2 of the CAF contributes to the EOF2 of the winter precipitation, which indicates that above-normal precipitation in the Pacific Northwest and its immediate inland regions tends to be accompanied by below-normal precipitation in California and the southwestern United States and vice versa. The first two EOFs of CAF (precipitation) account for about 70% (78%) of the total interannual variance of CAF (precipitation). The second EOF modes of both the CAF and precipitation are significantly linked to the ENSO signal on interannual time scales. A composite analysis further reveals that the leading CAF modes increase (decrease) the winter total precipitation by increasing (decreasing) both the number of rainy days per winter and the extremeness of precipitation. The latter was quantified in terms of the 95th percentile of the daily rain rate and the probability of precipitation being heavy given a rainy day. The implications of the leading CAF modes for the water resources and the occurrence of extreme hydrologic events in the western United States, as well as their dynamical linkages to the Pacific storm track and various atmospheric low-frequency modes (i.e., teleconnection patterns), are also discussed.

Rates, timing, and mechanisms of rainfall interception loss in a coastal redwood forest

summary Rainfall, throughfall, and stemflow were monitored at 5-min intervals for 3 years in a 120-year-old forest dominated by redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) at the Caspar Creek Experimental Watersheds, located in northwest California, USA. About 2.5% of annual rainfall reaches the ground as stemflow at the site, while 22.4% is stored on foliage and stems and evaporates before reaching the ground. Comparison of the timing of rainfall and throughfall indicates that about 46% of the interception loss occurs through post-storm evaporation from foliage and 54% is either evaporated during the storm or enters long-term storage in bark. Until bark storage capacity is saturated, the proportion of rainfall diverted to bark storage would be relatively constant across the range of rainfall intensities encountered, reflecting primarily the proportional incidence of rainfall on surfaces contributing to bark storage. In any case, loss rates remain high—over 15%—even during the highest-intensity storms monitored. Clearcut logging in the area would increase effective annual rainfall by 20–30% due to reduction of interception loss, and most of the increase would occur during large storms, thus potentially influencing peakflows and hillslope pore-pressures during geomorphically significant events. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Embedded Philanthropy and the Pursuit of Civic Engagement

· This article examines a range of civic engagement strategies pursued by embedded funders conducting community-change work in chronically disadvantaged communities. · Embedded funders are place-based foundations that (1) commit to working in a particular community or communities over an extended period of time; (2) pursue direct and ongoing relationships with a range of community actors; (3) make community relationships and partnerships a primary vehicle of their philanthropic operation; and (4) provide extensive supports and resources beyond conventional grantmaking. · Working as an embedded funder tends either to correlate with a prior commitment to civic engagement or to promote the development of such a commitment. Many of the strengths that embedded funders show in their civic engagement efforts derive from the defining characteristics and shared features of embedded philanthropy. · The article focuses on four embedded funders: the Humboldt Area Foundation in northwest California, the Jacobs Family Foundation in San Diego, and the Denver Foundation and Piton Foundation, both in Denver. These foundations have all prioritized the promotion of civic engagement, they have done so in distinct ways, and they represent a range of foundation types and styles of embedded philanthropy. · These foundations have pursued four general types of civic engagement strategy: direct support for individual and group civic engagement activities at the grassroots level, creating spaces and processes for such activities that did not previously exist, creating or supporting an organizational infrastructure for expanded mobilization and citizen engagement, and leveraging their own relationships and influence. · Successful civic engagement efforts are predicated on knowing a community and being known by it, and on the ability to earn trust through a variety of means. They are also enhanced by the creative use of organizational structure and staffing. An embedded operating style supports and facilitates each of these key elements in the promotion of civic engagement.

Phytophthora lateralis

<i>Phytophthora lateralis</i>

Diagnosis and Treatment of Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States. This review details the risk factors, clinical presentation, treatment, and prophylaxis for the disease. Information was obtained from a search of the PubMed and MEDLINE databases (keyword: Lyme disease) for articles published from August 31, 1997, through September 1, 2007. Approximately 20,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported annually. Residents of the coastal Northeast, northwest California, and the Great Lakes region are at highest risk. Children and those spending extended time outdoors in wooded areas are also at increased risk. The disease is transmitted to humans through the bite of the Ixodes tick (Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus). Typically, the tick must feed for at least 36 hours for transmission of the causative bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, to occur. Each of the 3 stages of the disease is associated with specific clinical features: early localized infection, with erythema migrans, fever, malaise, fatigue, headache, myalgias, and arthralgias; early disseminated infection (occurring days to weeks later), with neurologic, musculoskeletal, or cardiovascular symptoms and multiple erythema migrans lesions; and late disseminated infection, with intermittent swelling and pain of 1 or more joints (especially knees). Neurologic manifestations (neuropathy or encephalopathy) may occur. Diagnosis is usually made clinically. Treatment is accomplished with doxycycline or amoxicillin; cefuroxime axetil or erythromycin can be used as an alternative. Late or severe disease requires intravenous ceftriaxone or penicillin G. Single-dose doxycycline (200 mg orally) can be used as prophylaxis in selected patients. Preventive measures should be emphasized to patients to help reduce risk.

High-Frequency Ground-Motion Scaling in the Pacific Northwest and in Northern and Central California

Abstract Large data sets of vertical and horizontal seismograms from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network, Northern California Seismic Network, and Berkeley Digital Seismic Network are used to study the high-frequency (0.25–16 Hz) ground-motion scaling characteristics in Washington–Oregon, northern California (39° N to 42° N and 119° W to 124° W), and central California (35° N to 39° N and 118° W to 123° W). We used peak filtered ground velocities to characterize the propagation, excitation, and site terms. The regression results for propagation were modeled using a geometrical spreading function, g ( r ), and a frequency-dependent attenuation, Q ( f )= Q 0 f η . For the Pacific Northwest, the best Q model that fits the observation is expressed by Q ( f )=280 f 0.55 . The eastern central California and western central California results are parameterized with Q ( f )=280 f 0.50 and Q ( f )=240 f 0.35 , respectively. The northern California results are not easy to model and require using a frequency-dependent η and a frequency-dependent geometrical spreading. The geometrical spreading effect for the frequencies higher than 5 Hz is very strong in that region. The excitation terms for the small events studied were modeled using a Brune’s source model. An average stress drop of 30 bars was obtained for the Pacific Northwest. The northern California average value for stress drop is 90 bars. The observations of eastern central California were modeled with a stress drop of 49 bars, while the best fit for the western part required Δσ =80 bars. The range of the values obtained for Q , g ( r ), and Δσ indicates that the ground-motion parameters for one region should not be used for another. As an example, our results show that the ground-motion amplitude due to an M w 5.0 earthquake at a distance of 50 km is different by a factor of 1.5 between the Pacific Northwest and eastern central California.

Northwest California: a natural history

Preface Prologue The Klamath: Land of Mountains and Canyons The North Coast: Land of Towering Trees High and Low: Looking for Patterns in Vegetation Beyond the Ancient Meeting Ground Regimes of Fire Agents of Change The Status of Northwest California Today Northwest California's Biological Future Selected Readings Index of Plant Names General Index Plates follow page 128.

Port‐Orford‐cedar resistant to Phytophthora lateralis

Summary Phytophthora lateralis, an exotic root pathogen, is the primary cause of Port‐Orford‐cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana) mortality throughout its native range in southwest Oregon and northwest California. Most trees in the field are very susceptible, but genetic resistance to this pathogen has been demonstrated. Since the late 1980s, the USDA Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management in cooperation with Oregon State University have conducted an intensive programme to identify and test resistant trees from the field, and propagate them in a seed orchard with the goal of providing resistant seedlings for regeneration. Susceptible families showed only 0–10% survival using a variety of inoculation techniques. Rooted cuttings of resistant parents are seldom killed, and seedling families of these parents exhibit 25–100% survival, depending on family and inoculation technique. Symptom development on resistant trees, including sunken lesions, and resinosis as well as reduced colonization and re‐isolation success, was consistent with a hypersensitive reaction. In a long‐term field test, five resistant families had 20–80% survival after 16 years, while three susceptible families had 0–8% survival in the same interval.

Yurok Verb Classes

In this paper I detail relationships between verb stems and the conjugation classes to which they belong in Yurok, an Algic language of northwest California. Yurok has four major conjugation classes, with one class, the oo‐class, containing three subclasses defined by distinct third‐person singular forms. I describe two regularities which have not been noted before. First, within the oo‐class, distinct subclasses differing in third singular inflection are associated with distinctions in argument structure. Second, in one intransitive subclass of oo‐class verbs, third‐person singular inflections have the form and meaning of two Ritwan locative markers.

Short-Term Effects of Moderate- to High-Severity Wildfire on a Disturbance-Dependent Flycatcher in Northwest California

Abstract Previous studies have shown Olive-sided Flycatchers (Contopus cooperi) to be associated with burned forest, which suggests that wildfire is beneficial to the species. To examine that more closely, we studied the short-term effects (first two years after disturbance) of moderate- to high-severity wildfire on Olive-sided Flycatchers breeding in northwestern California. During summers of 2000 and 2001, we investigated distribution of and compared the relative nest loss, foraging rates, and aerial arthropod biomass at Olive-sided Flycatcher territories in burned and adjacent unburned forest. The probability of postfire site occupancy was best predicted by the presence of pre-existing forest edges (odds ratio = 8:1). Probability of relative nest loss was much higher in the presence of fire (odds ratio = 9:1). Adult female peak foraging rates were nearly twice as high in unburned (2000 = 2.1 attacks min−1, 2001 = 2.5) as in burned (2000 = 1.0, 2001 = 1.5) territories, and relative aerial arthropod biomass was nearly twice as high in unburned (2000 = 1,909 mg 2 m−2 40 days−1, 2001 = 3,200) as in burned (2000 = 1,105, 2001 = 1,751) territories. Although Olive-sided Flycatchers occupied recently burned areas, fire had apparent negative effects on reproduction. Poor reproduction appeared to be partially related to reduced food availability in recently burned areas. Our data suggest a need for detailed investigations of the relationship between Olive-sided Flycatchers and wildfire as postfire forest regeneration progresses.

Short-Term Effects of Moderate- to High-Severity Wildfire on a Disturbance-Dependent Flycatcher in Northwest California

Short-Term Effects of Moderate- to High-Severity Wildfire on a Disturbance-Dependent Flycatcher in Northwest California

The Phonology of Yurok Glottalized Sonorants: Segmental Fission under Syllabification

Yurok, an endangered Algic language of northwest California, has a series of glottalized sonorants which contrast with plain nonglottalized sonorants. Glottalized sonorants have interesting phonological properties which distinguish them from other segment types in Yurok, including a restriction to postvocalic environments and fission under syllabification. In this paper, I analyze sound patterns involving Yurok glottalized sonorants and discuss their implications for phonological theory.

Fe-Ti basalts and propagating-rift tectonics in the Josephine Ophiolite

The Jurassic Josephine Ophiolite of northwest California and southwest Oregon is one of the largest and most complete ophiolites in North America and clearly formed in a suprasubduction-zone setting. The geochemistry of lavas and dikes is highly variable because of a range in magma types and different degrees of fractionation. Basalts rich in Fe and Ti occur in the uppermost part of the extrusive sequence and as late dikes cutting oceanic serpentinite. They have MORB (mid-oceanic-ridge basalt) affinities and appear to be unrelated to the rest of the ophiolite that has affinities dominantly transitional between IAT and MORB (IAT = island-arc-tholeiite). This late Fe-Ti-MORB suite was erupted while the ophiolite was undergoing the last half of ∼50° of tilting of the entire crustal sequence and after widespread serpentinization of ultramafic cumulates and uppermantle peridotite related to freezing of the axial magma chamber. Fe-Ti basalts are characteristic of propagating spreading centers on mid-ocean ridges and in at least one backarc basin. Geochemical, structural, stratigraphic, and regional geologic constraints suggest formation of the Josephine Ophiolite by propagation of a spreading center into rifted island-arc lithosphere that is preserved along the margin of the ophiolite. Another possible indication of propagating-rift tectonics is the presence of off-axis metalliferous sedimentary rocks that may have been deposited as hydrothermal plume fall-out from a second propagating spreading center. The Lau Basin provides modern analogues, including spreading centers propagating into rifted arc lithosphere, into older backarc ocean crust, and across the arc into the forearc.

SPREAD OF AN INVASIVE PATHOGEN OVER A VARIABLE LANDSCAPE: A NONNATIVE ROOT ROT ON PORT ORFORD CEDAR

Understanding biological invasions requires information on the history of spatial spread, as well as measures of landscape and biotic features that control habitat invasibility. Because invasive species often spread quickly over large areas, attaining these two sets of information simultaneously is uncommon. We studied the spread of a fatal nonnative root pathogen, Phytophthora lateralis, across a heterogeneous landscape of its host, Port Orford cedar (Chamaecyparis lawsoniana). Within our 37-km2 study area in southwestern Oregon and northwest California, Port Orford cedar populations are generally restricted to riparian zones along creeks. The pathogen is spread between watersheds in two ways: (1) by spore-infested material being dislodged from vehicles, and (2) by animals or people moving infested mud (i.e., via foot traffic). Using dendrochronological techniques, we determined the date of infection for dead cedars and reconstructed spread history across our study area from 1977 to 1999. Twenty-six of t...