Northwestern Oregon Research Articles

Range expansion of a declining forest species, the Western Gray Squirrel (Sciurus griseus), into semiarid woodland

Abstract Globally, animals that are range-restricted are frequently becoming species of conservation concern, in part due to competitive exclusion by phylogenetically and ecologically similar species that are more tolerant of human disturbance. However, climate and land use changes to natural landscapes can create pockets of refugia for range-restricted species. Western gray squirrels (Sciurus griseus) are native to the west coast of North America, principally California and western Oregon. Over the past several decades, Western Gray Squirrel populations have declined in human-dominated areas, with increased competition from introduced congeneric species native to eastern North America cited as a primary driver. Despite declines in their established range west of the Pacific Crest in western North America, western gray squirrels are extending their range into the Great Basin, where they were not historically found. Using a network of remote camera traps deployed across the Sierra Nevada–Great Basin ecotone in northwestern Nevada, we detected western gray squirrels across 16 of 100 camera-trapping sites. The majority of detections were located in piñon–juniper woodland, a land cover type not previously occupied by this species. Occupancy modeling revealed that western gray squirrels were equally likely to occur in piñon–juniper woodland compared to mature pine forest that they occupy elsewhere in their range. A species distribution model parameterized with historical gray squirrel observations (pre-1950), indicated increased climatic suitability for the species on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada in recent decades, which may have facilitated this range expansion. Our findings reveal the potential for species declining in their historical range to colonize novel habitats that become increasingly suitable as a result of human-driven changes to ecosystems.

On Listening and Telling Anew: Possibilities for Archaeologies of Survivance

AbstractArchaeologists increasingly use Gerald Vizenor's concept of survivance in research on colonial‐era Indigenous histories. However, these studies tend to situate survivance within the realm of archaeological interpretation, with less attention paid to the concept's broader intellectual tradition or implications for archaeological practice. In this article, we argue that deeper engagement with survivance scholarship stands to alter the process and product of materials‐based Indigenous histories. We discuss four definitions of survivance—as histories of struggle and success, as practice, as situated response to settler colonialism, and as storytelling—highlighting how the concept may reframe or expand existing archaeologies of colonialism. We conclude with a case study drawn from our work with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. It traces the creative reexpression of historic foodways within the Grand Ronde community during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in northwestern Oregon. Archaeologies of survivance have the potential to reposition archaeologists and their Indigenous research partners as listeners to the survivance stories composed, lived, and told by historic Indigenous communities.

Cover Art: “Asleep”

Looking east, Mount Hood dominates the skyline of northwestern Oregon. White-capped or craggy brown, it looms above the sprawling urban streets, the winding Sandy River, the fir trees, the railroads, the fireweed and false Solomon’s seal. Though none of us are old enough to remember the last time Mount Hood shook the state with an eruption, the ancient networks of alpine forests and meadows sowed by fire remind us: the mountain is not dormant, just asleep.

SURVEILLANCE FOR AN EMERGENT HOOF DISEASE IN ELK (CERVUS ELAPHUS) IN THE US PACIFIC WEST SUPPLEMENTED BY 16S RRNA GENE AMPLICON SEQUENCING.

A novel hoof disease of elk (Cervus elaphus) was described in southwestern Washington, US, in 2008 and was subsequently diagnosed in an adjacent area in northwestern Oregon in 2014. The disease, currently referred to as treponeme-associated hoof disease (TAHD), is characterized by lesions ranging from mild erosions, to severe ulcers with underrunning of the hoof capsule and heel-sole junction, to overgrown and avulsed hoof capsules. Histologically, lesions exhibit epithelial erosion or ulceration, suppurative inflammation, and the presence of argyrophilic spirochetes. We used data collected by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife from 2008 to 2017 as reference for disease distribution. We then conducted enhanced surveillance in 2018-20 by obtaining 164 submissions from four US Pacific West states. We detected TAHD for the first time in Idaho and northern California, as well as in multiple counties in Washington and Oregon where it had not been previously reported. Given the unexpectedly broad disease distribution, continued surveillance is warranted to determine the full geographic extent of TAHD. From samples of 22 elk, we investigated 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing as a technique that could be used to supplement TAHD surveillance. Operational taxonomic units of the family Spirochaetaceae were identified in 10 of 12 histologically diagnosed TAHD-positive cases and two of 10 TAHD-negative cases. Phyla Spirochaetae (P<0.008), Fusobacteria (P<0.006), and Tenericutes (P<0.01) were overrepresented in samples from TAHD-positive feet when compared with TAHD-negative elk. A unique spirochete, PT19, was detected in hooves of 11 elk and from at least one elk in each state. Results support the use of 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing as a reliable and informative tool to supplement investigations into distribution and etiology of this presumed polybacterial disease.

Fleas from common rodent species are an unlikely source of plague (Yersinia pestis) in managed forests of northwestern Oregon, USA.

Anthropogenic environmental change can alter the susceptibility of wildlife hosts to pathogens and provide an opportunity for disease emergence. We explored Yersinia pestis prevalence in fleas from three rodent species inhabiting intensively managed forests in Oregon, USA. Y.pestis was not detected in the 145 fleas (3 families and 9 species) collected. Our results suggest a low public health threat from plague in this anthropogenically altered landscape and contribute to regional Y.pestis monitoring efforts.

A-141 Vindicated by Awareness: Acting with Awareness May Compensate for Inhibitory Deficits in ADHD Symptom Burden

Abstract Objective To understand the role of trait mindfulness acting-with-awareness in the relationship between inhibitory control and ADHD symptom burden. Method We conducted a cross-sectional study with 103 adults, aged 18 to 86, mean age = 46, mean education = 15 years, 46% male. Participants were recruited in North Western Oregon counties. Eligible individuals were aged &amp;gt;18, fluent in English, and with normal global cognition (Montreal Cognitive Assessment, MoCA&amp;gt;22). The presence of ADHD diagnoses/symptoms was not required. Participants were administered the Adult Investigator Symptom Rating Scale (AISRS), the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) Acting with Awareness, and the DKEFS Color-Word Interference Test (CWIT). We examined the contribution of CWIT (time/sec), acting-with-awareness (AA), and their interaction in age-adjusted multiple regression predicting AISRS total score. Results Descriptives for the measures of interest were AISRS (M = 19.21, SD = 12.72), CWIT (M = 55.66, SD = 15.27), and FFMQ-AA (M = 25.10, SD = 7.17). Both CWIT and FFMQ-AA predicted AISRS when analyzed independently (B = 0.274, p = 0.14, R2 = 0.13 and B = -0.633, p &amp;lt; 0.001, R2 = 0.45). In the combined model, FFMQ-AA (B = -1.06, p = 0.000) but not CWIT predicted AISRS, R2 = 0.47. The interaction was not significant, p = 0.55. Conclusion AA is a powerful predictor of ADHD symptom burden: it accounts for almost half of the variance, and removes any contribution from inhibitory control. Our finding suggests that trait mindfulness has a more important role in shaping ADHD than cognition.

Lepidodermella weissi, new species (Gastrotricha: Chaetonotida: Chaetonotidae) from northwestern Oregon, U.S.A.

A new species of Lepidodermella (Gastrotricha: Chaetonotida: Chaetonotidae) is described from two streams in northwestern Oregon, U.S.A. This is the fourth species of freshwater gastrotrich reported from the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The dearth of reports appears to be due more to a lack of study rather than a lack of gastrotrichs. Lepidodermella squamata is one of the species already reported from the Pacific Northwest, and occurs sympatrically with the new species described here. No other members of the genus have been reported from the Pacific Northwest. Three species of Lepidodermella have been reported previously from North America. The genus includes one marine species and 14 freshwater species. Lepidodermella weissi, new species, brings the number of freshwater species to 15 and can be distinguished from other freshwater members of the genus by the following characters: absence of parafurcal spines, absence of transverse anterior ventral plates, head width of less than 40 µm, head with five lobes, pharynx length 44 µm or less, adhesive tube length of 5 µm or more, more than 35 scales per middorsal column, presence of seven or fewer posterior midventral columns of scales, presence of a pair of posterior ventral plates, and the presence of several columns of spined scales between the ventral ciliary bands and the smooth scales of dorsum and sides.

Response of Douglas-fir stem profile to operational nitrogen fertilization in western Oregon

Nitrogen (N) fertilizer is a commonly applied silvicultural treatment intended to promote growth of intensively managed coast Douglas-fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco var. menziesii] plantations in the Pacific Northwest region of the US (PNW) and adjacent areas of Canada. Because responses have been geographically variable, fertilization trials were established in the Coast Range of northwestern Oregon to enhance general understanding of Douglas-fir growth response and test the economic viability of operational N applications in this subregion. Twenty-three operational stands comprising the trials were dominated by Douglas-fir, had an initial total age of 16–24 years, had been pre-commercially thinned 7–10 years prior to establishment of the fertilization trials, and started with 387–1260 trees ha−1. Nitrogen fertilizer was applied aerially as pelletized urea (46% N) at a rate of 224 kg N ha−1 to half of each stand during the dormant season of 2009–2010. In the dormant season of 2016–2017, seven growing seasons following fertilizer application, forty sample trees were felled in ten randomly selected stands to assess the influence of N-fertilization on stem form. A variable exponent taper model was developed using a nonlinear mixed-effects modelling approach. A tree-level random effect and a first-order continuous autoregressive [CAR(1)] error process were incorporated into the model to facilitate accurate tests of significance on model parameter estimates. The variable exponent taper model captured significant variation in stem form resulting from fertilization based on interaction with a crown variable, suggesting that the N-fertilization influence on stem form was mediated by initial crown length of trees with given diameter and height. Volume predictions from the resulting taper model were compared to those from the regional growth model ORGANON, which assumes no influence of fertilization on stem form. The regional growth model ORGANON significantly (p < 0.01) under-predicted fertilized tree volume by 3.6%. Results are being incorporated into individual-tree growth models to improve site-specific predictions of growth response. Improved understanding and modeling of mechanistic responses of foliage, growth, and stem form to fertilization may help discriminate between sites with high and low growth response potential. Mechanistic insights coupled with better site characterization should help improve the understanding of economic and environmental performance of fertilized Douglas-fir stands.

Higher reversed sexual size dimorphism among nesting pairs of Northern Pygmy-Owls (Glaucidium gnoma) in northwestern Oregon than among specimens collected at the range-wide scale

I report on the strength of reversed sexual size dimorphism (RSD) in a local sub-population of Northern Pygmy-Owls (Glaucidium gnoma) in northwestern Oregon (2007–2012) in comparison to range-wide museum specimens examined by Earhart and Johnson (1970). Using Storer's Dimorphism Index (DI), RSD was higher among local breeding pairs (DImass = 6.64, DIwing = 4.90, n = 20 pairs) and among all local specimens (DImass = 6.20, DIwing = 4.39, n = 31 females, n= 23 males) than for specimens range-wide (DImass = 5.45, DIwing = 4.30, n= 10 females, n= 42 males). RSD was also more distinct locally, because mass alone was diagnostic of the sexes at a threshold of 69 g and wing chord was nearly diagnostic, whereas range-wide there was greater intrasexual variation and intersexual overlap in both metrics. Locally, females weighed 75.3 ± 5.6 g (range 69.0–94.2 g), and males weighed 62.5 ± 2.5 g (range 58.5–68.5 g); all local males had wing chords <92 mm (89.2 ± 2.0 mm; range 85.0–91.5 mm), whereas for 90% of females wing chord was ≥92 mm (93.2 ± 1.3 mm; range 89.0–96.0 mm). Clutch size (F1,4 = 1.822, P= 0.248, n= 20) and the number of fledged young (F1,8 = 0.00, P= 0.619, n= 19) were independent of RSD among local breeding pairs. Vertebrate prey composition shifted seasonally and was similar at the 2 scales, with agile avian prey taken most frequently during the breeding season, when the evolutionary consequences of diet on RSD matter most. I found intersexual variation in prey composition at the local scale where males took avian prey more frequently than females. I concluded that RSD in pygmy-owls was stronger at the local scale and that intersexual differences in prey composition may be related to RSD in this species. This study highlights the value of examining multiple scales and seasonal variation in prey composition when evaluating the merits of RSD hypotheses. It also contributes to our understanding of one of the least studied owls in North America.

Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma) nesting ecology in northwestern Oregon

I report on the nesting ecology of the Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma) in northwestern Oregon based on 71 breeding attempts, including observations at 66 nest cavities during 12 years of study (2007–2013, 2016–2020). I focus on the annual shift in the start of laying and in productivity (clutch size) in relation to prey composition. For all years combined, the start of laying spanned 2 months (27 Mar–30 May). The mean annual start of laying varied across consecutive years by nearly 3 weeks (19.0 ± 6.5 d); mean productivity at nests varied annually by 23% (1.2 ± 0.5 eggs). Observed clutch size was most frequently 5 or 6 eggs (5.6 ± 0.9, range 4–8 eggs, n = 47), but most clutches in early-nesting years were 6 or 7 eggs, and 4 or 5 eggs in late-nesting years. The mean incubation and nestling periods were 29.4 ± 1.1 d and 26.4 ± 1.2 d, respectively. Pygmy-owls fledged a mean of 5.1 ± 1.1 young at 58 successful nests and 4.2 ± 2.2 for all breeding attempts. Vertebrate prey composition varied annually and seasonally. Pygmy-owls took mammalian prey more often early in the breeding season (66% of vertebrate prey) and in early-nesting years (65%); avian prey were more frequently taken late in the breeding season (66%) and in late-nesting years (66%). Pygmy-owls nested disproportionately in coniferous trees (χ2 = 67.48, P < 0.001, df = 1, n = 66); nests in western redcedars (Thuja plicata) fledged 1.5 more owlets and failed less often (5% failed) than nests in other tree species (22% failed). Observations at this largest ever collection of Northern Pygmy-Owl nests reveal a commitment by these small owls (1) to produce young annually, even when they had to overcome obstacles such as mate procurement, mate loss, and nest depredation, and (2) to use mammalian prey to increase productivity in some years.

Development of Techniques to Improve Coastal Prairie Restoration on the Clatsop Plains, Oregon

With the substantial losses of native prairie habitat over the last century, research focusing on the restoration of prairies has become imperative in order to conserve these imperiled ecosystems and the biodiversity they support. On the Clatsop Plains in northwestern Oregon, there are only a few remnant patches of coastal prairie, which are vital for many species including the federally threatened Oregon silverspot butterfly (Speyeria zerene hippolyta). Building upon previous work done on the Clatsop Plains, we implemented a study to develop techniques to improve coastal prairie restoration in this region. The objective of this study was to identify an effective site preparation/treatment that resulted in the greatest success of seeded forb and graminoid establishment, while also limiting introduced graminoid and forb species. We examined the effectiveness of four treatments (untreated control, herbicide, soil inversion, and soil removal) at three sites on the Clatsop Plains. After three seasons, the soil removal treatment enhanced native species abundance while maintaining low cover of introduced forbs and graminoids. However, cost of these methods is also an important consideration for land managers. Soil removal was the most effective treatment we tested, but it would be more expensive to implement on a large scale compared to the other treatments.

Quantifying and Comparing Soil Carbon Stocks: Underestimation with the Core Sampling Method

Core Ideas Clod and core bulk density measurements were significantly different at all depths. The core sampling method underestimated the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock. Calculating SOC stocks on a mass basis did not overcome sampling method bias. Using clod and core methods interchangeably adds uncertainty to SOC databases. Regional and global SOC stocks may be largely underestimated. Changing climate, land use, and management can impact both surface and deep soil organic carbon (SOC) stocks on decadal timescales, highlighting the importance of accurate measurements of SOC stocks and comparisons. This study compared three soil sampling methods for estimating SOC stocks: clod, core, and excavation. The excavation method was used as the standard by which the other methods were compared. Sampling took place at an intensively managed Douglas‐fir [Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco] plantation in northwestern Oregon, USA. Soil samples were collected by depth to 150 cm. Clod and core method soil bulk density measurements were significantly different at all depths, with the core method consistently resulting in lower soil bulk density. The core method significantly underestimated soil bulk density at all depths deeper than 20 cm and underestimated the SOC stock to a depth of 150 cm by 36%. Most of this difference occurred deeper than 20 cm, where the majority of SOC stocks were contained across all soil sampling methods. The underestimation of soil mass by the core method similarly affected the fixed depth, genetic horizon, and mass based approaches to quantify SOC stocks. This study demonstrated that (1) commonly used soil sampling methods for measuring soil properties should not be assumed to be interchangeable; and (2) regional and global SOC stocks may be largely underestimated due to shallow sampling and the frequent use of core methods.

Thinning Treatments Reduce Deep Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Stocks in a Coastal Pacific Northwest Forest

Forests provide valuable ecosystem and societal services, including the sequestration of carbon (C) from the atmosphere. Management practices can impact both soil C and nitrogen (N) cycling. This study examines soil organic C (SOC) and N responses to thinning and fertilization treatments. Soil was sampled at an intensively managed Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) plantation in north-western Oregon, USA. Management regimes—thinning, fertilization plus thinning, and no (control) treatment—were randomly assigned to nine 0.2-ha plots established in 1989 in a juvenile stand. Prior to harvest, forest floor and soil bulk density and chemical analysis samples were collected by depth to 150 cm. During a single rotation of ~40 years, thinning treatments significantly reduced SOC and N stocks by 25% and 27%, respectively, compared to no treatment. Most of this loss occurred in deeper soil layers (below ~20 cm). Fertilization plus thinning treatments also reduced SOC and N stocks, but not significantly. Across all management regimes, deeper soil layers comprised the majority of SOC and N stocks. This study shows that: (1) accurately quantifying and comparing SOC and N stocks requires sampling deep soil; and (2) forest management can substantially impact both surface and deep SOC and N stocks on decadal timescales.

California Quail in Western Oregon: A Review

Habitat use by California quail (Callipepla californica) was studied at the E. E. Wilson Wildlife Area in northwestern Oregon, a mesic extension of the range of this species, from 1974 to 1992. Abundance of quail on the area was related to plant succession. Dietary studies revealed that legumes-particularly deervetch (Lotus spp.), peavine (Lathyrusspp.), Scot's broom (Cytisusscoparius), and vetch (Viciaspp.)-oomposed 67% of the relative dry mass of the annual diet. California quail typically nested in shrub/grassland and roadside habitats with less grass and shrub cover and more bare ground than at random locations within those cover types. Blackberry (Rubus spp.) stands were used consistently for roosts and were the most frequently used escape cover. Abundance and productivity measures of California quail on treated sites-including disked areas, food plots, and wheat plantings revealed most birds (on a year-round basis) were found on disked areas and most chicks were produced on these sites. Fewest young hatched on food plots and wheat plantings and the latter had the lowest abundance of breeding adults. Most important food and cover plants responded positively to prescribed burning and disking but returned to pretreatment levels of abundance within 2-3 years. I concluded that the successful introduction of California quail into the Willamette Valley and abundance and productivity of these populations were related to the presence of certain early seral species of plants, particularly some exotic species, and plant succession

The Making of Seaside's “Indian Place”: Contested and Enduring Native Spaces on the Nineteenth Century Oregon Coast

During the mid nineteenth century, non-Native settlement and activities disrupted and changed historic Chinook and Clatsop settlements along the Columbia River. Indian Place in Seaside, Oregon, became home to a number of displaced peoples and an enclave where “the living gathered with the remains of the dead,” for “modest protection from the apocalyptic changes that so radically disrupted tribal lands, lives, and worldviews.” Douglas Deur documents tribal migration to Seaside during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and calls attention to significant early residents of Indian Place. Transitional communities such as Indian Place, Deur attests, “defined the nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Native experience in northwestern Oregon and beyond.” While the Indian Place no longer exists, it remains an “important [conduit] for tribal cultural knowledge, values, and practices that endure today.”

The Making of Seaside's “Indian Place”: Contested and Enduring Native Spaces on the Nineteenth Century Oregon Coast

During the mid nineteenth century, non-Native settlement and activities disrupted and changed historic Chinook and Clatsop settlements along the Columbia River. Indian Place in Seaside, Oregon, became home to a number of displaced peoples and an enclave where “the living gathered with the remains of the dead,” for “modest protection from the apocalyptic changes that so radically disrupted tribal lands, lives, and worldviews.” Douglas Deur documents tribal migration to Seaside during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and calls attention to significant early residents of Indian Place. Transitional communities such as Indian Place, Deur attests, “defined the nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Native experience in northwestern Oregon and beyond.” While the Indian Place no longer exists, it remains an “important [conduit] for tribal cultural knowledge, values, and practices that endure today.”

Paleogene marine bivalves of the deep-water Keasey Formation in Oregon, Part III: The heteroconchs

The heteroconch bivalve fauna of the deep-water (&gt;200 m) Keasey Formation in northwestern Oregon records the Eocene–Oligocene climatic transition and replacement of tropical widely-distributed taxa by the cryophilic taxa that dominate modern high-latitude faunas of the North Pacific. Low-diversity assemblages occur in tuffaceous mudstone and siltstone facies of a deep nearshore basin at the onset of subduction on the Cascadia Margin. Six species of anomalodesmatan heteroconchs have been treated separately, and the remaining Keasey heteroconchs treated here include one basal archiheterodont and 13 imparidentian euheterodonts. The families represented are Carditidae, Thyasiridae, Lucinidae, Lasaeidae, Cardiidae, Tellinidae, Basterotiidae, Mactridae and Veneridae. New taxa include the genus Anechinocardium and seven new species: Cyclocardia moniligena, Conchocele bathyaulax, Conchocele taylori, Kellia saxiriva, Kellia vokesi, Moerella quasimacoma and Saxicavella burnsi. Three species lacking adequate material for formal description are treated in open nomenclature. New features useful for taxonomic discrimination include heretofore unrecognized differences in micro-spines and lamellae on the posterior slope in cardiid bivalve genera and presence of a faint subumbonal ridge in three genera of basterotiid bivalves. Four of the new species are in families in which thiotrophic and methanotrophic chemosymbioses have evolved. Specimens are typically articulated. Shell material is well preserved in the massive units but often chalky or highly altered at cold-seep sites. Fossils are never abundant except for local concentrations in carbonate mounds and associated carbonate lenses, blebs and nodules at cold-seep localities. Multiple lines of evidence of both diffuse and robust flow of fluids rich in reduced compounds are reviewed for three sites where the fauna includes an inner core of chemosymbiotic taxa and peripheral zone of taxa that are opportunistic and tolerant of hypoxia.

Local Variability Mediates Vulnerability of Trout Populations to Land Use and Climate Change.

Land use and climate change occur simultaneously around the globe. Fully understanding their separate and combined effects requires a mechanistic understanding at the local scale where their effects are ultimately realized. Here we applied an individual-based model of fish population dynamics to evaluate the role of local stream variability in modifying responses of Coastal Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii) to scenarios simulating identical changes in temperature and stream flows linked to forest harvest, climate change, and their combined effects over six decades. We parameterized the model for four neighboring streams located in a forested headwater catchment in northwestern Oregon, USA with multi-year, daily measurements of stream temperature, flow, and turbidity (2007–2011), and field measurements of both instream habitat structure and three years of annual trout population estimates. Model simulations revealed that variability in habitat conditions among streams (depth, available habitat) mediated the effects of forest harvest and climate change. Net effects for most simulated trout responses were different from or less than the sum of their separate scenarios. In some cases, forest harvest countered the effects of climate change through increased summer flow. Climate change most strongly influenced trout (earlier fry emergence, reductions in biomass of older trout, increased biomass of young-of-year), but these changes did not consistently translate into reductions in biomass over time. Forest harvest, in contrast, produced fewer and less consistent responses in trout. Earlier fry emergence driven by climate change was the most consistent simulated response, whereas survival, growth, and biomass were inconsistent. Overall our findings indicate a host of local processes can strongly influence how populations respond to broad scale effects of land use and climate change.

Bioenergy harvest, climate change, and forest carbon in the Oregon Coast Range

AbstractForests provide important ecological, economic, and social services, and recent interest has emerged in the potential for using residue from timber harvest as a source of renewable woody bioenergy. The long‐term consequences of such intensive harvest are unclear, particularly as forests face novel climatic conditions over the next century. We used a simulation model to project the long‐term effects of management and climate change on above‐ and belowground forest carbon storage in a watershed in northwestern Oregon. The multi‐ownership watershed has a diverse range of current management practices, including little‐to‐no harvesting on federal lands, short‐rotation clear‐cutting on industrial land, and a mix of practices on private nonindustrial land. We simulated multiple management scenarios, varying the rate and intensity of harvest, combined with projections of climate change. Our simulations project a wide range of total ecosystem carbon storage with varying harvest rate, ranging from a 45% increase to a 16% decrease in carbon compared to current levels. Increasing the intensity of harvest for bioenergy caused a 2–3% decrease in ecosystem carbon relative to conventional harvest practices. Soil carbon was relatively insensitive to harvest rotation and intensity, and accumulated slowly regardless of harvest regime. Climate change reduced carbon accumulation in soil and detrital pools due to increasing heterotrophic respiration, and had small but variable effects on aboveground live carbon and total ecosystem carbon. Overall, we conclude that current levels of ecosystem carbon storage are maintained in part due to substantial portions of the landscape (federal and some private lands) remaining unharvested or lightly managed. Increasing the intensity of harvest for bioenergy on currently harvested land, however, led to a relatively small reduction in the ability of forests to store carbon. Climate change is unlikely to substantially alter carbon storage in these forests, absent shifts in disturbance regimes.

Paleogene marine bivalves of the deep-water Keasey Formation in Oregon, part IV: The anomalodesmatans

The late Eocene–early Oligocene Keasey Formation in Northwestern Oregon contains a unique fauna of deep-water (>200 m) marine bivalves preserved in sparsely fossiliferous massive tuffaceous siltstone as well as in several distinctive cold-seep limestone bodies and carbonate layers. The Keasey gastropod fauna has been described previously, but this treatment of the anomalodesmatan bivalves is the first systematic account for any portion of the bivalve fauna. Cenozoic evolutionary radiation and history of anomalodesmatans is less well known than their deep Paleozoic and Mesozoic history. Because internal relationships are not well resolved, ranked classification is not used above the family level, while recognizing that these rare and unusual bivalves do represent a monophyletic assemblage nested within the basal heterodonts. Six species in four anomalodesmatan families in the Keasey Formation shed new light on the Cenozoic history of the group as well as the Eocene appearance of precursors of the living deep-water fauna of the northeastern Pacific. The families represented are Pandoridae, Thraciidae, Periplomatidae, and Cuspidariidae. The new species are Pandora eocapsella, Thracia keaseyensis, Cardiomya anaticepsella, and Cardiomya pavascotti. Aperiploma? n. sp. is described in open nomenclature pending discovery of additional and more complete material. Although shells are frequently crushed and the exterior shell layers are often poorly preserved, the interior nacre is distinctive, well-preserved and useful for recognizing fragments in the field. Characteristic anomalodesmatan granules are well preserved on many specimens of the new thraciid, and the fine-grained matrix at some localities preserves shell features on external molds where no original shell material remains. High-resolution images of uncoated shell encourage greater attention to collection of fragments and imperfect specimens in the fine-grained deep-water facies on the active margin of the Pacific.