Tule River Research Articles

A Vascular Flora of the South Fork Tule River, Southern Sierra Nevada, Tulare County, California

A Vascular Flora of the South Fork Tule River, Southern Sierra Nevada, Tulare County, California

Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Groundwater Recharge Across a Small Watershed in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains

Mountain-block groundwater recharge is a crucial freshwater source in arid to semiarid watersheds worldwide; yet its quantification is difficult due to (1) hydrogeological heterogeneities especially in bedrock-dominated regimes, (2) drastic altitudinal ranges in climate, land use and land cover, and (3) mixing with deep groundwater derived from adjacent basins (i.e., interbasin groundwater flow). In this study, we test the utility of soil water-balance (SWB) modeling to quantify mountain-block groundwater recharge in the South Fork Tule River watershed in the California Sierra Nevada Mountains. This 1,018 km2 watershed is instrumented with 3 USGS stream gages that allow for the development of a refined recharge (i.e., baseflow) calibration dataset via multi-objective optimization-based hydrograph separation. The SWB model was used to compute groundwater recharge and other water balance components at a daily time step using a 30-m grid cell size for a 40-year (1980–2019) study period. Mean annual recharge and runoff were estimated at 3.7 in/yr (3.0 m3/s) and 1.4 in/yr (1.2 m3/s), respectively, with modified Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency indices of 0.61 between baseflow and SWB-derived recharge, and 0.90 between hydrograph separation- and SWB-derived runoff. There is a strong correlation between annual recharge and rainfall (Pearson R = 0.95, p < 0.001) which attests to short residence times in the unsaturated zone and the immediate impact of droughts in 1990, 1999, and 2013. However, results of a modified Mann-Kendall trend analysis indicate no directional trends in recharge or runoff throughout the study period. Parameter sensitivity analyses reveal a persistent overprediction of recharge over baseflow that is particularly pronounced in the upper reaches of the watershed. This is likely related to the SWB model only considering soil characteristics at the surface and not simulating the fate of potential recharge below the root zone where it may be impeded from reaching the aquifer by shallow, impermeable bedrock. This limitation should be considered carefully for future water supply projections in this and comparable bedrock-dominated settings.

Phylogenomics of paleoendemic lampshade spiders (Araneae, Hypochilidae, Hypochilus), with the description of a new species from montane California.

Hypochilus is a relictual lineage of Nearctic spiders distributed disjunctly across the United States in three montane regions (California, southern Rocky Mountains, southern Appalachia). Phylogenetic resolution of species relationships in Hypochilus has been challenging, and conserved morphology coupled with extreme genetic divergence has led to uncertain species limits in some complexes. Here, Hypochilus interspecies relationships have been reconstructed and cryptic speciation more critically evaluated using a combination of ultraconserved elements, mitochondrial CO1 by-catch, and morphology. Phylogenomic data strongly support the monophyly of regional clades and support a ((California, Appalachia), southern Rocky Mountains) topology. In Appalachia, five species are resolved as four lineages (H.thorelli Marx, 1888 and H.coylei Platnick, 1987 are clearly sister taxa), but the interrelationships of these four lineages remain unresolved. The Appalachian species H.pococki Platnick, 1987 is recovered as monophyletic but is highly genetically structured at the nuclear level. While algorithmic analyses of nuclear data indicate many species (e.g., all H.pococki populations as species), male morphology instead reveals striking stasis. Within the California clade, nuclear and mitochondrial lineages of H.petrunkevitchi Gertsch, 1958 correspond directly to drainage basins of the southern Sierra Nevada, with H.bernardino Catley, 1994 nested within H.petrunkevitchi and sister to the southernmost basin populations. Combining nuclear, mitochondrial, geographical, and morphological evidence a new species from the Tule River and Cedar Creek drainages is described, Hypochilusxomotesp. nov. We also emphasize the conservation issues that face several microendemic, habitat-specialized species in this remarkable genus.

Taking Back the Fire: Schooling Experiences of Central California Indian People Across Generations

Conversations about Indian education often seem to exclude the voices of Indian people affected by educational policies and programs. In this qualitative study we collected interview data from several generations of Central California Indian people from the Tule River, Mono, and Tachi-Yokut tribes to document their schooling experiences. Interviews provided insight into the perceived role of education and schooling in the survivance of Central Valley Indian tribes. Analysis of the data indicated that: (a) Indian boarding school experiences for interviewees varied depending on historical context and (b) early immersion in traditional language and cultural teachings appears to have enhanced resilience among elders, suggesting potential benefits of culturally responsive schooling for current and future generations of Central California Indian youth.

Vectorized simulation of groundwater flow and streamline transport

We describe a modeling suite of Matlab functions for simulating nonpoint source (NPS) pollution in groundwater aquifers. The NPS model simulates groundwater flow and contaminant transport from a large array (order of 102 – 107) of spatially distributed sources with time-varying pollution strength to a similarly large array of spatially distributed production wells (receptors) using the streamline transport approach. The code solves three equations: steady-state groundwater flow, particle tracking, and transient advection dispersion contaminant transport. The code performs convolution integration in its predictive step. Written in highly efficient vectorized form to avoid time consuming “for/while” loops, the code is also suitable for other groundwater flow and transport problems. The code is verified against analytical solutions and finite element software Comsol. An application illustrates 200 years of transient nitrate transport in the 2000 km2 Tule River aquifer sub-basin of the Central Valley, California, with 9000 individual nitrate sources and 1920 wells.

Defying the Odds: The Tule River Tribe's Struggle for Sovereignty in Three Centuries

Defying the Odds: The Tule River Tribe's Struggle for Sovereignty in Three Centuries

Defying the Odds: The Tule River Tribe's Struggle for Sovereignty in Three Centuries by Gelya Frank and Carole Goldberg

Defying the Odds: The Tule River Tribe's Struggle for Sovereignty in Three Centuries by Gelya Frank and Carole Goldberg

Defying the Odds: The Tule River Tribes' Struggle for Sovereignty in Three Centuries. Gelya Frank , Carole Goldberg

Previous articleNext article No AccessBOOK REVIEWSDefying the Odds: The Tule River Tribes' Struggle for Sovereignty in Three Centuries. Gelya Frank , Carole Goldberg Les FieldLes Field Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Anthropological Research Volume 67, Number 3FALL 2011 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/jar.67.3.41303337 Views: 6Total views on this site © The University of New Maxico 2011PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

NON‐UNIFORM CHANGES TO WHITEWATER RECREATION IN CALIFORNIA'S SIERRA NEVADA FROM REGIONAL CLIMATE WARMING

ABSTRACTWhitewater recreation is an aesthetic ecosystem service potentially affected by climate warming alterations to runoff. In California's Sierra Nevada, climate change is likely to reduce water availability with warmer air temperatures and stationary or decreasing precipitation, which will likely alter whitewater recreation opportunities. In this study, we identified 128 whitewater runs on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada within a 13‐basin study area that ranged from serene float trips to remote, difficult, kayak expeditions. We used a spatially explicit, one‐dimensional rainfall‐runoff model to estimate the unregulated hydrology at specific locations within flow thresholds amenable to whitewater recreation. Climate warming scenarios were simulated by increasing air temperature by 2 °C, 4 °C and 6 °C and assuming no change in precipitation.With mild warming, the average number of boatable weeks per year increases, but more extreme warming decreases the average boatable weeks per year across the Sierra Nevada. Runs in low‐elevation drainages, such as the Cosumnes and the Tule River Basins, are most vulnerable to changes in boatable weeks. Yet, high‐elevation watersheds, such as the Kern River, also have a large reduction in boatable weeks. Watersheds in the central Sierra Nevada show an increase in boatable weeks. Overall, we found elevation and run type to be the best predictors of resiliency for Sierra Nevada whitewater runs.Recreation is important for management of rivers, yet it is difficult to quantify and to plan for. This research provides a sensitivity analysis approach to climate warming for the Sierra Nevada and presents a method that can be applied to other regions and whitewater rivers. The observed reduction in whitewater recreation opportunities in unregulated rivers because of climate warming and continued increases in population will likely increase the importance of whitewater boating on regulated rivers and thus the reliance on operations for meeting multiple demands. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Defying the odds: the Tule River tribe's struggle for sovereignty in three centuries

An anthropologist and a legal scholar combine expertise in this innovative book, deploying the history of one California tribe in a definitive study of indigenous sovereignty from earliest contact through the current Indian gaming era. Through the story of one remarkably persistent Indian nation, the Tule River Tribe, the authors explain how tribes in California have risen from near-destruction to reclaim control over their land, resources, and destiny, achieving great economic and political influence in a short period.

Two new, possibly threatened species of Pyrgulopsis (Gastropoda: Hydrobiidae) from southwestern California

Here we describe (for conservation purposes) two new species of Pyrgulopsis from southwestern California based on morphologic and molecular (mtCOI) evidence. Pyrgulopsis castaicensis n. sp. is endemic to a single spring in the upper portion of the Santa Clara River basin and may be threatened by the proposed development of a master-planned community (Newhall Ranch) near Santa Clarita Valley. This snail differs from two morphologically similar regional congeners (P. micrococcus [Pilsbry in Stearns, 1893], P. stearnsiana [Pilsbry, 1899]) by its larger terminal gland, simple oviduct coil and mtCOI sequences (6.1–9.3% for P. micrococcus, 3.5–8.2% for P. stearnsiana). Pyrgulopsis milleri n. sp. is distributed in spring-fed waters along a short reach of upper Tule River drainage and threatened by surface water diversion and its close proximity to a major road (CA 190). Pyrgulopsis milleri differs from closely similar and geographically proximal P. stearnsiana in its broader central cusps on the central radular teeth, shorter pallial section of the albumen gland, greater overlap of the bursa copulatrix by the albumen gland, simple anterior vas deferens, usual absence of a terminal gland and mtCOI sequences (2.8–8.4%).

The Tule River Tribal History Project: Evaluating a California Tribal Government's Collaboration with Anthropology and Occupational Therapy to Preserve Indigenous History and Promote Tribal Goals

Postcolonial and indigenous scholars suggest that creating alternative histories is a necessary activity for Native peoples in their recovery from the destructive emotional, behavioral, and political effects of colonial domination. The literature on history-making as a restorative process has focused on mental health, reversing negative representations of indigenous people in mainstream histories, and using Native histories to reclaim land and rights. In 2004, the Tule River Indian Tribe of Central California initiated an innovative history project to engage tribal elders in contributing historical information about themselves and their families for preservation by the Tribe. Theories and methods from postcolonial scholarship, anthropology, and occupational therapy (and its academic discipline occupational science) focused the Tule River Tribal History Project on providing meaningful and enjoyable activities—creating family trees, a tribal photo archive, interviews with elders, social gatherings and commu...

THE ROLE OF FIRE REFUGIA IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF PINUS SABINIANA (PINACEAE) IN THE SOUTHERN SIERRA NEVADA

Although widespread throughout the interior foothills of central and northern California, Pinus sabiniana Dougl. has a disjunct distribution in the southern Sierra Nevada, where it is abundant in the Kern River and Tule River watersheds, but is absent from the Kaweah River watershed between 36° and 37°N. This gap in the pine's distribution has long intrigued botanists and ecologists and has elicited a number of hypotheses for this anomalous biogeographical pattern. Here we propose a new hypothesis that couples unique features of the southern Sierra Nevada topography with unique features of P. sabiniana's response to fire. This low elevation pine is widely distributed in grassland and chaparral, and where it occurs with the latter vegetation, it is extremely vulnerable to high intensity wildfires. Under these conditions, meta-populations persist over time in refugia in riparian areas and during fire-free intervals expand outwards re-colonizing shrubland dominated slopes. The lack of such refugia in the very steep and narrow Kaweah drainage is hypothesized to explain the absence of this pine in that area. To test this hypothesis, we studied the age-structure of P. sabiniana in the area of the 2002 McNally Fire in the Kern drainage to compare age distributions of trees and tree skeletons along a gradient up slope away from riparian zones. Maximum age declined significantly with distance from riparian areas, suggesting that past fires have eliminated P. sabiniana from the slopes and that the pines have re-colonized during fire-free intervals. The relationship was strongest when our data were restricted to areas that had a previously recorded fire. We also found that the riparian areas in the Kern drainage were significantly wider than those in Kaweah drainage, suggesting that fewer such fire refugia exist in the latter watershed, and providing an explanation for the lack of P. sabiniana between 36° and 37°.

Two Enigmatic Cases of Meningitis

Two Enigmatic Cases of Meningitis

Individual-based model of sympatric populations of brown and rainbow trout for instream flow assessment: model description and calibration

This paper describes an individual-based model of sympatric populations of brown and rainbow trout in a stream habitat. The model provides a tool for projecting flow and temperature effects on trout populations by linking the hydraulic component of the instream flow incremental methodology/physical habitat simulation system (IFIM/PHABSIM) to an individual-based population model. PHABSIM simulates the spatial distribution of depth and velocity at different flows, and indirectly, the availability of spawning habitat, cover and feeding station. The individual-based model simulates reproduction, growth and mortality of individual trout as a function of flow and temperature. Population dynamics arise from the survival and reproduction of individual trout. The spatially explicit nature of the model permits evaluation of behavioral responses used by fish to changes in physical habitat. The model has been calibrated to a stream segment in the North Fork Middle Fork Tule River, California. Selected parameters were adjusted to calibrate the model for length and abundance (including production of a new year class) at the end of 1-year simulations for each of 9 years. Predicted and observed lengths were in good agreement, although neither varied appreciably among years. Predicted and observed abundances were not in as good agreement, and differed considerably for some years. These differences reflect a combination of uncertainties in the field data and uncertainties in the model structure and parameter values. Fifty-year simulations indicated that model projections of length and abundance were stationary, although abundance values fluctuated considerably. Seven advantages for using simulation models of this type are emphasized. How to most effectively interpret results from such simulation models as part of instream flow environmental assessments remains a challenge. Variability and uncertainty in both field data and replicate model simulations are realities that have implications for scientists, resource managers, and regulators in projecting growth and abundance responses of fish populations to alternative flow or temperature regimes.

Food habits and consumption patterns of California Indian homemakers living in rural areas

This study examined the food habits and consumption patterns of American Indian homemakers living at 4 geographically diverse sites in California: Trinidad (coastal woodlands), Banning (desert), Bishop (high plains), and Tule River (mountainous interior). Participants, who had at least one child between the ages of 2 and 8 years of age, were recruited by local health clinics serving the Native population. Trained Community Health Representatives obtained demographic information, administered a food habits questionnaire, and recorded a 24-hour food recall for each participant. Demographic information included homemaker's age and educational level, family size and income, monthly food expenditures, and participation in federal food assistance programs. Food habits topics included food aquisition and preparation practices, meal and snack patterns, child feeding practices, traditional foods, knowledge and perception of health status, and perceived nutrition education needs and interests. A total of 204 American Indian women participated in the study. Computer nutrient analysis of the 24-hour food recalls revealed a diet high in fat (mean 35.4% calories from fat) but relatively nutrient dense. A number of healthy food practices, such as breast feeding and late introduction of solids, were prevalent in this population.

Fort Miller, California, 1851-1865

Contents: The California Indian treaties - The Yokuts and the Camp Barbour Treaty - Construction of Fort Miller - The Town of Millerton Expedition against the Yosemite Indians, 1852 - Tule River War, 1856 - Civil War years - Camp Babbitt and Visalia, California - The final years.

Age and Tectonic Significance of Metamorphic Rocks Along the Axis of the Sierra Nevada Batholith: A Critical Reappraisal

Metamorphic rocks in many roof pendants along the axis of the Sierra Nevada batholith (SNB) between 36 and 38{degree}N lat. have been considered part of the Kings sequence, of probable Mesozoic age. However, most of the pendants are in fact undated by fossils and may contain Paleozoic or Precambrian strata. A critical reappraisal of new and existing data on these pendants has led to the following hypotheses: (1) A continental crustal silver referred to as the Snow Lake block, with the approximate dimensions of the Salinian block, and represented by metamorphosed Proterozoic and Cambrian miogeoclinal rocks, extends 120 mi (200 km) southeastward from northern YNP to the Kaweah River drainage, and includes rocks in the following pendants: Snow Lake, Piute Mountain, Glen Aulin, May Lake, Iron mountain, Shuteye Peak, Dinkey Creek, Patterson Mountain, Boyden Cave, and Sequoia Park. This silver was displaced about 400 km northward along an intrabatholithic dextral strike-slip fault during the Early Cretaceous time. (2) Based on reconnaissance studies, the authors propose that the Shoo Fly Complex, which lies west of the Snow Lake block, continues southeastward to 36{degree}N lat., and includes parts of the following pendants: Oakhurst, Lower Kings River, Kaweah River, Tule River, and Kernmore » Canyon. The apparent juxtaposition of the Shoo Fly Complex with the Snow Lake block requires the presence of a major tectonic break between them. This structure, now largely obliterated by Cretaceous plutons of the SNB, may be the equivalent of the Golconda thrust in north-central Nevada.« less

Dudleya Cymosa Subsp. Costafolia (Crassulaceae), A New Subspecies from the Southern Sierra Nevada, Tulare County, California

Dudleya cymosa subsp. costafolia, a new subspecies from the southern Sierra Nevada, Tulare County, California, is described and illustrated. Along with bright yellow flowers, the cespitose plant produces numerous, small rosettes with rib-shaped linear to linear-oblanceolate leaves, which are unique to the subspecies. The authors have searched numerous other rock outcrops, especially limestone, in the general area for additional plants with no success. Dudleya cymosa subsp. costafolia evidently is restricted to a solitary limestone outcrop north of the South Fork of the Middle Fork of the Tule River.

Notes on contents

This paper describes an individual-based model of sympatric populations of brown and rainbow trout in a stream habitat. The model provides a tool for projecting flow and temperature effects on trout populations by linking the hydraulic component of the instream flow incremental methodology/physical habitat simulation system (IFIM/PHABSIM) to an individual-based population model. PHABSIM simulates the spatial distribution of depth and velocity at different flows, and indirectly, the availability of spawning habitat, cover and feeding station. The individual-based model simulates reproduction, growth and mortality of individual trout as a function of flow and temperature. Population dynamics arise from the survival and reproduction of individual trout. The spatially explicit nature of the model permits evaluation of behavioral responses used by fish to changes in physical habitat. The model has been calibrated to a stream segment in the North Fork Middle Fork Tule River, California. Selected parameters were adjusted to calibrate the model for length and abundance (including production of a new year class) at the end of 1-year simulations for each of 9 years. Predicted and observed lengths were in good agreement, although neither varied appreciably among years. Predicted and observed abundances were not in as good agreement, and differed considerably for some years. These differences reflect a combination of uncertainties in the field data and uncertainties in the model structure and parameter values. Fifty-year simulations indicated that model projections of length and abundance were stationary, although abundance values fluctuated considerably. Seven advantages for using simulation models of this type are emphasized. How to most effectively interpret results from such simulation models as part of instream flow environmental assessments remains a challenge. Variability and uncertainty in both field data and replicate model simulations are realities that have implications for scientists, resource managers, and regulators in projecting growth and abundance responses of fish populations to alternative flow or temperature regimes.