Factors or characteristics which influence the export competitiveness of British Columbia's food and beverage processing industries in the Pacific Rim markets (i.e., Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China: Mainland, Singapore and South Korea) are studied using pooled time-series and cross-sectional data, for the years 1988 through 1992. Changes in exports and in export market share are explained by changes in systematic exogenous and endogenous differences amongst B.C. and competing provincial industries over the five year period. The results indicate that, converse to what is suggested in the literature, there is no statistical consistency in the explanatory capability of comparative cost, industrial organization, or firm strategy variables to explain competitiveness in Pacific Rim markets. Rather, it appears export success is due to many unique factors at the firm or provincial level. Hence, it is not possible to make generalizations about the competitiveness determinants of these industries in the Pacific Rim markets. / Land and Food Systems, Faculty of / Graduate

In-situ measurements of surface chlorophyll and zooplankton concentration are compared with in-situ hydrographic measurements and infrared satellite images of the west coast of British Columbia. Their relationships are quantified for a mid-summer and an early winter study period. Winter in-situ hydrographic data showed the shelf to be dominated by Vancouver Island Coastal Current water near-shore, Davidson Current water over the middle shelf, a frontal zone separating these regimes, and North Pacific water over the shelf break. The summer shelf was dominated by topographically induced upwelling in the southern portion of the shelf and stratified regions over the outer shelf and shallow banks further north. Strong northwest winds late in the summer study period induced upwelling along the entire shelf. The surface thermal signature of each of these regimes was identifiable in the satellite imagery. Maximum winter concentrations of chlorophyll and zooplankton were associated with Vancouver Island Coastal Current water and southern portions of the frontal zone. Davidson Current water consistently had the lowest chlorophyll concentrations in the winter study area. Zooplankton concentrations decreased with increasing temperature and distance from shore. The correlation of loge transformed zooplankton concentrations with surface temperature allowed the satellite imagery to explain 49% of the sampled variance. The association of specific chlorophyll concentrations with each hydrographic regime enabled the satellite imagery, in conjunction with an image derived salinity model, to explain 55% of the sampled variance. Image derived plankton models allowed a spatial representation of predicted plankton concentration and the model error. Summer zooplankton concentrations were not consistently related to satellite measured surface temperature but showed a qualitative association with higher chlorophyll concentrations around the outer edge of the upwelling area. Minimum chlorophyll concentrations were found in warm, stratified surface water and intermediate concentrations in the coldest, most recently upwelled water. Maximum concentrations occurred at intermediate temperatures. A least squares fit non-linear equation showed the satellite measured surface temperature patterns explained 72% of the sampled loge transformed chlorophyll variance. Distributions of both zooplankton and chlorophyll concentration retained their association with patterns of sea surface temperature during a wind driven upwelling event. Multivariate cluster analysis of zooplankton taxonomic groups during both winter and summer showed spatial patterns of community composition matched satellite measured patterns of sea surface temperature over the middle and inner shelf. Over the outer shelf, spatial patterns of community structure appeared more closely associated with depth than surface thermal patterns. / Science, Faculty of / Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of / Graduate

A main concern in fisheries science has been to identify an accurate index of fish abundance. An underlying paradigm in the science has been that the amount of effort (calculated in hours and standardized for boat size) spent fishing was the best variable to be used to account for the variation in catches. The use of the ratio, catch per unit of effort (cpue), assumes that variations in fish abundance are due to human-controlled processes above the ocean's surface. It does not account for variation due to oceanographic processes that affect fish behaviour and movement patterns below the ocean's surface. This study investigated the possibility that oceanographic factors such as temperature, salinity and depth could have effects on the variations observed in the apparent abundance of a demersal rockfish, Pacific Ocean Perch (Sebastes alutus. Gilbert). Simultaneous monitoring of physical variables and fish abundance estimation was achieved by attaching oceanographic equipment to the fishing gear of commercial vessels, monitoring the acoustic equipment and sampling the fish catch. It was found that Perch prefer a temperature range from 6.7 °C, down to at least 4.8 °C and that their movement patterns are linked to the movement of these temperatures by coastal wind patterns. Perch prefer areas with steep bathymetry, characterized by frontal activity due to interactions between the local bathymetry and tidal currents. Concerns that sampling only from highly successful commercial vessels may have biased abundance estimates, prompted the analysis of historical records of fish catch and government research surveys. Analyses between different boat sizes, different areas and different seasons from the original historical data base and a corrected subset revealed that it was mainly differences between areas that was responsible for the biasing of estimates. Deeper areas predictably produced more fish for all sizes of boats, but were fished more often by the larger boats used in the study. Therefore the field abundance estimates are likely to be biased towards areas of larger perch concentrations. / Science, Faculty of / Zoology, Department of / Graduate

The nutria (Myocastor coypus) is a semi-aquatic rodent native to South America that was introduced to the Pacific Northwest, USA, in the 1930s. Primary damage categories from this invasive species include burrowing and herbivory, resulting in habitat degradation. Nutria have become well-established in metropolitan habitats, and anecdotal information suggests the problem has increased in recent years. However, little regional research on the species has been conducted. The scope of this research, which emphasizes metropolitan habitats, includes three primary foci in relation to nutria populations in the Pacific Northwest: modeling habitat suitability, assessing activity and movement patterns, and identifying and managing negative impacts. Large-scale management of any invasive species requires understanding of the current and potential future population distribution. Cold temperatures have been assumed to be a limiting factor for the geographic distribution of nutria populations, but this assumption had not been explicitly tested. A mechanistic habitat suitability model based on winter temperatures performed well in predicting nutria distribution in the Pacific Northwest and nationally. Regional results suggest nutria currently occupy most accessible suitable habitat. However, coupling the model with future climate change data suggests a much larger suitable habitat zone regionally and nationally in the near future. Management of an invasive species on a local scale requires region-specific information about behavior patterns. Radio-telemetry tracking of local nutria populations in metropolitan habitats suggested higher diurnal activity levels than reported elsewhere. Activity areas were also on the lower end of reported nutria home ranges, suggesting the studied metropolitan wetland sites represent core habitat for nutria in the region. Comparison of two transmitter attachment methods, a neck collar and a tail mount, did not identify a clearly superior attachment method for short-term nutria behavior studies. The presence of nutria in metropolitan habitats in the Pacific Northwest necessitates the need to expand the limited management techniques available for these habitats. Standard Vexar® plastic mesh tubes very effectively mitigated nutria herbivory damage to woody vegetation live stakes planted in a metropolitan habitat restoration site. A recently developed nutria multiple-capture cage trap captured larger nutria and reduced non-target captures compared to a standard cage trap. The design of the multiple-capture trap, however, prevented multiple-capture events because small nutria escaped the trap. This research contributes substantially to previously limited information about nutria in the Pacific Northwest and resulted in several new findings. Climate change modeling provides the first evidence that nutria ranges could expand in the near future. Evaluation of new radio-telemetry methods will benefit future behavior studies. The assessment of new damage prevention tools provides more options for the management of nutria in urban habitats. Management recommendations include creating regional nutria management plans, identifying and targeting priority monitoring regions, finding key stakeholders, focusing on public education, and initiating a pilot control program. Recommendations for research include evaluating effects on native fauna, conducting disease surveys, assessing the extent of damage, continuing habitat suitability analysis, and developing population indices.

Ancient Cataclysmic Floods were the Ice Age Floods that left erosional and depositional features and preceded the Missoula Floods (15-18,000 ka) in the Pacific Northwest of the United States (Allen et al., 2009). All previously studied ancient sites were visited (14) and new sites (11) were found; four Missoula Flood quarries were also visited; a total of 29 sites were studied in this thesis. The use of calcrete paleosols to provide relative age dates for flood deposits was analyzed in this thesis. Missoula Flood gravel pits were sampled in order to examine the degree of calcrete development in flood deposits of known ages. All of the Missoula Flood deposits tested contain Stage 1 calcrete soil development. Calcrete paleosols at sites with evidence for older floods were all analyzed. Eight sites have paleosols with Stage II development (3-12% CaCO3): Rulo Outcrop, Potholes Coulee, Leslie Road, Benge, E. Callaway Road, Collier Coulee, Palouse, and Connell. Five sites have paleosols with Stage II+ development (12-17% CaCO3): Brown Road, Leslie Road, Benge, Reese Coulee, and Connell. Fourteen sites have paleosols with Stage III development (17-35% CaCO3): The Dalles, Rulo Outcrop, Winans Road 1, Poplar Heights, Yakima Bluffs, Canal Outcrop, Othello Canal, Reese Coulee, Potholes Coulee, E. Callaway Road, Frenchmen Coulee, Macall, Ritzville, and East Connell. One site has a paleosol with Stage III+ development (35-50% CaCO3): Othello Canal. Ancient Cataclysmic flooding initiated in the Early Pleistocene, at least 1.5 Ma. Sixteen field sites show evidence for Early Pleistocene flooding, preserved in all six provinces: Othello Channels, Columbia River Gorge, Cheney-Palouse Scabland, Quincy Basin, Pasco Basin, and the Walla Walla Valley. There are 26 field sites with evidence for Middle Pleistocene flooding, present in all regions except Othello Channels. Eleven of those 26 sites also show evidence for Early Pleistocene floods. Evidence for Early and Middle Pleistocene floods is present over a wide distribution of elevations from 117 to 524 meters.

Caffeine, a biologically active drug with many known molecular targets, is recognized as a contaminant of aquatic systems including marine systems. Although the concentrations of caffeine reported from aquatic systems are low (ng/L to μ/L), harmful ecological effects not detected by traditional toxicity tests could occur as a result of caffeine contamination. The goals of this thesis project were to: 1) quantify concentrations of caffeine occurring in the coastal ocean off of the Oregon Coast and to determine if higher levels were correlated with proximity to caffeine pollution sources; and 2) investigate the sub-lethal cellular toxicity of environmentally relevant concentrations of caffeine on Mytilus californianus, an intertidal mussel that is one of the dominant species of the Oregon Coast. Caffeine was analyzed at 14 locations in the coastal ocean off of the Oregon Coast. Sampling locations were stratified between populated areas identified as having sources of caffeine pollution and sites located in sparsely populated areas not in proximity to major caffeine pollution sources. Caffeine concentrations were also measured in the major water body discharging near sampling locations. Caffeine was detected in water from the coastal ocean off of the Oregon Coast at concentrations ranging from below the reporting limit to 44.7 ng/L. The occurrence and concentrations of caffeine in the coastal ocean did not correspond well with pollution threats from population density and point and non-point sources, but did correspond with a storm event occurrence. Caffeine concentrations in rivers and estuaries draining to the coast ranged from below the reporting limit to 152.2 ng/L. Hsp70, a molecular biomarker of cellular stress, was used to investigate the sub-lethal toxicity of environmentally relevant concentrations of caffeine to the mussel M. californianus. Hsp70 concentrations in the gill and mantle tissue of mussels exposed to 0.05, 0.2, and 0.5 μ/L of caffeine for 10, 20, and 30 days were compared to basal levels in control mussels. Hsp70 in the gill tissue of M. californianus had an initial attenuation of the stress protein followed by a significant albeit moderate up-regulation relative to controls in all but the 0.5 μ/L treatment. Hsp70 in the mantle tissue of mussels exposed to caffeine did not differ from control mussels. This Study confirms the presence of caffeine in Oregon's coastal ocean and provides laboratory evidence that environmentally relevant concentrations of caffeine can exert an effect on M. californianus gill tissue at the molecular-level.

The wide use of renewable energy technologies for generating electricity can be seen as one way of meeting environmental and climate change challenges along with a progression to a low-carbon economy. A large number of policy instruments have been formed and employed to support the adoption of renewable energy technologies in the power generation sector. However, the success of these policies in achieving their goals relies on how effective they are in satisfying their targets and thus increasing renewable energy adoption. One measurement for effectiveness of policy instruments can be their contribution to the input of the process of renewable energy adoption and their effect on satisfying regional goal. The objective of this research is evaluate the effectiveness of energy policy instruments on increasing the adoption of renewable energy by developing a comprehensive evaluation model. Criteria used in this assessment depend on five perspectives that are perceived by decision makers as important for adoption process. The decision model linked the perspectives to policy targets and various energy policy instruments. These perspectives are: economic, social, political, environmental and technical. The research implemented the hierarchical decision model (HDM) to construct a generalized policy assessment framework. Data for wind energy adoption in the Pacific Northwest region were collected as a case study and application for the model. Experts' qualitative judgments were collected and quantified using the pair-wise comparison method and the final rankings and effectiveness of policy alternatives with respect to the mission were identified. Results of this research identified economic feasibility improvement of renewable energy projects as the most influential perspective and that renewable portfolio standards and tax credits are the two most effective criteria to accomplish that. The research also applied sensitivity analysis and scenario analysis to identify the effect of regional perspectives future priority changes on determining the most effective policy for this perspective. Results showed that renewable portfolio standards and tax credits were found to be the two most effective policies among the alternatives assessed. The research model and outcome can serve as policy check tool in policy making for renewable energy development in any region. Based on the overall research findings, policymakers can apply specific policy instruments to support adoption efforts for any given scenario and regional emphasis.

I used mitochondrial COI sequence data from forty one individuals to investigate phylogenetic relationships among populations of two morphologically similar species of the pseudoscorpion genus Apochthonius, A. minimus and A. occidentalis, in western Washington, Oregon, and northern California. My goal was to assess whether genetic structure in the two species was congruent with geography. Many plant and animal species in the Pacific Northwestern United States have shown patterns of genetic differentiation that follow both north-south and east-west trends, indicating that geologic and climatic events in the past separated populations to the extent that they became genetically differentiated. A distinct geographic pattern emerged within A. occidentalis, with at least one northern and two southern populations. A clade containing all A. minimus sequences was recovered. However, this clade falls within the larger clade of A. occidentalis, rendering A. occidentalis paraphyletic. Furthermore, the A. minimus sequences showed north-south geographic structuring within the clade. Population genetic analyses were performed based on geographic location within the Pacific Northwest. I found high genetic differentiation coupled with low gene flow between most populations, with the exception of the Portland and North Coast Range populations. These data suggest the presence of more than two species of Apochthonius in the Pacific Northwest.

No description available.

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science, 1980. / Microfiche copy available in Archives and Science. / Bibliography: leaves 79-80. / by Andrew G. Hudson. / M.S.