Thesis (M.A. in anthropology)--Washington State University, May 2009. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 28, 2009). "Department of Anthropology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 214-231).

Thesis (M.A. in anthropology)--Washington State University, May 2010. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on May 19, 2010). "Department of Anthropology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-84).

Cette enquête vise à proposer une issue à un problème simple : l'histoire des rapports entre nature et société dans les Alpes au XVIIIe et au XIXe siècles ne peut se faire qu'au prix d'une intense réflexion sur les instruments d'objectivation de ces rapports, c'est-à-dire au prix d'une remise en question de ce qui est naturel pour l'enquête historique (Livre 1). En repoussant les schèmes de pensée qui accueillent si aisément au sein de l'analyse, la nature naturelle du naturaliste du siècle des Lumières, il s'agira de se rendre capable de prendre en considération le type de relation que l'immense majorité des individus a toujours entretenu avec certains non-humains jusqu'à une époque très récente : ce qu'on doit appeler la nature-propriété. Sous l'Ancien Régime, la nature était toujours et avant tout quelque chose que quelqu'un possédait juridiquement avant d'être quelque chose qu'une infime minorité regardait, contemplait ou observait. Cette chose constituait l'individu propriétaire : elle le renforçait, augmentait sa puissance d'agir, l'enrichissait face aux autres ; ce qu'on peut désigner par la « nature-richesse(+) » qui servit à l'État pour le calcul des capacités contributives de ces propriétaires contribuables sur lesquels reposaient la stabilité du collectif politique et la richesse nationale (Livre 2). Dans certaines situations particulières, appelées « accidents » par les acteurs, cette nature a aussi pu apparaître comme une nature-perte : lorsque ces propriétaires contribuables perdaient tout ou partie de leur nature-propriété. Cette perte les affaiblissait, diminuait leur puissance d'agir, les appauvrissait face aux autres ; ce qu'on peut désigner par la « nature-richesse(–) » qui conduisit le collectif politique, auquel appartenaient ces individus diminués face aux autres, à instituer des procédures permettant de réévaluer puis de compenser les variations, passagères ou définitives, de leur capacité contributive individuelle (Livre 3). Ainsi, au lieu de se servir des discontinuités naturelles pour penser les discontinuités sociales, les sujets dauphinois, puis, plus tard, les citoyens isérois, utilisèrent les catégories élémentaires de la vie sociale, en l'occurrence l'impôt et la propriété, pour penser leurs rapports à certains non-humains comme la terre, la forêt, l'orage, la grêle, l'eau, le bétail, les fruits, l'herbe et les montagnes. Or, cette perspective d'analyse n'apparaît renversée que pour l'enquêteur qui a déjà la tête à l'envers ; la possibilité d'écrire cette histoire sans renverser personne est précisément l'enjeu d'une refonte de la perspective d'analyse classique de l'histoire environnementale. Ce travail rend donc compte des raisons pour lesquelles il ne faut plus étudier les « inter-relations entre nature et culture », et des efforts à fournir pour parvenir à « écrire la nature » : en se donnant les moyens réflexifs de décrire des systèmes de relations complexes, largement produits au sein du champ bureaucratique de l'État moderne, pour établir des grilles d'équivalence naturelles entre les individus, selon un critère social naturalisant : la richesse. Une telle approche permet alors de comprendre comment la nature a pu rendre pauvre et comment se sont co-construits les processus de naturalisation de la pauvreté et d'objectivation de la nature (Livre 4). / L'auteur n'a pas fourni de résumé en anglais.

Over three consecutive breeding seasons I examined the breeding system of Eastern Kingbirds in Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in SE, Oregon. To assess genetic paternity, I optimized seven microsatellite markers and determined that extra pair paternity was common. Extra-pair young were present in approximately 60% of nests, representing 47% of young. I examined implications of extra-pair paternity from three perspectives. First, I examined the impact of extra-pair paternity on the opportunity for sexual selection within a socially monogamous system and identified correlates of male reproductive success. Some males were successful at the expense of others, and 24% of males did not sire any young. Thus, variance in male reproductive success was more than nine times greater than female variance, indicating that sexual selection operates strongly in this system. Extra-pair success was positively related to tarsus length and inversely dependent upon dawn song start time. Within-pair success was positively related to nest defense intensity during the incubation period. Second, I assessed the four genetic hypotheses proposed to explain female cooperation in extra-pair copulations. Extra-pair young were not distributed randomly among broods. Cuckolded within-pair males were not more closely related to females than were extra-pair sires. Pair wise comparisons indicated males with specific song and morphological traits were chosen as sires. Brood success (proportion of brood to fledge and recruit) was unrelated to thenumber of males who sired young in the brood. Extra-pair young were larger and heavier than their within-pair half-siblings. These results unambiguously support the 'good genes' hypothesis of female extra-pair mating. Last, I examined the influence of breeding date and parental condition (mother, social father and genetic sire) on offspring sex ratio. Given that male variance in reproductive success is much greater than that of females, I predicted the characters of genetic sires would be the most important factor influencing offspring sex ratio. Contrary to my prediction, male traits did not influence offspring sex ratio. However, more males hatched early in the season and females in better condition produced more sons. I also found that male nestling survival to the next breeding season was inversely related to date.

Veratrum californicum (common name: corn lily) is a wild plant species that grows in the Intermountain West, its range extending from British Columbia to Mexico. Corn lily is of interest because it has the potential to provide pharmaceutical precursors for use in the treatment of cancer. Pharmaceutical companies are currently running clinical trials of new drugs that use these precursors. As such, a sustainable supply of corn lily is needed if these drugs are ever to enter the market. Unfortunately, wild populations of corn lily will not be able to meet the market demand. Therefore, it is necessary that horticultural guidelines be established so that corn lily can be grown in an agricultural setting. Establishing irrigation criteria is one crucial component in this process, as corn lily grows in naturally wet areas and will most likely require supplemental irrigation in an agricultural setting. In order to determine the appropriate level of irrigation for corn lily, an appropriate range of irrigation levels to test in a field trial must be determined. Plant success as a function of irrigation level can then be measured. In order to determine what irrigation levels should be tested, the OSU Malheur Experiment Station monitored the natural environment of corn lily at a variety of locations over the course of four seasons. Results showed that for the majority of its growing season, corn lily occupies a narrow environmental niche where soil water tension ranges from 0 kPa to 30 kPa. With this information, irrigation levels ranging from 5 kPa to 30 kPa were chosen for irrigation trials. In 2009, corn lily plots were established at Ontario, Oregon and McCall, Idaho. Irrigation trials were run in 2010, 2011, and 2012 at Ontario and McCall. Plots were assigned to five irrigation treatments: 5 kPa (added halfway through the 2010 growing season), 10 kPa, 15 kPa, 20 kPa, and 30 kPa. Collectively, the data indicate that the 5 and 10 kPa treatments are most conducive to corn lily survival and growth. In addition, the observed data are consistent with the hypothesis that soil moisture levels in the first month of growth may be the most important determinant in plant growth and survival. / Graduation date: 2013

Land cover change over time can be a useful indicator of variations in a watershed, such as the patterns of drought in an area. I present a case study using remotely sensed images from Landsat satellites for over a 30-year period to generate classifications representing land cover categories, which I use to quantify land cover change in the watershed areas that contribute to Malheur, Mud, and Harney Lakes. I selected images, about every 4 to 6 years from late June to late July, in an attempt to capture the peak vegetation growth and to avoid cloud cover. Complete coverage of the watershed required that I selected an image that included the lakes, an image to the North, and an image to the West of the lakes to capture the watershed areas for each chosen year. I used the watershed areas defined by the HUC-8 shapefiles. The relevant watersheds are called: Harney-Malheur Lakes, Donner und Blitzen, Silver, and Silvies watershed. To summarize the land cover classes that could be discriminated from the Landsat images in the area, I used an unsupervised classification algorithm called Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Technique (ISODATA) to identify different classes from the pixels. I then used the ISODATA results and visual inspection of calibrated Landsat images and Google Earth imagery, to create Regions of Interest (ROI) with the following land cover classes: Water, Shallow Water, Vegetation, Dark Vegetation, Salty Area, and Bare Earth. The ROIs were used in the following supervised classification algorithms: maximum likelihood, minimum distance, and Mahalanobis distance, to classify land cover for the area. Using ArcGIS, I removed most of the misclassified area from the classified images by the use of the Landsat CDR, combined the main, north, and west images and then extracted the watersheds from the combined image. The area in acres for each land cover class and watershed was computed and stored in graphs and tables.After comparing the three supervised classifications using the amount of area classified into each category, normalized area in each category, and the raster datasets, I determined that the minimum distance classification algorithm produced the most accurate land cover classification. I investigated the correlation of the land cover classes with the average precipitation, average discharge, average summer high temperature, and drought indicators. For the most part, the land cover changes correlate with the weather. However, land use changes, groundwater, and error in the land cover classes may have accounted for the instances of discrepancy. The correlation of land cover classes, except Dark Vegetation and Bare Earth, are statistically significant with weather data. This study shows that Landsat imagery has the necessary components to create and track land cover changes over time. These results can be useful in hydrological studies and can be applied to models.

Various methods have been used to estimate the amount of above ground forest biomass across landscapes and to create biomass maps for specific stands or pixels across ownership or project areas. Without an accurate estimation method, land managers might end up with incorrect biomass estimate maps, which could lead them to make poorer decisions in their future management plans. Previous research has shown that nearest-neighbor imputation methods can accurately estimate forest volume across a landscape by relating variables of interest to ground data, satellite imagery, and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data. Alternatively, parametric models, such as linear and non-linear regression and geographic weighted regression (GWR), have been used to estimate net primary production and tree diameter. The goal of this study was to compare various imputation methods to predict forest biomass, at a project planning scale (<20,000 acres) on the Malheur National Forest, located in eastern Oregon, USA. In this study I compared the predictive performance of, 1) linear regression, GWR, gradient nearest neighbor (GNN), most similar neighbor (MSN), random forest imputation, and k-nearest neighbor (k-nn) to estimate biomass (tons/acre) and basal area (sq. feet per acre) across 19,000 acres on the Malheur National Forest and 2) MSN and k-nn when imputing forest biomass at spatial scales ranging from 5,000 to 50,000 acres. To test the imputation methods a combination of ground inventory plots, LiDAR data, satellite imagery, and climate data were analyzed, and their root mean square error (RMSE) and bias were calculated. Results indicate that for biomass prediction, the k-nn (k=5) had the lowest RMSE and least amount of bias. The second most accurate method consisted of the k-nn (k=3), followed by the GWR model, and the random forest imputation. The GNN method was the least accurate. For basal area prediction, the GWR model had the lowest RMSE and least amount of bias. The second most accurate method was k-nn (k=5), followed by k-nn (k=3), and the random forest method. The GNN method, again, was the least accurate. The accuracy of MSN, the current imputation method used by the Malheur Nation Forest, and k-nn (k=5), the most accurate imputation method from the second chapter, were then compared over 6 spatial scales: 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, 40,000, and 50,000 acres. The root mean square difference (RMSD) and bias were calculated for each of the spatial scale samples to determine which was more accurate. MSN was found to be more accurate at the 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 30,000, and 40,000 acre scales. K-nn (k=5) was determined to be more accurate at the 50,000 acre scale. / Graduation date: 2013

The purpose of this study was to answer the following question: What was the perceived value to planners of incorporating information from ecotourists about their perceived needs in the standard system presently being used to plan interpretation? The Ecotourist Needs Assessment (ETNA) process was proposed as an external needs assessment. To exemplify this process, an instrument called Ecotourist Needs Assessment Instrument (ETNAI) was developed to collect input from ecotourists who visited the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. A case resulted from the process. The ETNAI case was used to obtain planners' opinions about whether ETNA had value in the context of data collection and inventory in interpretive planning. The ETNAI case included developing and validating the ETNAI and providing a procedure for implementing ETNAI. Upon completion of the ETNAI case, an interview guide was developed and administered to interpretive planners. Interpretive planners were asked how they currently plan interpretation and collect information to decide interpretive topics. Other questions dealt with their feelings regarding the usefulness of the ETNA and the data collected using the ETNA. The interpretive planners described the current system and provided information about the proposed system (ETNA). Currently, decisions involving interpretation are based on three factors: 1) money, 2) mandates/missions, and/or 3) management. The interpretive planner chose outside (external) groups except during a master planning process when the general public provided input. The outside groups included: professionals, the public, and recreation providers. The current methods used to collect information were informal or considered casual. When contrasted with the proposed method, the interpretive planners felt the ETNA had value. This was reflected in their suggestions for use: As an evaluation tool after an interpretive program is given to a specific audience. As a method to assess the interpretive needs of visitors and specific audiences for interpretation. As a technique to access visitors and the public, both general and specific. As a mechanism to collect data at public meetings. As a systematic routine to develop interpretation, to provide feedback for further development, and to evaluate interpretation embedded in the site system. As a method to effectively determine the distribution of funds. / Graduation date: 1993

Cette enquête vise à proposer une issue à un problème simple : l'histoire des rapports entre nature et société dans les Alpes au XVIIIe et au XIXe siècles ne peut se faire qu'au prix d'une intense réflexion sur les instruments d'objectivation de ces rapports, c'est-à-dire au prix d'une remise en question de ce qui est naturel pour l'enquête historique (Livre 1). En repoussant les schèmes de pensée qui accueillent si aisément au sein de l'analyse, la nature naturelle du naturaliste du siècle des Lumières, il s'agira de se rendre capable de prendre en considération le type de relation que l'immense majorité des individus a toujours entretenu avec certains non-humains jusqu'à une époque très récente : ce qu'on doit appeler la nature-propriété. Sous l'Ancien Régime, la nature était toujours et avant tout quelque chose que quelqu'un possédait juridiquement avant d'être quelque chose qu'une infime minorité regardait, contemplait ou observait. Cette chose constituait l'individu propriétaire : elle le renforçait, augmentait sa puissance d'agir, l'enrichissait face aux autres ; ce qu'on peut désigner par la " nature-richesse(+) " qui servit à l'État pour le calcul des capacités contributives de ces propriétaires contribuables sur lesquels reposaient la stabilité du collectif politique et la richesse nationale (Livre 2). Dans certaines situations particulières, appelées " accidents " par les acteurs, cette nature a aussi pu apparaître comme une nature-perte : lorsque ces propriétaires contribuables perdaient tout ou partie de leur nature-propriété. Cette perte les affaiblissait, diminuait leur puissance d'agir, les appauvrissait face aux autres ; ce qu'on peut désigner par la " nature-richesse(-) " qui conduisit le collectif politique, auquel appartenaient ces individus diminués face aux autres, à instituer des procédures permettant de réévaluer puis de compenser les variations, passagères ou définitives, de leur capacité contributive individuelle (Livre 3). Ainsi, au lieu de se servir des discontinuités naturelles pour penser les discontinuités sociales, les sujets dauphinois, puis, plus tard, les citoyens isérois, utilisèrent les catégories élémentaires de la vie sociale, en l'occurrence l'impôt et la propriété, pour penser leurs rapports à certains non-humains comme la terre, la forêt, l'orage, la grêle, l'eau, le bétail, les fruits, l'herbe et les montagnes. Or, cette perspective d'analyse n'apparaît renversée que pour l'enquêteur qui a déjà la tête à l'envers ; la possibilité d'écrire cette histoire sans renverser personne est précisément l'enjeu d'une refonte de la perspective d'analyse classique de l'histoire environnementale. Ce travail rend donc compte des raisons pour lesquelles il ne faut plus étudier les " inter-relations entre nature et culture ", et des efforts à fournir pour parvenir à " écrire la nature " : en se donnant les moyens réflexifs de décrire des systèmes de relations complexes, largement produits au sein du champ bureaucratique de l'État moderne, pour établir des grilles d'équivalence naturelles entre les individus, selon un critère social naturalisant : la richesse. Une telle approche permet alors de comprendre comment la nature a pu rendre pauvre et comment se sont co-construits les processus de naturalisation de la pauvreté et d'objectivation de la nature (Livre 4).

Contenu1) (Introduction) Parren, N. (2017). Le naturel cognitif (possible) des croyances de sorcellerie: une exploration de la littérature existante. Journal de la cognition et de la culture, 17 (5), 396-418.2) Boyer, P., & Parren, N. (2015). L'information liée à la menace suggère la compétence: un facteur possible dans la propagation des rumeurs. PloS un, 10 (6), e0128421.3) Parren, N., & Boyer, P. (Soumis). Préférence pour les sources d'informations liées aux menaces. PloS un4) Parren, N., & Boyer, P. (Soumis). L'effet de vérité: fluidité ou consensus implicite? Conscience et Cognition5) Parren, N., van Leeuwen, F., Miton, H., & Boyer, P. (manuscrit non publié) Mésaventure, Agence, et Contre-Intuitivité Minimale6) Conclusion chapitre / 1) (Introduction) Parren, N. (2017). The (possible) Cognitive Naturalness of Witchcraft Beliefs: An Exploration of the Existing Literature. Journal of Cognition and Culture, 17(5), 396-418.2) Boyer, P., & Parren, N. (2015). Threat-related information suggests competence: a possible factor in the spread of rumors. PloS one, 10(6), e0128421.3) Parren, N., & Boyer, P. (Submitted). Preference for Sources of Threat-Related Information. PloS one4) Parren, N., & Boyer, P. (Submitted). The Truth Effect: Fluency or Implicit Consensus? Consciousness and Cognition5) Parren, N., van Leeuwen, F., Miton, H., & Boyer, P. (unpublished manuscript) Misfortune, Agency, and Minimal Counter-Intuitiveness6) Conclusion chapter