One taphonomic problem plaguing archaeologists and physical anthropologists, whether their research is in North American cultures or hominid sites in Africa, is the difficulty in distinguishing bone altered by burning and heating from bone altered by soil processes. Archaeologists working to understand the recent prehistory of the Southern Oregon Coast face the same challenge. Two relatively new tools were investigated to determine their usefulness to resolving this problem. These are scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). SEM has been well-tested in African sites and experimental studies to identify hominid-created cut marks on bone and to reconstruct heating temperatures of burnt bone. However, SEM and its ability to sample chemistry, as well as XRD's ability to detect diagentic alteration in bone minerals, have not been tested on material from coastal Oregon. The purpose of this research was: (1) to test these methods to see whether they could distinguish between burning and soil alteration, using cervid bone from site 35CS43 near Bandon, Ore., as a test sample, and (2) to see whether the result, paired with archaeological, ethnographic, taphonomic and faunal evidence, could be used to understand how the Coquille were procuring, processing and cooking cervids as insights into their adaptation. The outcome suggests that SEM and XRD, without use of other evidence, are unable to distinguish between burning and soil alteration because the similarities between the two lie not only in changes to the bone's macrostructure (discoloration) but also in bone chemistry, where it was hoped differences could be found. However, these techniques, when paired with the other lines of evidence, did provide insights in understanding the taphonomy and the Coquille's use of cervids - the interaction of bone and soil; the extent of mimicry between burning and soil alteration; and ultimately that discoloration of cervid bone at 35CS43 was likely due to soil alteration, that burning as the result of fire roasting was most likely not occurring at the site, and that the Coquille employed other methods of cooking. / Graduation date: 2003

This thesis focuses on shared use lane facilities and road user understanding. Shared use lanes (sharrows) are a common solution for road facilities that are too narrow to accommodate a full bicycle lane and where the local jurisdiction wants to reduce dooring crashes. In recent years, engineers have focused on incorporating sustainable transportation into new or reconstructed infrastructure improvements. Bicycle transportation connectivity, as an example, is essential to efficient bicycle commuting. Sharrows pavement marking is a well-engineered design but without education road users do not use it properly resulting in an increased risk of being in a crash. / Graduation date: 2012

Knowledge of how individual organisms behave in their environment can provide a greater understanding of population dynamics. In a predator-prey system, the choices made by predators when foraging for prey are important aspects of behavior. Particularly in the case of a stage-structured prey population, how the predator selects prey stages once a prey patch has been located can have implications for prey population growth, predator development and fecundity, and predator-prey system dynamics. Predaceous mites of the family Phytoseiidae are important biological control agents of Tetranychus spider mites in agricultural settings worldwide. Phytoseiid species range from specialists that require Tetranychus spider mite prey in order to develop and reproduce to generalist omnivores. In studies with 13 phytoseiid species, specialized species tended to prefer T. urticae eggs as prey or have no prey-stage preference while more generalist species tended to have no prey-stage preference or prey more often on mobile immatures. Further testing with a subset of these species suggested variability among species with regard to genetic and environmental influences on prey-stage preference. The specialist Phytoseiulus persimilis also preferred to forage and oviposit in patches containing egg-biased stage distributions rather than in adjacent mobile immature-biased patches. No benefits to offspring developing in either type of patch were found in terms of developmental time or subsequent adult fecundity. However, the results of both manipulative experiments and nonlinear population models indicated potential benefits of egg-biased predation in terms of current adult female fecundity, a less severe impact of predation on the prey population, and an increased number of predator descendents during the predator-prey interaction. Considering both subjective factors and discriminant analyses, prey-stage preference performed well as an indicator for the ecological classification of phytoseiid species. The classifications of four phytoseiid species occurring on apple in central and eastern Oregon, USA, were evaluated accordingly. / Graduation date: 2004

Black rockfish (Sebastes melanops) is an important marine recreational species throughout the Pacific Northwest. Recent catch data indicate a trend of age-truncation in the black rockfish population off the Oregon coast, with older females rapidly disappearing from the population. In populations with broad age distributions, older fish may contribute disproportionately to larval production through a variety of mechanisms. Thus, the removal of older age classes through fishing may impact the population far beyond the simple loss of biomass. We tested the hypothesis that older females produce higher quality offspring, or offspring otherwise more capable of survival, than those from younger females. Mature female black rockfish of various ages were captured live and held until parturition. Larvae were then reared under identical conditions to compare performance in terms of growth, starvation, and mortality. Results indicate that older females produce offspring that grow faster in both length and weight, survive longer in the absence of an exogenous food supply, and exhibit lower mortality rates than offspring from younger mothers. This difference in larval performance may be explained by the relatively greater amount of endogenous energy reserves present in the oil globules of offspring from older mothers. Larval oil globule volume at parturition was significantly related to all larval performance factors and was strongly correlated with maternal age. Given the difference in larval quality, it is critical for the management of black rockfish, and possibly other species as well, that these older individuals not be addressed solely in terms of biomass, but their relative reproductive contribution and the repercussions of their removal from the population be considered. / Graduation date: 2004

The focus of this research was to develop bacterial community indicators of stream sanitary and ecological condition. The first study compared substrate utilization patterns between centrifuged and uncentrifuged split samples. We found a shift in the relative proportion of each group of bacteria following centrifugation, with a marked increased in the fecal coliform group and relatively fewer heterotrophic and total coliform bacteria. Centrifuged samples consistently responded faster and oxidized more substrate than did their uncentrifuged counterparts. Substrate utilization patterns of centrifuged sub-samples from 19 sites showed better separation between Willamette Valley and Cascade ecoregions than did the uncentrifuged sub-samples in ordination space. We recommend developing microtiter plates with substrates specific types of environmental stress. The second study determined the minimum volume of water needed and the maximum time and temperature that bacteriological water samples captured on a membrane filter can be held in guanidine isothiocyanate buffer (GITC) prior to DNA extraction for community fingerprint analysis. We found 100 ml water samples yielded more information than the 50 ml or the 250 ml water samples and observed a marked decrease in information for samples that were held at room temperature for more than 24 hours. We concluded that 100 ml samples were optimal for bacterial community DNA fingerprint analysis. Furthermore, we recommended transporting filtered water samples held in GITC on ice and keeping the samples frozen until DNA is extracted for further analysis. The third study addressed questions of sampling error and response variability of two PCR-based indicators, bacterial community-level Terminal-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms and Bacteroidetes ruminant and human specific fecal source tracking markers. We found the T-RPLP and Bacteroidetes markers to show very little sampling error, and suggested collecting a single 1-liter water sample. A high turbidity scenario resulting in higher fecal pollution and lower bacterial species richness explained why decreased TRF richness was strongly associated with high fecal coliform density, turbidity, and human Bacteroidetes detection. We propose that in times of increased turbidity, a disturbance in the bacterial community occurs, reducing bacterial richness and increasing a few types of stress-resistant fecal bacteria. / Graduation date: 2004

In 1990, the Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments authorized the regulation of 188 hazardous air pollutants (HAP). Exposure to HAPs at sufficient concentrations and durations can increase both cancer and serious adverse non-carcinogenic effects. The purpose of this study was to conduct a human health risk assessment using data of 43 HAPs from five monitor sites in Portland, Oregon during July 1999-August 2000. HAP concentrations were compared to carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic (health) benchmark concentrations; and emission sources were determined for HAPs that exceeded health benchmark concentrations. Additionally, cancer risks were determined for subpopulations and compared to cancer risks generated for the general population. Results of this study indicate that 20 HAPs exceeded carcinogenic benchmark concentrations (corresponding to a risk level of 1 x 10������) in at least one location. Chromium compounds posed the highest cancer risk (3.5 x 10������). Seventeen HAPs exceeded carcinogenic benchmark concentrations at all five sites. Seventy-five percent (%) of the total cumulative cancer risk was contributed by chromium compounds, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane. Three HAPs, chromium compounds, acrolein, and formaldehyde, exceeded non-carcinogenic hazard ratios of 1.0. Releases from area sources accounted for the largest percentage of HAPs that exceeded health benchmark concentrations. With respect to subpopulations, asthmatics teenagers (age 11-16) and asthmatic adults (age 18-50), had slightly elevated cancer risks of 1.4 x 10������ and 1.2 x 10������. respectively, compared to the general population risk level of 1 x 10������. Results of this study indicate that several HAPs pose a potential human health concern in Portland and that efforts should be made to reduce their emissions. Additional studies are warranted to further assess potential human health risks and the extent of HAPs in Portland, Oregon. / Graduation date: 2003

This thesis focuses upon whether stressful aspects of an organism's environment are reflected by that organism's shape. It presents an application of the powerful thin-plate spline and relative warp methods from morphometric analysis to demonstrate the overall utility of morphometrics in detecting environmental stress in an estuarine flatfish, the English sole or Pleuronectes vetulus. Juvenile English sole were captured from the Yaquina Bay, Oregon, photographed using a digital camera, and then held without food in the laboratory for periods of 7 to 24 days. Landmarks on the outline of the ventral surface of the body were digitized from the images. The mean position of the landmarks for freshly caught sole was used to compute a reference specimen. The thin-plate spline method was then applied to quantify the intraindividual shape variation due to lab-induced environmental stressors for all fish. Relative warp analysis of the resulting landmark data yielded relative warp scores for each individual fish, and was analogous to a principal component analysis. Analysis of covariance of the relative warp (principal component) scores showed that fish held without food acquire different shape characteristics in comparison with freshly caught fish, and that these shape differences reflect captivity and food deprivation effects. A discriminant function analysis using the data allows clear differentiation of stressed and non-stressed fish. The underlying goal of this research was to examine the conceptual and methodological aspects of morphometrics relevant to its future potential use as a measure of developmental precision and environmental condition. The technique may have applicability for detecting environmental stress in natural populations of estuarine fish. / Graduation date: 2003

Current research indicates that the expansion of western juniper can inhibit soil water retention, storage and prolonged releases from watersheds. This phenomenon is of great importance in eastern Oregon, as western juniper is encroaching into sagebrush/grass communities with a correlated reduction in herbaceous ground cover, resulting in reduced infiltration rates and increased soil loss. A paired watershed study for the purpose of monitoring water quality/quantity as affected by western juniper in the Camp Creek drainage, a tributary to the Crooked River, was established in 1994. Monitoring methods consisted of annual and semiannual measurements of hillslope soil movement, channel morphology, including total cross-sectional area, scour and deposition, channel discharge, depth to groundwater, and precipitation. Channel discharge was established using a 3,0 H-flume with a pressure transducer and stilling well and data logger. Changes in channel morphology were determined using 25 permanent, channel cross-section plots per watershed. Hillslope erosion processes were determined using 12 transects of 3 sediment stakes per watershed, located within gullies of subwatersheds. Data showed the two study areas to be well correlated with regards to soil movement, both within the main channels and in the subwatersheds (hillslopes). Some of the geomorphometric properties are similar (not statistically different) and differences in other parameters can be explained. Channel discharge appears to be significantly different in intensity, frequency, and duration of flow. These differences in surface discharge may be explained as further data collection of subsurface flow analysis in conjunction with sampling of springs located in each watershed are conducted. / Graduation date: 2005

Marine ecosystems can be exposed to natural and anthropogenic disturbances that can lead to ecological failures. Marine reserves have been lately suggested to protect marine populations and communities that have been affected by habitat destruction and harvest. This research evaluates the potential role of two marine reserves established in Oregon in 1967 (Whale Cove) and 1993 (Gregory Point). The red sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus franciscanus) was selected as indicator of population recovery since it is the only species that is commercially harvested. Changes in density, biomass, average size, size structure, growth and mortality rates were evaluated through time to assess population recovery. These parameters were also compared between reserves and adjacent exploited areas to evaluate the effect of exploitation. Results from Whale Cove (old reserve) indicate that the population in this area is fully recovered. On the contrary, the population in Gregory Point (new reserve) showed signs of recovery after six years of being protected. The importance of red urchins as source populations to provide larvae to adjacent areas was explored by the analysis of drifter's trajectories. Both reserves might be connected in a network where larvae produced in Whale Cove will provide recruits to Gregory Point and adjacent exploited areas, as well as populations in northern California. Gregory Point releases larvae that become recruits for Whale Cove only when spawning takes place in winter, otherwise larvae travel to central California. No clear trends were found in growth and mortality rates between reserves and non-reserves; differences were more related with food availability, competitors, and age specific mortality. We applied qualitative simulations to characterize and differentiate the community network inside reserves and exploited areas. Results suggest that communities from a particular site can be represented by a set of alternative models with consistent species interactions. Differences in predator-prey interactions as well as non-predatory relationships (interference competition, mutualism, amensalism) were found among sites. Each set of models represents a hypothesis of community organization that agreed with natural history information. Alternative models suggest that kelp forest communities are dynamic and can shift from one network configuration to another providing a buffer against a variable environment. / Graduation date: 2002

During summer of 1998 and 1999, 34 and 10 vineyard sites, respectively, were sampled to assess spider mite pests and associated biological control by phytoseiid mites. Vineyards studied spanned five major valleys in western Oregon where grape production occurs. Leaf samples were taken from site perimeters and centers. One leaf was taken every ten meters of border length, five meters inward from the border to prevent wind-biased or extreme edge effects, while 20 leaves were taken at regular intervals from centers. Variables recorded at each site were: plant age, grape variety, chemical spray information and local vegetation occurring in proximity to vineyards. Sites were categorized as either agricultural or riparian based on what surrounding vegetation type was in the majority. Several parametric and non-parametric tests were used to analyze data, including multiple linear regressions using a computer-based genetic algorithm in conjunction with the AIC criterion to pre-select a subset of explanatory variables. Typhlodromus pyri was the predominant phytoseiid mite and Tetranychus urticae was the most abundant tetranychid mite sampled. High levels of T. urticae were found when predator densities were very low, and low levels of T. urticae occurred when predator densities were moderate or high. Phytoseiid densities were highest in June and July, while T. urticae densities were highest from August to September. The latter's densities were significantly higher in vineyards surrounded primarily by agriculture, while phytoseiid densities were not significantly different between the two categories. Predatory phytoseiids had significantly higher densities on vineyard edges, while T. urticae densities were higher in vineyard centers. Caneberry, cherry and grape habitats appeared to be sources of predator immigration, while no vegetation type consistently served as a short-range or nearby immigration source for spider mites. Due to insufficient data, pesticide information was not included in multiple linear regression models, although certain chemicals used in vineyards can potentially impact mite populations. Impacts of surrounding vegetation type, grape variety, regional location, plant age, and presence of other mites on phytoseiid and T. urticae densities are discussed. / Graduation date: 2001