This thesis develops a framework for analyzing the application of commuter rail and bus services between several small urban centers to enhance overall connectivity. The study includes analyzing specific performance criteria for commuter rail service and express bus service based on data from existing systems around the U.S. The study then compares these findings to the theoretical performance of commuter rail and express bus service in the U.S. Highway 20 corridor from Corvallis, OR to Lebanon, OR via Albany, OR. The study concludes that commuter rail rated higher in six of eight analysis criteria and would be the preferred mode to bus service in terms of the performance criteria used in the study. Further cost and operational analysis is necessary to analyze implementation of future commuter rail or express bus service in the Mid-Willamette Valley in Oregon. / Graduation date: 2013

There are three recognized species of Siphateles from the Great Basin; S. alvordensis, S. boraxobius and the tui chub, S. bicolor. One species, S. boraxobius, is endangered and one population of tui chub at Hutton Spring is threatened. Despite several morphological and molecular studies, the taxonomy and relationships of tui chubs are unclear. A recurrent theme in prior studies has been the possibility of translocation of tui chubs, especially into Summer Lake Basin, and probably by bait bucket introductions. I approached this problem by using cytochrome b (cyt b) sequences to define clades and constructed a neighbor-joining tree to examine relationships. Developmental ontogeny and adult meristic characters were used to corroborate clades, and microsatellites (nDNA) used to explore the possibility of hybridization among Summer Lake Basin fish and those from surrounding basins. The cyt b tree recovered a basal polytomy containing a western clade from Sycan Marsh, an eastern clade from the Alvord Basin, and S. bicolor. The Sycan Marsh clade was represented by two fish and requires additional research. Within the Alvord Basin, S. boraxobius and S. alvordensis were well corroborated by morphological characters but sequence divergence was only 0.37%. There were three major clades in S. bicolor – a basal S. newarkensis clade in Nevada, an Oregon Lakes S. bicolor clade, and, sister to it, a disjunct S. obesa clade in Nevada and the Oregon Lakes. In the Oregon Lakes, there were two clades within S. bicolor: S. thalassinus was sister to the remaining S. bicolor and there were two clades within S. obesus: S. oregonensis was sister to a "Summer Lake Basin" clade. There was some morphological corroboration for S. oregonensis, but no corroboration for the others. Clades were geographically disjunct or not confined to single basins. The S. oregonensis clade was sister to a Nevada polytomy and historical evidence implicates that at least one population of S. oregonensis in XL Spring was introduced in the late 1800's. Average sequence divergence with the Nevada clade, 0.62 - 0.88%, did not seem to support possible Miocene or Pliocene vicariance scenarios. Elsewhere, the S. thalassinus clade was found outside of Goose Lake in Summer Lake Basin and the "Summer Lake Basin" clade was found in Goose Lake Basin. Clustering of three microsatellite loci did not match cyt b clades, rather, individuals clustered based on sample location, suggesting that the cyt b patterns were due to introgression. In Summer Lake Basin, evidence of poisoning and subsequent transplants was consistent with these observations. These results suggest the presence of three or four tui chub taxa in the Oregon Lakes and Alvord Basin, however translocation and subsequent introgression appear to have been common in many populations, and will prove challenging for taxonomists and conservation managers. / Graduation date: 2013

Lichens are an important part of the biota in western Oregon forests, where they perform valuable ecological roles and contribute significantly to biodiversity. Lichens in western Oregon are threatened by a number of factors including air pollution and land use practices. If we wish to maintain the persistence of lichens in future landscapes it is critical that we understand the responses of lichen communities and individual lichen species to the environment and forest structure. This dissertation explores factors that are related to differences in lichen community composition and the distributions of individual lichen species in the western Cascades of Oregon, using a large landscape scale data set. I sought to relate major gradients in lichen community composition to environmental factors, and describe differences in lichen communities with respect to forest age (Chapter 2). I found three major gradients in lichen communities at a landscape scale in the western Oregon Cascades. These gradients were related to climate as expressed by elevation and annual temperature, air quality, north-south position, the richness of epiphytic macrolichens, and forest age. I developed a rarity score, which can be used to identify hotspots of rare species diversity at a landscape scale (Chapter 3). I then built descriptive models of this rarity score to identify abiotic and biotic factors associated with the occurrence of rarity hotspots. I found that models of rarity score that used explanatory variables based on lichen community composition performed better than models that used explanatory variables based solely on environmental factors. I narrowed my focus to the level of individual species responses to the environment and forest structure by developing habitat models for 11 lichen species in the western Cascades (Chapter 4). We selected these species because they performed important ecological roles, were rare across the landscape and associated with old growth forests, or because their distributions were poorly understood. These models can be used to increase the efficiency of landscape level surveys for rare species, predict the response of these species to forest management practices, and understand factors associated with the distributions of these lichens. / Graduation date: 2006

Steelhead and rainbow trout are common names for marine-migratory (anadromous) and freshwater-resident forms of Oncorhynchus mykiss, a partially migratory salmonid fish. Anadromous and resident forms are sympatric and can produce offspring with a life history different from their own (i.e., steelhead parents can produce rainbow trout offspring and vice versa). The expression of these alternative life histories is a plastic response to individual patterns of energy acquisition, assimilation, and allocation during juvenile life stages. Individual performance during early stream life is of particular interest because of potential carry-over effects on subsequent growth and developmental trajectories. In a series of experiments in laboratory streams, I determined the influence of individual variation in energy metabolism on behavior, growth, and life-history expression in O. mykiss. Individual variation in energy metabolism was a strong predictor of feeding territory acquisition by juvenile fish during the transition from dependence on maternal provisioning of egg yolk reserves to independent feeding. Feeding territory acquisition was positively associated with standard metabolic rate (SMR) under conditions of an abundant and predictable food supply. When the density of intraspecific competitors was manipulated, the association between SMR and territory acquisition was strongest at intermediate stocking densities, moderate at the highest stocking densities, and weakest at the lowest stocking densities. However, reducing the spatial predictability of food resources within streams reversed the influence of SMR on competitive outcomes. These experiments determined that variation in ecological conditions during early life stages imposes different selection regimes on juvenile O. mykiss and results in physiological divergence among cohorts. Subsequent rearing experiments determined that behavioral dominance influences rates of anadromy and freshwater maturation, most likely through the association between SMR and territory acquisition. In addition to the effects of behavioral dominance, I observed a significant influence of sex, rearing temperature, and individual growth trajectories on the expression of anadromy and freshwater maturation. Partially migratory populations of O. mykiss maintain an exceptionally diverse portfolio of life-history strategies. Results from this work lend insight into a suite of behavioral and physiological processes influencing individual life histories. / Graduation date: 2013

The Glass Buttes volcanic complex is a cluster of bimodal (basalt-rhyolite), Miocene to Pleistocene age lava flows and domes located in Oregon's High Lava Plains province, a broad region of Cenozoic bimodal volcanism in south-central Oregon. The High Lava Plains is deformed by northwest-striking faults of the Brothers Fault Zone, a diffuse, ~N40°W trending zone of en echelon faults cutting ~250 km obliquely across the High Lava Plains. Individual fault segments within the Brothers Fault Zone are typically <20 km long, strike ~N40°W, have apparent normal separation with 10-100 m throw. A smaller population of ~5-10 km long faults striking ~N30°E exhibits mutually crosscutting relationships with the dominant northwest striking faults. Basaltic volcanic rocks in the Glass Buttes area erupted during the late Miocene and Pleistocene. The oldest and youngest lavas are 6.49±0.03 Ma and 1.39±0.18 Ma, respectively, based on ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of five basaltic units. Numerous small mafic vents both within and around the margins of the main silicic dome complex are commonly localized along northwest-striking faults of the Brothers Fault Zone. These vents erupted a diverse suite of basalt to basaltic andesite lava flows that are here differentiated into 15 stratigraphic units based on hand sample texture and mineralogy as well as major and trace element geochemistry. The structural fabric of the Glass Buttes area is dominated by small displacement, discontinuous, en echelon, northwest-striking fault scarps that result from normal to slightly oblique displacements and are commonly linked by relay ramps. Northwest alignment of basaltic and rhyolitic vents, paleotopography, and cross-cutting relationships suggest these faults have been active since at least 6.49±0.03 Ma, the age of the rhyolite lavas in the eastern Glass Buttes are. Faults displace Quaternary sedimentary deposits indicating these structures continue to be active into the Quaternary. Long-term extension rates across northwest-striking faults calculated from 2-5 km long cross section restorations range from 0.004 – 0.02 mm/yr with an average of 0.12 mm/yr. A subordinate population of discontinuous northeast-striking faults form scarps and exhibit mutually cross-cutting relationships with the dominant northwest-striking population. Cross-cutting relationships indicate faulting on northeast-striking faults ceased sometime between 4.70±0.27 Ma and 1.39±0.18 Ma. Gravity data at Glass Buttes reveals prominent northwest- and northeast-trending gravity gradients that closely parallel the strikes of surface faults. These are interpreted as large, deep-seated, normal faults that express themselves in the young basalts at the surface as the discontinuous, en echelon fault segments seen throughout the study area and BFZ in general. Elevated geothermal gradients are localized along these deep-seated structures at two locations: (1) where northwest- and northeast-striking faults intersect,(2) along a very prominent northwest-striking active normal fault bounding the southwest flank of Glass Butte. High average heat flow and elevated average geothermal gradients across the High Lava Plains, and the presence of hydrothermal alteration motivated geothermal resource exploration at Glass Buttes. Temperature gradient drilling by Phillips Petroleum and others between 1977-1981 to depths of up to 600 m defined a local geothermal anomaly underlying the Glass Buttes volcanic complex with a maximum gradient of 224 °C/km. Stratigraphic constraints indicate that near-surface hydrothermal alteration associated with mercury ores ceased before 4.70±0.27 Ma, and is likely associated with the 6.49±0.03 Ma rhyolite eruptions in the eastern part of Glass Buttes. The modern thermal anomaly is not directly related to the pre-4.70±0.27 Ma hydrothermal system; rather it is likely a result of deep fluid circulation along major extensional faults in the area. / Graduation date: 2013 / Includes accompanying DVD with digital data supplement (8 GB).

Latinos are the largest and most rapidly growing ethnic minority in the United States, and they have the highest dropout rates of any major ethnic group in the country (U.S. Department of Labor, 2003). Latinos' educational attainment is consistently lower than that of other students (Gandara, 2008). The majority of Latino college students in the state of Oregon are of Mexican origin and have parents with low income and low levels of education, which ultimately influences the students' decisions in whether or not to pursue higher education. This study examines these and other factors which motivate Latino students to pursue higher education in selected colleges in the state of Oregon. Quantitative data was gathered and evaluated to determine their academic self-efficacy, an idea grounded in Social Cognitive Theory (Bandura 1997). Accordingly, this dissertation analyzed personal, environmental, and demographic factors as determinants of the academic self-efficacy of Latino college students. The results indicated that mothers (family being one of the environmental factors) were the most motivating persons for Latino college students pursuing higher education, followed by the influence of friends. The results also revealed that another influencing factor in academic self-efficacy of Latino college students was their own self-efficacy and their personal goal orientation. Female students reported the highest scores of self-efficacy for a four-year institution, followed by students of both genders aged between 18 and 22 years old. Latino college students' choice of agriculture as a program to pursue in higher education was also analyzed, despite the fact that the majority (92 %) of Latino college students did not choose an agriculture-related career. / Graduation date: 2012

Oregon in 1922 was the scene of significant Ku Klux Klan activity. This thesis examines the interrelationship of the Klan, the press of Oregon, the gubernatorial race of that year and the passage of the Compulsory School Act. In addition, one chapter covers the ultimate fate of the Compulsory School Act in the courts. Specific material in this thesis is derived principally from newspapers and periodicals of the time, although general sources on the Ku Klux Klan were utilized for the broader discussions of the situations. The existence of the Ku Klux Klan in Oregon in 1922 directly affected both the passage of the Compulsory School Act and the election of Walter Pierce. The roles of the state’s newspapers were mixed. Two were quite outspoken on the issues of the Klan and the Compulsory School act, while most took less forthright stands. It was in the United States Supreme Court, however, that the final decision on the compulsory School Act was made.

This thesis tells the stories of five Oregon women who transcended the customary roles of their era. Active during the waning years of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, each woman made a difference in the world around them. Their stories have either not been told or just given a passing glance. These tales are important because they inform us about our society on the cusp of the twentieth century. Hattie Crawford Redmond was the daughter of a freed slave who devoted herself to the fight for women's suffrage. Minnie Mossman Hill was the first woman steamboat pilot west of the Mississippi. Mary Francis Isom was a local librarian who went to France to deliver books to American soldiers. Ann and May Shogren were sisters who brought high fashion to Portland and defied the gender and social rules in both their business and personal lives. These women were not the only ones who accomplished extraordinary things during their lives. They are a tiny sample of Oregon women who pushed beyond discrimination, hardship and gender limits to earn their place in Oregon's history.

From the 1920's through 1951 several severe fires occurred in the predominantly conifer forest ecosystems of the northern Oregon Coast Range. Of the 211,151 ha. of mapped area, 57 percent was burned. The effects of frequent fires with high severity on forest ecosystems over time at the landscape level is not fully understood. A reconstruction of fire history was conducted to help investigate the effects of fire severity, frequency, and area extent on distribution of postfire tree regeneration, species composition, and stand tree size, as well as on current species composition and stand tree size. I hypothesized that: 1) vegetation patterns (1950's and 1988) would vary with time, because the persistence of disturbance effects (fire, logging, reforestation) on forest vegetative responses varied, and 2) environmental controls (topography, soil, climate) would become the primary influences when disturbance events were absent. In this study historical maps, sketches and notes were used to reconstruct spatial and temporal patterns of fires from the 1920's to 1951 and to identify unburned patches on a Geographic Information System. Relationships between fire regime and postfire and current vegetative patterns were tested. Constructing precise spatial data layers from early maps, produced before the availability of aerial photography or satellite image, was difficult. Historical map accuracy and quality were variable and poor by present day standards. Geographic reference points were used to transform inappropriate map scales. The reconstruction of spatial data was used to characterize spatial patterns of historic fires: my estimates of burn areas were similar to estimates in the literature. To reduce questionable data along fire and vegetation patch boundaries for hypothesis testing, an exclusion approach was used. Data within a 100 m width of fire and vegetation type boundary lines were called a fuzzy zone and removed from raw data. The distribution of various attributes in the reduced data was similar to the distribution of the complete data set. Regression analysis examined the effects of fire, logging, reforestation, topography, climate, and soil type on vegetation patterns. Patterns of postfire (1950's) species composition, tree regeneration and tree size (DBH) were associated with the effects of fires, as well as influences of logging and soil type. Indices of fire occurrences (reflecting the time variation and severity of fires) frequently correlated to the 1950's vegetation patterns. The number of fires (frequency) did not cause great differences in vegetation patterns. Current (1988) species composition and tree size (after absence of fire for more than three decades) were correlated more with terrain variables. Plant succession also influenced the current vegetation patterns. Neither the date or number of fires caused marked differences in distribution of species and tree size, except large conifers were found in areas missed by fires. Postfire and current vegetation patterns were correlated with soil types which reflect the influence of topographic and climatic characteristics. However, historic fires occurred frequently on some soil types. Fires have a confounding influence on soil type. This confounding influence of fire on soil type cannot be avoided. Reforestation efforts appeared to have little influence on the postfire and current vegetation patterns. I inferred that the short time period of reforestation effects did not show its importance on the 1950's vegetation landscape. Although regression analysis results did not support my hypothesis, by 1988, reforested area in the northern Coast Range had increased since 1950's. Most of the large fire-open patches became mixed forest in about 3 decades may still relate to the force of reforestation. On private unburned ownerships conifer forests in 1955 were subsequently cut and replaced by mostly mixed forest by 1988. The analysis supported the hypotheses that soil type, aspect and plant succession were dominant influences on current (1988) vegetation patterns, while forest disturbances such as fire and logging were important influences on the immediate postfire (1950's) patterns. The results not only interpret the relationship between historic disturbances and vegetation distribution, but may also serve as a useful background for the management of the future forest landscape. / Graduation date: 1998 / Presentation date: 1997-07-11

Agricultural economists have devoted considerable attention to the financial stress situation of agricultural producers. Many studies have been conducted in various regions of the U.S. in an attempt to better understand the causes of the problem. The costs associated with farm financial stress imply corresponding benefits to be realized by its reduction. Benefits of studying and resolving farm financial stress reach beyond the farms and ranches to many related sectors such as rural communities, agribusinesses, and lending institutions. The specific hypothesis tested in this thesis is as follows: some but not all farms and ranches which have undergone serious financial stress in the early part of the 1980's in Oregon can be assisted in withstanding fluctuations in economic conditions by adopting specific strategies which promote financial stability and profitability. One of the specific objectives of this thesis was to evaluate the level of financial stress for two different agricultural production units in Oregon under differing leverage positions, and macroeconomic conditions. The production units selected for study were a cattle ranch and a wheat farm, based on their relative importance to Oregon. This first objective was satisfied through analysis of a baseline scenario, which was essentially a continuation of current conditions. Debt levels and growth rates were then altered to reflect the desired study conditions. Changing and considering three leverage ratios (20%, 40%, and 70%) and three sets of macroeconomic conditions (baseline, pessimistic, and optimistic) allowed studying of nine alternative situations to the base firm type or a total of 18 alternatives. Analysis of these different alternative production units was accomplished through a deterministic computer-based simulation model. The model simulates the financial structure and performance of a farm business over a transition period of four years with emphasis placed on the financial transactions of the firm. These transactions include purchases and sales of farm assets, financing terms, debt management, cash flows, tax obligations, consumption levels, and growth rates. The computer-based model made necessary calculations of cash flows and changes in financial statements to derive the ratios used for financial analysis over the planning horizon of four years beyond the present input case and is deterministic in the sense that all essential variables are entered by the researcher. Output from this model includes a set of coordinated financial statements for the firm over the planning horizon: a balance sheet, an income statement, statements for changes in net worth, flow of funds statement, and a fund availability report. The model also calculates profitability, liquidity, and solvency ratios used in financial ratio analysis which are provided on a summary sheet. These statements and reports are provided on an annual basis; thus, financial information is provided on yearly changes in financial position over the four year horizon. Another objective of this thesis was to evaluate various policy and management strategies designed to reduce financial stress. This objective was achieved by analysis of various scenarios designed to reduce stress simultaneously with the baseline case, which served for comparison. The specific scenarios considered were: 35% reduction of debt, 35% reduction of interest rates, two year deferral of debt, sales of 35% of total assets with no lease back, sales of 35% of total assets with lease back arrangements, and an infusion of equity capital equal to 35% of total debt. Results from this analysis were intended to show what, if any, courses of action could be pursued by agricultural firm managers and policy makers to reduce farm financial stress. The best test of the ability of these scenarios to reduce financial stress occurred in application to the high leverage wheat farm situations, as these were the cases with the most financial stress. Appropriate programs could be adopted to strengthen the financial position of the farm; in the case of low liquidity, asset sales-lease back; in cases of low solvency, equity infusions; and in circumstances where profitability needs to be enhanced, interest reductions would be the best choice. The results also seemed to suggested that public programs can maintain current levels of financial performance for producers under financial stress but do little to improve those positions. / Graduation date: 1988