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Presents a regional test of the Heckscher-Ohlin Theorem of trade. production of goods in the Pacific Northwest; Intensive use of energy and capital; Sparing use of labor.

This study proposes a statistical regression scheme to forecast tropical cyclone (TC) intensity at 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h in the northwestern Pacific region. This study utilizes best track data from the Shanghai Typhoon Institute (STI), China, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), United States, from 2000 to 2015. In addition to conventional factors involving climatology and persistence, this study pays close attention to the land effect on TC intensity change by considering a new factor involving the ratio of seawater area to land area (SL ratio) in the statistical regression model. TC intensity changes are investigated over the entire life-span, over the open ocean, near the coast, and after landfall. Data from 2000 to 2011 are used for model calibration, and data from 2012 to 2015 are used for model validation. The results show that the intensity change during the previous 12 h (DVMAX), the potential future intensity change (POT), and the area-averaged (200–800 km) wind shear at 1000–300 hPa (SHRD) are the most significant predictors of the intensity change for TCs over the open ocean and near the coast. Intensity forecasting for TCs near the coast and over land is improved with the addition of the SL ratio compared with that of the models that do not consider the SL ratio. As this study has considered the TC intensity change over the entire TC life-span, the proposed models are valuable and practical for forecasting TC intensity change over the open ocean, near the coast, and after landfall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent tsunamis affecting the West Coast of the USA have resulted in significant damage to ports and harbors, as well as to recreational and commercial vessels attempting to escape the tsunami. With the completion of tsunami inundation simulations for a distant tsunami originating from the Aleutian Islands and a locally generated tsunami on the Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ), the State of Oregon is now able to provide guidance on the magnitudes and directions of the simulated currents for the Oregon coast and shelf region. Our analyses indicate that first wave arrivals for an Aleutian Island event would take place on the north coast, ~ 3 h 40 min after the start of the earthquake, ~ 20 min later on the southern Oregon coast. The simulations demonstrated significant along-coast variability in both the tsunamis water levels and currents, caused by localized bathymetric effects (e.g., submarine banks and reefs). A locally generated CSZ event would reach the open coast within 7-13 min; maximum inundation occurs at ~ 30-40 min. As the tsunami current velocities increase, the potential for damage in ports and harbors correspondingly increases, while also affecting a vessels ability to maintain control out on the ocean. Scientific consensus suggests that tsunami currents < 1.54 m/s are unlikely to impact maritime safety in ports and harbors. No such guidance is available for boats operating on the ocean, though studies undertaken in Japan suggest that velocities in the region of 1-2 m/s may be damaging to boats. In addition to the effects of currents, there is the added potential for wave amplification of locally generated wind waves interacting with opposing tsunami currents in the offshore. Our analyses explore potential wave amplification effects for a range of generic sea states, ultimately producing a nomogram of wave amplification for a range of wave and opposing current conditions. These data will be useful for US Coast Guard and Port authorities as they evaluate maritime tsunami evacuation options for the Oregon coast. Finally, we identify three regions of hazard (high, moderate, and low) across the Oregon shelf, which can be used to help guide final designation of tsunami maritime evacuation zones for the coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has caused shifts in the phenology and distributions of many species but comparing responses across species is challenged by inconsistencies in the methodology and taxonomic and temporal scope of individual studies. Natural history collections offer a rich source of data for examining phenological shifts for a large number of species. We paired specimen records from Pacific Northwest insect collections to climate data to analyze the responses of 215 moth species to interannual climate variation over a period of 119 years (1895–2013) during which average annual temperatures have increased in the region. We quantified the effects of late winter/early spring temperatures, averaged annually across the region, on dates of occurrence of adults, taking into account the effects of elevation, latitude, and longitude. We assessed whether species-specific phenological responses varied with adult flight season and larval diet breadth. Collection dates were significantly earlier in warmer years for 36.3% of moth species, and later for 3.7%. Species exhibited an average phenological advance of 1.9 days/°C, but species-specific shifts ranged from an advance of 10.3 days/°C to a delay of 10.6 days/°C. More spring-flying species shifted their phenology than summer- or fall-flying species. These responses did not vary among groups defined by larval diet breadth. The highly variable phenological responses to climate change in Pacific Northwest moths agree with other studies on Lepidoptera and suggest that it will remain difficult to accurately forecast which species and ecological interactions are most likely to be affected by climate change. Our results also underscore the value of natural history collections as windows into long-term ecological trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lophodermium is a large fungal genus consisting of over 100 named species, with ca. 38 of these commonly found as endophytes of pine needles. In this study, we use both morphological and sequencing data to describe a new Lophodermium species associated with haploxylon pines from the Pacific Northwest. This new species resembled the morphology of L. nitens, another commonly occurring species from the same geographic regions and host species. They both present dark subcuticular ascocarps without lips. However, the upper walls of their ascocarps are different, as the new species forms an inward V-shaped folding, not present in L. nitens. Phylogenies using nuc rDNA internal transcribed spacer barcodes (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2 = ITS), partial D1-D2 domains of nuc rDNA 28S, and partial sequences of the nuc actin gene confirmed that this species represents a unique lineage not closely related to L. nitens. We discuss the current state of the phylogeny in light of all currently available sequences from pine-associated Lophodermium species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Octopus minor (Sasaki, 1920) is an important economic fishery resource in China. In order to explore the stock information and the phylogeographic status of O. minor, mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI, 565 bp) and 16S rRNA (493 bp) genes were amplified from 11 different sampling locations. Genetic diversity evaluated by haplotypic and nucleotidic diversity implied high diversity in Lianjiang, and relatively low diversity in Rongcheng, which suggests that effective measures to protect the O. minor resource in this area are urgently required. Private haplotypes and remarkable higher pairwise ΦST in Yilan are responsible for the deep genetic divergence between Yilan and the 10 other populations. Haplotypes networks and two clusters’ topological structure also support the distinct subgroups (lineages A and lineages B), which apparently possess smaller genetic variation than mean interspecies distance. Taiwan island and its strait may act as a natural barrier that restricts the gene flow from the mainland. Deep genetic divergence between mainland and Taiwanese east coasts suggests different genetic stock, indicating that different management strategies are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil-borne seed pathogens are omnipresent but are often overlooked components of a community’s biotic resistance to plant naturalization and invasion. Using multi-year greenhouse experiments, we compared the seed mortality of single invasive, naturalized, and native grass species in sterilized and unsterilized soils collected from Pacific Northwest (USA) steppe and forest communities. Native Pseudoroegneria spicata displayed the greatest seed mortality, naturalized Secale cereale displayed intermediate seed mortality, and invasive Bromus tectorum was least affected by soil pathogens. Seed mortality across all three species was consistently greater in soils collected from steppe than soils collected from forest; seeds sown into sterilized steppe soil experienced half the overall seed mortality compared to seeds sown into unsterilized steppe soil. Soil sterilization did not affect grass seed mortality in forest soils. We conclude that (1) removing soil-borne pathogens with sterilization does increase native and non-native grass seed survival, and (2) soil-borne pathogens may influence whether an introduced species becomes invasive or naturalized within these Pacific Northwest communities as a result of differential seed survival. Soil-borne pathogens in these communities, however, have the greatest negative effect on the survival of native grass seeds, suggesting that the native microbial soil flora more effectively attack seeds of native plants than seeds of non-native species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Forest Research is the property of Canadian Science Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We report the first direct evidence for the transoceanic transport of living marine Ostracoda. Seven benthic, phytal species, Sclerochilus verecundus Schornikov, 1981, Sclerochilus sp. 1, Sclerochilus sp. 2, Obesostoma cf. setosum (Okubo, 1977), Obesostoma sp., Paradoxostomatidae sp., and Xestoleberis setouchiensis Okubo, 1979, were transported in tsunami debris that departed the Japanese coast in March 2011 amongst the biofouling on docks, vessels, and buoys that subsequently landed on the Pacific coast of North America. Remarkably, X. setouchiensis survived more than four years rafting through the North Pacific, with a living specimen still arriving in April 2015. Marine debris in general, and tsunami debris specifically, adds to the long list of vectors by which species may be transported globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The jumbo flying squidDosidicus gigasis a pelagic squid species extensively distributed in the Eastern Pacific Ocean with climate-related geographical variability. An analysis was carried out to evaluate impacts of climatic and oceanographic variability on spatial distribution ofD. gigasin the Southeast Pacific Ocean off Peru. Logbook data of the 2006–2013 Chinese squid-jigging fishery were used to determine latitudinal gravity centres (LATG) of fishing ground ofD. gigasin relation to sea surface temperature (SST), chlorophyll-a(chl-a) concentration and sea surface height (SSH), coupled with the SST anomaly (SSTA) in the Niño 1 + 2 region. Results indicated that the SSTA in the Niño 1 + 2 region played crucial influences on SST, chl-aand SSH on the fishing ground ofD. gigas. The LATG ofD. gigasexhibited seasonal and interannual variability with closely associations with SST, chl-a, and SSH. Significantly positive relationships were found between monthly LATG and the average latitude of the most favourable contour lines of SST, chl-a, and SSH forD. gigas, with time lags at 0, 7, and 0 month, respectively. The spatial pattern of LATG largely responded to climate-induced oceanographic variability on the squid fishing ground: the Niño 1 + 2 SSTA became warm, the most favourable SST and SSH contour lines forD. gigaswould move southward, resulting in a southward movement of the LATG; however, the Niño 1 + 2 SSTA shifted into cold episodes, the most favourable SST and SSH contour lines forD. gigaswould shift northward, leading to a northward shift of the LATG. Our findings suggested that the SSTA in the Niño 1 + 2 region coupled with the most favourable contour lines of SST and SSH were the major drivers regulating the latitudinal movement of fishing ground ofD. gigasin the Southeast Pacific Ocean off Peruvian waters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article presents a case study of the ecosystem-based management model embedded within British Columbia's Marine Plan Partnership for the Pacific North Coast and the Great Bear Initiative. These are two distinct, yet linked, examples of resource management and economic development that use ecosystem-based management in a way that incorporates indigenous perspectives and aspirations. The model potentially provides a framework that other countries, including Aotearoa (New Zealand), could examine and adapt to their own contexts using new governance structures and working with indigenous perspectives that include traditional ecological knowledge and aspirations. The case study is presented from a Māori perspective that represents both an insider (indigenous) and outsider (non-First Nations) view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of quagga and zebra mussel (dreissenids) monitoring programs in the Pacific Northwest provides a unique opportunity to evaluate a regional invasive species detection effort early in its development. Recent studies suggest that the ecological and economic costs of a dreissenid infestation in the Pacific Northwest of the USA would be significant. Consequently, efforts are underway to monitor for the presence of dreissenids. However, assessments of whether these efforts provide for early detection are lacking. We use information collected from 2012 to 2014 to characterize the development of larval dreissenid monitoring programs in the states of Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington in the context of introduction and establishment risk. We also estimate the effort needed for high-probability detection of rare planktonic taxa in four Columbia and Snake River reservoirs and assess whether the current level of effort provides for early detection. We found that the effort expended to monitor for dreissenid mussels increased substantially from 2012 to 2014, that efforts were distributed across risk categories ranging from high to very low, and that substantial gaps in our knowledge of both introduction and establishment risk exist. The estimated volume of filtered water required to fully census planktonic taxa or to provide high-probability detection of rare taxa was high for the four reservoirs examined. We conclude that the current level of effort expended does not provide for high-probability detection of larval dreissenids or other planktonic taxa when they are rare in these reservoirs. We discuss options to improve early detection capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite controversy about effects of plantation forestry on streamflow, streamflow response to forest plantations over multiple decades is not well understood. Analysis of 60-year records of daily streamflow from eight paired-basin experiments in the Pacific Northwest of the United States (Oregon) revealed that the conversion of old-growth forest to Douglas-fir plantations had a major effect on summer streamflow. Average daily streamflow in summer (July through September) in basins with 34- to 43-year-old plantations of Douglas-fir was 50% lower than streamflow from reference basins with 150- to 500-year-old forests dominated by Douglas-fir, western hemlock, and other conifers. Study plantations are comparable in terms of age class, treatments, and growth rates to managed forests in the region. Young Douglas-fir trees, which have higher sapwood area, higher sapflow per unit of sapwood area, higher concentration of leaf area in the upper canopy, and less ability to limit transpiration, appear to have higher rates of evapotranspiration than old trees of conifer species, especially during dry summers. Reduced summer streamflow in headwater basins with forest plantations may limit aquatic habitat and exacerbate stream warming, and it may also alter water yield and timing in much larger basins. Legacies of past forest management or extensive natural disturbances may be confounded with effects of climate change on streamflow in large river basins. Continued research is needed using long-term paired-basin studies and process studies to determine the effects of forest management on streamflow deficits in a variety of forest types and forest management systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biomass burning emissions emit a significant amount of trace gases and aerosols and can affect atmospheric chemistry and radiative forcing for hundreds or thousands of kilometres downwind. They can also contribute to exceedances of air quality standards and have negative impacts on human health. We present a case study of an intense wildfire plume from Siberia that affected the air quality across the Pacific Northwest on 6-10 July 2012. Using satellite measurements (MODIS True Colour RGB imagery and MODIS AOD), we track the wildfire smoke plume from its origin in Siberia to the Pacific Northwest where subsidence ahead of a subtropical Pacific High made the plume settle over the region. The normalized enhancement ratios of O3 and PM¹ relative to CO of 0.26 and 0.08 are consistent with a plume aged 6-10 days. The aerosol mass in the plume was mainly submicron in diameter (PM1 =PM2.5 D0.96) and the part of the plume sampled at the Whistler High Elevation Monitoring Site (2182ma.s.l.) was 88% organic material. Stable atmospheric conditions along the coast limited the initial entrainment of the plume and caused local anthropogenic emissions to build up. A synthesis of air quality from the regional surface monitoring networks describes changes in ambient O3 and PM2.5 during the event and contrasts them to baseline air quality estimates from the AURAMS chemical transport model without wildfire emissions. Overall, the smoke plume contributed significantly to the exceedances in O3 and PM2.5 air quality standards and objectives that occurred at several communities in the region during the event. Peak enhancements in 8 h O3 of 34-44 ppbv and 24 h PM2.5 of 10-32 μgm-3 were attributed to the effects of the smoke plume across the Interior of British Columbia and at the Whistler Peak High Elevation Site. Lesser enhancements of 10-12 ppbv for 8 h O3 and of 4-9 μgm-3 for 24 h PM2.5 occurred across coastal British Columbia and Washington State. The findings suggest that the large air quality impacts seen during this event were a combination of the efficient transport of the plume across the Pacific, favourable entrainment conditions across the BC interior, and the large scale of the Siberian wildfire emissions. A warming climate increases the risk of increased wildfire activity and events of this scale reoccurring under appropriate meteorological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insect pests often exhibit predictable seasonal population dynamics in response to temperature and other environmental drivers. Understanding these dynamics is critical to developing effective integrated pest management strategies. Here we studied the seasonal phenology and feeding activity of two wireworm species that are major pests of wheat crops in the Pacific Northwestern United States, Limonius californicus and L. infuscatus. We conducted monthly sampling of the damaging larval stages of both species in commercial spring wheat fields in Washington and Idaho throughout 2013 and 2014. These data were used to model the seasonal phenology and feeding activity of each species in relation to soil temperature. We found larvae of both species were most abundant relatively early in the season, with total wireworms captures in soil cores declining as the season progressed. Larvae of both species were collected predominantly in the top 70 cm of the soil profile, suggesting that they primarily feed on plant roots and seeds up to this depth. While patterns of seasonal abundance of both species were similar, feeding activity varied significantly between the two species. Our results indicate that as spring moves into summer L. californicus feeds more aggressively, whereas the activity of L. infuscatus decreases as the crop season progresses. These differences might help explain why L. californicus is generally a more economically damaging pest that also threatens winter crops, while damage from L. infuscatus is generally limited to the spring. Accordingly, management strategies for each species should be tailored to their specific seasonal dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government and industry discussion of the Triple 3 Resilience Target was the focus of the 2014 Cascadia Earthquake Readiness Workshop in Washington, United States. Workshop findings are presented from breakout sessions on critical energy infrastructure, ports and waterways, and emergency management. These prompted the examination of new perspectives on building resilience into lifeline infrastructure systems (lifelines which are critical infrastructure), including a call for new Pacific Northwest regional, collaborative, crosssector public-private leadership groups to develop coordinated restoration priorities, and enacting policies to promote, enforce, and track the building of resilience in complex, interdependent infrastructure systems. Finally, the resilience prism is introduced, which displays the link between critical infrastructure resilience and the Triple 3 Resilience Target to address postdisaster needs for both individuals and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a list of publications in 2012 about the history and culture of the Pacific Northwest region in North America including "British Columbia History," "McCleary Museum Newsletter," and "Overland Journal."

The article provides a bibliography on Pacific Northwest history including the articles "Remembering the School Christmas Concert" by Helen Raptis, "Out from Shadows, Up from Fields," by Errol D. Jones, and "Dealing in Disaster," by Darren Ullmann.

A list is presented of the periodicals, books, and websites on Northwest history which are located at the Washington State library including the spring 2009 edition of the journal "American Indian Art Magazine," the book "An Aleutian Ethnography," by Lucien M. Turner, edited by Raymond L. Hudson, and the website "Paper Trail: A Guide to Overland Pioneer Names and Documents--Oregon-California Trails Association," located at http://www.paper-trail.org/.

The article reports on technical papers presented at the annual joint meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers Pacific Northwest Section and the Canadian Institute of Marine Engineering on February 11, 2006 in North Vancouver, British Columbia. They include "Goal Keeping in the 21st Century. The Role of the International Maritime Organization in Shipbuilding and Design: Current Trends" and "New Technology in Hull Coatings."

The impacts of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) on the northwest Pacific (NWP) climate during ENSO decay summers are investigated based on the outputs of 37 coupled general circulation models (CGCMs) from phase 5 of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP5). Large intermodel spread exists in the 37 state-of-the-art CGCMs in simulating the ENSO-NWP relationship. Eight high-skill and eight low-skill models are selected to explore how the bias arises. By comparing the results among high-skill models, low-skill models, and observations, the simulation skill of the ENSO-NWP relationship largely depends on whether the model can reasonably reproduce the ENSO decay pace. Warm SST anomaly bias in the equatorial western Pacific (EWP) is found to persist into the ENSO decay summer in the low-skill models, obstructing the formation of an anomalous anticyclone in the NWP. Further analysis shows that the warm EWP SST anomaly bias is possibly related to the excessive westward extension of cold tongue in these models, which increases climatological zonal SST gradient in the EWP. Under westerly wind anomalies, the larger climatological zonal SST gradient could lead to warmer zonal advections in the low-skill models than that in the high-skill models, which could lead to warm EWP SST anomaly bias in the low-skill models. And the warm EWP SST anomaly bias could strengthen westerly wind anomalies over the western Pacific by triggering convection and atmospheric Rossby waves, which, in turn, could maintain the warm SST anomaly bias in the EWP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pelagic dispersal of most benthic marine organisms is a fundamental driver of population distribution and persistence and is thought to lead to highly mixed populations. However, the mechanisms driving dispersal pathways of larvae along open coastlines are largely unknown. To examine the degree to which early stages can remain spatially coherent during dispersal, we measured genetic relatedness within a large pulse of newly recruited splitnose rockfish (Sebastes diploproa), a live-bearing fish whose offspring settle along the US Pacific Northwest coast after spending up to a year in the pelagic environment. A total of 11.6% of the recruits in a single recruitment pulse were siblings, providing the first evidence for persistent aggregation throughout a long dispersal period. Such protracted aggregation has profound implications for our understanding of larval dispersal, population connectivity, and gene flow within demersal marine populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the history of racial exclusion of black sailors in the Pacific Northwest and the Atlantic Southeast of the U.S. Topics discussed include exclusionary laws established by policy-makers in Oregon Country prior to the Civil war, and exclusions in the state continuing past it attaining statehood in 1859.

Accurate assessment of forest carbon storage and uptake is central to policymaking aimed at mitigating climate change and understanding the role forests play in the global carbon cycle. Disturbances have highly diverse impacts on forest carbon dynamics, making them a challenge to quantify and report. Time since disturbance is a key intermediate determinant that aids the assessment of disturbancedriven carbon emissions and removals legacies. We propose a new methodology of quantifying time since disturbance and carbon flux across forested landscapes in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) at a fine scale (30 m) by combining remote sensing (RS)-based disturbance year, disturbance type, and above-ground biomass with forest inventory data. When a recent disturbance is detected, time since disturbance can be directly determined by combining three RSderived disturbance products, or time since the last stand clearing can be inferred from a RS-derived 30m biomass map and field inventory-derived species-specific biomass accumulation curves. Net ecosystem productivity (NEP) is further mapped based on carbon stock and flux trajectories derived from the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model in our prior work that described how NEP changes with time following harvest, fire, or bark beetle disturbances of varying severity. Uncertainties from biomass map and forest inventory data were propagated by probabilistic sampling to provide a statistical distribution of stand age and NEP for each forest pixel. We mapped mean, standard deviation, and statistical distribution of stand age and NEP at 30m in the PNW region. Our map indicated a net ecosystem productivity of 5.9 Tg C yr-1 for forestlands circa 2010 in the study area, with net uptake in relatively mature (> 24 years old) forests (13.6 Tg C yr-1) overwhelming net negative NEP from tracts that had recent harvests (-6.4 TgC yr-1), fires (-0.5 TgC yr-1), and bark beetle outbreaks (-0.8 TgC yr-1). The approach will be applied to forestlands in other regions of the conterminous US to advance a more comprehensive monitoring, mapping, and reporting of the carbon consequences of forest change across the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Wildlife Monographs is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Introduction: Using real-world data from the Providence Oregon Telestroke Network, we examined the cost-effectiveness of telestroke from both the spoke and hub perspectives by level of financial responsibility for these costs and by patient stroke severity.Methods: We constructed a decision analytic model using patient-level clinical and financial data from before and after telestroke implementation. Effectiveness was measured as quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and was combined with cost per patient outcomes to calculate incremental cost effectiveness ratios (ICERs). Outcomes were generated (a) overall; (b) by stroke severity, via the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) at time of arrival, defined as low (<5), medium (5-14) and high (>15); and (c) by percentage of implementation costs paid by spokes (0%, 50%, 100%).Results: Data for 864 patients, 98 pre- and 766 post-implementation, were used to parameterize our model. From the spoke perspective, telestroke had ICERs of US$1322/QALY, US$25,991/QALY and US$50,687/QALY when responsible for 0%, 50%, and 100% of these costs, respectively. Overall, the ICER ranged from US$22,363/QALY to US$71,703/QALY from the hub perspective.Conclusions: Our results support previous models showing good value, overall. However, costs and ICERs varied by stroke severity, with telestroke being most cost-effective for severe strokes. Telestroke was least cost effective for the spokes if spokes paid for more than half of implementation costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marbled murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) is a declining seabird that is well-known for nesting in coastal old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest. Most studies of habitat selection have focused on modeling terrestrial nesting habitat even though marine habitat is believed to be a major contributor to population declines in some regions. To address this information gap, we conducted a 5-year study of marine resource selection by murrelets in Washington, which contains a population experiencing the steepest documented declines and where marine habitat is believed to be compromised. Across five years we tracked 157 radio-tagged murrelets during the breeding season (May to August), and used discrete choice models to examine habitat selection. Using an information theoretic approach, our global model had the most support, suggesting that murrelet resource selection at-sea is affected by many factors, both terrestrial and marine. Locations with higher amounts of nesting habitat (β = 21.49, P < 0.001) that were closer to shore (β = -0.0007, P < 0.001) and in cool waters (β = -0.2026, P < 0.001) with low footprint (β = -0.0087, P < 0.001) had higher probabilities of use. While past conservation efforts have focused on protecting terrestrial nesting habitat, we echo many past studies calling for future efforts to protect marine habitat for murrelets, as the current emphasis on terrestrial habitat alone may be insufficient for conserving populations. In particular, marine areas in close proximity to old-growth nesting habitat appear important for murrelets during the breeding season and should be priorities for protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The western winter-spring cohort of Ommastrephes bartramii exhibited dynamic stock level associated with concurrent shifts in the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) during 2002-2011. To explore the potential mechanism on regional oceanic conditions related to the large-scale PDO phenomenon affecting O. bartramii stocks, we examined variations in the environmental condition on the spawning ground for recruitment, spatial distribution of fishing effort, and habitat hotspots on the fishing ground during different PDO phases. The PDO was found to be highly correlated with the biophysical environmental conditions on the spawning and fishing grounds of O. bartramii. The suitable spawning zone (SSZ) considered as an indicator of incubation condition was not sufficient to explain the recruitment variability. However, the changing chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentration induced variations in feeding condition for squid paralarvae and juveniles, primarily influencing the O. bartramii recruitment. Comparing to the cold PDO phase, high frequency of fishing effort occupied the regions with lower sea surface temperature (SST) and relatively enhanced Chl-a concentration during the warm PDO phase. The location of fishing efforts tended to be intensive and shifted westward and northward in the cold PDO phase. Moreover, the warm PDO yielded prominently enlarged squid habitat hotspots. This study suggests that stock level of western winter-spring cohort of O. bartramii can be explained by the local environmental conditions including the food availability on the spawning ground, SST, and Chl-a concentration on the fishing ground affecting squid spatial distributions, which could be reflected by the PDO climate variability in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Path analyses of historical streamflow data from the Pacific Northwest indicate that the precipitation amount has been the dominant control on the magnitude of low streamflow extremes compared to the air temperature-affected timing of snowmelt runoff. The relative sensitivities of low streamflow to precipitation and temperature changes have important implications for adaptation planning because global circulation models produce relatively robust estimates of air temperature changes but have large uncertainties in projected precipitation amounts in the Pacific Northwest U.S. Quantile regression analyses indicate that low streamflow extremes from the majority of catchments in this study have declined from 1948 to 2013, which may significantly affect terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and water resource management. Trends in the 25th percentile of mean annual streamflow have declined and the center of timing has occurred earlier. We quantify the relative influences of total precipitation and air temperature on the annual low streamflow extremes from 42 stream gauges using mean annual streamflow as a proxy for precipitation amount effects and streamflow center of timing as a proxy for temperature effects on low flow metrics, including 7q10 summer (the minimum 7 day flow during summer with a 10 year return period), mean August, mean September, mean summer, 7q10 winter, and mean winter flow metrics. These methods have the benefit of using only readily available streamflow data, which makes our results robust against systematic errors in high elevation distributed precipitation data. Winter low flow metrics are weakly tied to both mean annual streamflow and center of timing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the transition of juveniles from fresh water to estuarine and coastal environments, the survival of Pacific salmon ( Oncorhynchus spp.) can be strongly size selective and cohort abundance is partly determined at this stage. Because quantity and quality of food influence juvenile salmon growth, high rates of prey and energy acquisition during estuarine residence are important for survival. Human activities may have affected the foraging performance of juvenile salmon in estuaries by reducing the area of wetlands and by altering the abundance of salmon. To improve our understanding of the effects of wetland loss and salmon density on juvenile salmon foraging performance and diet composition in estuaries, we assembled Chinook salmon ( Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) diet and density data from nine US Pacific Northwest estuaries across a gradient of wetland loss. We evaluated the influence of wetland loss and density on juvenile Chinook salmon instantaneous ration and energy ration, two measures of foraging performance, and whether the effect of density varied among estuaries with different levels of wetland loss. We also assessed the influence of wetland loss and other explanatory variables on salmon diet composition. There was no evidence of a direct effect of wetland loss on juvenile salmon foraging performance, but wetland loss appeared to mediate the effect of density on salmon foraging performance and alter salmon diet composition. Specifically, density had no effect on foraging performance in the estuaries with less than 50 % wetland loss but had a negative effect on foraging performance in the estuaries with greater than 50 % wetland loss. These results suggest that habitat loss may interact with density to constrain the foraging performance of juvenile Chinook salmon, and ultimately their growth, during a life history stage when survival can be positively correlated with growth and size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Review of specimens of long-tailed shrews (Mammalia, Soricidae, Sorex) from the northwestern United States in the National Museum of Natural History (USNM), Washington, DC, has revealed the presence of the Olympic Shrew, Sorex rohweri Rausch et al., 2007, in the Coastal Range west of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. This determination nearly doubles the documented distribution for this species and increases the species diversity of soricids in Oregon to eleven. Sorex rohweri is relatively uncommon, but it occurs in a variety of forest successional stages and even clear cuts, as long as there is nearby forest and trees are allowed to regenerate. All USNM specimens from Washington formerly identified as S. cinereus streatori Merriam, 1895 are instead referable to the Olympic Shrew. The distribution of S. c. streatori is thereby restricted to the Pacific coasts of British Columbia north of the lower Frasier River and southcentral Alaska. Our study highlights the importance of taking and preserving high-quality voucher specimens in a collection where they are readily available for re-study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The northwestern Pacific (NWP) is a fog-prone area, especially the ocean east of the Kuril Islands. The present study analyzes how the Pacific-Japan (PJ) teleconnection pattern influences July sea fog in the fog-prone area using independent datasets. The covariation between the PJ index and sea fog frequency (SFF) index in July indicates a close correlation, with a coefficient of 0.62 exceeding the 99% confidence level. Composite analysis based on the PJ index, a case study, and model analysis based on GFDL-ESM2M, show that in high PJ index years the convection over the east of the Philippines strengthens and then triggers a Rossby wave, which propagates northward to maintain an anticyclonic anomaly in the midlatitudes, indicating a northeastward shift of the NWP subtropical high. The anticyclonic anomaly facilitates the formation of relatively stable atmospheric stratification or even an inversion layer in the lower level of the troposphere, and strengthens the horizontal southerly moisture transportation from the tropical-subtropical oceans to the fog-prone area. On the other hand, a greater meridional SST gradient over the cold flank of the Kuroshio Extension, due to ocean downwelling, is produced by the anticyclonic wind stress anomaly. Both of these two aspects are favorable for the warm and humid air to cool, condense, and form fog droplets, when air masses cross the SST front. The opposite circumstances occur in low PJ index years, which are not conducive to the formation of sea fog. Finally, a multi-model ensemble mean projection reveals a prominent downward trend of the PJ index after the 2030s, implying a possible decline of the SFF in this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this educational outreach project was to examine perceptions of driver distraction among teenagers in the Pacific Northwest. Specifically, to identify secondary tasks this group may consider distracting and determine their self-reported engagement in those same secondary tasks while driving. An interactive presentation was developed and administered to 1,400 teenage drivers. Teenagers from age 14 to 18 years were recruited from high schools in Washington, Idaho, and Oregon with an approximately equal sample in each State. Of these participants, 1,006 teenage drivers responded to a pre- and postknowledge survey administered immediately before and 2 weeks after the interactive presentation. The purpose of the survey was to measure the degree to which the interactive presentation improved teenage driver perspectives regarding the hazards of distracted driving. Results indicated that the interactive presentation positively influenced teenage driver perspectives, meaning that after the interactive presentation, teenage drivers were more likely to correctly identify different types of distracted driving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Pacific Northwest, control over lucrative and dwindling salmon fisheries have served as the primary source of contention between Native Americans and non-Indians for nearly 200 years. Despite the lopsided power dynamics favoring the states, and the commercial and recreational stakeholders whose interests are championed by State authority, fishing tribes have successfully infiltrated prevailing decision-making bodies and have taken a leading role in efforts to save the salmon from the perils of overfishing and habitat destruction utilizing a combination of scientific methods and traditional knowledge. This study examines the efforts of fishing tribes in Washington State to protect their customary and commercial fishing rights as a key project in a broader process of decolonizing state institutions that have historically controlled Indigenous resources as well as the entrenched ideological foundations that have historically devalued Native American culture. Examined through the lenses of racial formation, state-building and environmental justice theories, this case provides broader lessons for how scholars of social inequality can investigate the mechanisms through which racial inequality is both produced and resisted. Our findings contribute to undertheorized areas in the social inequality literature by taking history seriously, while paying particular attention to the ways that legal, political, and cultural mechanisms interact to reinforce systems of stratification or to reveal opportunities for meaningful resistance. Our analyses also foreground the role of human agency in successfully challenging long-standing legal and cultural foundations of racial inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The responses of river runoff to shifts of large-scale climatic patterns are of increasing concerns to water resource planners and managers for long-term climate change adaptation. El Niño, as one of the most dominant modes of climate variability, is closely linked to hydrologic extremes such as floods and droughts that cause great loss of lives and properties. However, the different impacts of the two types of El Niño, i.e., central Pacific (CP-) and eastern Pacific (EP-)El Niño, on runoff across the conterminous US (CONUS) are not well understood. This study characterizes the impacts of the CP- and EP-El Niño on seasonal and annual runoff using observed streamflow data from 658 reference gaging stations and the NCAR-CCSM4 model. We found that surface runoff responds similarly to the two types of El Niño events in southeastern, central, southern, and western coastal regions, but differently in northeast (NE), Pacific northwest (PNW) and west north central (WNC) climatic zones. Specifically, EP-El Niño events tend to bring above-average runoff in NE, WNC, and PNW throughout the year while CP-El Niño events cause below-than normal runoff in the three regions. Similar findings were also found by analyzing NCAR-CCSM4 model outputs that captured both the CP- and EP-El Niño events, representing the best data set among CMIP5 models. The CCSM4 model simulates lower runoff values during CP-El Niño years than those in EP-El Niño over all of the three climatic regions (NE, PNW, and WNC) during 1950-1999. In the future (2050-2099), for both types of El Niño years, runoff is projected to increase over the NE and PNW regions, mainly due to increased precipitation (P). In contrast, the increase of future evapotranspiration (ET) exceeds that of future P, leading to a projected decrease in runoff over the WNC region. In addition, model analysis indicates that all of the three regions (NE, PNW, and WNC) are projected to have lower runoff in CP-El Niño years than in EP-El Niño years. Our study suggests that the US water resources may be distributed more unevenly in space and time with more frequent and intense flood and drought events. The findings from this study have important implications to water resource management at regional scales. Information generated from this study may help water resource planners to anticipate the influence of two different types of El Niño events on droughts and floods across the CONUS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change is likely to have significant impacts on river systems, particularly on rivers dominated by seasonal snowmelt. In addition to altering the timing and magnitude of streamflow, climate change can affect the energy available to transport sediment, as well as the availability of sediment to be transported. These hydrologic changes are sensitive to local climate, which is largely controlled by topography, but climate models cannot resolve processes at these scales. Here, I investigate impacts of climate change on streamflow and suspended-sediment transport for three snowmelt-dominated rivers in the interior Pacific Northwest - the Tucannon River in Washington and the South Fork Coeur d'Alene and Red rivers in Idaho - using downscaled climate simulations from regional climate models (a range of three models plus an ensemble average) to drive a basin-scale hydrologic model. The results indicate that climate change is likely to amplify the annual cycle of river discharge, producing higher winter discharge (increases in ensemble mean January discharge ranging from 4.1% to 34.4% for the three rivers), an earlier spring snowmelt peak (by approximately one month), and lower summer discharge (decreases in ensemble mean July discharge ranging from 5.2% to 47.2%), relative to a late 20th-century baseline. The magnitude of the largest simulated flood under the ensemble-average climate change scenario increases by 0.6-41.6% across the three rivers. Simulated changes in suspended-sediment transport generally follow the changes in streamflow. These changes in discharge and sediment transport will likely produce significant impacts on the study rivers, including changes in flooding, physical habitat, and river morphology. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new stochastic water quality modeling tool was applied to quantify potential climate change effects on a nutrient impaired reach in the Pacific Northwest. This tool allows for multiple stochastic inputs for steady state river water quality simulations. A previously published calibrated deterministic model of the targeted reach was adapted for this study. This model simulates steady-state nutrient, algae, and dissolved oxygen dynamics with both point and nonpoint pollutant loadings. It also includes simulation of diurnally varying water temperature, calculated as a function of air temperature, shading, and streamflow using heat budget equations. For this study, local summer air temperature and critical low flows were treated stochastically in the model. Parameterization of these inputs was based on analysis of multiple global climate model (GCM) projections for the study area corresponding to a 2060 planning horizon. Continuous probability distribution functions were fitted to ensemble GCM data sets grouped according to two different greenhouse gas emission scenarios (best case, worst case). Climate projections were translated into summer low flows using a simple empirical regression hydrologic model that was developed on the basis of observed historical data. Model outputs are provided probabilistically, helping to quantify levels of climate model consensus and capturing a portion of the large uncertainty associated with the forecasts. This type of framework is valuable in its support of planning decision making. Results specific to this study indicate that, whereas reach dissolved oxygen and algae biomass levels are relatively insensitive to projected climate change, simulated stream water temperature changes could have an adverse effect on native salmon populations in the region. The demonstrated methods are believed to be generally transferable to other river water quality studies and are recommended as an option for planning studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Organic wheat and small grains are produced on relatively few acres in the inland Pacific Northwest. The objective of this study was to examine how the nitrogen (N) dynamics of cropping systems (CSs) produced during the transition phase impacted organic wheat yield and protein levels in the first 2 years of certified organic production. Certified organic spring wheat (SW) was produced in 2006 and winter wheat (WW) in 2007 following nine, 3-year transitional cereal, small grain and legume-intensive CSs. SW and WW following perennial alfalfa + oat/pea forage or 3 years of legume green manure tended to be more productive than wheat that followed systems that contained a small grain crop for at least 1 year during the transition. In addition to increasing soil N, well-established stands of forage and green manure provided adequate cover to reduce weed establishment prior to organic production. Effective weed control strategies were as important as increasing soil inorganic N levels for improving organic wheat production. Choice of crop type, cultivar and rotation is important in organic wheat systems and in this study, WW had better stand establishment, competition with weeds and higher overall yield than SW and would be a better-suited class of wheat for organic production in situations where spring weeds are the dominant problem. Regardless of CS or crop type, supplemental soil fertility (primarily N) during the organic production phase will be necessary to maintain high soil N levels and wheat yields in these dryland systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change is expected to change the discharge and sediment transport regime of river systems. Because rivers adjust their channels to accommodate their typical inputs of water and sediment, changes in these variables can potentially alter river morphology. In this study, a hierarchical modeling approach was developed and applied to examine potential changes in reach-averaged bedload transport and spatial patterns of erosion and deposition for three snowmelt-dominated gravel-bed rivers in the interior Pacific Northwest. The modeling hierarchy was based on discharge and suspended-sediment load from a basin-scale hydrologic model driven by a range of downscaled climate-change scenarios. In the field, channel morphology and sediment grain-size data for all three rivers were collected. Changes in reach-averaged bedload transport were estimated using the Bedload Assessment of Gravel-bedded Streams (BAGS) software, and the Cellular Automaton Evolutionary Slope and River (CAESAR) model was used to simulate the spatial pattern of erosion and deposition within each reach to infer potential changes in channel geometry and planform. The duration of critical discharge was found to control bedload transport. Changes in channel geometry were simulated for the two higher-energy river reaches, but no significant morphological changes were found for a lower-energy reach with steep, cohesive banks. Changes in sediment transport and river morphology resulting from climate change could affect the management of river systems for human and ecological uses. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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