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Immigration Rights and Resources for the Campus Community

Exercising Your Rights to Free Speech

Thomas Starkey

Portrait of Thomas Starkey

Advisor

Alison O’Dowd

Thomas Starkey, 2020

Thesis:

Thomas's research assessed the differences in terrestrial invertebrate and benthic macroinvertebrate (BMI) composition, biomass and abundance found in drift and benthos as well as in diets of juvenile Chinook salmon from two sites on the upper Trinity River, below Lewiston Dam. Further comparisons were made between daily and seasonal (February-April) variation found in drift and benthos and diets. The data collected will help to inform future research on the potential of experimental flow pulses released from Lewiston Dam to increase BMI drift forage abundance and other food resources available to juvenile Chinook salmon.

Matt Mitchell

Portrait of Matt Mitchell

Advisor

Alison O’Dowd

Matt Mitchell, 2012

Thesis:

Matt's research compared terrestrial invertebrate communities in Spartina densiflora-invaded and restored salt marshes along Humboldt Bay. Results showed significant differences in invertebrate community structure in S. densiflora invaded marsh when compared to samples taken in restored marsh. Richness and evenness of epibenthic and low canopy invertebrates was highest in the restored marsh. Both the invasive snail Myosotella myosotis and the native snail Littorina subrotundata displayed a strong association with invaded sites, while the native talitrid amphipod genus Orchestia was associated with restored sites. In restored Distichlis spicata dominated salt marsh, individuals in the order Hemiptera represented nearly 100% of all invertebrates sampled, the most abundant of which was in the family Delphacidae. The long-jawed orb weaver spider family Tetragnatha was found in relatively high abundance at invaded sites, but was nearly absent from Salicornia pacifica and D. spicata vegetation at restored sites. The taller height of S. densiflora (compared to native salt marsh vegetation) provides habitat niches and refugium at high tide not found in native salt marsh, and disrupts existing co-evolved relationships between invertebrates and native vegetation.

Rylee Rawson

Portrait of Rylee Rawson

Advisor

Alison O’Dowd

Rylee Rawson,

Thesis:
Characterizing Ecosystem Response to Stream Crossing Removal in Redwood National and State Park

Rylee's project explores the impact of restoration efforts in Redwood National and State Park (RNSP) on stream ecosystems. In the 1950s and 1960s, over half of RNSP was clear-cut, resulting in hundreds of miles of old logging roads that have contributed to significant hillslope erosion and sediment pollution in streams. In some extreme cases, roads were constructed directly in stream beds, burying entire tributaries under 10 to 20 feet of sediment. To address these issues, the National Park Service, California State Parks, and Save the Redwoods League have partnered to restore the landscape through forest thinning and road removal. Rylee's project will assess how stream ecosystems respond after road fill is removed, providing insights into successional processes in headwater streams and informing future restoration efforts.

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