FOREST PROGRAM
Strategic Priorities

Annual Review of ONRC Research

Conference Reports

ONRC Research
Whitepapers
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

External Research
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

External Research 2000

Title:
Does Riparian Red Alder Increase Fish Performance?

Principal investigator(s); affiliations(s):
Dr. Robert Edmonds; University of Washington
Dr. Peter M. Kiffney; University of Washington

Award:
$44,850

Project description:
A management practice becoming more common in the Pacific Northwest is to remove red alder bordering streams and replant with conifers, because conifers provide a more stable supply of large woody debris to streams, and thus form important fish habitat. This research tests the hypothesis that streams bordered by red alder are more productive than streams bordered by coniferous species. Researchers will examine litter inputs, stream water nutrient chemistry, periphyton biomass, stream invertebrate and vertebrate abundance and biomass, and elemental dynamics (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous content) of these compartments in small streams on the Olympic Peninsula (Skokomish and Hoh River drainages) with contrasting riparian forests. Riparian vegetation at one set of streams (n = 3-4) is dominated by stands of red alder. This project will also conduct experiments to examine the response to stream food webs, including juvenile coho salmon (Onchorhynchus kisutch) to different litter types (i.e., alder verses conifer needles). Results from our comparative and experimental studies will provide information on the influences of litter type on nutrient dynamics and ecosystem productivity in streams of the Olympic Peninsula; this information is essential for designing ecologically effective management strategies for riparian forests, their streams and recovery of depressed salmon stocks.

Project deliverable(s):
Kiffney, P. M., C. J. Volk, T. Beechie, G. Murray, G. Pess, and R. Edmonds. (2004). A rare disturbance event alters community and ecosystem properties in West Twin Creek, Olympic National Park, Washington. American Midland Naturalist 152:268-303.

Volk, C. J., P. M. Kiffney, R. L. Edmonds. (2003) Role of riparian red alder (Alnus rubra) in the nutrient dynamics of coastal streams of the Olympic Peninsula, WA, U.S.A. American Fisheries Society Special Publication 34: 213-228.

Kiffney, P. M., R. E. Bilby, and B. Sanderson (2004). Monitoring the effects of nutrient enrichment on freshwater ecosystems. In Monitoring stream and watershed restoration, P. Roni, editor. American Fisheries Society.

Volk, C. and P. M. Kiffney. (in review) Nutrient limitation in red alder and conifer forested streams of western Washington. Freshwater Biology.

Title:
Understanding the Risk of Nest Predation to Marbled Murrelets in Managed Landscapes.

Principal investigator(s); affiliations(s):
Dr. John Marzluff; University of Washington

Award:
$24,890

Project description:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified three possible threats to the continued survival of the Marbled Murrelet: habitat loss, gill- net mortality, and increased predation following fragmentation due to forestry. The main management solution directed at reducing nest predation has been the creation of forest buffers around areas used by murrelets. However, no data currently exist to test the effectiveness of such buffers as predation deterrents. Creation of buffers creates an economic loss to landowners. This project builds upon data collected during the 1995-1997 to assess the effectiveness and necessity of buffers around nesting habitat to determine the conditions under which conservation is and is not enhanced. The approach is to identify the mechanisms responsible for correlations between buffer width and the viability of a rare species. This enables managers to understand how their actions influence wildlife and increases the likelihood that effective management strategies can be developed. If buffers are found to be effective in some settings but ineffective in others, managers can adjust their timber harvest strategies to satisfy the nesting requirements in some areas while maximizing timber production in other areas. This is a cooperative project involving private, state, and federal land managers to assure research is relevant to their management needs and facilitate implementation of results.

Project deliverable(s):
Marzluff, J.M. and 9 others. 1999. “The influence of stand structure, proximity to human activity, and forest fragmentation on the risk of predation to nests of marbled murrelets on the Olympic Peninsula.” Olympic Natural Resources Center, University of Washington.

1998 Report

Title:
Effect of Marine Derived Nutrients on Insect Production in Salmon Spawning Streams.

Principal investigator(s); affiliations(s):
Dr. Robert Gara; University of Washington

Award:
$44,850

Project description:
A primary trophic interaction of anadromous salmonids appears to involve the release of marine-derived nutrients (MDN) from spawning adults and later from their spawned-out carcasses. Other research has found that many types of organisms inhabiting or visiting streams and riparian areas utilize MDN. This MDN fertilization, repeated with each spawning, benefits juvenile salmonids that may remain in streams for up to three years after hatching, depending on species. To discover how macroinvertebrates facilitate the transfer of MDN from adult to juvenile salmonids, this project will quantify the pathways of MDN to macroinvertebrates by monitoring the response of aquatic macroinvertebrate production to salmon carcass decomposition. These production estimates will provide a measure of the total energy available to higher consumers, including juvenile salmon. In addition, the project will evaluate the relative importance of the different pathways of MDN to aquatic macroinvertebrates by monitoring changes in production in each of the major trophic categories of aquatic macroinvertebrates. Finally, the project will determine if juvenile salmon benefit from MDN at the study sites, as has been shown elsewhere.

Project deliverable(s):