Spatio-temporal Analysis of Ungulate Herbivory within Willow (Salix spp.) Communities on the Northern Range of Yellowstone National Park, USA

Across Yellowstone National Park’s northern range the intensity of ungulate herbivory on willow (Salix spp.) communities has changed over time in response to abiotic and biotic factors. However, since wolf reintroduction no studies have been conducted that simultaneously examine multiple factors with multiple working hypotheses. Studies were either short-term or used auxiliary information to estimate changes in, and causes of, riparian shrub herbivory. Alternatively we applied a long-term in-situ, nondestructive browsing history method by way of outer growth ring record and Boolean logic. Both fixed and continuous explanatory variables were statistically analyzed within a spatially implicit and explicit, multi-model framework using generalized linear models. Our binary response was modeled using a binomial distribution and logistic regression. Preliminary results specify that the most significant factor for the period of winter 1999-2009 was growing season precipitation, followed by SWE (snow water equivalent) and elk numbers. Post winter 2009 bison, which don’t typically consume willow, are the most significant predictor followed by elk and SWE. Bison browsing increased from 10% of total browsing in winter 2010 to 22% winter 2014. Whereas elk browsing increased from 30% of total browsing in winter 2010 to 41% winter 2014. During the same time frame the bison population increased by 21%, however elk numbers declined by 22%. In conclusion, preliminary results indicate that a high bison population is both directly and indirectly driving increases in ungulate browsing of willow

Coyote, Canis latrans, Predation on a Bison, Bison bison, Calf in Yellowstone National Park

We observed a single adult male Coyote (Canis latrans) kill a Bison (Bison bison) calf in Yellowstone National Park. The predation is, to our knowledge, the only direct and complete observation of a lone Coyote capturing and killing a Bison calf. The bison calf had unsuccessfully attempted to ford a river with a group and subsequently become stranded alone in the territory of a six-year-old alpha male Coyote

T-cell Growth Factor: Complete Nucleotide Sequence and Organization of the Gene in Normal and Malignant Cells

Using a cloned cDNA copy of T-cell growth factor (TCGF) mRNA from the Jurkat leukemic T-cell line, we have isolated three overlapping TCGF genomic clones from a human DNA library. The entire TCGF gene is contained within two adjacent EcoRI fragments spanning about 8 kilobases. The complete nucleic acid sequence was determined. The gene is divided into four exons. The 5\u27 untranslated region and the first 49 amino acids of the protein, 20 of which constitute a signal polypeptide and are not present in the secreted protein, are encoded by the first exon. Exons 2 and 3, separated from each other by a long intervening sequence, contain coding information for the next 20 and 48 amino acids, respectively. The remaining 36 amino acids and the 3\u27 untranslated region are contained in the fourth exon. A promoter sequence T-A-T-A-A-A is present 77 base pairs (bp) upstream from the translation initiation site, and a CAT homology region occurs 104 bp upstream from the initiation site. A putative site for initiation of mRNA transcription was identified 53 bp 5\u27 of the translation initiation codon. The organization of the gene was shown by Southern blot analysis to be identical in normal peripheral blood lymphocytes and in a variety of malignant lymphoid cell types. Restriction analysis of these cellular DNAs produced results exactly as predicted by the map for the cloned genomic TCGF, indicating that there is only a single copy of the human TCGF gene

Infectious Diseases in Yellowstone’s Canid Community

Each summer Yellowstone Wolf Project staff visit den sites to monitor the success of wolf reproduction and pup rearing behavior. For the purposes of wolf monitoring, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) is divided into two study areas, the northern range and the interior, each distinguished by their ecological and physiographical differences. The 1,000 square kilometer northern range, characterized by lower elevations (1,500–2,200 m), serves as prime winter habitat for ungulates and supports a higher density of wolves than the interior (20–99 wolves/1,000 km2 versus 2–11 wolves/1,000 km2). The interior of the park encompasses 7,991 square kilometers, is higher in elevation, receives higher annual snowfall, and generally supports lower densities of wolves and ungulates

An Ecosystem-Scale Model for the Spread of a Host-Specific Forest Pathogen in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

The introduction of nonnative pathogens is altering the scale, magnitude, and persistence of forest disturbance regimes in the western United States. In the high-altitude whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) forests of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), white pine blister rust (Cronartium ribicola) is an introduced fungal pathogen that is now the principal cause of tree mortality in many locations. Although blister rust eradication has failed in the past, there is nonetheless substantial interest in monitoring the disease and its rate of progression in order to predict the future impact of forest disturbances within this critical ecosystem. This study integrates data from five different field-monitoring campaigns from 1968 to 2008 to create a blister rust infection model for sites located throughout the GYE. Our model parameterizes the past rates of blister rust spread in order to project its future impact on high-altitude whitebark pine forests. Because the process of blister rust infection and mortality of individuals occurs over the time frame of many years, the model in this paper operates on a yearly time step and defines a series of whitebark pine infection classes: susceptible, slightly infected, moderately infected, and dead. In our analysis, we evaluate four different infection models that compare local vs. global density dependence on the dynamics of blister rust infection. We compare models in which blister rust infection is: (1) independent of the density of infected trees, (2) locally density-dependent, (3) locally density-dependent with a static global infection rate among all sites, and (4) both locally and globally density-dependent. Model evaluation through the predictive loss criterion for Bayesian analysis supports the model that is both locally and globally density-dependent. Using this best-fit model, we predicted the average residence times for the four stages of blister rust infection in our model, and we found that, on average, whitebark pine trees within the GYE remain susceptible for 6.7 years, take 10.9 years to transition from slightly infected to moderately infected, and take 9.4 years to transition from moderately infected to dead. Using our best-fit model, we project the future levels of blister rust infestation in the GYE at critical sites over the next 20 years

Oregon weed control recommendations for commercial orchards

Revised May 1974. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

1968 weed control recommendations for Oregon orchards

Published April 1968. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

1969 weed control recommendations for Oregon orchards

Published January 1969. Facts and recommendations in this publication may no longer be valid. Please look for up-to-date information in the OSU Extension Catalog: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalo

Heterogenized Iridium Water-Oxidation Catalyst from a Silatrane Precursor

A pentamethylcyclopentadienyl (Cp*) iridium water-oxidation precatalyst was modified to include a silatrane functional group for covalent attachment to metal oxide semiconductor surfaces. The heterogenized catalyst was found to perform electrochemically driven water oxidation at an overpotential of 462 mV with a turnover number of 304 and turnover frequency of 0.035 s^(–1) in a 0.1 M KNO3 electrolyte at pH 5.8. Computational modeling of the experimental IR spectra suggests that the catalyst retains its Cp* group during the first hour of catalysis and likely remains monomeric