Two decades of Western spruce budworm outbreaks in the Pacific Northwest

Insect outbreaks are one of the important natural disturbance processes in forested ecosystems due to their tendency to periodically restructure stand composition and provide dynamic fluctuation via trophic interactions. Multiple agencies across various jurisdictions collect annual forest health inventory data via aerial detection survey (ADS) mapping, allowing trends in forest disease and pest prevalence to be explored across both space and time. While these data sets are a powerful tool for research and management, the data is often recorded and stored in regionally differing formats and is not easily accessible to researchers or the public. The lack of cohesive broad-scale datasets prevents analysis of natural disturbance dynamics across ecological regions. This project combines ADS data from adjoined management regions spanning Washington, Oregon and British Columbia encompassing the time period between 1980 and 2000 focusing on Western spruce budworm (WSB) (Choristoneura occidentalis), a prolific and widespread defoliator of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii). This compiled dataset will allow preliminary analysis of a natural process unbound by artificial boundaries and potentially provide new insights into WSB outbreak dynamics in the Pacific Northwest

Self-Regulation And Self-Efficacy In A Three-Part Goal Setting Cycle

The researcher examined the impact self-regulation and metacognitive formative assessments had on self-efficacy through a mixed-methods design. The purpose of the action research study was to teach metacognitive goal-setting through a formative assessment framework in order to measure how students employed self-regulatory behaviors and if this affected their self-efficacy. The overall goals were to improve seventh-grade students’ self-efficacy and mental self-regulation in order to 1) discern how students are efficacious and how does it affect their output; 2) provide field-tested instructional strategies and assessment choices for the seventh-grade teacher team; 3) provide qualitative data to the school’s administrative team to use for course scheduling and decision making. Culturally and developmentally responsive formative assessments provided a framework for the classroom instructional practices. The work of Lev Vygotsky (1978) and socio-cognitive theory provided a theoretical framework for the study. The following research question guided the study: What are the impacts of a three-part self-regulation model and a weekly metacognitive self-assessment on seventh-grade students’ perceived self-efficacy? Working with a diverse population of seventh-grade students at a 6-12 charter school in South Carolina, the research addressed the role of self-efficacy in student self-regulation. Key words: action research, culturally relevant teaching, formative assessment, metacognition, motivation, self-assessment, self-efficacy, self-regulatio

GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION OF DESICCATION RESISTANCE IN RHAGOLETIS ZEPHYRIA (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE) IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST: AN ADAPTIVE RESPONSE TO LOCAL BIOCLIMATE

Species with broad distributions exist in heterogenous landscapes and therefore must be able to maintain key physiological processes under a variety of abiotic conditions. This can lead to localized variation in phenotypes associated with environmental cues. Atmospheric water loss is a major source of physiological stress for terrestrial insects and one which is predicted to have major implications for biodiversity under future climate scenarios. Understanding which species exhibit adaptive variation can provide crucial insights into how individual species and thus ecological communities have evolved to cope with changing climate conditions as well as inform predictions as to how they may adapt to future climates. These adaptions can also introgress into non-native congeners via hybridization and allow introduced species to become increasingly invasive. In this study I investigate variation in desiccation resistance of larval and early pupal Rhagoletis zephyria, a widespread endemic species within the Pacific Northwest. The region is characterized by mesic coastal conditions west of the Cascade Range and xeric steppe and pine forests to the east, of which both eastern and western biomes are home to R. zephyria and its obligate plant host, Symphoricarpos albus. Wild-collected larvae from across the region were subjected to desiccation treatment during the early pupal life stage, with desiccation resistance assessed via weight retention following exposure. Modeling with machine learning algorithms and regional bioclimate variables demonstrated that most of the regional variation in desiccation response could be predicted by regional bioclimate, with increased weight retention in areas with increased evapotranspiration and decreased winter precipitation. This prediction was constrained to areas deemed suitable to the host plant via species distribution modeling in MaxEnt. The modeling identified likely regions of dramatic variation in desiccation resistance along localized bioclimate gradients, suggesting that the localized selection pressure on this response is very strong and/or that the response is plastic. While this study design does not allow distinction to be made between these two forms of variation in response to climate cues, the presence of adaptive variation in response to localized desiccation stress in the evolutionarily and economically important Rhagoletis genus is shown here for the first time

Elements of Design

The elements of design serve as a foundation for the development and creation of all textiles and clothing products, including fabrics for interior spaces

A Complex of Religious Beliefs as Found in the Life and Works of Lord Byron

The purpose of this thesis is to make an unbiased presentation of the many facets of Byron's religious beliefs

Covering our Bases: A Military 4-H Youth Development Program

Land-grant universities, through the 4-H program, have offered support and partnership to the military since World War I. More recently, the U. S. Army, Air Force, and 4-H have partnered to provide military installation youth programs involving over 7,000 youth in 4-H clubs in the United States and abroad. Military youth and families, not affiliated with Base or Post installations, were extended similar support as an aftermath of September 11, 2001. All youth involved through military outreach are enrolled as 4-H members through their respective counties integrating them into local, state, regional, and national 4-H activities and events. Authors share their experience developing relationships with their Air Force partner in implementing positive youth development programs, and explain how these actions resulted in successful funding for increased outreach

The future of institutional effectiveness

Forces inside and outside community colleges are changing the context for performance and mandating new conceptions of effectiveness.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83481/1/440_ftp.pd