Spring 2021 Biweekly Seminars

Spring 2021 Biweekly seminars hosted by the Northwest Scientific Association,
all talks at 3:30 PM

Last updated 4/1/21

Hope you will be able to join us for some or all of the webinars in the NWSA first webinar series!   

Connie Harrington
President NWSA

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To register for the seminar series, please clink the link below. For security purposes, each person will receive a unique link to participate.

https://uoregon.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEqc-quqDIjGNZux-N3iZpRpvx0WMP3nsKy

The speakers with underlined names were scheduled to present last year and more information can be found here.

• February 25: Patrick Bartlein, University of Oregon: The Real Controls of the Temporal and Spatial Variations of Climate in the Pacific Northwest
• March 11: Megan Walsh, Central Washington University: Combining paleoecology and archaeology: what interdisciplinary research can tell us about Holocene human-landscape interactions in the Pacific Northwest
• March 25: Michelle Steen-Adams, Washington State University - Vancouver: The role of ethnohistory, traditional knowledge, and cultural fire regimes in first foods management: applications to Vaccinium membranaceum in the eastside Cascades.
• • A central challenge of returning human-adapted ecosystems to the Northwest lies in reinvigorating the social-ecological processes that historically maintained a community’s first foods. In this study we collaborated with the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to generate knowledge regarding restoration of forest resilience and first foods. Our analysis revealed a pronounced cultural fire regime in the moist mixed conifer zone, as structured by traditional knowledge regarding thinleaf huckleberry. Practices to promote huckleberry restoration include: maintenance of canopy openings, either through frequent application of low-severity fire or silvicultural treatments that approximate the cultural fire regime (site-scale application); management across ownerships and a broad spatial extent; and engagement of the holders of traditional knowledge.
• April 8 (rescheduled from May 6): Michael Kauffmann:  The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History
• • Take a journey through the biotic and abiotic wonders that define the Klamath Mountains as one of the most unique mountain ranges in North America. Ecologist and author Michael Kauffmann will take us on a journey across the range based on the forthcoming book The Klamath Mountains: A Natural History. We will explore a variety of features that make the Klamath Mountains unique including climate, geology, water, fire, plants, and animals -- all of which, when taken together, define one of the most biodiverse temperate mountain ranges on Earth.
• April 22: Connie Harrington, USDA Pacific Northwest Research Station: Climate Influences Range and Phenology of PNW shrubs.
• • How might the distribution and phenology of four native food-producing shrubs - thinleaf huckleberry, beaked hazelnut, Oregon grape, and salal - shift as climate changes?  Our models project substantial reductions in habitat suitability across the drier portions of the species’ current ranges. Phenology models indicate that flowering and fruit and nut ripening of fruits will occur several weeks sooner in the future. Management activities that could be helpful in ameliorating the effects of future climate change include monitoring effects in traditional harvesting areas, planting in new areas with predicted high future suitability, or reducing moisture stress by removing plants competing with desired species.
• May 6 (rescheduled from April 8): Ken Lindke, California Department of Fish and Wildlife: The last glacier: a personal and scientific journey to document modern Trinity Alps glaciers during an unprecedented drought.
• • The last glacier in the Klamath Mountains is a symbol of the past, present, and future of the region. The glacier’s story weaves together climate change, geology, and water, providing the basis for a journey through this unique corner of Northern California and Southern Oregon. This study was published in Northwest Science in 2020: vol94, Issue 1: 44-61.
• May 20: Monique Wynecoop, USDA Forest Service co-presenting with Melodi Wynne, Spokane Tribal Network: Food Sovereignty and Fire.
• • We will talk about past, present, and future natural resource projects and the ways in which fire and fuels management directly affects cultural and food sovereignty of area tribes.

Last updated 3/4/21

The Northwest Scientific Association is recruiting volunteers to serve as Associate Editors and Forum Editor of Northwest Science. Associate Editors (AEs) for the journal Northwest Science play a vital role in the peer review and publishing process. The primary responsibility is to referee the peer review of scientific manuscripts that are submitted to the journal. This is largely accomplished through finding, contacting, and monitoring the progress of experts that are sufficiently qualified to judge the scientific merits of the work being presented for publication. In addition, AEs are often tasked with assessing the appropriateness of review responses and coordinating subsequent review, if necessary, of re-submitted manuscripts.

Currently vacant Associate Editor positions:

• Aquatic Biology
• Entomology
• Wildlife Ecology

Basic qualifications of Associate Editors include:

• Established record of scientific publications
• Breadth of scientific knowledge
• Good communication skills
• Availability to coordinate review of up to two new manuscripts at once and at least five per year
• Appreciation of the value and opportunity afforded by a regional journal.

Interested individuals should contact Incoming Editor Jessica Halofsky.

Do you have an awesome picture of a Pacific Northwest landscape or science (in a variety of settings!) that you'd like to share for the NWSA website banner? Submit your photos here! If you do not have a Google account, you may also email your submission to Emily Wolfe with the subject line "NWSA Website Photo Submission."

All aspects of science in the Pacific Northwest from landscapes to closeups (e.g. insect eyes, fish eggs, flowers, mineral crystals, etc.) from lab scenes to field work in the wild to science in the city are welcome! Selected submissions will be added to the rotating images for the website banner, but they may also be shared on NWSA social media accounts.

The 2020 Student Grants Committee received 23 grant applications representing 15 universities or colleges:  2 undergraduate student proposals, 10 Masters student proposals, and 11 PhD student proposals.  The Board approved the following five student grants:

Doctorate

Malorri Hughes, Portland State University; Advisor:  Dr. Debbie Duffield; “Population genetics and coevolutionary analyses of Thomomys species (Rodentia: Geomyidae) of Oregon and their helminths”.  Grant award $1,500

Brooke A. Washburn, University of Denver; Advisor:  Dr. Robin M. Tinghitella; “How do geography and ecology contribute to genetic divergence between two breeding morphs of threespine stickleback in Washington”. Grant award $1,500

Rachel A. Zitomer, Oregon State University; Advisor:  Dr. James W. Rivers; “Assessing connectivity of managed forests for bumble bees through landscape genetics”.  Grant award $1,500

Masters

Alyssa DeMott, Central Washington University; Advisor:  Dr. Lisa L. Ely; “Long-term geomorphic effects of the Glines Canyon Dam removal on the Elwha River, WA, USA". Grant award $1,500

Bernardo Traversari, Washington State University; Advisor:  Dr. Erica Crespi; “Effects of predator cues on the development and behavior of the Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens)”.  Grant award: $1,500