I used scale analysis to estimate the half-pounder frequency among wild and hatchery steelhead from the Trinity River 2011 and 2012 smolt years and compare those estimates to the half-pounder frequency from 1993 until 2008. Hatchery steelhead from 2011 and 2012 had higher half-pounder tendencies than those from 1993 until 2008. Wild steelhead from 2011 and 2012 also showed increased half-pounder tendencies. This supports the hypothesis that increased size at release of hatchery steelhead is related to decline in the half-pounder life history, but also suggests that another factor influences the half-pounder tendency of these steelhead.

Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana) and California black oak (Q. kelloggii) woodlands are unique ecosystems, yet little is known about their tree establishment patterns, nor the variability of stand structure. Research objectives were: to describe age, stand structure, and tree regeneration in 4 mixed oak-conifer woodlands in northwestern California. Most white and black oaks established from 1850-1910 with rare establishment since 1950 (< 0.05%). Most Douglas-fir trees established since ~ 1950. All sites had high proportions of oak seedling mortality in open stands. These trends likely reflect the effects of altered disturbance regimes enabling the transition to conifer-dominant stands.

Lumbriculus variegatus has great ability to regenerate from small fragments into a new worm. In this study, we expose the worms to the voltage-gated sodium channel blocker Tricaine (MS-222) and examine somatic regeneration of heads and tails following body transection. Images of regenerating worms under normal conditions and treated worms with (1700μm) of tricaine were examined after amputation through TEM, SEM, and light level. Regeneration of both new head and tail body segments was reduced in the presence of tricaine, especially in the tail regeneration. Therefore, voltage- gated sodium channels showed to affect regeneration in the blackworms.

The OCT4 gene is a POU class V transcription factor essential for establishment of the inner cell mass, pluripotency and self -renewal of embryonic stem cells (ESs). OCT4 gene expression is controlled by various mechanisms including transcription factor regulation. The AP-1 transcription factor c-Jun is known to affect proliferation, apoptosis, and cell survival. Its transcriptional activity is increased by phosphorylation of L40/42 by Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK). In this study, we examine the role of c-Jun on the regulation of Oct4 expression.

Sugar pine (Pinus lambertiana) represents a culturally, ecologically, and economically important species that is threatened due to impacts from drought, fire exclusion, and beetle-disease complexes. One of the main defensive strategies of sugar pine to bark beetles and pathogens is the production of resin ducts structures, which secrete oleoresin compounds. In this study we look to analyze resin flow and growth traits, assessed as basal area increment (mm2), of older, larger (> 200 years) sugar pine to determine whether there are relationships between tree growth characteristics and oleoresin flow.

The Early Cretaceous Budden Canyon Formation of North America contains a few anatomically preserved plant fossils ca. 125 Ma old (Barremian-early Aptian). Recent investigations of the Budden Canyon Formation have revealed a preserved seed cone assignable to the Cupressaceae. Based on serial sections and a 3-D reconstruction, the fossil cone was compared with living Cupressaceae and revealed significant differences from most genera and closest similarity, but not identity, with Sequoia. The age and morphology of the cone also suggests that it may represent an extinct member of the sequoioid, a lineage which gave rise to modern redwoods (Sequoia) and giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron).

The marine boundary layer is a semi-annual atmospheric feature occuring along the Humboldt coastline. Fourteen years worth of weather balloon data provided by the NOAA atmospheric observatory in Trinidad, CA have been used to characterize seasonal and spatial patterns of the boundary layer. Preliminary results show that the boundary layer is highly dynamic and occurs in high frequency. It is most common in summertime as a result of warm inland temperatures and strong coastal upwelling. Seasonally, the boundary layer changes height, rising to 1500m in winter and lowering to 900m in summer. A five year time series provides evidence that the California drought may reduce the layer's frequency.

A primary consequence of increasing atmospheric CO2 is the lowering of ocean pH and associated stress on calcium carbonate bearing organisms. Coastal regions are vulnerable to low-pH due to seasonal upwelling which periodically introduces CO2–enriched deep water to the surface. Time-series of pH at Trinidad Head, California were analyzed to ascertain the frequency and intensity of exposure to carbonate corrosive waters from 2006-2011. Most years experienced 11-35 days of exposure to corrosive water, while enhanced upwelling in 2010 resulted in 61-84 days of exposure. Some instances show that corrosive conditions were ameliorated by enhanced photosynthesis in response to upwelled nutrients.

Siphonophores (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) inhabit pelagic waters where representative species occupy depths ranging from the surface to the abyss. Locomotion by siphonophores is achieved by nectophore muscular contractions, which generate vortex ring wakes similar to jet-propelled medusa and squid. Using high-speed video analysis, we compare the kinematics and characterize wake structures of two different species of siphonophores during straight and turning swimming. By extracting the kinematics of individual nectophores, we quantify the formation time (T*) to characterize the jet wake. We show the T* generated by swimming physonect siphonophores are larger than other jet-propelled swimmers.

Pressure Retarded Osmosis (PRO) is a renewable energy technology which captures energy from the osmotic pressure of salinity gradients across membranes. This poster presents a feasibility study of PRO at the Samoa Pulp Mill site by employing a pseudo-2-dimensional model to approximate the pressure drops and the salt and water fluxes across a spiral-wound membrane module. The net energy of the system accounts for parasitic loads including pretreatment, conveyance turbine and generator efficiency, and friction losses in the pipe networks. Technical and economic feasibility are evaluated in the project. The conclusions are that PRO is barely technically feasible and not economically feasible.