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Assessing the status of Canada lynx in the Kettle River Mountain Range

Canada lynx, one of three wild cats native to Washington State, depend on large pristine tracts of boreal forest habitat with ample snowshoe hare and persistent deep snow. In Washington, lynx populations steeply declined due to trapping and habitat degradation and they were afforded Federal protection under the Endangered Species Act in 2000. Numerous studies have pointed to evidence that… Read Project SummaryAssessing the status of Canada lynx in the Kettle River Mountain Range

Common yellowthroat in field-edge grasses. Photo courtesy of Dr. John Marzluff

Bird diversity, resource use and nesting success in restored and unrestored riparian buffers, Snoqualmie Valley, WA

In 2016, CREOi provided Oxbow Farm & Conservation Center with a grant to study bird diversity and habitat use on the 240 acres of agricultural and forest land managed by Oxbow.  Data were collected from point counts, spot mapping and mist netting to provide information on bird species found in upland forest areas, lowland semi-natural forests, lowland areas where ecological… Read Project SummaryBird diversity, resource use and nesting success in restored and unrestored riparian buffers, Snoqualmie Valley, WA

Restoring an endemic species to native tidelands: Olympia oysters in Swinomish pocket estuaries

This project is a continuation of a 2015 CREOi award. Historically, Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida) played an important ecological and cultural role as Washington’s only native oyster. In 2012, the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) and regional partners began a small-scale Olympia oyster restoration effort on the Reservation’s tidelands with the intention of eventually establishing self-sustaining populations that could act… Read Project SummaryRestoring an endemic species to native tidelands: Olympia oysters in Swinomish pocket estuaries

Restoring an endemic species to native tidelands: Olympia oysters in Swinomish pocket estuaries

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) recently began a restoration project to establish, expand, and research Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) populations on Reservation tidelands. Olympia oysters are the only native oyster to the Puget Sound region and they traditionally played an important role in tribal culture. Yet, due to overfishing, pollution, and the widespread cultivation of non-native Pacific oysters (Crassostrea… Read Project SummaryRestoring an endemic species to native tidelands: Olympia oysters in Swinomish pocket estuaries

The Skykomish Beaver Project: Building educational opportunities for aspiring ecologists

Beavers are both ecosystem engineers and keystone species. As ecosystem engineers, they modify their environment through dam building to create wetland systems which reduce their predation risk and increase growth of preferred food types. Their role as keystone species results from their ability to transform a stretch of single-thread stream into a large and wide wetland complex, with numerous pools… Read Project SummaryThe Skykomish Beaver Project: Building educational opportunities for aspiring ecologists

Algal wrack textiles: Using the invasive seaweed Undaria pinnatifida in a functional textile product

  • M.E. Becherucci

  • 2013

Undaria pinnatifida is an aggressively invasive macroalgae originating from northeast Asia. It was accidentally introduced to numerous regions worldwide including, in 2011, the coast of Mar del Plata, Argentina. U. pinnatifida has been used since ancient times where it is native, and it is currently cultivated and harvested in many countries around the world. Considering that brown algae, and in… Read Project SummaryAlgal wrack textiles: Using the invasive seaweed Undaria pinnatifida in a functional textile product

Inventory and conservation of the vertebrate fauna of Paraje Tres Cerros (Corrientes, Argentina): Implications for creating a protected area and its integration with local populations (continuation)

Paraje Tres Cerros are three rocky outcrops (maximum height 180 m above sea level) found in Corrientes Province, Argentina. The outcrops constitute true geologic “islands” immersed in the vast Corrientes plains. They also represent unique ecosystems where flora and fauna have experimented with evolution, isolated in their own singular combination of environmental conditions relative to the ecological matrix surrounding them.… Read Project SummaryInventory and conservation of the vertebrate fauna of Paraje Tres Cerros (Corrientes, Argentina): Implications for creating a protected area and its integration with local populations (continuation)

Conservation of endangered vinaceous parrots and other cavity-nesting birds in the Atlantic and Amazon forests of South America

Hundreds of species of birds in South America require tree-cavities for nesting, and many of these species are threatened by selective logging and clearing of forest for farms. Our objectives were to examine variation in cavity supply among bird species and habitats, and to encourage conservation of tree cavities for nesting birds. Our field research in the Atlantic forest of… Read Project SummaryConservation of endangered vinaceous parrots and other cavity-nesting birds in the Atlantic and Amazon forests of South America

Predator-prey dynamics and livestock production in human-occupied savannas: Can cattle be used to conserve declining wild ungulates?

Wildlife in human-occupied landscapes can be conserved if management is based on some understanding of mechanisms by which humans and livestock influence ecological processes. One such process critical to wildlife conservation is predator-prey dynamics. Our main management objective is geared towards maintaining diverse ungulate species populations such as hartebeest (Alcephalus busephalus jacksonii) while allowing the natural re-colonization of lions (Panthera… Read Project SummaryPredator-prey dynamics and livestock production in human-occupied savannas: Can cattle be used to conserve declining wild ungulates?

Analysis of virulence of the honey bee entomopathogen Nosema ceranae isolated from different geographic zones of Argentina and implications for honeybee conservation

This project focused on the parasitism by Nosema ceranae on honeybees in Argentina, including an analysis of virulence and the physiological effects of different strains isolated from different regions of the country. Apiculturists have enthusiastically collaborated with the study, providing samples across wide-ranging biogeographic areas of the country. This was achieved through a “National Survey of Nosemosis” campaign aimed at… Read Project SummaryAnalysis of virulence of the honey bee entomopathogen Nosema ceranae isolated from different geographic zones of Argentina and implications for honeybee conservation