This project determines how a legacy of disturbances affects resident wildlife. By using small mammals as an indicator of ecosystem health, this research observes species richness in decommissioned military bases that are now parks by using camera traps. The 20m circular survey sites consist of two disturbed plots and one control plot in both Discovery Park and Fort Worden State Park. The disturbed plots in Fort Worden State Park consist of a dump site and gas station site, whereas those in Discovery Park are highly developed areas that are now undergoing restoration. There is evidence of military bases serving as biodiversity hotspots, and this project lends insight into how previously disturbed areas within the military bases support species. Through the collection of small mammal and vegetation species richness data, as well as recording the characteristics needed for small mammals to persist in each plot, I conducted linear regression analyses and observed concentric circles overlaid on land use data. Landscapes are often surveyed regarding a single species, but rarely studied in the context of land ownership alterations and their effects on the wildlife community depending on the resources the land provides. Likewise, studying residual disturbances after restoration takes place is important in concluding that management strategies maintain or improve the well-being of wildlife, as well as benefit the public. So far, I have concluded that vegetation does not play a significant role in small mammal species richness, though I suspect that contiguous forest cover will play a significant role upon further analysis. My expectations for this project are that the results will inform restoration managers what species are utilizing park resources and how disturbed areas can be managed to better support wildlife.

This study, hosted by the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, uses passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) and forest habitat surveys to measure ecological diversity and responses of biota to habitat change caused by forest management. The management experiment takes place in the Olympic Experimental State Forest (OESF) on the western Olympic Peninsula in Washington State, and includes upland forest manipulations with assessment of stand and upland biotic responses. The specific objective of this study is to evaluate bird species as indicators of habitat quality and function in forest stands at different seral stages and subject to different regeneration practices. To establish occupancy models for each indicator species, PAM instruments are set in forest stands of various seral stage and management practices across OESF, and from their recordings, audio surveys are developed for processing into occupancy data. Automated detection using R programming is utilized for the processing of this data. I personally contribute to this project through manual verification of species detection data to assess accuracy of automated detection systems. Habitat characteristics are sampled in the field and derived from remote sensing data using ArcGIS. Results will inform future management decisions by offering analyzed data on the ecological effects of different forest management strategies. Results will additionally provide a more robust evaluation of certain songbirds as indicator species of habitat quality and function. My concurrent independent research objective, examined via literature review and occupancy data subsampling, is to assess indicator species efficacy and identify species alternatives, considering criteria relative to suitability for passive acoustic monitoring and suitability in anticipation of climate change. All of these results can be consulted in future research and management in the region by providing a more detailed understanding of the effects of management strategies and how best to evaluate them.

Climate Change is an undeniably major issue in the 21st century. While the effects of climate change and global warming cannot be reversed in one day, with cumulative efforts from individual communities, it is possible to slow down its effects. With the rapid development of major companies in cities, more foot and vehicle traffic are bound to follow, releasing higher levels of carbon dioxide in the air. Taking place in Bellevue, Washington, The research study explored the effect of the density of trees in varying areas, on its carbon dioxide and temperature levels. A series of data was taken at the well-forested Robinswood Park, and the minimally forested Bellevue Downtown Shopping center, over a two-week span, twice a day; once in the afternoon, and once in the evening. The goal was to see if a higher density of trees would lead to lower temperatures and lower carbon dioxide levels. My role in the research project was to format the data in order to put it into data correlation graphs between carbon dioxide levels, a varying density of trees, and temperature. After the study, an analysis of the data correlation graphs, revealed that a higher density of trees did lower carbon dioxide and temperature levels. In fact, even the mere presence of trees lowered these levels. Therefore, with the addition of low impact, low maintenance trees to urban areas, carbon dioxide, and temperature levels can be reduced. This study provides insight into a smaller scale of a very large issue, which can eventually be improved with collaborative efforts.

In April of 1986, an accident in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant caused a reactor to undergo an uncontrolled chain reaction that resulted in it melting down, and setting fire to the building it was housed in. This disaster spread high levels of radioactivity throughout the surrounding area, which was soon absorbed into the surrounding environment. Nevertheless, the radioactivity in this area has been periodically re-released into the air because of the worsening forest fires that scorch the unmaintained land. This literature review focuses on how the fires spread radioactivity, what effects they have on the surrounding inhabitants, as well as what has and should be done to prevent the further spreading of radioactivity. This review first explores the history of the forest fires and their growing intensity over time, then studies how the radioactivity is absorbed into plants and is biomagnified in animals when moving up the food chain; Next, it explores how it is released into the air by smoke from the fires, and the negative effects exerted on living things, primarily on people. Finally, it looks at what has been done in the past to stop the fires and spread of radioactivity, and what could be done to improve the current situation. As it stands right now, the forest fires are worsening due to climate change. The radioactivity poses a real threat to the surrounding populace, and there is no feasible way of removing the radioactivity from the area. The best solution for this problem appears to be fire prevention through better forest management and mitigating the effects of climate change. However, the radioactivity will persist for millennia within the environment and preventing forests from burning can interfere with their natural ecological processes, so further research into the possible effects of this solution should be performed.

Hypoxia refers to low concentrations of dissolved oxygen (DO) in a body of water, and can result in death of marine biota. Hypoxic events have increased since the 1970s in shallow coastal and estuarine areas to the point where DO has arguably changed more drastically than other environmental variables of importance to these ecosystems. Studies have found that the main drivers increasing the frequency and intensity of hypoxic events are eutrophication as a result of nutrient loading and increasing water temperatures due to climate change. Puget Sound in Washington State is particularly susceptible to hypoxia because the geological features of its basin restrict water circulation and the Sound receives a high influx of nutrients from rivers and anthropogenic activity. Studies have reported hypoxia in regions of Puget Sound, including Sisters Point, Lynch Cove, and Hood Canal. This study provides a temporal and spatial analysis of DO in Possession Sound, an inlet of Puget Sound where the Snohomish River empties, to contribute to the growing understanding of hypoxia in Puget Sound, particularly in an estuarine environment. DO data were analyzed along with water temperature data to determine if hypoxia occurred in Possession Sound and to assess where potential hypoxia is more likely to occur. These data were collected by students at the Ocean Research College Academy (ORCA) at six sites in Possession Sound from 2017 to 2020 using an EXO Sonde instrument which allows for vertical analysis of DO in the water column. Preliminary results show that potentially toxic concentrations of DO occurred at depth during the winter months with a minimum value of 4.08 mg/L. It also appears that DO concentrations vary substantially between sites, years, seasons, and depths.

Microbiomes are now known to provide numerous benefits to hosts, from immunity to reproductive success. Vertical transmission of microbes has been linked to improved offspring success, for example by protecting eggs from pathogens post-oviposition. Infection with pathogenic soil fungi is associated with mortality in soil-incubated eggs, but may be ameliorated by the transmission of beneficial microbes.To determine whether 1) maternal microbes are deposited on eggs during oviposition, and 2) whether they have an antifungal effect that increases hatching success, we conducted challenges between dissected or oviposited eggs from the striped plateau lizard (Sceloporus virgatus) and fungi from failed S. virgatus eggs. Unique fungal and bacterial morphs were isolated from eggs to identify potential pathogenic fungi and antifungal bacteria. Direct challenges were carried out between individual bacteria and fungi to assess antifungal capabilities of bacteria isolated from the S. virgatus eggshell microbiome. Dissected eggs (no contact with the cloaca) had significantly lower hatch success, and hatchlings from dissected eggs were significantly smaller and lighter than those from oviposited eggs, indicating that some element of oviposition is key for hatchling success. One bacterial genus (Enterobacter) was found in the cloacae of females and on eggshells, suggesting that vertical transmission may be occurring. Three fungi were found to dominate the eggshell community of both dissected and oviposited eggs exposed to multiple fungi, suggesting that they may be responsible for egg mortality. At least two of these species of fungi have known pathogenic effects in other reptiles, and may produce antibacterial and antifungal metabolites.These results suggest an antagonistic relationship between fungi and bacteria on S. virgatus eggshells, indicating that bacteria transmitted during oviposition may improve hatch success in this species. Additionally, vertical transmission of beneficial microbes may serve as a form of parental care and occur via a novel pathway, the cloaca.