Fire can have a substantial effect on a dry pinion pine and juniper dominated forest. We studied the effect of fire on Carpophilus pallipennis populations in the blossoms of the prickly pear cactus.   Our site was located in a portion of the forest that had been burned one year earlier in a wildfire and an adjacent unburned forest. We counted C. pallipennis in the blooms of Opuntia basilaris in both sites. We also noted herbivory, the presence of other beetle species, and bees.  Our results suggest that there is a greater average of C. pallipennis in burned O. basilaris than in unburned.  Our data also suggest that fire may have a negative effect on the prickly pear cactus by increasing abundance of a parasitic beetle. This beetle uses the flower for shelter and rearing larva, without benefiting the flower through pollination. 

During the morning of 08 May 2007, I observed the predation of a neonate elk calf (Cervus elaphus) by a female grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis), which involved a twenty-three second chase covering an approximate distance of 200 meters through open terrain, brush and class-one and class-two deadfall timber. During the chase, the route of the elk calf from its hiding place to the kill site was chaotic, due to interference from natural barriers. The predation event took place in the area known as Pleasant Valley, inside the boundaries of Yellowstone National Park.

Our study examined growth variations in Pteridium aquilinum in three different sites. Pteridium aquilinum, also known as the western bracken fern, exists naturally on six continents and is known to thrive following disturbance. The data we collected focused on plant size and number of blades. We measured forty random individuals in each of the three sites and concluded that P. aquilinum had different growth patterns in the varying habitats. Our data suggest that the P. aquilinum we observed limited vertical growth once access to sufficient sunlight was attained, and began to produce more horizontal blades to maximize photosynthesis. The fern blades tended to uncurl at an advanced rate in the sites with less sunlight. While many variables between the three sites prevented this study from finding any specific cause-effect relationships, we were able to conclude patterns in growth appeared different at the three sites.

Lichens can be used as a bioindicator in forest ecosystems. Although lichen have slow growth rates, their adaptive capabilities enable them to respond rapidly to environmental fluctuations. We took samples of lichen from Mount Rose, a boreal forest in western Washington in both burned and unburned areas following a recent wildfire. We used the samples to compare the overall abundance and diversity of lichen growth in burned and unburned areas. 

The collection and abundance of leaf-litter hovels is dependent upon the terrain type of flooding streams. Our interest in hovels was first sparked at Zion National Park in Utah, where annual floods interact with riparian plant life situated along the stream-bank and further into the forest floor. Our research and questioning, however, took place in the Pacific Northwest; where no previous record of their existence exists. The November 2006 floods of Mt. Rainier Park and the annual flooding of McLane Creek granted us two differing sites to record and compare hovels. By measuring hovel size, population density, and the types of structure in which hovels were formed along with observing surrounding landscapes, we reached a goal of digging deeper into understanding the hovel and its natural habitat. Though much of our research ultimately proved inconclusive, what was determined were basic factors in defining a relationship between the hovel, the landscape, and the hydrology of the waterway.

In Western Washington (USA) lowland prairie habitats, fire was once a common occurrence. In relatively recent times however, fire has been excluded from this ecosystem. We studied the differences in herbaceous plant diversity and community composition between a burned and unburned site at Glacial Heritage Preserve near Littlerock, WA. We hypothesized that an annually burned site would support greater diversity and fewer invasive species compared to an unburned site. Our results showed that species diversity was significantly different between the two sites; a higher diversity of species was found in the burned site than the unburned. In addition, community composition varied between sites with the unburned site showing a greater presence of the invasive species Hypochaeris radicata. Our findings show that fire may increase species diversity in a lowland prairie ecosystem.

We observed ant trails at The Evergreen State College and looked for drift in location over time, and if their pathways are organized into separate lanes for different directions. Two trails each from three colonies were observed over two days, and each trail was observed at three spaced points for 20-minute intervals. Patterns found in the data may indicate other aspects of the organization and overall structure of these and other ant colonies.

Territoriality instincts in Formica obscuripes are an understood trait.  Few studies have been done to further determine the variables which affect the degree of their territoriality.  Our first experiment addressed the effects of mound volume and distance from a host colony where ants from a neighboring mound were introduced to a novel mound in groups of ten or more.   Our second experiment consisted of pairing the ants into five groups and reciprocally measuring success of introduced ants to foreign mounds.  The third experiment investigated territorial instincts in a neutral environment.  Each experiment was carried out as a basis of study in order to observe territorial behavior of Formica obscuripes.  This research was conducted in order to gain better knowledge of the interactions and social environment between neighboring thatch ant colonies.

Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius) is an invasive species on glacial outwash prairies of Western Washington, and ongoing attempts to restore prairies to their natural state are hindered by its rapid spreading habits.  We studied the effects of fire on Scotch broom to determine if it was an effective means of elimination of the plant.  A random number and walking process was used to determine which plants would be selected for recording variables.  A similar random process was used to determine which shoots and leaf clusters were counted.  We found that although some growth variables were unaffected by the burn, variables such as leaf count and new growth length showed a strong negative response to the burn.  Since leaf count and new shoot length are key to a plant’s overall health, our research indicates that fire negatively affects the Scotch broom.  Our research revealed that a controlled burn treatment did effect on new shoot length and leaf count, though it did not appear to affect other variables measured and the burn did not eradicate the plant from the prairie.