Stream Ecology

Forests and streams are inextricably linked in our western Oregon landscapes, so the significant changes to the forest resulting from the fire will inevitably affect the streams.  As research from Mack Creek in the Andrews Forest has demonstrated, wood input from the forest fundamentally shapes the geomorphology and habitat of streams. In McRae Creek, OSU professor Dana Warren and his team have been

OSU Professors Dana Warren, Catalina Segura, and PhD student Madelyn Maffia are investigating the response of trout and salamanders to drought conditions in a tributary of McRae Creek. The researchers are using an experimental approach to mimic drought by (1) diverting stream flow to create a low-flow reach and (2) passively heating water through a coil system to increase water temperature.

The first week of September typically marks the annual trip to Mack Creek for our team of researchers working on a long-term study of trout and salamanders. Since 1987, we have visited the same sections of Mack Creek to measure the numbers, size, and mass of these aquatic vertebrates. The study constitutes one of the longest continuous records of salmonid populations on record. The Lookout Fire burned over Mack Creek so we will not be able to go to the site to sample and collect data this year.

Early in its run across the H.J Andrews Experimental Forest, the Lookout Fire burned into Mack Creek and it still continues to burn in that area. The old-growth section of Mack Creek is a place of special importance to everyone who has ever been there. It has been central to the International Biological Program, the River Continuum Concept, Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER), and many other major projects of discovery. Mack Creek is the site that launched our work on large wood in rivers in the mid-1970s, work that changed how we see and manage large wood in streams and rivers.

McRae Creek, on the edge of the Lookout Fire this week, is home to an aquatic field site of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON). The continental-scale network collects long-term ecological data to understand how ecosystems are changing. The NEON study reach at McRae Creek includes a meteorological station and two in-stream sensor stations to characterize environmental conditions and water quality. Since 2017, NEON staff have collected water quality samples and monitor populations of fish, benthic microbes, macroinvertebrates, and more.

A story map created by graduate student Alyssa Eklund contains videos, infographics and basic information about wildlife: “Nature's Hidden Encounters: Unveiling Wildlife Biodiversity - Large Wood Crossings at Lookout Creek, H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest, OR”. Much of the video footage and photos come from areas that are now within the Lookout Fire perimeter. This study shows that large logs laying across streams serve as important corridors to many different species of animals.