Mary Ann Madej - Academia.edu (original) (raw)
Papers by Mary Ann Madej
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2006
We quantified patterns in stream temperature in a northern coastal California river using thermal... more We quantified patterns in stream temperature in a northern coastal California river using thermal infrared (TIR) imaging and in-stream monitoring and related temperature patterns to the historical and present distributions of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). In Redwood Creek, California, water temperature increased from the headwaters to about 60 km downstream, then gradually decreased over the next 40 km as the river approaches the Pacific Ocean. Despite the lack of fish migration barriers, juvenile coho are currently only observed in the downstreammost 20 km, whereas historically they were found in 90 km of river channel. Maximum daily temperatures and duration of elevated stream temperatures were not significantly different in the headwater and downstream reaches but were significantly higher in the 50 km long intervening reach, where maximum weekly maximum temperatures ranged from 23 to 27°C. An increase in stream temperatures in the middle basin during the last three decades as a result of channel aggradation, widening, and the removal of large riparian conifers may play an important role in restricting juvenile coho to one-fifth of their historical range.
Geomorphology, 2009
At the reach scale, a channel adjusts to sediment supply and flow through mutual interactions amo... more At the reach scale, a channel adjusts to sediment supply and flow through mutual interactions among channel form, bed particle size, and flow dynamics that govern river bed mobility. Sediment can impair the beneficial uses of a river, but the timescales for studying recovery following high sediment loading in the field setting make flume experiments appealing. We use a flume experiment, coupled with field measurements in a gravelbed river, to explore sediment transport, storage, and mobility relations under various sediment supply conditions. Our flume experiment modeled adjustments of channel morphology, slope, and armoring in a gravel-bed channel. Under moderate sediment increases, channel bed elevation increased and sediment output increased, but channel planform remained similar to pre-feed conditions. During the following degradational cycle, most of the excess sediment was evacuated from the flume and the bed became armored. Under high sediment feed, channel bed elevation increased, the bed became smoother, mid-channel bars and bedload sheets formed, and water surface slope increased. Concurrently, output increased and became more poorly sorted. During the last degradational cycle, the channel became armored and channel incision ceased before all excess sediment was removed. Selective transport of finer material was evident throughout the aggradational cycles and became more pronounced during degradational cycles as the bed became armored. Our flume results of changes in bed elevation, sediment storage, channel morphology, and bed texture parallel those from field surveys of Redwood Creek, northern California, which has exhibited channel bed degradation for 30 years following a large aggradation event in the 1970s. The flume experiment suggested that channel recovery in terms of reestablishing a specific morphology may not occur, but the channel may return to a state of balancing sediment supply and transport capacity.
Forest Ecology and Management, 2009
J Am Water Resour Assoc, 2000
Revisions to the California Forest Practice Rules since 1974 were intended to increase protection... more Revisions to the California Forest Practice Rules since 1974 were intended to increase protection of water quality in streams draining timber harvest areas. The effects of improved timber harvesting methods and road designs on sediment loading are assessed for the Panther Creek basin, a 15.4 km 2 watershed in Humboldt County, north coastal California. We compute land use statistics, analyze suspended sediment discharge rating curves, and compare sediment yields in Panther Creek to a control (unlogged) stream, Little Lost Man Creek. From 1978 to 2008, 8.2 km 2 (over half the watershed) was clearcut and other timber management activities (thinning, selection cuts, and so forth) affected an additional 5.9 km 2 . Since 1984, 40.7 km of streams in harvest units received riparian buffer strip protection. Between 2000 and 2009, 22 km of roads were upgraded and 9.7 km were decommissioned, reducing potential sediment production by an estimated 40,000 m 3 . Road density is currently 3.1 km/km...
Journal of The American Water Resources Association, 2000
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 2016
Geomorphic response to watershed disturbances commonly results in alterations of landforms. Subse... more Geomorphic response to watershed disturbances commonly results in alterations of landforms. Subsequent geomorphic recovery is dependent on the ability of flows to entrain, transport, and organize inorganic and organic material on hillslopes and in channels. This research analyzed changes in sediment production, channel structure, and channel organization following disturbances in steep, forested terrain.
General Technical Report, 1982
Mercury (Hg) contamination of stream salamanders in the Pacific Northwest region of the United St... more Mercury (Hg) contamination of stream salamanders in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States has received little attention. Here we report total Hg (Hg T ) and methyl mercury (MeHg) concentrations in larval giant salamanders (Dicamptodon spp.) and surface water from forested and chaparral lotic ecosystems distributed along a latitudinal gradient throughout Northern California and Washington. To test hypotheses related to potential effects from mining land-use activities, salamander larvae were also sampled from a reference site at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, California, and at a nearby, upstream site (Shasta county) on Bureau of Land Management land where Hg contamination from gold mining activities has been documented. Hg T concentrations in whole body larvae ranged from 4.6 to 74.5 ng/g wet wt. and percent MeHg ranged from 67% to 86%. Both Hg T and MeHg larval tissue concentrations were significantly higher at the mining site in comparison to measured background levels (P < 0.001). We conclude that salamander larvae in remote stream ecosystems, where Hg sources were dominated by atmospheric deposition, were generally low in Hg T and MeHg and, in comparison, watersheds with a legacy of land-use practices (i.e., mining operations) had approximately 4.5 -5.5 times the level of Hg T bioaccumulation. Moreover, trophic magnification slopes were highest in the Shasta county region where mining was present. These findings suggest that mining activities increase Hg T and MeHg exposure to salamander larvae in the region and may present a threat to other higher trophically positioned organisms, and their associated food webs.
Restoration Ecology, 2013
Tahoe Research Group Tahoe Environmental Research Center, Aug 24, 2003
Wildland road removal is a common practice across the U.S. and in some parts of Canada. The main ... more Wildland road removal is a common practice across the U.S. and in some parts of Canada. The main types of road removal include ripping, stream crossing restoration, and full recontour. Road removal creates a short-term disturbance that may temporarily increase sediment loss. However, research and long-term monitoring have shown that road removal both reduces erosion rates and the risk of road-induced landslides. Research is needed to determine whether road removal is effective at restoring ecosystem processes and wildlife habitat. We propose several research questions and the types of studies needed to further road removal efforts. With greater understanding of the impacts of road removal, land managers can more effectively prioritize which roads to leave open and which roads to consider for future road removal projects.
Special Paper of the Geological Society of America, 2009
Regional high-magnitude rainstorms have produced several large fl oods in north coastal Californi... more Regional high-magnitude rainstorms have produced several large fl oods in north coastal California during the last century, which resulted in extensive massmovement activity and channel aggradation. Channel monitoring in Redwood Creek, through the use of cross-sectional surveys, thalweg profi les, and pebble counts, has documented the persistence and routing of channel-stored sediment following these large fl oods in the 1960s and 1970s. Channel response varied on the basis of timing of peak aggradation. Channel-stored sediment was evacuated rapidly from the upstream third of the Redwood Creek channel, and the channel bed stabilized by 1985 as the bed coarsened. Currently only narrow remnants of fl ood deposits remain and are well vegetated. In the downstream reach, channel aggradation peaked in the 1990s, and the channel is still incising. Channel-bed elevations throughout the watershed showed an approximate exponential decrease with time, but decay rates were highest in areas with the thickest fl ood deposits. Pool frequencies and depths generally increased from 1977 to 1995, as did median residual water depths, but a 10 yr fl ood in 1997 resulted in a moderate reversal of this trend. Channel aggradation generated during 25 yr return interval fl oods has persisted in Redwood Creek for more than 30 yr and has impacted many life cycles of salmon. Watershed restoration work is currently focused on correcting erosion problems on hillslopes to reduce future sediment supply to Redwood Creek instead of attempting in-channel manipulations. Madej, M.A., and Ozaki, V., 2009, Persistence of effects of high sediment loading in a salmon-bearing river, northern California, in James, L.A.
Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2006
We quantified patterns in stream temperature in a northern coastal California river using thermal... more We quantified patterns in stream temperature in a northern coastal California river using thermal infrared (TIR) imaging and in-stream monitoring and related temperature patterns to the historical and present distributions of juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch). In Redwood Creek, California, water temperature increased from the headwaters to about 60 km downstream, then gradually decreased over the next 40 km as the river approaches the Pacific Ocean. Despite the lack of fish migration barriers, juvenile coho are currently only observed in the downstreammost 20 km, whereas historically they were found in 90 km of river channel. Maximum daily temperatures and duration of elevated stream temperatures were not significantly different in the headwater and downstream reaches but were significantly higher in the 50 km long intervening reach, where maximum weekly maximum temperatures ranged from 23 to 27°C. An increase in stream temperatures in the middle basin during the last three decades as a result of channel aggradation, widening, and the removal of large riparian conifers may play an important role in restricting juvenile coho to one-fifth of their historical range.
Geomorphology, 2009
At the reach scale, a channel adjusts to sediment supply and flow through mutual interactions amo... more At the reach scale, a channel adjusts to sediment supply and flow through mutual interactions among channel form, bed particle size, and flow dynamics that govern river bed mobility. Sediment can impair the beneficial uses of a river, but the timescales for studying recovery following high sediment loading in the field setting make flume experiments appealing. We use a flume experiment, coupled with field measurements in a gravelbed river, to explore sediment transport, storage, and mobility relations under various sediment supply conditions. Our flume experiment modeled adjustments of channel morphology, slope, and armoring in a gravel-bed channel. Under moderate sediment increases, channel bed elevation increased and sediment output increased, but channel planform remained similar to pre-feed conditions. During the following degradational cycle, most of the excess sediment was evacuated from the flume and the bed became armored. Under high sediment feed, channel bed elevation increased, the bed became smoother, mid-channel bars and bedload sheets formed, and water surface slope increased. Concurrently, output increased and became more poorly sorted. During the last degradational cycle, the channel became armored and channel incision ceased before all excess sediment was removed. Selective transport of finer material was evident throughout the aggradational cycles and became more pronounced during degradational cycles as the bed became armored. Our flume results of changes in bed elevation, sediment storage, channel morphology, and bed texture parallel those from field surveys of Redwood Creek, northern California, which has exhibited channel bed degradation for 30 years following a large aggradation event in the 1970s. The flume experiment suggested that channel recovery in terms of reestablishing a specific morphology may not occur, but the channel may return to a state of balancing sediment supply and transport capacity.
Forest Ecology and Management, 2009
J Am Water Resour Assoc, 2000
Revisions to the California Forest Practice Rules since 1974 were intended to increase protection... more Revisions to the California Forest Practice Rules since 1974 were intended to increase protection of water quality in streams draining timber harvest areas. The effects of improved timber harvesting methods and road designs on sediment loading are assessed for the Panther Creek basin, a 15.4 km 2 watershed in Humboldt County, north coastal California. We compute land use statistics, analyze suspended sediment discharge rating curves, and compare sediment yields in Panther Creek to a control (unlogged) stream, Little Lost Man Creek. From 1978 to 2008, 8.2 km 2 (over half the watershed) was clearcut and other timber management activities (thinning, selection cuts, and so forth) affected an additional 5.9 km 2 . Since 1984, 40.7 km of streams in harvest units received riparian buffer strip protection. Between 2000 and 2009, 22 km of roads were upgraded and 9.7 km were decommissioned, reducing potential sediment production by an estimated 40,000 m 3 . Road density is currently 3.1 km/km...
Journal of The American Water Resources Association, 2000
Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 2016
Geomorphic response to watershed disturbances commonly results in alterations of landforms. Subse... more Geomorphic response to watershed disturbances commonly results in alterations of landforms. Subsequent geomorphic recovery is dependent on the ability of flows to entrain, transport, and organize inorganic and organic material on hillslopes and in channels. This research analyzed changes in sediment production, channel structure, and channel organization following disturbances in steep, forested terrain.
General Technical Report, 1982
Mercury (Hg) contamination of stream salamanders in the Pacific Northwest region of the United St... more Mercury (Hg) contamination of stream salamanders in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States has received little attention. Here we report total Hg (Hg T ) and methyl mercury (MeHg) concentrations in larval giant salamanders (Dicamptodon spp.) and surface water from forested and chaparral lotic ecosystems distributed along a latitudinal gradient throughout Northern California and Washington. To test hypotheses related to potential effects from mining land-use activities, salamander larvae were also sampled from a reference site at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, California, and at a nearby, upstream site (Shasta county) on Bureau of Land Management land where Hg contamination from gold mining activities has been documented. Hg T concentrations in whole body larvae ranged from 4.6 to 74.5 ng/g wet wt. and percent MeHg ranged from 67% to 86%. Both Hg T and MeHg larval tissue concentrations were significantly higher at the mining site in comparison to measured background levels (P < 0.001). We conclude that salamander larvae in remote stream ecosystems, where Hg sources were dominated by atmospheric deposition, were generally low in Hg T and MeHg and, in comparison, watersheds with a legacy of land-use practices (i.e., mining operations) had approximately 4.5 -5.5 times the level of Hg T bioaccumulation. Moreover, trophic magnification slopes were highest in the Shasta county region where mining was present. These findings suggest that mining activities increase Hg T and MeHg exposure to salamander larvae in the region and may present a threat to other higher trophically positioned organisms, and their associated food webs.
Restoration Ecology, 2013
Tahoe Research Group Tahoe Environmental Research Center, Aug 24, 2003
Wildland road removal is a common practice across the U.S. and in some parts of Canada. The main ... more Wildland road removal is a common practice across the U.S. and in some parts of Canada. The main types of road removal include ripping, stream crossing restoration, and full recontour. Road removal creates a short-term disturbance that may temporarily increase sediment loss. However, research and long-term monitoring have shown that road removal both reduces erosion rates and the risk of road-induced landslides. Research is needed to determine whether road removal is effective at restoring ecosystem processes and wildlife habitat. We propose several research questions and the types of studies needed to further road removal efforts. With greater understanding of the impacts of road removal, land managers can more effectively prioritize which roads to leave open and which roads to consider for future road removal projects.
Special Paper of the Geological Society of America, 2009
Regional high-magnitude rainstorms have produced several large fl oods in north coastal Californi... more Regional high-magnitude rainstorms have produced several large fl oods in north coastal California during the last century, which resulted in extensive massmovement activity and channel aggradation. Channel monitoring in Redwood Creek, through the use of cross-sectional surveys, thalweg profi les, and pebble counts, has documented the persistence and routing of channel-stored sediment following these large fl oods in the 1960s and 1970s. Channel response varied on the basis of timing of peak aggradation. Channel-stored sediment was evacuated rapidly from the upstream third of the Redwood Creek channel, and the channel bed stabilized by 1985 as the bed coarsened. Currently only narrow remnants of fl ood deposits remain and are well vegetated. In the downstream reach, channel aggradation peaked in the 1990s, and the channel is still incising. Channel-bed elevations throughout the watershed showed an approximate exponential decrease with time, but decay rates were highest in areas with the thickest fl ood deposits. Pool frequencies and depths generally increased from 1977 to 1995, as did median residual water depths, but a 10 yr fl ood in 1997 resulted in a moderate reversal of this trend. Channel aggradation generated during 25 yr return interval fl oods has persisted in Redwood Creek for more than 30 yr and has impacted many life cycles of salmon. Watershed restoration work is currently focused on correcting erosion problems on hillslopes to reduce future sediment supply to Redwood Creek instead of attempting in-channel manipulations. Madej, M.A., and Ozaki, V., 2009, Persistence of effects of high sediment loading in a salmon-bearing river, northern California, in James, L.A.