Chrysomelid beetle larvae chew on willow leaves – leaving these patterns of skeletonization behind. Photo by Carri LeRoy
Willows across the Pumice Plain of Mount St. Helens provide more than just riparian vegetation! They provide shelter, habitat and food to a variety of insects. Insects like Chrysomelid beetle larvae chew their way through willow leaves!
The poplar & willow stem-boring weevil, Cryptorhynchus lapathi, was introduced to Mount St. Helens in 1989. Photo by Carri LeRoy
Another insect that utilizes the willows is the stem-boring weevil, which is native to Europe but was introduced to Mount St Helens in 1989! The tiny long-nosed guys, show up a lot in our studies as they cause branch death and mortality of willows.
Galling herbivores like this likely galling midge show variation in activity across the Pumice Plain of Mount St. Helens. Photo by Carri LeRoy
Insects like galling midges have specialized feeding behaviors that require willow leaves as a host. They create new microhabitats for their young via galling. Stay tuned to learn more about the aquatic macroinvertebrates that colonize willow leaves that fall into streams!
The Truman Trail at Mount St. Helens is beautiful! Help stop the USFS from building a road here! Photo by Carri LeRoy.
Since the eruption of Mount St Helens, the landscape has turned into a living laboratory for ecological research. It’s the most studied volcano in the world. It allows scientists to track how ecosystems and species respond to major disturbances.
USFS already built this new road to access Spirit Lake in 2018. This was supposed to be the alternative to the Pumice Plain road. Photos by Carri LeRoy
Despite MSH being protected for natural recovery and research, for the past three years the USFS has been trying to build a road across the face of Mount St Helens. The creation of this road would destroy the Truman Trail and alter the ecosystem completely. Learn more about the threatened Truman Trail here: https://www.mshinstitute.org/about_us/rumblings-newsletter/romanos-rumblings-summer-2018.html
The Truman Trail provides excellent views of both Spirit Lake and the crater of Mount St Helens from the Pumice Plain. Photos by Carri LeRoy.
Our research on newly developed streams across the Pumice Plain studies would be destroyed. Our lab and many others have been able to fight this off the last two years. To help get our voices heard, we need to actively fight this planned action: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=57259
Iris helping to tag Sitka willows as male or female (pink!) along Clear Creek at Mount St. Helens in summer 2019. Photo by Carri LeRoy
“It’s unconventional, but I view ecological studies as a radical form of generous listening to the world around us. My current listening project (research) investigates the temporal dynamics of multitrophic interactions in aquatic-terrestrial ecosystems.”
“I am currently studying interactions between Salixsitchensis phenology, phytochemistry and stream biota at MSH. Advancing our understanding in this research area allows for better predictions of climate -driven ecological mismatch in land-water ecosystems.”
Iris helped coordinate science outreach for the Mount St. Helens Institute’s GeoGirls program in the summer of 2019. Here she is leading a pack of 25 middle school girls. Photo by Carri LeRoy
“Research at MSH with Dr. LeRoy has allowed me to:
Participate in NSF- funded research
Conduct independent stream ecology research
Co-author a peer-reviewed publication
Form strong relationships with peers and mentors
And so much more!”
“I am passionate about supporting other #WomenInSTEM and connecting youth with nature. I have such a supportive group in the L3 lab and I want to give others that same feeling of comfort with science and the natural world.”
Iris and fellow undergraduate Victoria Cowan enjoying some shade on the blistering Pumice Plain of Mount St. Helens in the summer of 2019. Photo by Carri LeRoy
“I am so excited to have two manuscripts in progress as an undergraduate. The sky is the limit for research opportunities at Evergreen. I am looking forward to publishing our research and sharing our work with the broader freshwater ecology community.”
“Research is an art form of listening, sometimes it is with a hyporheic well, an extraction, a pH meter, a mass spectra or simply sitting by the stream. Evergreen is my academic home, it understands my way of listening and my desire not to push my way into an answer but to find patterns and relationships in a landscape of uncertainty and null hypotheses.”
Iris and fellow field assistants taking a much needed rest in the shade of willows and alders at Mount St Helens, summer 2019. Photo by Carri LeRoy
“Instead of starting with the question- what do I want to discover? I like to enter a new study system with “what wants to be discovered?” I come from a background in permaculture, where we are taught to watch the land for quite some time before jumping in and making changes. Where does the shade hit in November? What family of plants sprout in February? Where does rain collect in December? That’s the kind of science I like to do- meaningful, thoughtful and full of listening.”
Dr. Norm Anderson – entomologist at Oregon State University who did early research at Mount St. Helens with PhD student Richard Meyerhoff. Photos: OSU archives, OSU Stream Team
Dr. Norman Anderson was faculty of the Department of Entomology at Oregon State University from 1962 until he retired in 1995. He had a passion for aquatic insects and conducted research at Mount St. Helens. In 2018, his collection from MSH was given to the Oregon State Arthropod Collection.
The Oregon State Arthropod Collection is allowing us to inventory and accession part of Dr. Anderson’s collection. Photo by Evergreen student Brandy Ku’ualoha Kamakawiwoole who is taking the lead on this project.
Evergreen undergraduate Brandy Ku’ualoha Kamakawiwoole is currently accessioning a subset of Dr. Anderson’s samples consisting of 903 vials. Each vial is viewed under the microscope, counted, and recorded in a spreadsheet. Each vial is given a unique serial number provided by the Oregon State Arthropod Collection with a barcode.
Some of Dr. Anderson’s samples are from as early as July 1981 following the May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. Photos by Evergreen student Brandy Ku’ualoha Kamakawiwoole
Evergreen undergraduate Brandy Ku’ualoha Kamakawiwoole thinks it’s cool that some of the samples are from as early as July 1981! After she finishes, the data and a paper describing her methods will hopefully be published by the Arthropod Collection.
Evergreen Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) students Angie Froedin-Morgensen and Iris Garthwaite had opportunities to work with Dr. Deb Finn from Missouri State University in summer 2019. Photo by Carri LeRoy.
Collaborator, Dr. Deb Finn (@streambug), Assistant Professor at Missouri State University, has provided many assets to our research program, far more than strictly field work. Connections like these provide Evergreen students with unique networking opportunities.
Dr. Deb Finn, measuring hyporheic depth in a shirt that matches the beautiful monkey flower in Forsyth Creek in 2019. Photo by Carri LeRoy.
Working with Dr. Finn on the Pumice Plain means we had the opportunity to study the hyporheic zones of new streams at Mount St Helens! Undergraduates learned how to install and monitor hyporheic wells along the streams.
Evergreen undergraduate Iris Garthwaite checking hyporheic height in a well on the Pumice Plain of Mount St. Helens in 2019. Photo by Carri LeRoy.
Assessing hyporheic zones generated a lot of data for our team to better understand the novel watersheds at MSH. It turns out that 40 years isn’t long enough for most hyporheic zones to develop but we gained insight into up and downwelling and the potential for hyporheic habitat development!
Hiking the 3 miles out to our field sites in the morning. Photo by Shauna Bittle, The Evergreen State College.
With the Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument as a protected landscape, our team has a 3-year permit to do research on the Pumice Plain. We hike several miles to reach our study sites, often packing along heavy equipment, but the views of the volcano are worth it!
Dr. Carri LeRoy and Evergreen undergraduate Angie Froedin-Morgensen filtering water for chemical analysis. Photo by Shauna Bittle, The Evergreen State College.
Our research in the newly formed watersheds of the Pumice Plain includes chemical analysis and water quality sampling. These data help us to understand the potential differences in water sources across Pumice Plain watersheds and predict influences on ecosystem function!
Dr. Carri LeRoy recording field notes with the mountain as a backdrop. Photo by Shauna Bittle, The Evergreen State College.
The most important thing in field work is proper documentation! What may seem like a tedious task, is a vital component of ensuring our team can continue publishing data about the primary succession of riverine communities at Mount St. Helens! Thanks to Evergreen State College for the great photos!
Photo trap intended to measure stream flow captures a mountain goat running along Willow Creek!
Surely, it’s not only plants on the Pumice Plain! Ecosystems have gradually flourished as more species have filled ecological niches. Ungulates and other mammals have colonized the Pumice Plain.
Our team has documented many animals on accident in our photo traps intended to measure water flow, ephemerality, and seasonality of streams!
Huge herds of elk call the Pumice Plain home. They are protected from hunting within the National Volcanic Monument. Photo by Carri LeRoy
While hiking across the
Pumice Plain our team has encountered huge herds of elk. They were some of the
first large animals to return to MSH after the eruption and they utilize this
landscape for grazing the grasses, sedges, and willows of the Pumice Plain!
Sometimes our camera trap
stream gauges capture other things! A big fall storm caused massive sediment
movement in our streams and also carried other debris downstream. This partial
elk carcass got caught up on our stream gauge on Willow Creek.
Check out the black bear print on Goose Creek on the Pumice Plain of Mount St. Helens in summer 2018! Photo by Carri LeRoy
An elk leg got wrapped around our stream gauge during a high flow event in Willow Creek! Photo by Carri LeRoy
USFS collaborator Shannon Claeson explaining aspects of the eruption to an undergraduate student. Photo by Carri LeRoy
Here are a few of the fantastic collaborators that we’ve been fortunate to have on our team!
Shannon Claeson (USFS Aquatic Ecologist; @ForestServiceNW) has been working at Mount St. Helens for over 10 years and collaborating with us for the past five years. She brings expertise in aquatic insect taxonomy and ecology to the team.
Dr. Debra Finn (@streambug) is an assistant professor at Missouri State University (@MissouriState) and collaborates with us on hyporheic flows, stonefly secondary production, and invertebrate genetics. She received anNSF-ROA extension grant to collaborate with our team!
Joy Ramstack Hobbs is a limnologist from the Science Museum of Minnesota/St. Croix Watershed Research Station and is senior personnel on the NSF EAGER grant. Joy provides expertise in phycology, statistics and undergraduate training and been a great collaborator the past 2 years!
It’s hard work hauling well pounders and hyporheic wells out to the field site. Dr. Deb Finn collaborated on hyporheic zone studies in summer 2019.
Laying out hundreds of litter bags for installation in Geo-West Creek, on the Pumice Plain of MSH. Collaborator Joy Hobbs and undergraduate student Victoria Cowan tied bags onto string. Photo by Carri LeRoy
Measuring stream width and velocity in closed canopy sections of Forsyth Creek, on the Pumice Plain of Mount St. Helens. Look at that riparian colonization! Photo by Carri LeRoy
When Mount St. Helens erupted, it resulted in a massive landslide that buried existing forests, streams, and watersheds. Since the eruption, five (5) novel watersheds have developed on the Pumice Plain. These streams on the north face of MSH have been our team’s main interest.
Undergraduates, faculty and collaborators have been able to conduct studies on environmental variation and biotic communities across these watersheds to address in-stream primary succession because of the unique ecosystem the eruption of MSH created.
We are especially interested in how riparian plants influence stream channel dynamics, increase shade, and input organic matter to these newly developing streams. Stay tuned for more about how willow sex differences and a wandering weevil alter in-stream ecosystem function!
Stream gauges in all five watersheds help us track water flow and sediment movement- even through the dark and deep snow of winter. Photo by Carri LeRoy
Tricky work of trying to keep our light loggers facing upwards in the middle of each streams – strap them to big rocks! Photo by Carri LeRoy
A group selfie after a long field trip! Wrapping up our field work in late summer 2018! Photo by Carri LeRoy
The past 3 years our team has been working under an NSF EAGER grant to Dr. LeRoy which allows undergraduates at The Evergreen State College to gain amazing field experiences and research opportunities.
Our team is composed of undergraduates, SURF students, research assistants, faculty, and many wonderful collaborators (stay turned to learn more about our collaborative work) that dedicate their summers to exploring the landscape of Mount St. Helens (MSH).
MSH is an exemplary ecosystem for our team to study how the flora and fauna are responding to large, intense disturbances as well as their processes of early succession.
We hike in all kinds of weather! Hiking along the Truman Trail at Mount St. Helens to field sites on the Pumice Plain. Photo by Carri LeRoy
Over 20 undergraduate students at Evergreen have been able to collaborate on this project! Three students at left with collaborator Joy Ramstack Hobbs from the Science Museum of Minnesota at right. Photo by Carri LeRoy
