Prepped samples of ground leaves (left) and tannin samples mid-extraction process (right). Photos by Iris Garthwaite
Across the Pumice Plain of Mount St. Helens, Sitka willows (Salix sitchensis) make up a major percentage of the riparian (streamside) vegetation. Parts of our research focuses on identifying phenolic compounds called condensed tannins within willow leaves!
Evergreen undergraduates, Lauren Thompson (left) and Maddie Thompson (right) running the condensed tannin extraction and assay. Photo by Iris Garthwaite
Condensed tannins of willow leaves may act as anti-herbivore compounds and make willow leaves less palatable based on their concentrations. The processes of condensed tannin extraction and assay are very long but filled with numerous colorful steps!
The colorimetric condensed tannin assay results in an awesome gradient of pink! Photo by Madeline Thompson
Phenolic compounds may differ across the Pumice Plain or by plant sex (willow is dioecious!). Leaf chemistry can influence which insects utilize the leaves and rates of decomposition for leaf litter!
Caddisflies of all shapes and sizes have colonized Mount St. Helens. Photo by Angie Froedin-Morgensen
The eruption of Mount St Helens created pyroclastic flows, mudflows, and ash fallout that covered the Pumice Plain in over 100 ft of sterile material. Since then, new watersheds have formed, diverse fauna has colonized MSH streams, and our lab team has been there to document!
Our benthic macroinvertebrate sorting station. Photo by Angie Froedin-Morgensen
The benthic macroinvertebrates of MSH colonize, eat and utilize leaf litter that falls into streams. With the use of leaf litter bags, Undergraduates Angie Froedin-Morgensen and Brandy Ku’ualoha Kamakawiwoole spend hours under a microscope sorting these aquatic insects!
Stoneflies are particularly common inhabitants of Mount St. Helens streams. Photo by Angie Froedin-Morgensen
Aquatic insects like Ephemeroptera, Trichoptera, and Plecoptera all play a critical role in the aquatic food webs! Benthic macroinvertebrate communities provide amazing insight as indicators of biological conditions, and communities differ across MSH streams!
Litterbag showing willow leaf litter and a unique metal tag for identification!
Across the Pumice Plain, willow leaf litter bags are placed into streams to conduct a variety of assays. After the leaves are colonized by bacteria and fungi and begin to decompose, we remove the leaves and use DNA extractions to identify microbial communities!
Various stages in the DNA extraction process: Macerated leaf material, intermediate stages of DNA extraction, and final extracts for analysis. Photos by Lauren Thompson
The DNA extraction process entails numerous lengthy, yet exciting steps. Whether its shaking samples up vigorously with a vortexer or lysing cell matter with solutions, Evergreen Undergraduates Lauren and Maddie Thompson are always up for the challenge!
Undergraduate Maddie Thompson testing for DNA concentrations on the nanodrop! Photo by Lauren Thompson
Extracted DNA from willow samples is then sent off to characterize microbes present! This identifies what microbes colonize first, starts decomposition, provides nutrients to aquatic macroinvertebrates, and may be influenced by the sex of willows!
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.
Litter bags filled with willow leaves and flowers prepped for deployment and deployed in streams at Mount St. Helens. Photos by Carri LeRoy
Litter bags filled with willow leaves and flowers for undergraduate Iris Garthwaite’s independent research project as part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program. We use metal ID tags to track willow identity, plant sex, and weevil attack status.
Willow leaves incubated in the streams of the Pumice Plain decompose and skeletonize over time. Photo by Carri LeRoy
Litter bags installed in streams help us determine decomposition and organic matter cycling rates. Willow leaves and flowers are colonized by microbes and aquatic macroinvertebrates that eat microbes and shred leaves. SURF student Angie Froedin-Morgensen focuses on invert ID.
Our research truck turned solar-powered drying oven – our solution to drying leaves at a remote field site! Photo by Carri LeRoy.
The whole crew gets involved when it’s time for peak leaf fall! Our studies are often limited by how much leaf litter we can catch at abscission. On multi-day trips, we get creative about drying leaves – we converted our research truck into a solar-powered drying oven!
The Leaf Litter Lab had the honor of presenting a small glimpse into each individual scopes of research to Christine Hoffmann, who works for the Public Relations Outreach here at Evergreen.
With focuses on the National Science Foundation-funded ecology research of Mount St. Helen’s, undergraduates have been able to take on multiple approaches to conduct individual research projects.
Iris Garthwaite is a Senior who takes on both a peer-mentor and leadership role. She’s conducted an entire project around willow catkin and aquatic invertebrate interactions to investigate flowers as detrital resource for stream ecosystems. With the end of her research project she has been working hard at picking a graduate school and writing her first first-author paper!
Brandy speaking about the Norman H. Anderson macro-invertebrate samples.
Brandy Kamakawiwoole is a Junior working on aquatic macro-invertebrate sorting, stream GIF imaging, and analyzing historical BMI records. The historical records are from the 1981-1982 Norman H. Anderson Collection Samples, making them the first aquatic macro-invertebrate samples collected following the eruption of Mount St. Helens!
Angie Frödin-Morgensen is a Senior who has an interest in freshwater ecology. She spends most her time working hard at a microscope sorting through leaf litter to identify aquatic macro-invertebrates. Her research focuses on macro-invertebrate community differences between female and male Sitka willow leaf litter!
Angie discussing the important roles of macro-invertebrates as bio-indicators of streams.
Maddie Thompson is a Junior with interest in environment studies and ecology. She’s been continuing the research on canopy covering influencing in-stream ecosystem function. She also takes part in her research project that focuses on Willow DNA extractions to identify microbial communities.
Lauren Thompson is a Junior studying ecology and environmental studies. She’s continuing the research on how environmental conditions influence organic matter processing across Mount St. Helens watersheds. She works jointly with Maddie in assessing condensed tannin’s and Willow DNA extractions.
Stay tuned… Iris, Angie, Maddie and Lauren plan to attend and present at the 2020 Society for Freshwater Science Annual Meeting!
