Faculty

William J. Ripple
Professor
Director, Environmental Remote Sensing Applications Laboratory (ERSAL)
Department of Forest Resources
Peavy Hall 011
Corvallis, OR 97331-5703
(541) 737-3056

BS, 1974, South Dakota State Univ.
MS, 1978, Univ. of Idaho
PhD, 1984, Oregon State Univ.

Research interests: Wolf, ungulate, aspen ecology; trophic cascades; remote sensing of vegetation; fire ecology; geographic information systems; wildlife habitat analysis; landscape ecology; biodiversity; historical ecology.

Current programs:

The Leopold Project - http://www.forestry.oregonstate.edu/leopold/
The goal of Leopold Project is to continue the work Aldo Leopold started on topics that intersect forestry and wildlife science and ecosystems especially predators, ungulates, and forests.

The Aspen Project - http://www.forestry.oregonstate.edu/aspen/
An interactive web page designed to examine the decline of Quaking Aspen throughout the western United States. This site has had 13,000 hits since 1998.

The Lewis & Clark Project - http://www.forestry.oregonstate.edu/lewis&clark/
Wildlife Along the Lewis & Clark Trail studying human wildlife associations as a study in historical ecology.

The Wolves in Nature Project - http://www.forestry.oregonstate.edu/wolves/
The purpose here is to investigate the role of a top predator, the gray wolf (Canis Lupus), in structuring ecological communities.

Species Range Contractions - http://www.cof.orst.edu/rangecontractions/
The purpose of this study is to compare historic and current ranges of both carnivores and ungulates, identify large-scale patterns in species ranges and determine the degree of human influence on species range changes.

Courses:

FOR 421/521, Spatial Analysis of Forest Landscapes
FOR 599, Aldo Leopold and Ecosystem Management
FOR 599, Trophic Cascades

Graduate students: Cristina Eisenberg (PhD, Forestry and Wildlife), Jeff Hollenbeck (PhD, Remote Sensing / GIS / Landscape Ecology), Josh Halofsky (PhD, Remote Sensing / GIS / Landscape Ecology), Trent Seager (MS, Effects of Deer and Elk Herbivory and Conifer Encroachment on Aspen Stands in Western Oregon)

Selected publications:

• Halofsky, J.S. Ripple W.J. and Beschta, R.L. 2008. Recoupling fire and aspen recruitment after wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park, USA. In press.

• Beschta, R.L. and Ripple, W.J. 2008. Restoring northern Yellowstone’s Riparian Plant Communities with Wolves. Restoration Ecology. In press

• Beschta, R.L. and Ripple, W.J. 2008. Wolves, trophic cascades, and rivers in western Olympic National Park. Ecohydrology. In press

• Ripple, W.J. and Beschta, R.L. 2008. Trophic cascades involving cougar, mule deer, and black oaks in Yosemite National Park. Biological Conservation. 141: 1249-1256.

• Hollenbeck, J. P., and Ripple W.J. 2008. Aspen snag dynamics, cavity-nesting birds, and trophic cascades in Yellowstone's northern range. Forest Ecology and Management. 255:1095-1103

• Halofsky, J.S. and Ripple W.J. 2008. Linkages between wolf presence and aspen recruitment in the Gallatin elk winter range of southwestern Montana, USA. Forestry. 81:195-207.

• Halofsky, J.S. and Ripple W.J. 2008. Fine-scale predation risk on elk after wolf-reintroduction in Yellowstone National Park, USA. Oecologia. 155:869–877

• Beschta, R.L. and Ripple, W.J. 2007. Increased willow heights along northern Yellowstone’s Blacktail Deer Creek following wolf reintroduction. Western North American Naturalist 67:613-617.

• Hollenbeck, J. P., and Ripple W.J. 2007. Aspen and conifer heterogeneity effects on bird diversity in the northern Yellowstone ecosystem. Western North American Naturalist 67:92-101.

• Ripple, W.J. and Beschta, R.L. 2007. Restoring Yellowstone's aspen with wolves. Biological Conservation 138: 514-519.

• Beschta, R.L. and Ripple W.J. 2007. Wolves, elk, and aspen in the winter range of Jasper National Park, Canada. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 37(10): 1873-1885.

• Hollenbeck, J. P., and Ripple W.J. 2007. Aspen patch and migratory bird relationships in the northern Yellowstone ecosystem. Landscape Ecology 22:1411-1425.

• Ripple W.J., Beschta R.L. 2007. Hardwood tree decline following the loss of large carnivores on the Great Plains, USA. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment in press. 5:241-246.

• Ripple W.J., Beschta R.L. 2006. Linking a cougar decline, trophic cascade, and catastrophic regime shift in Zion National Park. Biological Conservation 133: 397-408.

• Larsen, T. and W. J. Ripple. 2006. Modeling Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) Habitat in the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. Journal of Conservation Planning. 2: 30-61.

• Beschta, R.L., and W.J. Ripple. 2006. River channel dynamics following extirpation of wolves in northwestern Yellowstone National Park. Earth Surface Processes & Landforms.

• Ripple, W.J. and Beschta, R.L. 2006. Linking wolves to willows via risk-sensitive foraging by ungulates in the northern Yellowstone ecosystem. Forest Ecology and Management 230: 96-106.

• Olson, Gail S., Robert G. Anthony, Eric D. Forsman, Steven H. Ackers, Peter J. Loschl, Janice A. Reid, Katie M. Dugger, Elizabeth M. Glenn, and William J. Ripple. 2005.  Modeling of site occupancy dynamics for northern spotted owls, with emphasis on the effects of barred owls. Journal of Wildlife Management. 69:918-932.

• Larsen, E.J. and W.J. Ripple. 2005. Aspen Stand Conditions on elk winter ranges in the Northern Yellowstone Ecosystem. Natural Areas Journal. 25:326-338.

• Beschta, R.L. (2005). Reduced Cottonwood Recruitment Following Extirpation of Wolves in Yellowstone's Northern Range. Ecology 86(2): 391-403.

• Beschta R.L., Ripple W.J. 2005. Rapid Assessment of Riparian Cottonwoods Recruitment: Middle Fork of the John Day River in Northeastern Oregon. Ecological Restoration. 23:150-156.

• Ripple W.J., Beschta R.L. 2005. Linking Wolves to Plants: Aldo Leopold on Trophic Cascades. BioScience. 55: 613-621.

• Ripple W.J., Beschta R.L. 2005. Refugia from browsing as reference sites for restoration planning. Western North American Naturalist. 65:269-273.

• Ripple W.J., Beschta R.L. 2005. Willow thickets protect young aspen from elk browsing after wolf reintroduction. Western North American Naturalist. 65:118-122.

• Ripple WJ, Beschta RL. 2004. Wolves and the ecology of fear: Can predation risk structure ecosystems? BioScience. 54:755-766.
• Ripple WJ, Beschta RL. 2004. Wolves, elk, willows, and trophic cascades in the upper Gallatin Range of Southwestern Montana, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 200:755-766.
• Laliberte AS, Ripple WJ. 2004. Range Contractions of North American Carnivores and ungulates. BioScience 54: 123-138.
• Olson, G.S., E.M. Glenn, R.G. Anthony, E.D.Forsman, J.A. Reid, P.J. Loschl, and W.J. Ripple. 2004. Modeling of demographic perfomance of northern spotted owls relative to forest habitat in Oregon. Journal of Wildlife Management. 68:1039-1053.
• Glenn, E. M. and Ripple, W.J. 2004. On Using Digital Maps for assessing Wildlife Habitat. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 32:852-860.
• Ripple, W. J., S.K. Nelson, and E. M. Glenn. 2003. Forest Landscape Patterns around Marbled Murrelet nest sites in the Oregon Coast Range. Northwest Naturalist. 84:80-89.
• Larsen, E. J. and W. J. Ripple. 2003. Aspen age structure in the northern Yellowstone Ecosystem:USA. Forest Ecology and Management. 179:469-482.
• Laliberte, A. and W. J. Ripple. 2003. Automated wildlife counts from remotely sensed imagery. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 31:362-371.
• Ripple W. J, Beschta R. L. 2003. Wolf reintroduction, predation risk, and cottonwood recovery in Yellowstone National Park. Forest Ecology and Management 184: 299-313.
• Boyd, D. S., G. M. Foody, and W. J. Ripple. 2002. Evaluation of Approaches for forest cover estimation in the Pacific Northwest, USA, using remote sensing. Applied Geography, 22:375-392.
• Ripple, W. J., E. J. Larsen, R. A. Renkin, D. W. Smith. 2001. Trophic Cascades among Wolves, Elk and Aspen on Yellowstone National Park’s Northern Range. Biological Conservation. 102:227-234.
• Ripple, W.J. and E.J. Larsen. 2001. The Role of Postfire Coarse Woody Debris in Aspen Regeneration. Western Journal of Applied Forestry. 16(2).
• Ripple, W.J. and E.J. Larsen. 2000. Historic Aspen Recruitment, Elk, and Wolves in Northern Yellowstone National Park, U.S.A. Biological Conservation.
• Lawrence, R.L., and W.J. Ripple. 2000. Fifteen Years of Vegetation Recovery at Mount St. Helens. Ecology.
• Ripple, W.J., K.T. Hershey, and R. Anthony. 2000. Historical Forest Patterns of the Central Oregon Coast Range. Biological Conservation. 93:127-133.
• Lawrence, R.L. and W.J. Ripple. 1999. Calculating Change Curves for Multitemporal Satellite Imagery: Mount St. Helens 1980-1995. Remote Sensing of Environment. 67:309-319.
  

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