Inferring climate from angiosperm leaf venation networks - Brian J. Enquist; Benjamin Blonder (New Phytologist, 2014)
Summary Leaf venation networks provide an integrative linkage between plant form, function and climate niche, because leaf water transport underlies variation in plant performance. Here, we develop theory based on leaf physiology that uses community‐mean vein density to predict growing season temperature and atmospheric CO2 concentration. The key assumption is that leaf water supply is matched to water demand in the local environment. We test model predictions using leaves from 17 temperate and tropical sites that span broad climatic gradients. We find quantitative agreement between predicted and observed climate values. We also highlight additional leaf traits that may improve predictions. Our study provides a novel approach for understanding the functional linkages between functional traits and climate that may improve the reconstruction of paleoclimate from fossil assemblages.

Determinants of pika population density vs. occupancy in the Southern Rocky Mountains - R. Guralnick; L. P. Erb (Ecological Applications, 2014)
Species distributions are responding rapidly to global change. While correlative studies of local extinction have been vital to understanding the ecological impacts of global change, more mechanistic lines of inquiry are needed for enhanced forecasting. The current study assesses whether the predictors of local extinction also explain population density for a species apparently impacted by climate change. We tested a suite of climatic and habitat metrics as predictors of American pika (Ochotona princeps) relative population density in the Southern Rocky Mountains, USA. Population density was indexed as the density of pika latrine sites. Negative binomial regression and AICc showed that the best predictors of pika latrine density were patch area followed by two measures of vegetation quality: the diversity and relative cover of forbs. In contrast with previous studies of habitat occupancy in the Southern Rockies, climatic factors were not among the top predictors of latrine density. Pop

The Didymo story: the role of low dissolved phosphorus in the formation of Didymosphenia geminata blooms - C. Kilroy; M. L. Bothwell; B. W. Taylor (Diatom Research, 2014)

Flies and flowers II: Floral attractants and rewards - K. Lunau; T. Woodcock; B. M. H. Larson; P. G. Kevan; David W. Inouye (Journal of Pollination Ecology, 2014)
This paper comprises Part II of a review of flower visitation and pollination by Diptera (myiophily or myophily). While Part I examined taxonomic diversity of anthophilous flies, here we consider the rewards and attractants used by flowers to procure visits by flies, and their importance in the lives of flies. Food rewards such as pollen and nectar are the primary reasons for flower visits, but there is also a diversity of non-nutritive rewards such as brood sites, shelter, and places of congregation. Floral attractants are the visual and chemical cues used by Diptera to locate flowers and the rewards that they offer, and we show how they act to increase the probability of floral visitation. Lastly, we discuss the various ways in which flowers manipulate the behaviour of flies, deceiving them to visit flowers that do not provide the advertised reward, and how some flies illegitimately remove floral rewards without causing pollination. Our review demonstrates that myiophily is a syndrom

The Effects of Elevation on Herbivorous Insect Communities and the Host Plant Boechera stricta. - R. J. Burns (2014)
Changes in elevation have strong influences on the taxonomic richness and population densities of terrestrial ecosystems (Hawkins et. al, 2013, McCain and Grytnes 2010, Rahbek 1995). These gradients are caused by changes in precipitation, temperature, and several other key environmental factors associated with altitude (Hawkins et. al, 2013, McCain and Grytnes 2010). Floral and faunal species exhibit divergence in traits across their elevational ranges, adapting to different selective pressures and environments (Hodkinson 2005, Prasad et. al, 2012). One such species is the mustard plant Boechera Stricta (Brassicaceae), whose low source elevation genotypes exhibit greater resistance to herbivores than their higher elevation counterparts (Anderson, in preparation, Prasad et. al, 2012). In this study, we examined the effects of altitude on insect communities and their modulation with the host plant Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae) across an elevational gradient. We hypothesized decreases i

Nicrophorus investigator: The Effects of Asymmetry in Body Size on the Duration of Bi-parental Care. - V. Ortiz (2014)
Nicrophorus investigator is a carrion beetle species commonly found near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory that typically involves biparental care when raising a brood. I observed to see if relative size of the parents influenced the behavior and duration of their stay with their brood. There were four different treatments: two of the same size and two with differing sizes. Although there appeared to not be a significant effect on treatment on duration of male care or larval growth, it was interesting to see that females will tend to their brood no matter the size circumstance.

Floral visitation determined by phylogenetic distance in the plant communities of Gothic, CO. - J. Rigby (2014)
Pollinator’s attraction to various species of angiosperms is based upon various sensory outputs. These attractants could be floral/inflorescence size, color, scents or other various types of pollinator attractants. It can be inferred that plants species that are more closely related will have similar morphological traits and pollinator attractants due to the similar genes within them. This could mean that plant species that are closely related could attract the same pollinators to themselves, and thus allow us to predict floral visitation based upon phylogenetic relationships. Using phylogenetic relationships to predict floral visitation has been found to be a useful tool in the past few years that this study was done, and a positive relationship was found between floral visitation and the distance (in millions of years) to its nearest neighbor along with a small correlation between a species and the mean distance (in millions of years) between it and all of its neighbors. But, this ye

Are social network measures associated with the propensity to alarm call in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris)? - H. Fuong (2014)
Alarm calling is a behavior that typically benefits individuals through an increase in indirect fitness, an increase in social status, or in relation to reciprocity. Despite the risk of potentially higher detection by predators, callers emit these vocalizations in response to a threat. While previous studies have examined the costs and benefits of alarm calling, few have examined how individual factors such as social network position can influence the propensity to alarm call. Social network position may have a strong influence on how an individual behaves. Individuals can vary in how central, involved or influential, and connected to other individuals they are in a network. Thus, how interactive an individual is or the strength of relationships between individuals can influence the rate of alarm calling. We examined how various social network measures (degree centrality, closeness centrality, eigenvector centrality, strength, and embeddedness) were related to the likelihood of yellow-

The evolution of quantitative traits in complex environments - Kasavajhala V. S. K. Prasad; Maggie Wagner; Catherine Rushworth (Heredity, 2014)

Consequences of Pollination Neighborhood Composition and Pollinator Communities - Ana Chicas-Mosier (2014)
Climate change may affect individuals within a species differently dependent on sex, leading to skewed sex ratios. This paper considers the effect of mating environment on seed production in the dioecious plant species, Valeriana edulis. The study was conducted in female dominated populations where there could be sex ratio-mediated pollen limitation. We assessed five candidate indices describing the mating environment around focal females as predictors of focal female seed set including: density, pollen availability, pollen context with and without competition and sex-ratio. We also describe the daytime pollinators of V. edulis using pollen load counts. Plant density and pollen context were the best predictors of seed set individually and when combined into a single model. Sex-ratio did not have a significant effect on seed set though it is often used as the only factor to describe mating environment. We argue that mating environment should be quantified rather than assumed and suggest

Integrating behavioral, population and large-scale approaches for understanding stream insect communities - J. Heino; B. L. Peckarsky (Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2014)
It is argued that as an alternative to analyzing the species composition of whole insect communities, focusing on variation in the composition of behavioral trait groups is likely to provide increased understanding of how stream insect communities are assembled, thereby linking behavioral, population and community ecology.

Pocket gopher activity across elevation gradients. - Samuel Canfield (2014)
In ecology it is important to understand the limits of a species range and what their behaviors are within their range. Thomomys talpoides (Northern Pocket Gopher) and its relatives have been studied extensively at lower elevations (<2500m), but little is known about them at alpine elevations (>2700m). We asked what mechanism(s) (elevation, edaphic factors) determined their high elevational ranges. We were also interested in if there was a correlation between their burrowing and plant community composition. Our results showed a significant negative correlation between gopher disturbance and elevation on both ends of a quadratic curve which means that at lower and higher elevations gopher disturbance diminishes, and the most disturbance is in the middle. The abiotic factors of elevation cause an altitudinal pattern in pocket gopher disturbance. The edaphic and plant community composition data has not been completely analyzed at this moment.

Reproductive Success and Parental Care of Nicrophorus investigator. - S. Lamb (2014)
For years the standard of care in burying beetles has been a male and female, bi- parental care, but is it really? The intent of this experiment was to measure the success of burying beetle larvae produced under four different parental conditions after carcass preparation; 50 pairs of Nicrophorus investigator were collected from the wild and randomly assigned treatments of both parents, solo female, solo male, and neither parent, imposed the day that larvae hatched. The time it took for each stage of development was recorded. Once the larvae reached the last instar and consumed the carcass they were counted and weighed. The traditional pair of male and female parents was predicted to lead to the best larval growth (total brood mass, average larval mass, and larval number. The larvae without parents were not predicted to survive, and the uniparental (male or female parent only) were predicted to fall in between. The results found that broods with parents (at least one) did better than b

Effects of road proximity on pollinator visitation and reproductive success of Ipomopsis aggregate. - A. Morales (2014)
Increasing urbanization has led to the expansion of human infrastructure, including road networks. Current research has shown that roads have important ecological effects, ranging from habitat fragmentation to contamination of water runoff. This study examined the potential effects of roads on the reproductive success of subalpine wildflower populations in two meadows at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, CO. Based on studies conducted in previous years, we predicted that distance from a road would result in differences in pollinator visitation, pollen loads, and seed sets of Ipomopsis aggregata. Additionally, this study evaluated the road environment in terms of human traffic disturbance. In our characterization, we highlight road noise as a possible interpretation of observed differences near and far from the road. We found trends suggesting visitation rates were generally higher for plants near the road versus farther away. However, we did find that events of visita

Yellow-bellied marmots do not compensate for a late start: the role of maternal investment in shaping life-history trajectories - B. Pang; R. Monclus; Daniel T. Blumstein (Evolutionary Ecology, 2014)

Resource allocation as a driver of senescence: Life history tradeoffs produce age patterns of mortality - A. Baudisch; R. Davison; Carol L. Boggs (Journal of Theoretical Biology, 2014)
It is concluded that, even for species with qualitatively similar life histories, differences in physiological, behavioral and environmental tradeoffs or constraints may strongly influence optimal allocation schedules and produce variation in mortality patterns and life expectancy.

Trichome density differences in Boechera stricta across an elevational gradient. - K. Soto (2014)
Insect herbivores consume plant tissue, reducing plant fitness in the process. In response, plants have evolved a variety of mechanical and chemical defenses to protect themselves. This paper focuses on trichomes, which are hair-like appendages that extend from leaf tissues, and plants use them as a defense mechanism against herbivores as well as a way to reduce evapotranspiration. Over the course of the study, we collected rosette leaves from experimental Boechera stricta plants located in five common gardens. These gardens are located across an elevational gradient of 2530 m - 3430m, and contain a total of 8,200 plants with 120 genotypes. In each garden, half of the siblings of each family experienced early snow removal, whereas the other half experienced natural snowmelt. We found significant genetic variation in trichome density in the lower elevation gardens. Similarly, trichome density varied with garden, suggesting that environment influences trait expression. Finally, we found

Experimental examination of early snowmelt-induced water stress in Helianthella quinquenervis: effects on demographic vital rates - A. M. Anderson (2014)

Empirical tests of withinâ€and acrossâ€species energetics in a diverse plant community - N. Lowell; M. E. Harte; M. Wilber; E. A. Newman; John Harte (Ecology, 2014)

Potential Effect of Nutrient on Native/Invasive Plants in Disturbed Road-cuts. - Janice Y. Park (2014)
Invasive species is destructive to many habitats because it prevents several native species to grow. Controlling invasive species is challenging because invasive also prefer conditions what native likes (Gusewell 2004). The purpose of the experiment was to manipulate the nutrient available to L. vulgarisulgaris, Cirsium arvense, and native species to prevent invasive species’ fast growth, and ultimately, domination. Among eight plots per a field experiment, I added sawdust and sugar to the experimental plot to determine whether percent cover and growth rate of invasive plants and native plants were affected. To test effects of carbon and nitrogen on the growth rate of juvenile L. vulgaris, I treated four different groups with fertilizer, sugar/sawdust, sugar/sawdust/fertilizer, and nothing. Carbon compositions of straw site plant community (Bromus. sp, 28.9%±0.58) were significantly lower than control one (Bromus. sp, 38.3%±0.6; Hackelia.sp , 7.44%±0.59). In the pot study, plants with

Modernism on Trial: An Analysis of Historic Preservation Debates in Chicago - Stephen M. Mitchell (2014)
This thesis explores preservation issues regarding modernist architecture in Chicago. As urban and public history research, the project examines the new questions brought to the forefront by recent controversies over the preservation of modernist architecture. Modernism, and an "all concrete" variant known as "Brutalism," popular in the mid-twentieth century, aimed to remove ornament and historical references common in neoclassical, neo-Gothic, Beaux Arts, and Art Deco architecture and replace them with minimal, clean, glass-and-steel buildings. Modernists who, on principle, did not believe in preservation of past forms are now in the unlikely position of making such an argument for their own buildings. Never widely embraced in the first place, Brutalism's concrete faÃ§ades seemed less and less to reflect aesthetic tastes as architects turned back toward historicist styles by the 1980s. As such buildings have grown older, they have become a part of debates within cities across the Unit

Phenology of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi and Dark Septate Endophytes across an elevation gradient. - R. A. Schneider (2014)
Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) and Dark Septate Endophytes (DSE) participate in symbiotic relationships with host plants in the Rocky Mountains. The effects of plant-host phenology on these fungal symbionts is important in our understanding of how climate changes effects on plants will change the dynamics of this symbiotic relationship. In this observational study, I took plant-root core samples at three locations from three different plant species on three different dates throughout the growing season and recorded the AMF and DSE colonization. The data revealed that AMF colonization decreases consistently, in all elevations except the high elevation where it rapidly decreases, throughout the season, while DSE increases consistently in all sites. These results are important because they give us insight into what environmental effects dictate symbiotic fungal growth and how climate change could have implications on future seasons.

Rapid evolution and population divergence in response to environmental change in Colias butterlies - J. K. Higgins (2014)
Jessica Keppel Higgins: RAPID EVOLUTION AND POPULATION DIVERGENCE IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN COLIAS BUTTERLIES (Under the direction of Joel Kingsolver)

Marmot Biology - Kenneth B. Armitage (Cambridge University Press eBooks, 2014)
Focusing on the physiological and behavioral factors that enable a species to live in a harsh seasonal environment, this book places the social biology of marmots in an environmental context. It draws on the results of a forty-year empirical study of the population biology of the yellow-bellied marmot near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in the Upper East River Valley in Colorado, USA. The text examines life-history features such as body-size, habitat use, environmental physiology, social dynamics, and kinship. Considerable new data analyses are integrated with material published over a fifty-year period, including extensive natural history observations, providing an essential foundation for integrating social and population processes. Finally, the results of research into the yellow-bellied marmot are related to major ecological and evolutionary theories, especially inclusive fitness and population regulation, making this a valuable resource for students and researchers in an

An Epichloe endophyte alters the ecology of Poa leptocoma. - C. Forrester (2014)
Determining mechanisms behind species ranges is vital to creating the most accurate models of species distributions under climate change. Mutualisms are an important factor to consider when examining mechanisms behind range limits of host plants, as they can have a large influence on community organization, competition, population distributions and landscape- scale community dynamics. Mutualistic relationships with endophytic fungi are ubiquitous in vascular plants, and can have strong effects on the individual fitness of host plants. The advantages gained from fungal endophytes can allow host species to have a broader realized niche than their fundamental niche would typically allow. In this experiment conducted in a subalpine meadow in the Rocky Mountains, USA, we examined the effects of a vertically transmitted fungal endophyte in the Epichloë genus on the distribution of Poa leptocoma. The observed range of Poa leptocoma, which always is found with the Epichloë endophyte, lies in w

Expansion of herbaria data based on historically surveyed herbaceous plants in the Crested Butte area, Colorado. - M. K. Kasunic (2014)
Climate change has been changing plant community systems worldwide. These observations can be seen over a broad range, when resurveyed. Recording these changes in plant community structure is necessary if future plant migration studies are to be done. Herbarium data was expanded using historically surveyed data as a basis for study. Elevation ranges for Castilleja sulphurea was expanded. Voucher specimens were collected in areas where data were lacking. Expansion of herbarium data can aid in future studies regarding the holistic biotic and abiotic components of ecosystems. Geranium richardsonii sex ratio data was also collected to help expand knowledge of whether elevation has an influence on number of female verses hermaphroditic flowers. Seven percent, on average, of G. richardsonii flowers within a single population are female. By mapping the elevations and ranges of the species I studied, others could use those herbarium records in the future to see the shifts in community structur

Direct and indirect effects of frost on growth and plant-pollinator interactions in Delphinium nuttallianum. - E. Klein (2014)
Global climate change-driven changes in phenology affect populations of alpine meadow wildflowers and their pollinators through direct and indirect effects. Earlier snowmelt in montane regions, caused by a warming climate, results in earlier blooming date and longer blooming period of wildflowers such as D. nuttallianum, an early-blooming larkspur that flowers shortly after snowmelt. In addition to temporal mismatch of plant-pollinator pairs, this change in phenology can also result in frost damage to wildflower reproductive tissues such as buds and flowers. To test the direct and indirect effects of frost on D. nuttallianum, a two-way factorial experiment was employed. Plants were exposed to a simulated frost event in one treatment and hand-pollinated to control for pollen limitation in another. This study shows a direct negative effect of frost treatment on D. nuttallianum spur length, as well as a delay in peak bloom time and no significant correlation between frost and growth of ot

Strong selection genome-wide enhances fitness tradeoffs across environments and episodes of selection (Evolution, 2014)

Effects of water availability on the relationship between seed set and pollen received in Ipomopsis aggregate. - F. Pino (2014)
Plants systems rely on a variety of resources to survive and reproduce. The amount and quality of pollen a flower receives can determine not only the number of seeds that are produced, but also whether they will be viable or not. The purpose of the study looked at the relationship between the amount of pollen received by a flower and the number of seeds produced under varying watering conditions (wet and dry conditions) at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. The study consisted of 26 Ipomopsis aggregata to look at the relationship between water availability and the changes in the seed to pollen relationship. Our results suggested that water conditions was not a factor in the amount of seeds made per flower, which instead depended more on the amount of pollen received on the stigma.

Asteraceae pollen specialization affects vulnerability to brood parasitism in mason bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). - Dakota M. Spear (2014)
Dietary specialization on “toxic” or unfavorable pollens has multiple evolutionary origins in many bee families, despite such pollen being unsuitable for most generalist bee species. Pollen specialization on unsuitable pollen types must confer other evolutionary benefits; an anti-‐parasitism function may be one. Bees of the family Megachilidae that specialize on composite pollen (of the family Asteraceae) are seldom, if ever, parasitized by sapygid wasps (genus Sapyga), a common brood parasite. In this study, we test the effect of composite pollen diets on sapygid larval development and survival. We raised wasp larvae on three pollen types: composite (Asteraceae), legume (Fabaceae) and generalist (a mix of primarily non-‐composite pollens). Wasp larvae survival was significantly shorter for wasps raised on composite pollen, and larvae failed to reach cocoon-‐spinning stage. However, for the few composite-‐reared wasps that reached second-‐instar, development time to that stage was

Diversity and abundance of phyllosphere bacteria are linked to insect herbivory - Trang T Nguyen; Martha M Villalobos; Parris T Humphrey; Noah K Whiteman (Molecular Ecology, 2014)
AbstractSimultaneous or sequential attack by herbivores and microbes is common in plants. Many seed plants exhibit a defence trade‐off against chewing herbivorous insects and leaf‐colonizing (‘phyllosphere’) bacteria, which arises from cross‐talk between the phytohormones jasmonic acid (JA, induced by many herbivores) and salicylic acid (SA, induced by many bacteria). This cross‐talk may promote reciprocal susceptibility in plants between phyllosphere bacteria and insect herbivores. In a population of native bittercress (Cardamine cordifolia, Brassicaceae), we tested whether simulating prior damage with JA or SA treatment induced resistance or susceptibility (respectively) to chewing herbivores. In parallel, we conducted culture‐dependent surveys of phyllosphere bacteria to test the hypothesis that damage by chewing herbivores correlates positively with bacterial abundance in leaves. Finally, we tested whether bacterial infection induced susceptibility to herbivory by a major chewing h

An Endophyte alters biological characteristics of the grass, Festuca thurberi. - I. Spellman (2014)
Plant-‐fungal symbioses are found in ecosystems worldwide, but relatively little is known about how these two organisms affect each other. This study sought to shed light on this topic. The first experiment tested to see if the presence of an endophyte (genus Epichloë) effected the decomposition rates of its host grass (Festuca thurberi) and on fungal composition in litter, and whether or not the effect is different along elevation gradients. The second experiment tested for survival, growth and biomass differences between plants naturally associated with an endophyte, plants naturally endophyte-‐free, and plants which have had their endophyte removed using the fungicide Benomyl. Results thus far have shown that the presence of an endophyte has had a negative effect on plant biomass and survival over the course of the four years since the experiment was began, which agrees with findings of past studies. Endophyte status does not appear to play a significant role in determining free-

Effects of early snowmelt and climate warming on Valeriana edulis and the insects that depend on it. - A. Theibault (2014)
Global climate change can disrupt ecosystems by impacting the interactions between organisms. I investigated the impact of early snowmelt and warming on the dioecious perennial herb Valeriana edulis, as well as their indirect effects on the aphid species Aphis valerianae and the ants that tend the aphids. The study was conducted in a field that had been partially buried by an avalanche, with the avalanche standing as a proxy for a later snowmelt scenario, and open-top chambers were placed around the bases of half the plants in the experiment to simulate climate warming. Aphids were then placed on the plants and their colonies and interactions with ants were observed over the course of several weeks. I also collected data on the plants’ growth the first, second, and last week of the experiment. I found was that snowmelt had the biggest impact on the plants’ growth and their ability to maintain aphid colonies and attract ants. Sex of the plants also impacted interactions in the system, i

Field validation of a distribution model for the yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris). - E. Voss (2014)
Species distribution modeling is a powerful ecological tool that combines remotely sensed data with known presence locations to yield habitat suitability predictions that can be applied to a variety of hypotheses and conservation planning efforts, and can also be used on a smaller scale to examine individual species’ habitat preferences. Here, species distribution modeling techniques are applied to the yellow-bellied marmot, Marmota flaviventris, a semi- fossorial, facultatively social rodent that is found across high elevations in much of western North America. M. flaviventris is known to prefer microhabitat patches with characteristics related to predator detection and avoidance; good visibility and the number of large rocks are the best predictors of marmot presence and persistence. To examine the habitat preferences of M. flaviventris, Maximum Entropy was used with environmental variables including slope, visibility, elevation, local geology, and vegetation, as well as 75 presence

Water returns to arid Colorado River delta - Alexandra Witze (Nature, 2014)

The causes and maintenance of personality in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) - M. B. Petelle (2014)
Describing and quantifying animal personality is now an integral part of behavioral studies because individually distinctive traits may have ecological and evolutionary consequences. Yet, to fully understand how personality traits may respond to selection, one must understand the underlying heritability and genetic correlations between traits. Most studies that have investigated the additive genetic variance of personality traits typically find a moderate amount of heritable variation, but few studies have been conducted on wild populations. Estimating heritability in the wild is important because environmental conditions reveal the often reduced, additive genetic variance found in nature. In addition, to understand how a population may respond to selection, one must identify possible constraints caused by genetic correlations. We estimated the additive genetic variance of docility, exploration, and activity in a wild population of yellow- bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris), and th

Relative Strengths of Spatial and Temporal Variation in Precipitation on Specific Leaf Area. - Maya Midzik (2014)

Behavioral response of mountain white-crowned sparrows towards an interspecific competitor. - R. S. Siller (2014)
This study examined interspecific competition between mountain white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) and Lincoln’s sparrows (Melospiza lincolnii) using a playback experiment. Mountain white-crowned sparrow males were presented with three different song playback factors: 1) a negative control of a novel song (Tropical Kingbird, Tyrannus melancholicus), 2) a positive control of a conspecific song, and 3) a treatment of a heterospecific song (Lincoln’s sparrow). Behavior was recorded before and after the playback and analyzed by comparing the difference from baseline in nine behavioral expressions between the three stimuli. A response was seen for attentive behaviors after both the conspecific and heterospecific playbacks (P=0.36 and 0.25 respectively) with no change in behavior to the control. There was a decrease in relaxed behaviors after the conspecific playbacks. Food supplementation was not found to affect the bird’s response. These results show that the mountain

Evaluating Intensity in the Processing of Guanaco (Lama Guanicoe) at the Lower Basin of the Colorado River (Argentina): Fragmentation Levels and Fracture Patterns Analysis - L. Stoessel (International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2014)
This article explores the levels of fragmentation and fracture patterns in archaeofaunal assemblages from the lower basin of the Colorado River (Argentina) following Outram's methodology. Remains of ungulates (guanaco) have suffered, in these assemblages, a high degree of fragmentation probably caused during the processing of the carcasses. The presence of helical debris and shaft fragments indicates that fragmentation would respond to processing tasks for the consumption of marrow and possibly bone grease. The results of the application of this methodology that were obtained from the analysis of three late Holocene sites (La Primavera, Loma Ruiz 1 and El Tigre) are presented. These results provide new evidence not only for patterns of marrow and bone grease consumption but also for dealing with the subsistence model proposed for the study area. In this sense, the intensification processes already proposed during the final late Holocene (1000–250 bp) are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Joh

Selection on floral traits of Linus lewisii along an elevational gradient. - A. Dipaola (2014)

Roles of pollinators, seed predators, and vertebrate herbivores in maintaining females in the gynodioecious Polemonium foliosissimum. - G. L. Clarke (2014)
Most flowering plants are hermaphroditic, reproducing through seed set and seed siring. In gynodioecious species, some individuals are female and only reproduce through seed set. Because females do not gain fitness through pollen, they must have a seed fitness advantage over hermaphrodites to be maintained. Mutualists and antagonists interacting with plants may generate this advantage. We evaluated whether pollinators (Bombus sp.), pre-dispersal seed predator flies (Hylemya sp.), and vertebrate herbivores help explain the persistence of females in the gynodioecious Polemonium foliosissimum.

Reproductive isolation among allopatric Drosophila montana populations - R. R. Snook; Jesse D. Jennings; A. Hoikkala (Evolution, 2014)
An outstanding goal in speciation research is to trace the mode and tempo of the evolution of barriers to gene flow. Such research benefits from studying incipient speciation, in which speciation between populations has not yet occurred, but where multiple potential mechanisms of reproductive isolation (RI: i.e., premating, postmating-prezygotic (PMPZ), and postzygotic barriers) may act. We used such a system to investigate these barriers among allopatric populations of Drosophila montana. In all heteropopulation crosses we found premating (sexual) isolation, which was either symmetric or asymmetric depending on the population pair compared. Postmating isolation was particularly strong in crosses involving males from one of the study populations, and while sperm were successfully transferred, stored, and motile, we experimentally demonstrated that the majority of eggs produced were unfertilized. Thus, we identified the nature of a PMPZ incompatibility. There was no evidence of intrinsi

Temporal variation in pollen limitation in Hydrophyllum fendleri (Boraginaceae) Individuals. - R. Tsong (2014)
Plant reproduction is highly dependent upon phenology, or biological timing, of flowering. However, little is known about how individuals vary in their flowering schedules relative to the population as a whole or how this variation could lead to differences in reproductive success of individuals. Here, it was shown that individuals of Hydrophyllum fendleri (Boraginaceae) were aggregated in time and that individuals that flowered later had a higher reproductive success than those that flowered earlier in the season. I tested the hypothesis that pollen limitation was responsible for the temporal variation in reproduction observed. Although it was shown that plants were indeed limited in fruit and seed production by pollen receipt, pollen limitation was consistent across the growing season, suggesting that other factors caused the variation in reproduction.

Floral scent in natural hybrids of Ipomopsis (Polemoniaceae) and their two parental species - A. Jurgens; Mascha Bischoff; Diane R. Campbell (Annals of Botany, 2014)

Changes in ant community composition caused by 20 years of experimental warming vs.13 years of natural climate shift - S. B. Menke; Robert R. Dunn; John Harte (Ecosphere, 2014)

Using rich context and data exploration to improve climate and data literacy: bringing a field station into the classroom. - S. Donovan; Amy L. Ellwein; L. M. Hartley; Ian Billick (Journal of Geoscience Education- Special Volume: Outcomes from Climate Literacy Efforts, 2014)

Selection of trait combinations through bee and fly visitation to flowers of Polemonium foliosissimum - M. A. Forster; Mascha Bischoff; Diane R. Campbell (Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2014)

CONTROLS ON THE LONGITUDINAL DISTRIBUTION OF CHANNEL‐SPANNING LOGJAMS IN THE COLORADO FRONT RANGE, USA - N. Beckman; Ellen Wohl (River Research and Applications, 2014)
ABSTRACTChannel‐spanning logjams completely span the active channel and create longitudinal discontinuities of the water surface and stream bed across at least two‐thirds of the channel width. These jams disproportionately affect channel process and form relative to smaller jams that do not span the entire channel width. We analyze a spatially extensive dataset of 859 channel‐spanning jams distributed along 124 km of 16 distinct rivers on the eastern side of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA, with drainage areas spanning 2.6 to 258 km2 and diverse valley geometry and forest stand age. We categorized valley geometry in terms of lateral confinement (confined, partly confined, or unconfined), which correlates with gradient. Jams exhibit substantial downstream variability in spacing at channel lengths of 102–103 m. The number of jams within a reach is explained by a statistical model that includes drainage area, valley type (lateral confinement), and channel width. Longitudinal s

Environmental, social, morphological and behavioural constraints on opportunistic multiple paternity - M. B. Petelle; Julien G. A. Martin; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2014)

Nectar Yeasts in the Tall Larkspur Delphinium barbeyi (Ranunculaceae) and Effects on Components of Pollinator Foraging Behavior - J. Andicoechea; Charles E. Phillips; M. C. Duryea; R. N. Schaeffer; Rebecca E. Irwin (PloS one, 2014)
Microorganisms frequently colonize the nectar of angiosperm species. Though capable of altering a suite of traits important for pollinator attraction, few studies exist that test the degree to which they mediate pollinator foraging behavior. The objective of our study was to fill this gap by assessing the abundance and diversity of yeasts associated with the perennial larkspur Delphinium barbeyi (Ranunculaceae) and testing whether their presence affected components of pollinator foraging behavior. Yeasts frequently colonized D. barbeyi nectar, populating 54–77% of flowers examined depending on site. Though common, the yeast community was species-poor, represented by a single species, Metschnikowia reukaufii. Female-phase flowers of D. barbeyi were more likely to have higher densities of yeasts in comparison to male-phase flowers. Pollinators were likely vectors of yeasts, as virgin (unvisited) flowers rarely contained yeasts compared to flowers open to pollinator visitation, which were

An integrated modeling approach to estimating Gunnison sage‐grouse population dynamics: combining index and demographic data - Amy J. Davis; Paul F. Doherty; Michael L. Phillips (Ecology and Evolution, 2014)
AbstractEvaluation of population dynamics for rare and declining species is often limited to data that are sparse and/or of poor quality. Frequently, the best data available for rare bird species are based on large‐scale, population count data. These data are commonly based on sampling methods that lack consistent sampling effort, do not account for detectability, and are complicated by observer bias. For some species, short‐term studies of demographic rates have been conducted as well, but the data from such studies are typically analyzed separately. To utilize the strengths and minimize the weaknesses of these two data types, we developed a novel Bayesian integrated model that links population count data and population demographic data through population growth rate (λ) for Gunnison sage‐grouse (Centrocercus minimus). The long‐term population index data available for Gunnison sage‐grouse are annual (years 1953–2012) male lek counts. An intensive demographic study was also conducted f

Pollen allelopathy: Taraxacum officinale pollen depresses seed set of montane wildflowers - Deirdre Loughnan; Benjamin Gilbert; James D. Thomson; Jane E. Ogilvie (Journal of Pollination Ecology, 2014)

Aspen (Populus tremuloides) stand dynamics and understory plant community changes over 46 years near Crested Butte, Colorado, USA - K. J. Barker; J. S. Pecharich; A. D. Knight (Forest Ecology and Management, 2014)

Insights from stable isotope tracers on reproductive allocation under stress - Carol L. Boggs (Integrative and Comparative Biology, 2014)

Cascading effects of predatory fish on the composition of benthic algae in high-altitude streams - M. Alvarez; B. L. Peckarsky (Oikos, 2014)

Global Climate Change Induced Shifts in Water Availability Alter Pollinator Visitation. - G. Fowler (2014)

Which is a better predictor of plant traits: temperature or precipitation? - S. E. Perkins; Angela T. Moles; Benjamin Blonder (Journal of Vegetation Science, 2014)
AbstractQuestionAre plant traits more closely correlated with mean annual temperature, or with mean annual precipitation?LocationGlobal.MethodsWe quantified the strength of the relationships between temperature and precipitation and 21 plant traits from 447,961 species‐site combinations worldwide. We used meta‐analysis to provide an overall answer to our question.ResultsMean annual temperature was significantly more strongly correlated with plant traits than was mean annual precipitation.ConclusionsOur study provides support for some of the assumptions of classical vegetation theory, and points to many interesting directions for future research. The relatively low R2values for precipitation might reflect the weak link between mean annual precipitation and the availability of water to plants.

Associational effects of E. speciosus and E. elatior on their pollinators and seed predators. - P. Pamidi (2014)
Studying the relationships between plants and insects is important in natural and agricultural communities. It has been shown that plant community composition has an effect on insect pollinators and herbivores. However, these relationships have only been researched independently and no study has comprehensively investigated the net effects of neighbors on pollinators and herbivores in the same system. In my study, I aimed to understand whether neighbor effects on pollinators differed from neighbor effects on herbivores. I worked with two species, Erigeron speciosus and Erigeron elatior, and arranged plots with varying relative abundances of the two plants. Throughout the flowering period, I recorded pollinator visits at each plot. I have collected the flower heads in order rear the seed predators and will have data to analyze in September. I will submit my final data and paper in late September or October 2014.

Field germination and survival of experimentally introduced metal hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens (Brassicaceae) across a soil metal gradient - J. P. Che-Castaldo; David W. Inouye (American Midland Naturalist, 2014)
Noccaea caerulescens (formerly Thlaspi caerulescens, Brassicaceae) is a model species for studying the genetics and physiology of metal hyperaccumulation and is economically valuable for phytoremediation. Its growth and survival under varying natural conditions remain relatively unstudied but such information would be essential for assessing the effectiveness and potential ecological impacts of using N. caerulescens for phytoremediation. In this study, we experimentally introduced N. caerulescens seeds and seedlings to three sites with zinc- and cadmium-contaminated mine tailings in southwestern Colorado. We observed its germination, growth, and survival at three distances from the tailings (‘locations’) and with and without native vegetation removal to assess its establishment potential. Overall plant growth was slow and plants did not reach reproductive stage after three growing seasons, but plant performance did vary by site and location. High soil copper concentrations in the taili

Colorado river back from the dead - Hal Hodson (New Scientist, 2014)

Predicting trophic cascades in an antagonistic/mutualistic web - Joshua B. Grinath (2014)

Cost shared wildfire risk mitigation in Log Hill Mesa, Colorado: survey evidence on participation and willingness to pay - Lilia C. Falk; Patricia A. Champ; Travis Warziniack; James R. Meldrum; Christopher M. Barth; Hannah Brenkert-Smith (International Journal of Wildland Fire, 2014)
Wildland–urban interface (WUI) homeowners who do not mitigate the wildfire risk on their properties impose a negative externality on society. To reduce the social costs of wildfire and incentivise homeowners to take action, cost sharing programs seek to reduce the barriers that impede wildfire risk mitigation. Using survey data from a WUI community in western Colorado and a two-stage decision framework, we examine residents’ willingness to participate in a cost sharing program for removing vegetation on their properties and the amount they are willing to contribute to the cost of that removal. We find that different factors motivate decisions about participation and about how much to pay. Willingness to participate correlates with both financial and non-monetary considerations, including informational barriers and wildfire risk perceptions, but not with concerns about effectiveness or visual impacts. Residents of properties with higher wildfire risk levels are less likely to participat

A Spatial Distribution Of Adult Obesity Prevalence In Denver County, Colorado: An Empirical Bayes Approach - JC. Barrow; DC. Tabano; MF. Daley (Value in Health, 2014)

Neidiopsis hamiltonii sp. nov., N. weilandii sp. nov., N. levanderi and N. wulffii from western North America - L. Bahls (Diatom Research, 2014)

Origin and specificity of predatory fish cues detected by Baetis larvae (Ephemeroptera; Insecta) - A. Landeira-Dabarca; M. Alvarez; B. L. Peckarsky (Animal Behaviour, 2014)

Aftermath of a stream capture: Cactus Park lake spillover and the origin of East Creek, Uncompahgre Plateau, western Colorado - William C. Hood; Charles Betton; Andres Aslan (Geosphere, 2014)
Newly discovered lacustrine strata suggest that the most signifi cant episode of stream capture in the upper Colorado River system (western USA), namely the abandonment of Unaweep Canyon, probably involved a combination of headward erosion and lake spillover. The abandonment of Unaweep Canyon occurred in two stages. The fi rst stage was marked by the capture of the Colorado River, after which time the Gunnison River continued to incise. Continued incision by the Gunnison River created a wall of rock on the east side of the Gunnison River valley in Cactus Park and left the abandoned Colorado River bed well above the Gunnison River. The second stage involved two blockages, one created by the thick fi ll within Unaweep Canyon and one at the south end of Cactus Park, which led to the creation of a lake within Cactus Park. The lake level rose until it fl ooded the abandoned Colorado River bed and spilled over at the point where the Colorado River had been captured earlier, during the fi rst

Stimulation of flower nectar replenishment by removal: a survey of eleven animal-pollinated plant species - E. Y. Luo; James D. Thomson; Jane E. Ogilvie (Journal of Pollination Ecology, 2014)
Understanding the interaction between reward-seeking flower feeding animals and plants requires consideration of the dynamic nature of nectar secretion. Studies on several plants suggest that nectar secretion may increase in response to its removal, but it is not clear whether the phenomenon is widespread. We determined whether 11 species of Colorado mountain wildflowers showed removal-enhanced nectar replenishment (RENR). We measured floral phenology, nectar volumes, rate of replenishment, and compared the cumulative nectar produced following five hourly removals with that accumulated after five hours. Nectar replenishment occurred rapidly, within minutes; statistically significant RENR was observed in 9 of our 11 study species, with the strongest effects in bee-pollinated species. We discuss the implications of RENR in plant species on the measurement of nectar, the adaptive advantage of RENR, and the energetic costs of RENR.

Frost Sensitivity of Subalpine Plants in the Colorado Rocky Mountains: The Effects of Seasonality, Water Content, and Phylogeny - Justin A. Bain (2014)
Our study examined the frost sensitivities of subalpine flowering plants near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, in Gothic, CO. Most studies on the impacts of climate change have focused on the effects of temperature warming and how it affects species. Our study examined the frost sensitivities of 22 subalpine flowering species in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. To our knowledge, previous studies have only examined frost sensitivity in regards to non-flowering plants in an ecological context. Our three hypotheses were (1) seasonal – species that flower early are more resistant to frost, (2) water content – species with low water content and species with high water content are more susceptible to frost damage, and (3) phylogenetic – species that are more closely related will have similar tolerances to frost. To test the seasonal and phylogenetic hypotheses we collected plant tissue (flowers, leaves, and buds), wrapped them in aluminum foil, and placed them in a temperature chamber

Mobilization of selenium from the Mancos Shale and associated soils in the lower Uncompahgre River Basin, Colorado - Taylor J. Mills; Joshua I. Linard; M. Alisa Mast; Suzanne S. Paschke; Gabrielle Keith (Applied Geochemistry, 2014)

Genomic inference accurately predicts the timing and severity of a recent bottleneck in a non-model insect population - J. L. Kelley; D. A. Petrov; N. R. Garud; R. C. McCoy; Carol L. Boggs (Molecular Ecology, 2014)

Cuticular hydrocarbons of Drosophila montana: Geographic variation, sexual dimorphism, and potential roles as pheromones - W. J. Etges; T. Schmitt; Jesse D. Jennings; A. Hoikkala (Journal of Insect Physiology, 2014)

Age structure of aspen forests on the Uncompahgre Plateau, Colorado - Attia Alsanousi; Dan Binkley; William H. Romme (Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 2014)
Aspen forests are one of the most dynamic forest types in western North America, responding to chronic factors of competition for resources, as well as episodes of intense herbivory, drought, and fires. The interactions of these driving factors lead to varying age structures of aspen across landscapes and through time. We characterized the age structure of aspen trees on the Uncompahgre Plateau in western Colorado, USA, to inform collaborative efforts of landscape-scale forest restoration. Over 1000 cores from 51 locations showed few aspen older than 140 years (<0.5% for aspen numbers, <2.5% of aspen basal area). Heavy recruitment in the late 1800s (following the last major fires) led to cohorts from 100 to 140 years of age that account for 15% of current aspen numbers and 40% of current aspen basal area. Perhaps the most important character of the current age structure is a relatively low number of aspen younger than 50 years; normal rates of tree survivorship in coming decades

Geographic differences and microevolutionary changes in thermal sensitivity of butterfly larvae in response to climate - J. K. Higgins; J. G. Kingsolver; H. J. MacLean; L. B. Buckley (Functional Ecology, 2014)

Leaf venation networks link climate change to plant form and function - Benjamin Blonder (2014)

Characterizing disturbance regimes of mountain streams - D. Booker; A. Wilcox; K. McHugh; S. C. Horn; A. R. McIntosh; M. Alvarez; B. L. Peckarsky; W. S. Brown (Freshwater Science, 2014)
Characterizing biologically relevant stream disturbance regimes is challenging, but necessary to answer questions about disturbance effects on ecological processes. No universally accepted approach exists for characterizing stream disturbance regimes. Our goal was to evaluate approaches that can be applied to test effects of disturbance on benthic organisms. We defined disturbance as events or environmental conditions caused by changes in stream discharge that affect the stability or habitability of the stream bed. We used several metrics to describe disturbance regimes of mountain streams that were not permanently gauged in 1 catchment, and considered the trade-off between effort required to obtain the data and the quality of information gained. We used an innovative photographic method to assess substrate particle movement empirically as a benchmark for comparison to other indicators of channel stability and to metrics describing hydrologic variability relevant to streambed stability

The dead zone : Stephen King's - Christopher Walken; David Cronenberg; Stephen King (キングレコード (発売・販売) eBooks, 2014)
Title Type the dead zone stephen king PDF dead zone blackout 2 robison wells PDF dead things eric carter 1 stephen blackmoore PDF the dead place ben cooper amp diane fry 6 stephen booth PDF stephen king PDF dreamcatcher stephen king PDF christine stephen king PDF the colorado kid stephen king PDF different seasons stephen king PDF cujo stephen king PDF insomnia stephen king PDF pet sematary stephen king PDF the body stephen king PDF salems lot stephen king PDF under the dome stephen king PDF four past midnight stephen king PDF liseys story stephen king PDF the plant ebook stephen king PDF desperation the regulators box set stephen king PDF needful things stephen king PDF cycle of the werewolf stephen king PDF the dark half stephen king PDF blockade billy stephen king PDF carrie salems lot the shining stephen king PDF in the hall of dragon king 1 stephen r lawhead PDF stephen king library customer service PDF the warlords of nin dragon king 2 stephen r lawhead PDF in the tall grass audi

Maternal effects on anogenital distance in a wild marmot population - T. D. Fouqueray; R. Monclus; Julien G. A. Martin; Daniel T. Blumstein (PLoS-ONE, 2014)
In mammals, prenatal exposure to sex steroid hormones may have profound effects on later behavior and fitness and have been reported under both laboratory and field conditions. Anogenital distance is a non-invasive measure of prenatal exposure to sex steroid hormones. While we know that intra-uterine position and litter sex ratio influence anogenital distance, there are other, heretofore unstudied, factors that could influence anogenital distance, including maternal effects. We capitalized on a long-term study of wild yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) to study the importance of maternal effects on explaining variation in anogenital distance and found significant effects. The strength of these effects varied annually. Taken together, our data highlights the strong variability due to environmental effects, and illustrates the importance of additive genetic and maternal genetic effects on neonatal anogenital distance. We suspect that, as others apply recently popularised quant

The Origin of Invasive Microorganisms Matters for Science, Policy, and Management: The Case of Didymosphenia geminata - M. L. Bothwell; B. W. Taylor (Bioscience, 2014)

The effects of light intensity on ant-aphid mutualisms on Osha (Ligusticum porteri). - Annika S. Nelson (2014)

Marmot Biology. Sociality, Individual Fitness, and Population Dynamics - Kenneth B. Armitage (2014)

Is coat color associated with boldness and docility in marmots? - E. Griffith (2014)

The historical distribution of Gunnison Sage-Grouse in Colorado - Jennifer A. Nehring; Jessica R. Young; Michelle L. Commons; Kim M. Potter; Clait E. Braun (The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, 2014)
The historical distribution of Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus) in Colorado is described based on published literature, observations, museum specimens, and the known distribution of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.). Historically, Gunnison Sage-Grouse were widely but patchily distributed in up to 22 counties in south-central and southwestern Colorado. The historical distribution of this species was south of the Colorado-Eagle river drainages primarily west of the Continental Divide. Potential contact areas with Greater Sage-Grouse (C. urophasianus) were along the Colorado-Eagle river system in Mesa, Garfield, and Eagle counties, west of the Continental Divide. Gunnison Sage-Grouse historically occupied habitats that were naturally highly fragmented by forested mountains and plateaus/mesas, intermountain basins without robust species of sagebrush, and river systems. This species adapted to use areas with more deciduous shrubs (i.e., Quercus spp., Amelanchier spp., Prunus spp.) in co

Microbial mediation of plant-pollinator interactions - R. N. Schaeffer (2014)

Bee foraging in space and time: linking individual behaviour to pollination - Jane E. Ogilvie (2014)

Effects of Bombus removals on Diptera Foraging Behaviors. - J. P. Brenes Coto (2014)

Effects of Haemoparsite Infection and Food Supplementation on a High Elevation Passerine Bird - H. V. Morgan (Deep Blue (University of Michigan), 2014)
Strong circumstantial evidence from laboratory and theoretical studies suggests that sublethal parasite burdens can influence host population dynamics whether acting alone or in conjunction with reduced food availability. The significance of these effects has rarely been examined in natural environments. This study aims to examine the interactive effects of avian malarial haemoparasite infections and food supplementation in a food limited free‐living population of Mountain White‐ crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) breeding in Gunnison National Forest, Gothic, CO. To analyze the effects of haemoparasites (Plasmodium, Leucocytozoon, and Haemoproteus) and food supplementation on multiple aspects of reproductive success, we analyzed blood smear data (to determine infection status) and manipulated sparrow food availability. During the early breeding season, when natural food availability is especially scarce due to residual snowpack and frequent spring snowstorms, supplement

Using abiotic factors to predict seasonal bee abundance. - A. Oestmann (2014)

Contractional Tectonics: Investigations of Ongoing Construction of the Himalaya Fold-thrust Belt and the Trishear Model of Fault-propagation Folding - Hongjiao Yu (2014)
This dissertation focuses on the kinematic evolution of contractional tectonics: the Himalayan fold-thrust belt along the collisional orogenic belts, and growth of the basement-cored monoclines in Colorado Plateau. Ongoing Himalayan growth is generally thought to be dominated by duplexing and/or extrusion processes. Duplexing models highlight accretion of material from the subducting plate to the over-riding orogenic wedge, whereas extrusion models focus on up-dip translation of a block bounded by out-of-sequence faults. Here, a primary outstanding question involves the uncertain relationship of the Berinag thrust and the Tons thrust, structures with displacements of >80 km and >40 km, respectively. The uncertainty allows the complete range of duplexing and extrusion processes for the integrated kinematic history since the Middle Miocene. To address this issue, field mapping, kinematic analysis, and analysis of quartz recrystallization textures were performed. Our results reveal a new

Temporal Patterns in Foraging activity of Colorado Montane Bumblebees. - L. Joyce (2014)

Evolution in an ancient detoxification pathway is coupled with a transition to herbivory in the Drosophilidae - M. G. Cravens; W. Monfort; D. G. Vassao; J. Gershenzhon; T. J. Rast; K. Schramm; A. Weichsel; A. L. Hailey; A. C. Nelson-Dittrich; A. D. Gloss; Noah K Whiteman (Molecular Biology and Evolution, 2014)
Chemically defended plant tissues present formidable barriers to herbivores. Although mechanisms to resist plant defenses have been identified in ancient herbivorous lineages, adaptations to overcome plant defenses during transitions to herbivory remain relatively unexplored. The fly genus Scaptomyza is nested within the genus Drosophila and includes species that feed on the living tissue of mustard plants (Brassicaceae), yet this lineage is derived from microbe-feeding ancestors. We found that mustard-feeding Scaptomyza species and microbe-feeding Drosophila melanogaster detoxify mustard oils, the primary chemical defenses in the Brassicaceae, using the widely conserved mercapturic acid pathway. This detoxification strategy differs from other specialist herbivores of mustard plants, which possess derived mechanisms to obviate mustard oil formation. To investigate whether mustard feeding is coupled with evolution in the mercapturic acid pathway, we profiled functional and molecular evo

Relative Weight of Brown Trout and Lake Trout in Blue Mesa Reservoir, Colorado - Jessica Abbott; Michael Courtney; K.-H. Schmidt (Aquatic Science and Technology, 2014)
Published data concerning the standard weight in lake trout ( Salvelinus namaycush ) and brown trout ( Salmo trutta ) have been established. The standard weights were used to compute relative weights for data collected in the spring and summer of 2011 for brown trout and lake trout in the Blue Mesa Reservoir, Colorado. The mean relative weight of a sample of 100 brown trout ranging in length from 260 to 432 mm was 71.72 +/- 0.90, showing that the brown trout were in poor condition. The mean relative weight of a sample of 17 lake trout ranging in length from 387 to 689 mm was 86.57 +/- 2.40, showing that the lake trout were also in poor condition. Using least squares regression, a best fit curve was determined for weight (W) vs. total length (L) in the brown trout, W(L)=1000(L/517.49) 2.5746 , where W is in grams, and L is in millimeters.

Quantitative mineralogy and distributions of minerals of the Green River Formation, Piceance Creek Basin, western Colorado - Sheven Poole (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2014)
Over thirty-five minerals have been identified in the Green River formation of the Piceance Creek Basin, using quantitative X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) bulk analysis.Fifteen major phases occur at over 5 wt% average in 117 samples spanning the thickness of the formation.Integrated data from cores, outcrops, and the USGS represent two lacustrine depositional environments: basin margin shallow-water and basin center deep-water.Results are presented in a stratigraphic framework of six lake stages.Mineral distributions support a permanently stratified saline lake model characterized by a chemocline that separates a less saline upper water layer from a more saline, alkaline, and reducing lower water layer.Lateral and vertical variations in salinity, alkalinity, redox conditions, silica and CO 2 activities, and depths of the water column and chemocline are proposed to have permitted localized differences in precipitation, preservation, alteration, and formation of authigenic phases across the mer

Interactions Between Digenean Trematodes and Human Land Use, Nutrient Cycling, and Climate in Colorado - J. A. Mischler (2014)

Plant Successional Changes Over 67 Years on the Gothic Earthflow. - L. Paradiso (2014)
Long term data on stages of plant succession on bare areas is extremely useful in determining patterns of revegetation over longer periods of time. Understanding of these patterns can have application in conservation and restoration. This study examined plant community composition data for a subalpine earthflow in Gothic, Gunnison County, Colorado, covering a period of 67 years. Ten plots permanent plots were established in disturbed areas in 1947 and surveyed from 1947-1954, with subsequent re-surveys in 1969, 1989-1991, and 2014. Species abundance data shows a peak in diversity around 1970, with subsequent years shows diversity stabilizing. There has also been a significant species turnover rate, shifting from domination by pioneer species to domination by more common perennial forbs adapted for the environment. Additionally, major plant communities were identified and described , and compared between 1947 and 2014. Changes in abundance and composition on a community scale were appar

Bringing the male side of plant sex into focus - James D. Thomson (American Naturalist, 2014)
When the editor-in-chief solicited historical perspective pieces based on old articles from The American Naturalist, the choice became easy because it let me focus on two 1970s articles that transformed the field I work in, realigned my own thinking, and showed me the direction of the next 30 years of my work.

Human activity affects the perception of risk by mule deer - H. Strombom; Mary V. Price; Daniel T. Blumstein (Current Zoology, 2014)
Abstract Human activity has been shown to influence how animals assess the risk of predation, but we know little about the spatial scale of such impacts. We quantified how vigilance and flight behavior in mule deer Odocoileus hemionus varied with distance from an area of concentrated human activity—a subalpine field station. An observer walked trails at various distances away from the station looking for deer. Upon encounter, the observer walked toward the focal animal and noted the distance at which it alerted and directed its attention to the approaching human (Alert Distance; AD), and the distance at which it fled (Flight Initiation Distance; FID). AD and FID both increased nonlinearly with distance from the center of the field station, reaching plateaus around 250 m and 750 m, respectively. Deer also tended to flee by stotting or running, rather than by walking, when far from the station but they walked away when near the station. These results indicate that deer per

The Impact of Primary and Secondary Robbing on Hummingbird Pollination. - G. Paton (2014)
Nectar robbing has been thought to lead to a reduction in plant fitness, although there is conflicting evidence for this assumption. Little evidence has been done on whether or not primary, or initial, robbing has a differing effect on plant fitness than secondary robbing does. To test the possible differences in robbing type, artificial nectar robbing was conducted on sixty Ipomopsis aggregata plants over the course of 6 weeks to examine the response of hummingbird pollinators to primary and secondary robbed plants. Stigmas taken from treated plants showed a significant decline in pollen receipt between un-robbed and secondary robbed treatments (p = .0406). Significant differences were not seen between un-robbed and primary robbing treatments, or between primary robbing and secondary robbing treatments. Based on prior research, the difference between the two robbing varieties and un-robbed plants is possibly due to increased avoidance of secondarily robbed plants. However, preliminary

Colorado River Water in Southern California: Evolution of the Allocation Framework, 1922-2014 - Jason Anthony Robison (SSRN Electronic Journal, 2014)

Revisiting Darwin's hypothesis: Does greater intraspecific variability increase species' ecological breadth? - C. B. Sides; J. J. Ebersole; Melvin T. Smith; L. L. Sloat; Brian J. Enquist; Amanda Henderson (American Journal of Botany, 2014)
• Premise of the study: Darwin first proposed that species with larger ecological breadth have greater phenotypic variation. We tested this hypothesis by comparing intraspecific variation in specific leaf area (SLA) to species’ local elevational range and by assessing how external (abiotic) filters may influence observed differences in ecological breadth among species. Understanding the patterns of individual variation within and between populations will help evaluate differing hypotheses for structuring of communities and distribution of species.• Methods: We selected 21 species with varying elevational ranges and compared the coefficient of variation of SLA for each species against its local elevational range. We examined the influence of external filters on local trait composition by determining if intraspecific changes in SLA with elevation have the same direction and similar rates of change as the change in community mean SLA value.• Key results: In support of Darwin's hypothesis,

Yeasts in nectar enhance male fitness in a montane perennial herb - R. N. Schaeffer; Rebecca E. Irwin (Ecology, 2014)
Floral nectar of many plant species is prone to colonization by microbial organisms such as yeasts. Their presence and metabolism of nectar chemical components have the potential to modify a suite of floral traits important for pollinator attraction, including nectar quality and scent. However, studies on the direct and indirect effects of nectar‐inhabiting microorganisms on pollinator behavior and plant reproductive success remain rare. To determine their potential to affect pollinator behavior and plant fitness, we experimentally manipulated the common nectar‐inhabiting yeast Metschnikowia reukaufii in the nectar of Delphinium nuttallianum, a short‐lived montane perennial herb. We detected positive, indirect, pollinator‐mediated effects of yeasts on male plant fitness measured as pollen donation using powdered fluorescent dyes. However, we detected no direct or indirect effects on components of female fitness. Matching effects on male plant fitness, pollinators responded positively t

A critical evaluation of subjective ratings: unacquainted observers can reliably assess personality - M. B. Petelle; Daniel T. Blumstein (Current Zoology, 2014)
Abstract Methods to measure consistent individual differences in behavior (i.e. animal personality) fall into two categories, subjective ratings and behavioral codings. Ratings are seldom used despite being potentially more efficient than codings. One potential limitation for the use of ratings is that it is assumed that long-term observers or experts in the field are required to score individuals. This can be problematic in many cases, especially for long-term ecological studies where there is high turnover in personnel. We tested whether raters who were unacquainted with subjects could produce reliable and valid personality assessments of yellow-bellied marmots Marmota flaviventris. Two raters, previously unacquainted with individuals and marmot behavior, scored 130 subjects on fifteen different adjectives in both open-field (OF) and mirror image stimulation (MIS) trials. Eight OF and nine MIS adjectives were reliable as indicated by both a high degree of intra-observe

Secondary compounds in floral rewards of toxic rangeland plants: impacts on pollinators - J. S. Manson; D. R. Gardner; Daniel Cook; L. L. Richardson; Rebecca E. Irwin (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2014)
The study of plant secondary chemistry has been essential in understanding plant consumption by herbivores. There is growing evidence that secondary compounds also occur in floral rewards, including nectar and pollen. Many pollinators are generalist nectar and pollen foragers and thus are exposed to an array of secondary compounds in their diet. This review documents secondary compounds in the nectar or pollen of poisonous rangeland plants of the western United States and the effects of these compounds on the behavior, performance, and survival of pollinators. Furthermore, the biochemical, physiological, and behavioral mechanisms by which pollinators cope with secondary compound consumption are discussed, drawing parallels between pollinators and herbivores. Finally, three avenues of future research on floral reward chemistry are proposed. Given that the majority of flowering plants require animals for pollination, understanding how floral reward chemistry affects pollinators has impli

Competitive hierarchy or niche packing? An examination of the effects of competition on community. - Jordan Stark (2014)
Competitive dynamics play an important role in community assembly but are often difficult to study in natural systems due to their complexity. Here, I examine the effects of competition on community functional trait distributions. Many studies of competition have found competitive hierarchies, where dominant species with optimal traits for their environment competitively exclude less well-adapted species. I recast this model to provide predictions for the relationship between functional trait values and dominance. I analyzed these distributions of four functional traits in meadow communities along an elevation gradient and at multiple spatial scales to examine the relative role of these two processes. Height displayed generally hierarchical dynamics across variation in elevation and spatial scale, while other traits showed more mixed results. These results indicate that competition may be acting differently on different traits and resources within plant communities on many scales.

Prey responses to predator’s sounds: a review and empirical study. - A. M. Hettena; Nathalie Munoz; Daniel T. Blumstein (Ethology, 2014)
AbstractMany animals assess their risk of predation by listening to and evaluating predators' vocalizations. We reviewed the literature to draw generalizations about predator discrimination abilities, the retention of these abilities over evolutionary time, and the potential underlying proximate mechanisms responsible for discrimination. Broadly, we found that some prey possess an ability to respond to a predator after having been evolutionarily isolated from a specific predator (i.e., predators are allopatric) and that some prey are predisposed to respond to certain types of predators that they coevolved with but without having ecological experience. However, these types of studies are lacking, and relatively, few studies have examined predator discrimination abilities in ungulates. To begin addressing these knowledge gaps, we performed field experiments on Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) in which we investigated the ability of deer to discriminate among familiar predators [coyotes (C

Maximum information entropy: a foundation for ecological theory - E. A. Newman; John Harte (Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 2014)
It is shown how MaxEnt can accurately predict patterns such as species-area relationships (SARs) and abundance distributions in macroecology and be a foundation for ecological theory.

Movement and Growth of Juvenile Colorado Pikeminnows in the San Juan River, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah - Scott L. Durst; Nathan R. Franssen (Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 2014)
AbstractUnderstanding patterns of animal distribution and abundance based on their movements is important to identify the habitats and factors that maximize growth and reproductive success. Despite stocking age‐0 hatchery‐reared Colorado Pikeminnow Ptychocheilus lucius for over 10 years in the San Juan River of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah, the population consists primarily of stocked juveniles; adults remain rare. We investigated seasonal movement and growth of juvenile Colorado Pikeminnows in the San Juan River from 2009 to 2012 to inform recovery efforts throughout the Colorado River basin. Our results indicated fish made long‐distance upstream movements from spring to summer while moving back downstream over winter. Seasonal movements may be associated with maximizing growth along longitudinal and seasonal temperature regimes. Length‐at‐age relationships reveal Colorado Pikeminnows in the San Juan River were larger than individuals of the same age in other populations in the uppe

What is the sound of fear? Behavioral responses of white-crownded sparrows Zonotrichia leucophrys to synthesized nonlinear acoustic phenomena - E. K. Blesdoe; Daniel T. Blumstein (Current Zoology, 2014)
Abstract Fear and anxiety may be adaptive responses to life-threatening situations, and animals may communicate fear to others vocally. A fundamental understanding of fear inducing sounds is important for both wildlife conservation and management because it helps us understand how to design repellents and also how (and why) animals may be negatively impacted by anthropogenic sounds. Nonlinear phenomena—sounds produced by the desynchronization of vibrations in a sound production system—are commonly found in stress-induced animal vocalizations, such as in alarm calls, mobbing calls, and fear screams. There are several functional hypotheses for these nonlinear phenomena. One specific hypothesis is the unpredictability hypothesis, which suggests that because nonlinear phenomena are more variable and somewhat unpredictable, animals are less likely to habituate to them. Animals should, therefore, have a prolonged response to sounds with nonlinear phenomena than sounds without

Single pollinator species losses reduce floral fidelity and plant reproductive function - Heather M. Briggs (PNAS, 2013)
Understanding the functional impacts of pollinator species losses on plant populations is critical given ongoing pollinator declines. Simulation models of pollination networks suggest that plant communities will be resilient to losing many or even most of the pollinator species in an ecosystem. These predictions, however, have not been tested empirically and implicitly assume that pollination efficacy is unaffected by interactions with interspecific competitors. By contrast, ecological theory and data from a wide range of ecosystems show that interspecific competition can drive variation in ecological specialization over short timescales via behavioral or morphological plasticity, although the potential implications of such changes in specialization for ecosystem functioning remain unexplored. We conducted manipulative field experiments in which we temporarily removed single pollinator species from study plots in subalpine meadows, to test the hypothesis that interactions between polli

Predicting regime shifts in flow of the Gunnison River under changing climate conditions - Gina M. DeRosa; Subhrendu Gangopadhyay; Juan B. Valdés; W. Paul Miller (Water Resources Research, 2013)
Key Points Projected Gunnison River Basin hydrology is fitted to a gamma distribution Changes to wet and dry regime characteristics under climate change are expected Changing regime characteristics may influence future reservoir operations

The effect of plant trait variation on plant production - I. E. Kvam (2013)
Community ecology has recently begun to focus on using plant functional traits to understand community processes. In this experiment, I reduced specific leaf area (SLA) variance to determine how a reduced trait variance would affect plant production in a sub-alpine meadow community. The SLA was compiled by sampling one leaflet from the dominant individual in each square of a 0.5 x 0.5 m2 quadrat with 100 squares. This was repeated for five plots.. The Net Ecosystem Exchange of carbon (NEE) was measured at each plot using a Li-cor 7500 The biomass and NEE was not significantly different between plots before trait manipulation was made (P = 0.304), no statistical significance was found in either NEE or biomass measurements between reduced-variance treatments and biomass controls post manipulation either (STATS). While these results may reflect a true equivalence between treatments, they may also be the result of experimental error, insufficient replication, or the short time or small sca

Variation in root morphology and allocation of Androsace septentrionalis along a natural elevation/climate gradient - Z. C. Lopez (2013)

An analysis of whirling disease risk in Western Montana - Stephanie McGinnis (Montana State University ScholarWorks (Montana State University), 2013)
Myxobolus cerebralis, the causative agent of whirling disease, has been a major contributor to the loss of young trout in numerous streams within the Intermountain West (Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming). Currently there are no effective management procedures for mitigating the effects of this disease because it is not fully known why the parasite has severe effects in some trout populations while remaining fairly benign in others. Characteristics of the parasite, hosts, environment, and their interactions, may partially explain varying responses of wild rainbow trout populations to whirling disease. The goal of this study was to examine possible contributors to, and indicators of, stream degradation and their relationship to whirling disease risk. Specifically, the objectives were to quantify relationships between whirling disease risk and 1) land use 2) biological stream integrity and 3) physicochemical parameters within four major drainages in western Montana. The hypothesis

Restoration potential of the aquatic ecosystems of the Colorado River Delta, Mexico: Introduction to special issue on “Wetlands of the Colorado River Delta” - Jennifer Pitt; Edward P. Glenn; Karl W. Flessa (Ecological Engineering, 2013)

Early play may predict later dominance relationships in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) - L. K. Chung; John Ward Smith; Daniel T. Blumstein (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2013)
Play has been defined as apparently functionless behaviour, yet since play is costly, models of adaptive evolution predict that it should have some beneficial function (or functions) that outweigh its costs. We provide strong evidence for a long-standing, but poorly supported hypothesis: that early social play is practice for later dominance relationships. We calculated the relative dominance rank by observing the directional outcome of playful interactions in juvenile and yearling yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) and found that these rank relationships were correlated with later dominance ranks calculated from agonistic interactions, however, the strength of this relationship attenuated over time. While play may have multiple functions, one of them may be to establish later dominance relationships in a minimally costly way.

Patterns of ectoparasite prevalence in the mountain white-crowned sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha - M. R. Thistle (2013)
We examined how ectoparasites affect body condition and other traits that indicate individual health in mountain white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha; hereafter, MWCS). We also investigated the factors that potentially influence susceptibility to ectoparasites in the MWCS population. Using both visual inspection and dust-ruffling, we determined ectoparasite loads in individual MWCS of a wild population. We related ectoparasite load to various life-history traits, including body condition, crown-white proportion, and sex. Our results show that crown-white proportion, a correlate of condition and a strong social signal, is lower in individuals hosting macro-ectoparasites. This is likely a balance of the effect of ectoparasites on their hosts with ectoparasites selecting for high conditioned hosts. We observed a significantly higher ectoparasite load in male MWCS than in females which may be attributed to physiological and behavioral differences between the sexes. This

A test of the nonlinearity hypothesis: Is noise any different than deterministic chaos? - J. R. Whitaker (2013)
Noisy, unpredictable sounds are often present in the vocalizations of fearful and stressed juvenile animals across many taxa. A variety of structural characteristics, called nonlinear acoustic phenomena, which include subharmonics, rapid frequency modulations, and deterministic chaos are responsible for the harsh quality of these vocalizations. Exposure to nonlinear sound can elicit increased arousal in birds and mammals. Past experiments have used white noise to test for effects of deterministic chaos on perceivers. However, deterministic chaos differs structurally from white noise, and unlike white noise (which is random energy at all frequencies) may differ dramatically depending on how it is produced. In addition, the subtle structural variation of chaos may not be distinguishable in the environment due to the attenuation and degredation of sound over distance and different habitat types. We designed two experiments to clarify whether American robins (Turdus migratorius) and warbli

Altered precipitation affects plant hybrids differently than their parental species - C. E. Wendlandt; Diane R. Campbell (American Journal of Botany, 2013)
• Premise of the study: Future changes in environmental conditions may alter evolutionary processes, including hybridization in nature. Frequency of hybrids could be altered via range shifts by the parental species or by changes in prezygotic or postzygotic reproductive isolation. We examined the potential for range shifts and change in postzygotic isolation by determining effects of increasing and decreasing precipitation on leaf physiology and fitness components in the subalpine herbs Ipomopsis aggregata (Polemoniaceae), I. tenuituba¸ and their natural hybrids in a common garden in the habitat of I. aggregata.• Methods: Summer precipitation was experimentally doubled or halved over 3 yr in comparison with ambient conditions. We measured relative growth rate, specific leaf area, intrinsic water‐use efficiency, survival to reproduction, biomass, number of flowers produced, and floral morphology.• Key results: Ipomopsis tenuituba increased relative growth rate with higher precipitation

Climate change and the conservation of marmots - Kenneth B. Armitage (Natural Science, 2013)
Conservation of marmots, large ground-dwelling squirrels restricted to the northern hemisphere, was impacted by direct human activity through hunting or modifying ecosystem dynamics. Regulating human activities reduced the threat of extinction. Climate change, an indirect human impact, threatens marmot survival through global warming and extreme weather events. Most marmot species occupy a harsh environment characterized by a short growing season and a long, cold season without food. Marmots cope with seasonality by hibernating. Their large size increases the efficiency of fat accumulation and its use as the sole energy source during hibernation. Marmot physiology is highly adapted to coping with low environmental temperatures; they are stressed by high heat loads. Global warming since the last ice age reduced the geographic distribution of some of the 15 species of marmots. Recent warming resulted in a movement upslope of their lower elevation boundary. This process likely will contin

Measuring the influence of phylogenetic relationships on floral visitation - P. A. Agosti (2013)
Pollinators are attracted to flowers based on the sensory information they gather concerning the flower they pollinate, and decide to visit the flower, or not. Closely related plants have similar traits because of their similar genetics, and consequently will attract similar pollinators. The abundance of floral visitors a plant gets is dependent on its ability to attract pollinators and the frequency of floral visitation can be able to be predicted based on the phylogenetic isolation of a focal species. Phylogenetic isolation may be a logistically easier way to predict floral visitation than measuring morphological similarities. There exists a positive relationship between the number of visitors a species gets and the phylogenetic distance (in millions of years) to its nearest neighbor. There also exists a marginal negative relationship between the rate of floral visitation and the mean phylogenetic distance of a focal species in the community.

Effects of spontaneous movement on alert distance and flight initiation distance in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) - Dana M. Williams (2013)

A diffuse coalition of the unwilling: group size effects on social structure in yellow-bellied marmots Marmota flaviventris - L. Hubbard (2013)

How does altered phenology affect pollination and reproduction of Delphinium nuttallianum? - H. R. Bleecker (2013)
Due to climate change, wildflowers are blooming earlier and earlier and suffering lower reproductive success. There are two general, non-mutually-exclusive hypotheses about why this lower reproductive success may be occurring. One is that plants are blooming before their pollinators and therefore are experiencing a pollen deficiency. The other is that plants are coping with other environmental effects associated with earlier bloom time, such as drought and frost, which directly affect their survival and reproduction. Here I used a snow removal experiment to stimulate earlier flowering and measured pollen receipt, a proxy for pollinator visitation, and seed set. I also used pollen supplementation experiments to attempt to distinguish the effects of potential pollinator deficiency vs. other environmental factors on plant reproduction. I found that plants in the snow removal treatment received significantly less pollen than the plants in the controls; however, I failed to provide addition

Ontogeny and symmetry of social partner choice among free-living yellow-bellied marmots - L. K. Chung; John Ward Smith; Daniel T. Blumstein (Animal Behaviour, 2013)
Although reciprocity of affiliative exchanges within cohorts increased as individuals matured, competition among genetic relatives emerged early in ontogeny and persisted into adulthood, suggesting that close affiliates are each other's closest competitors.

Does ant usage vary between the plants Ligusticum porteri and Helianthella quinquenervis? - Melvin T. Smith (2013)
Mutualistic interactions between ants and plants are common. Understanding the effects on ants with different variables can denote what influences the ant abundance. As an observational study, I censused all 10 sites four times in a two week period reporting the number of flowering stalks, the number of ants, and documenting the abiotic factors. The study showed that the site, species of plant, number of flowering stalks, and the effect on ant abundance that is dependent on the number of flowering stalks was significant. Mutualistic relationships are shown between the ants and which plant is preferred.

Shifts in natural isotopic signatures of animals with complex life-cycles can complicate conclusions on cross-boundary trophic links - S. Bernasconi; C. T. Robinson; M. Alp; B. L. Peckarsky (Aquatic Sciences, 2013)

Spatial variation in bee abundance and diversity across southern Rocky Mountain habitats - R. L. Shearer (2013)
The structure of native bee assemblages and the nature of spatial variation of pollinator populations have direct effects on the reproductive success of plant species across their ranges and floral evolution. It is possible that changes in regional temperatures and precipitation are shifting foraging and nesting habitat preferences of bees. Very few studies have examined the habitat preferences of bees across variable landscapes and elevations, though the establishment of reference conditions is critical to future studies and the establishment of both plant and pollinator conservation schemes. Here, with the use of pan traps and hand netting, I sampled native bee populations across wet meadow, dry meadow, aspen understory and conifer understory as well as across an elevational gradient in an Apis-free region of the Western Slope of the Southern Rocky Mountains in Colorado, which has been experiencing increasing drought via reduced snowpack and earlier date of first bare ground. Floral

What was the paleo-discharge required to transport large Maroon Formation boulders during the late Pleistocene in the Cement Creek watershed? - B. A. Cohn (2013)

Assessing the causes and scales of the leaf economics spectrum using venation networks in Populus tremuloides - C. Violle; Brian J. Enquist; Benjamin Blonder (Journal of Ecology, 2013)
Summary The leaf economics spectrum (LES) describes global interspecific correlations between leaf traits. Despite recent theoretical advances, the biological scale at which LES correlations emerge and the physiological and climatic causes of these correlations remains partially unknown. Here, we test an extant theory based on universal trade‐offs in leaf venation networks that predicts that (i) the LES primarily originates within individuals; (ii) minor vein density drives LES trait correlations; and (iii) between individuals, LES correlations reflects variation in minor vein density driven by water availability. To test these predictions, we sample leaves within and between clones of Populus tremuloides across a wide climate gradient. We show that predictions i) and iii) are supported but ii) is only partially supported. To account for this discrepancy, we develop a more general venation theory. This theory describes linkages between vein density, leaf area and leaf thickness tha

Trait variations of Boechera stricta along an elevation gradient - K. J. Rodriguez (2013)
Plants have been migrating into higher elevations in order to cope with the stresses of the changing climate. However, not all plants are capable of migrating as far or as fast as others. This study examines leaf traits of Boechera stricta, a plant with limited migratory capabilities, at different elevations. Stomatal density, water content, and leaf mass per unit area (inverse of specific leaf area) of the collected rosette leaves will be determined in order to understand how these plants are changing their phenotypes to cope with the changing climate. We predict that these physical leaf traits will vary with elevation due to water stress and other biotic and abiotic factors.

A post–6 Ma sediment budget for the Colorado River - Rebecca J. Dorsey; Gregory D. Lazear (Geosphere, 2013)
Regional sediment budgets provide a useful method for quantifying erosion by large river systems over geologic time scales. The Colorado River (western United States) is well suited for such an analysis because the eroding source (Colorado Plateau) and sediment sinks in transtensional basins of the Salton Trough and northern Gulf of California are intact and well preserved. Using the distribution of Late Miocene basalt fl ows and new thermochronologic data, we calculate that \ 3.4 1.2 10 5 km 3 of rock has been eroded from the Colorado Plateau since 10 Ma. Most of this erosion probably started ca. 5.5-6 Ma, when the river system became integrated and incision rates increased dramatically. We generate two estimates for the volume of Colorado River sediment that has accumulated in basinal sinks since ca. 5.3 Ma: (1) 2.8 0.6 10 5 km 3 , assuming that crust between 5 and 10-12 km depth in the plate-boundary basins is young metasedimentary rock mixed with intrusions; and (2) 1.55 0.35 10 5 k

Direct and indirect effects of nuisance blooms by the diatom, Didymosphenia geminata on the whirling disease intermediate host, Tubifex tubifex - J. A. Byle (2013)
Didymosphenia geminata, a stalk-producing diatom has increased in frequency worldwide. The nuisance stalks that D. geminata forms, may create an environment preferable to oligochaetes such as Tubifex tubifex. Previous studies have shown that oligochaetes abundance is higher in areas with higher percent cover of D. geminata. This research investigated the mechanisms by which nuisance blooms by the stalk-forming diatom D. geminata facilitate a host, Tubifex tubifex, of the parasite, Myxobolus cerebralis, that causes whirling disease in ecologically and economically important salmonid fishes. To test the hypotheses that D. geminata may be providing T. tubifex a refuge from predation by the stone fly Hesperoperla pacifica, I performed an experiment testing whether a mimic of D. geminata mats provides T. tubifex a refuge from predation by the stonefly Hesperoperla pacifica. The results revealed that predation was 100% lower in D. geminata mimic treatments. Implications of this research may

Dose-dependent effects of nectar alkaloids in a montane plant-pollinator community - J. S. Manson; D. R. Gardner; Daniel Cook; Rebecca E. Irwin (Journal of Ecology, 2013)
SummaryAlthough secondary metabolites are prevalent in floral nectar, the ecological consequences for pollinators and pollination remain relatively unexplored. While often deterrent to pollinators at high concentrations, secondary metabolite concentrations in nectar tend to be much lower than secondary metabolite concentrations in leaves and flowers; yet, they may still affect the maintenance of pollination mutualisms.Delphinium barbeyi, a common montane herb, contains norditerpene alkaloids in its nectar but at concentrations that are substantially lower than those found in its leaves or flowers. By manipulating nectar alkaloid concentrations in the field and laboratory, we assessed the degree to which varying concentrations of alkaloids in nectar influenced pollinator behaviour and activity and plant reproduction.In the field, nectar alkaloids significantly reduced both the number of flower visits and the time spent per flower by free‐flying bumblebee pollinators, but we only observe

Genetic tradeoffs and conditional neutrality contribute to local adaptation - Robert I. Colautti; Lee C-R; Catherine Rushworth (Molecular Ecology, 2013)
Divergent natural selection promotes local adaptation and can lead to reproductive isolation of populations in contrasting environments; however, the genetic basis of local adaptation remains largely unresolved in natural populations. Local adaptation might result from antagonistic pleiotropy, where alternate alleles are favoured in distinct habitats, and polymorphism is maintained by selection. Alternatively, under conditional neutrality some alleles may be favoured in one environment but neutral at other locations. Antagonistic pleiotropy maintains genetic variation across the landscape; however, there is a systematic bias against discovery of antagonistic pleiotropy because the fitness benefits of local alleles need to be significant in at least two environments. Here, we develop a generally applicable method to investigate polygenic local adaptation and identify loci that are the targets of selection. This approach evaluates allele frequency changes after selection at loci across t

Quantifying the effects of pollen load and heterospecific pollen ratio on the species Delphinium barbeyi (Ranunculaceae) - A. M. Delva (2013)
To date there are few studies that have carefully studied the impact that varying pollen quantity and proportion of heterospecific pollen has on reproductive rate of a flowering plants. My project aimed to assess the relationship between pollen quantity and composition on the subalpine larkspur, Delphinium barbeyi, by conducting hand-pollination treatments that varied in pollen composition (proportion of heterospecific pollen) and quantity. Across 6 different sites, a total of 96 racemes of D. barbeyi were subjected to different treatments consisting of D. barbeyi and Helianthella quinquenervis pollen in different proportions. A significant relationship was found between seed set and pollen quantity, when looking at a subsample of the data collected.

Norditerpene alkaloid concentrations in tissues and floral rewards of larkspurs and impacts on pollinators - K. D. Welch; J. S. Manson; D. R. Gardner; Daniel Cook; Rebecca E. Irwin (Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 2013)
It is suggested that nectar with low alkaloid concentrations may be beneficial to plant fitness by limiting adverse effects on pollinator activity and optimal defense theory.

The effect of long-term metal exposure and mermithid parasitism on behavior and predation of nymphal Baetis bicaudatus by Megarcys signata - Jonathan Hamilton (2013)
Abiotic stressors can affect organisms both directly and indirectly by causing behavioral changes and altering species interactions. Metal pollution caused by mining activities is a major stressor on freshwater ecosystems, particularly affecting macroinvertebrate communities. Historical mining has led to increased acid drainage resulting in high metal concentrations in streams that bioaccumulate from primary consumers to the predators and parasites that feed on those organisms. Our study aims to assess the prevalence of mermithid nematode parasites (Gasteromermis sp.) in mayfly hosts (Baetis bicaudatus), common stream insects, in metal- polluted compared to reference (unpolluted) streams. We also examined the direct effects of exposure to metals and parasites on mayfly behavior and the indirect effects on the predator-prey relationship between stoneflies and mayflies. To assess the response of B. bicaudatus to biotic and abiotic stressors, we conducted experiments in streamside microco

Abiotic and multitrophic determinants of geographic distribution in an herbivorous insect - J. S. Phillips (2013)
Characterizing the factors that determine the geographic range limits of species is a major goal of ecology. Historically, abiotic factors (e.g. light environment) have been the focus of research of species geographical distributions. While recent work has shown that pairwise species interactions (e.g predation) are also important for determining these distributions, the combined action of interactions spanning multiple trophic levels and the environmental mediation of such interactions are poorly understood. In this study, we explored the mechanisms by which light environments influence aphid population growth, focusing on (1) direct or plant mediated effects of light, (2) variation in predation pressure across a light gradient, in the absence of ants, and (3) variation in ant tending across a light gradient. Our results show that aphid population perform better in high light environments because of increased tending of ants, which reduces predation pressure. This work demonstrates th

Attracting pollinators and avoiding herbivores: insects influence plant traits within and across years - A. L. Buchanan; N. C. Underwood (Oecologia, 2013)
It is found that plant traits had little effect on damage and pollination, but damage andpollination affected plant traits in both the treatment year and the subsequent year, and evidence of indirect effects between leaf herbivores and pollinators in both directions has not been previously demonstrated.

Can fungal symbionts shift host niche dimensions to promote species coexistence? - C. L. Debban; Melanie R Kazenel (2013)
Defining the mechanisms that enable species to coexist is a fundamental goal of community ecology. Attention to this question has traditionally focused on antagonistic species interactions, namely competition and predation, as controls on species coexistence. However, positive species interactions may rival antagonistic interactions in their importance. We examined the potential role of endophytic fungi in enabling species coexistence, considering whether the presence of the fungal endophyte Neotyphodium sp. may alter the niche of marsh bluegrass, Poa leptocoma, and affect its coexistence with a closely related but endophyte-free grass species, nodding bluegrass, Poa reflexa, in subalpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains, USA. We tested two questions: 1) Do P. leptocoma and P. reflexa occupy different ecological niches? and 2) Does endophyte presence affect P. leptocoma and P. reflexa seed germination and seedling growth in different putative niches? Poa leptocoma grew closer to water so

The effects of parental care on brood success and quality in the burying beetle Nicrophorus investigator - J. E. Pekny (2013)
Across all species, biparental care is an atypical and intriguing adaptation. Burying beetles, (Coleptera: Silphidae) exhibit a large range of biparental care to offspring, involving the upkeep of their sole food source, direct feeding to larvae, and protection of the brood from a wide variety of intruders. However, as previous studies have found, in some cases the presence of two parents in the brood chamber is actually detrimental to the brood overall. In this experiment, we observed the success and quality of Nicrophorus investigator broods raised with varying degrees of parental care in the hopes of determining a driver for the persistence of this biparental care behavior in the species. Contrary to the expected, it was observed that Nicrophorus investigator larvae are able to develop normally without parental care post-hatching, uniparental care is the most successful type of parental care for brood quality under laboratory conditions, and single males are equally good parents as

Effects of experimental warming on plant traits of subalpine wildflower species of Gothic, CO - B. A. Palmer (2013)
Over the next century the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other contributing greenhouse gases is predicted to generate an average increase in temperature 1-6˚C (Saavedra et al., 2003; Cleland et al., 2012). The proposed warming climate suggests a common myth of global warming that raising temperatures and CO2 enrichment will make a greener world. This research has contributed to data on reproductive traits and physiological changes linked to these qualities of various plant species. It was hypothesized that warmed plots may allocate more energy and resources for more competition among other plants within a warmer area. Using warming frames (these frames prevent radiative heat loss therefore allowing them to be slightly warmer) and plots previously set up by David Inouye (Inouye 2008), research was conducted to answer the hypothesis looking at species Erigeron flagellaris, Arenaria congesta, and Potentilla gracilis. Results shows the variables did not differ between

From ignimbrite to batholith, northeastern San Juan Mountains, Colorado<subtitle>Bonanza, Cochetopa Park, and North Pass calderas</subtitle> - Matthew J. Zimmerer; William C. McIntosh; Peter W. Lipman (Geological Society of America eBooks, 2013)
The Southern Rocky Mountain volcanic fi eld contains widespread andesite and dacitic lavas erupted from central volcanoes; associated with these are \ 26 regional ignimbrites (each 150–5000 km3) emplaced from 37 to 23 Ma, source calderas as much as 75 km across, and subvolcanic plutons. Exposed plutons vary in composition and size from small roof-zone exposures of porphyritic andesite and dacite to batholithscale granitoids. Calderas and plutons are enclosed by one of the largest-amplitude gravity lows in North America. The gravity low, interpreted as defi ning the extent of a largely concealed low-density silicic batholith complex, encloses the overall area of ignimbrite calderas, most of which lack individual geophysical expression. Initial ignimbrite eruptions from calderas aligned along the Sawatch Range at 37–34 Ma progressed southwestward, culminating in peak eruptions in the San Juan Mountains at 30–27 Ma. This fi eld guide focuses on diverse features of previously little-studied

The effect of wing wear on the flight metabolic rate of the mormon fritillary butterfly (Speyeria mormonia) - G. M. Lynch (2013)
Nearly every aspect of a butterfly’s life is dependent on flight. Flight metabolic rate (FMR), which is the amount of CO2 produced during flight, serves as an indicator of flight capacity and performance. High flight metabolic rate has been found to be correlated with greater dispersal distance, and longer lifespan. Additionally, FMR has been found to decrease with age in the Mormon Fritillary butterfly (Speyeria mormonia) as well as in Colias eurytheme (Niitepõld et al. in review). Wing damage was experimentally facilitated by removing a small portion of the distal edge of butterflies’ wings in order to elucidate the effect of wing damage on the flight metabolic rate of butterflies. The FMR of the control group was not significantly different than the FMR of the experimental treatment group. Thus, the decrease in FMR with age in S. mormonia is likely not due to a mechanical defect of the wing (i.e. wing damage) but more likely due to an innate physiological process involving senescenc

The influence of aboveground and belowground resources on the persistence of females for a gynodioecious plant - Andrew P. Martin (2013)
! Gynodioecity is prolific within some angiosperm populations. These coexisting individuals within the same population will either be females that canʼt produce pollen, or hermaphrodites which can. Our study attempted to peer into the reasoning behind female persistence in Polemonium foliosissimum, a perennial wildflower native to the Rocky Mountains USA. Through examining resource limitation effects on hermaphrodites and pollinator visitation rates to manipulated hermaphrodites, no significant interactions between sexes and treatments were found. What was found, unexpectedly, was a correlation between floral display number per stalk and pollinator visitation suggesting that perhaps pollinators are indifferent between females and hermaphrodites.

Scale of plasticity and local adaptation in Boechera stricta along an altitudinal gradient - S. Caroline Daws (2013)
As environments change, natural selection will increasingly favor plasticity, a mechanism by which organisms express variable phenotypes based on their abiotic or biotic environment. While these trends occur in sweeping macroenvironmental or coarse-grain patterns, this variation can also exist on an extremely fine-grain scale. By analyzing foliar plant traits in a reciprocal transplant experiment, we aimed to identify how the spatial scale of environmental variation drives patterns of plasticity. In this study, we asked if a native mustard (Boechera stricta) expressed phenotypic plasticity in response to abiotic and biotic variation at two spatial scales: the macro- and microenvironment. By investigating these questions, we made predictions about how environmental heterogeneity influences plant responses to natural climatic variation. We found that plant traits are determined by genetics, macro- and microenvironment (spatial scale), and the interaction between genotype and environment.

Yellow-bellied marmots: insights from an emergent view of sociality. - Daniel T. Blumstein (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Series B, 2013)
Ecological factors explain variation in sociality both within and between species of marmots—large alpine ground squirrels. Fifty years of study, by me and my colleagues, of the yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, near Crested Butte, CO, USA, has created opportunities to see how sociality changes with population and group size. Over the past decades, we have witnessed a natural experiment whereby the population tripled in size. If we view sociality as an emergent process, then demography acts as a constraint on interactions between individuals, and the threefold increase in population size should have consequences for group structure. We have used social network statistics to study the causes and consequences of social interactions by capitalizing on this demographic variation. Such an emergent view is ideally studied in an integrative Tinbergian way that focuses on both mechanism and function. We have determined that some social a

Do marmots display a dear enemy phenomenon in response to anal gland secretions? - F. Rosell; H. B. Cross; Daniel T. Blumstein (Journal of Zoology, 2013)

Nectar dwelling yeasts and their effects on pollinator preference - Charles E. Phillips (2013)
Pollinators are extremely important in the global ecosystem. Flowers have evolved attractive traits in order to draw these pollinators. Traits like colorful petals draw in pollinators to metabolic rewards such as nectar and pollen, and in return, pollinators transfer pollen between plants. Plants with better attractants or rewards are more likely to draw in more pollinators and thus are most likely to reproduce. Microorganisms have been found inside of the floral reward nectar that may skew the plant-pollinator reactions. This study looked at the distribution of nectar inhabiting yeasts in the floral nectar of the perennial herb Delphinium barbeyi, and pollinator reactions to those yeasts. This study found that pollinators are most likely the vectors for the transportation of nectar dwelling yeasts in the tall larkspur, and that D. barbeyi is unable to regulate the yeast concentration in its floral nectar. Finally, the results of nectar removal experiments, where either a sucrose solut

Lichens of Granitic Rocks in Rocky Mountain National Park Larimer County, Colorado, U.S.A. - Christopher Lea; Ann Henson; Scott T. Bates (Evansia, 2013)
A survey of granitic rock surfaces, talus and outcrops, at 25 sites in Rocky Mountain National Park yielded 81 saxicolous lichen species. Fifteen species in 11 genera, or 19% of the total species, were dominant. Observed only once were 31% or 25 species. No new species were reported. Our results show typical saxicolous lichen communities with 57% crustose species.

Nonlinear flowering responses to climate: are species approaching their limits of phenological change? - N. M. Schmidt; T. T. Hoye; Amy M. Iler; David W. Inouye (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2013)
Many alpine and subalpine plant species exhibit phenological advancements in association with earlier snowmelt. While the phenology of some plant species does not advance beyond a threshold snowmelt date, the prevalence of such threshold phenological responses within plant communities is largely unknown. We therefore examined the shape of flowering phenology responses (linear versus nonlinear) to climate using two long-term datasets from plant communities in snow-dominated environments: Gothic, CO, USA (1974–2011) and Zackenberg, Greenland (1996–2011). For a total of 64 species, we determined whether a linear or nonlinear regression model best explained interannual variation in flowering phenology in response to increasing temperatures and advancing snowmelt dates. The most common nonlinear trend was for species to flower earlier as snowmelt advanced, with either no change or a slower rate of change when snowmelt was early (average 20% of cases). By contrast, some species advanced thei

Historical fire in sagebrush landscapes of the Gunnison sage-grouse range from land-survey records - Beth E. Bukowski (Journal of Arid Environments, 2013)

Using economic instruments to develop effective management of invasive species: insights from a bioeconomic model - S. M. McDermott; B. W. Taylor; Rebecca E. Irwin (Ecological Applications, 2013)
Economic growth is recognized as an important factor associated with species invasions. Consequently, there is increasing need to develop solutions that combine economics and ecology to inform invasive species management. We developed a model combining economic, ecological, and sociological factors to assess the degree to which economic policies can be used to control invasive plants. Because invasive plants often spread across numerous properties, we explored whether property owners should manage invaders cooperatively as a group by incorporating the negative effects of invader spread in management decisions (collective management) or independently, whereby the negative effects of invasive plant spread are ignored (independent management). Our modeling approach used a dynamic optimization framework, and we applied the model to invader spread usingLinaria vulgaris. Model simulations allowed us to determine the optimal management strategy based on net benefits for a range of invader den

Effects of climate change on mast-flowering cues in a clonal montane herb, Veratrum tenuipetalum (Melanthiaceae) - Amy M. Iler; David W. Inouye (American Journal of Botany, 2013)
• Premise of the study: Climate change threatens to alter the timing and magnitude of abiotic cues that synchronize mast flowering, such as temperature and precipitation. Climate change may therefore alter the frequency of masting, in turn affecting species in the community that use pulsed resources.• Methods: We used 29‐yr (1984–2012) records of climate and flowering to investigate proximate flowering cues for the clonal, mast‐flowering herb Veratrum tenuipetalum. Because clonal reproduction is tied to flowering in Veratrum, we used a parallel record of ramet abundance to examine the effects of masting on long‐term ramet abundance.• Key results: Cool summer temperatures 2 years before flowering were associated with a higher percentage of flowering in Veratrum populations, consistent with its life history. Ramet abundance increased by 9.5% ± 5.6% on average following mast years compared to an average loss of 0.73% ± 1.1% in nonmast years, and ramet abundance increased over the time fra

Mechanisms underlying plant sexual dimorphism in multi-trophic arthropod communities - S. K. Rudeen; J. L. Dryburgh; A. L. Fremgen; Manuel K. Lopez; K. I. Perry; William K. Petry; Kailen A. Mooney (Ecology, 2013)
A growing body of research documents the importance of plant genetic effects on arthropod community structure. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects are often unclear. Additionally, plant genetic effects have largely been quantified in common gardens, thus inflating the estimates of their importance by minimizing levels of natural variation. Using Valeriana edulis, a dioecious plant with genetically based sex determination, we conducted surveys and experiments on wild‐grown individuals to document field patterns of arthropod association between the sexes and the mechanisms underlying these plant genetic effects. Three years of surveys revealed strong and consistent sex‐biased arthropod association in wild‐grown plants: female plants supported 4‐fold, 1.5‐fold, and 4‐fold higher densities of aphids, aphid predators, and aphid‐tending ants, respectively, compared to males. There was mixed evidence that the female bias for aphids was due to higher plant quality, while we found

Effect of location on plant species richness and diversity in Aspen (Populus tremuloides) understory: edge vs. inner forest habitat - G. P. Glynn (2013)
Ecological theory holds that edge effects influence species composition and diversity along both anthropogenic and natural forest edges. These ecotonal zones provide abundant microhabitats and opportunity for increased biodiversity. Abiotic factors such as temperature, soil moisture and soil water-holding capacity often create edge environments conducive to a variety of life. This study examines whether plant understory diversity decreases with distance from the edge of Populus tremuloides stands. I inventoried diversity within 5/ 1m2 quadrats along five 40m transects perpendicular to the forest edge at three sites in Colorado’s East River Valley near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Air temperature near ground level, soil moisture, and soil water holding capacity were also measured. Diversity and richness were not higher at the forest edge. However, species composition differed significantly between the forest and the edge and meadow habitats. The most abundant forest species

Costs of predator-induced phenotypic plasticity: A graphical model for predicting the contribution of non-consumptive and consumptive effects of predators on prey - S. D. Peacor; G. C. Trussell; J. R. Vonesh; B. L. Peckarsky (Oecologia, 2013)

The Black Canyon Forecast Station: Experiences And Lessons Learned - Bonnie Koehler; Treve Henwood; John Human Wilson; Kathleen Sramek (Online Journal of Public Health Informatics, 2013)
This presentation reviews the experiences of a meteorology-inspired infectious disease forecast station operating within a rural community. The forecast station promoted routine communication of a broader array of infectious disease activity than that monitored by public health; facilitated proactive, cost effective healthcare; and enabled recognition of unusual, disruptive infectious activity with enough time to enable mitigation of clinical, infrastructure, and financial impact to the community. Routine communication of comprehensive infectious disease forecast and situational awareness information promoted community adaptive fitness to a wide variety of infectious hazards.

The Growth of Ranchettes in La Plata County, Colorado, 1988–2008 - Bradley Benz; John Harner (The Professional Geographer, 2013)
Abstract Ranchettes are low-density, rural parcels typically from thirty-five to seventy acres that have proliferated across the Rocky Mountain West. They consume large amounts of land and increase fragmentation, leading to potentially negative impacts on the ecology and cultural identity of local places. Although many anecdotal accounts decry the rise in ranchettes, few studies measure their prevalence or spatial patterns. We use archival and contemporary land ownership data to measure ranchette development in La Plata County, Colorado, an amenity-rich county popular for recreation, retirement, and ranchettes. Results show continual yet slowing growth across the decades with patterns of growth spreading in a contagious effect around initial nodes of development. Los ranchetes son parcelas rurales de baja densidad, con extensiones típicas de entre treinta y cinco y setenta acres, que proliferan a través del oeste de las Montañas Rocallosas. En conjunto afectan a grandes extensiones de

Maintenance of temporal synchrony between syrphid flies and floral resources despite differential phenological responses to climate - A. J. Miller-Rushing; E. M. Johnston; L. A. Burkle; T. T. Hoye; Amy M. Iler; David W. Inouye (Global Change Biology, 2013)
Variation in species’ responses to abiotic phenological cues under climate change may cause changes in temporal overlap among interacting taxa, with potential demographic consequences. Here, we examine associations between the abiotic environment and plant–pollinator phenological synchrony using a long-term syrphid fly–flowering phe- nology dataset (1992–2011). Degree-days above freezing, precipitation, and timing of snow melt were investigated as predictors of phenology. Syrphids generally emerge after flowering onset and end their activity before the end of flowering. Neither flowering nor syrphid phenology has changed significantly over our 20-year record, consistent with a lack of directional change in climate variables over the same time frame. Instead we document interannual var- iability in the abiotic environment and phenology. Timing of snow melt was the best predictor of flowering onset and syrphid emergence. Snow melt and degree-days were the best predictors of the end of fl

Gunnison Tunnel: Engineering History of an Early American Reclamation Project - Mallory McAdams; Judith Wang (Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, 2013)
This paper describes the surveying, engineering, and construction operations performed in the construction of the Gunnison Tunnel for the Gunnison River Diversion Project. The Gunnison Tunnel, which diverts water from the Gunnison River to the Uncompahgre Valley, was one of the first major engineering projects undertaken by the federal government under the authority of the U.S. Reclamation Service. It has been recognized as a national historic civil engineering landmark for the engineering feats involved in its construction, including the performance of site investigations and survey operations through extremely harsh terrain and its construction crews’ perseverance through several dramatic accidents. It is observed that a potential cause of these multiple accidents was an insufficient knowledge of the geological subsurface properties, leading to significant differences between expected and encountered subsurface conditions. This was particularly problematic with respect to the existen

Colorado River chronostratigraphy at Lee's Ferry, Arizona, and the Colorado Plateau bull's-eye of incision: REPLY - T. M. Rittenour; J. C. Gosse; Joel L. Pederson; A. J. Hidy (Geology, 2013)
Karlstrom et al. (2013) raise two issues in their Comment related to aspects of the discussion in our paper (Pederson et al., 2013) about the Lee’s Ferry record and incision in the Colorado Plateau. We synthesize evidence for the bull’s-eye pattern of incision over the past 105 yr, finding that it does not match spatial patterns of river steepness, stream power, or proposed mantle sources of uplift. Karlstrom et al. (2013) express no concerns with these findings. Instead, their first issue is that longer-time-scale incision may have a different pattern, which may or may not be the case. Their second point expresses doubt that isostatic rebound would significantly increase incision rates in the central plateau, which seems based upon an erroneous geometric argument. Their Comment highlights two of their new papers, and we appreciate the opportunity to contribute to ongoing debates about the patterns of topography and erosion and how they relate to any active deformation, other baselevel

Defensive and social aggression: repeatable but independent - T. W. Wey; M. B. Petelle; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology, 2013)

Patterns of natural avalanche activity associated with new snow water equivalance and upper atmospheric wind direction and speed in the mountains surrounding Gothic, Colorado - Tara Lea. Chesley-Preston (Montana State University ScholarWorks (Montana State University), 2013)
Snowfall, temperature and wind are three factors that quickly change avalanche conditions. Ridge-top winds have been used to assess avalanche conditions with mixed success due to high variability. Few analyses have tested the effect upper atmospheric winds have on avalanche conditions. This study attempts to quantify the effect upper atmospheric wind direction and speed have on the spatial pattern of natural avalanching in the mountains near Gothic, Colorado. The Gothic dataset consists of over 3,300 natural avalanches spanning a time period of 33 years. These data are associated with daily new snow water equivalence (SWE) collected at Gothic, as well as 500mb wind direction and speed from the National Centers for Environmental Protection/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) gridded reanalysis project. I hypothesize that prevailing 500mb winds are more likely to be associated with natural avalanches in avalanche paths with a starting zone aspect lee to the prevailing fr

New views on late Paleozoic climate and tectonics in the Ancestral Rocky Mountains - Gerilyn S. Soreghan; Dustin E. Sweet (Geological Society of America eBooks, 2013)
Recent research in Pennsylvanian-Permian strata of the Fountain Formation adjacent to the Front Range uplift and the Cutler Formation adjacent to the Uncompahgre uplift (Colorado) has resulted in new hypotheses about the climate and tectonics of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains. The Fountain and the Cutler formations are iconic deposits; the thick and coarse-grained nature of these units has been cited for nearly a century as documenting the Ancestral Rockies. Long considered the products of alluvial fan deposition in warm climates, new data support the hypothesis of proglacial deposition for these units, and thus glaciation of the Ancestral Rocky highlands. This bears on our understanding of Late Paleozoic climate in western equatorial Pangaea, as well as global climate at this time. Furthermore, new mapping in the Uncompahgre region indicates substantial onlap and possible burial of Precambrian highlands by Permian strata. The argument for Permian subsidence of the uplift emanates from

Development of boldness and docility in yellow-bellied marmots. - V. Alejandro; D. E. McCoy; M. B. Petelle; Julien G. A. Martin; Daniel T. Blumstein (Animal Behaviour, 2013)
The development of personality traits may facilitate animal’s coping with age-dependent requirements and constraints, and suggests an adaptive hypothesis: that these personality traits develop independently and at potentially age-appropriate times.

How life history influences population dynamics in fluctuating environments. - M. A. C. Nicoll; K. Norris; V. Grotan; Jean-Michel Gaillard; A. Jenkins; Cynthia S. Jones; R. Altwegg; H. Weirmerskirch; P. H. Becker; F. S. Dobson; T. Coulson; S. Engen; et al. (American Naturalist, 2013)

Comparing Bombus pollinator efficacies in Delphinium barbeyi (Ranunculaceae) reproductive success - A. M. Cooke (2013)
Pollinator populations are decreasing globally constituting a major conservation concern. A decline in a particular pollinator species may cause plant population declines. Certain Bombus species may be more effective pollinators; i.e. they contribute more to female reproductive success of a flower species than others. This study determined the pollination efficacy of five Bombus species in Delphinium barbeyi reproductive success in a subalpine ecosystem. I determined the pollinator efficacy of each bee species by the amount of conspecific pollen (CP) and percentage of CP deposited on D. barbeyi stigmas and the resulting seed set of each flower visited. Bombus nevadensis was the most effective pollinator due to its high CP deposition and resulting seed set. B. appositus was the least effective pollinator because it deposited the least amount of CP and was related to the lowest seed set. B. californicus, flavifrons, and kirbeyellis were of intermediate pollinator efficacy. These results

Patterns of selective caching behavior of a generalist herbivore, the American Pika (Ochotona princeps) - L. P. Erb; John Ward Smith (Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 2013)
Caching decisions have been studied for many species, but large-scale variation of selective preferences due to environmental heterogeneity has rarely been examined. We investigated large-scale patterns of selective caching behavior in the American pika (Ochotona princeps), a non-hibernating generalist herbivore that caches vegetation in haypiles to serve as winter food. At 13 sites throughout the southern Rocky Mountains, we identified the three most common available and cached plant species and analyzed them for dietary quality. Selectivity at each site was measured as the difference between average quality of the most common cached and available vegetation. Pikas consistently cached materials of higher quality than the most common available vegetation. Selectivity for high nitrogen corresponded to quality of available plants and site summer temperature, whereas selectivity for high water content was negatively correlated with elevation. Our results indicate that pikas cache a variet

Engaging local perspectives for improved conservation and climate change adaptation - Corrine Nöel Knapp (ScholarWorks-UA (University of Alaska Fairbanks), 2013)
Climate change is a global process that will impact local places in heterogeneous and unpredictable manners. This dissertation considers whose knowledge and observations could contribute to conservation and climate adaptation planning, how perceptions influence social-ecological feedbacks, and how science could be more relevant to decision-makers and local residents. In Chapter 2, I report on interviews (n=36) conducted with ranchers and recreation-based business owners in Colorado to understand their self-perceptions of resilience and vulnerability. I find that ranchers perceive more exposure and sensitivity to climate change and they also demonstrate more adaptive capacity than recreation businesses. In Chapter 3, I convey results from interviews (n=83) completed with various long-term residents of the region surrounding Denali National Park and Preserve. I find that people who have more direct and ongoing experience with natural resources (subsistence users, bus drivers, business ow

Plasticity and changes in selection in response to changing precipitation regimes - J. M. Powers (2013)
Altered precipitation patterns are a major prediction of climate change models and a recent reality. Changes in climatic variables may affect the evolution of species by affecting the magnitude and direction of natural selection on various traits. Winter precipitation can affect summer-flowering plants by altering the date of snowmelt. By investigating a long-term record of floral and vegetative traits and corresponding fitness in a hybrid zone between two species of subalpine wildflowers, a strong relationship was found between snowmelt date and the strength of selection on corolla length. For other traits, variation in selection could be attributed to pollinator abundances. In addition, a plastic response to winter precipitation was found in specific leaf area, a trait that plants use to balance water usage and carbon acquisition.

The effects of road dust on pollination and reproduction of the native wildflower species, Delphinium nuttallianum - K. A. Griffith (2013)

Phenology: An Integrative Environmental Science (2013)

Social mating system and sex-biased dispersal in mammals and birds: a phylogenetic analysis. - K. E. Mabry; E. L. Shelley; K. Davis; D. H. Van Vuren; Daniel T. Blumstein (PLOS ONE, 2013)
The hypothesis that patterns of sex-biased dispersal are related to social mating system in mammals and birds has gained widespread acceptance over the past 30 years. However, two major complications have obscured the relationship between these two behaviors: 1) dispersal frequency and dispersal distance, which measure different aspects of the dispersal process, have often been confounded, and 2) the relationship between mating system and sex-biased dispersal in these vertebrate groups has not been examined using modern phylogenetic comparative methods. Here, we present a phylogenetic analysis of the relationship between mating system and sex-biased dispersal in mammals and birds. Results indicate that the evolution of female-biased dispersal in mammals may be more likely on monogamous branches of the phylogeny, and that females may disperse farther than males in socially monogamous mammalian species. However, we found no support for a relationship between social mating system and sex-

Geographical variation in hybridization of Ipomopsis (Polemoniaceae): testing the role of photosynthetic responses to temperature and water - C. A. Wu; Diane R. Campbell (International Journal of Plant Sciences, 2013)
Levels of hybridization between related species can vary in response to evolutionary history or local environmental conditions, such as pollinators and abiotic factors, that affect reproductive isolation. Contact sites between the herbs Ipomopsis aggregata and Ipomopsis tenuituba vary in habitat type, spatial distribution of the parental species, and level of hybridization, partly because of more species-specific pollinator foraging at the contact site with fewest hybrids. We hypothesized that such a contact site, with low hybridization and stronger genetic differentiation between the species, would also show greater divergence in ecophysiology, potentially contributing to reduced hybrid viability. We compared photosynthetic responses to temperature and water for the two species and their natural hybrids (where present) between the unusual site where hybrids are scarce and two contact sites with extensive hybridization. Measurements were made under field conditions and as a function of

Complaint: Brinkman and Burd v. Karen Long, in Her Official Capacity as Clerk and Recorder of Adams County, Colorado - Thomas D. Russell (SSRN Electronic Journal, 2013)

Patterns of parasite prevalence and individual infection in yellow-bellied marmots. - J. Lopez; T. W. Wey; Daniel T. Blumstein (Journal of Zoology, 2013)
AbstractPatterns of infection and prevalence result from complex interactions between hosts and parasites, the effects of which are likely to vary by species. We investigated the effects of age, sex and season on the likelihood of individual infection, and the effects of host population size, sex ratio and age structure on parasite prevalence. We capitalized on data from a long‐term study of yellow‐bellied marmotsMarmota flaviventrispotentially infected with fecal–orally transmitted intestinal parasites (Ascarissp.,Eimeriaspp. andEntamoebasp.), ectoparasitic fleasThrassis stanfordi, and a flea‐ and louse‐transmitted blood parasiteTrypanosoma lewisi. Patterns of individual‐ and group‐level infection varied widely by parasite. Yearlings were more likely to be infected withTr. lewisiandAscaris. Yearlings were also slightly more likely than adults to haveEimeria, but female yearlings had higher infection levels than female adults, while male yearlings had lower infection levels than male a

River Notes: A Natural and Human History of the Colorado - Thomas W. La Point (Ethnobiology Letters, 2013)
Review of River Notes: A Natural and Human History of the Colorado. Wade Davis. 2012. Island Press. Pp. 176 $23.63 (Hardcover). ISBN 978‐1610913614.

Ontogenetic variation of heritability and maternal effects in yellow-bellied marmot alarm calls. - K. T. Nguyen; Julien G. A. Martin; Daniel T. Blumstein (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2013)
Individuals of many species produce distinctive vocalizations that may relay potential information about the signaller. The alarm calls of some species have been reported to be individually specific, and this distinctiveness may allow individuals to access the reliability or kinship of callers. While not much is known generally about the heritability of mammalian vocalizations, if alarm calls were individually distinctive to permit kinship assessment, then call structure should be heritable. Here, we show conclusively for the first time that alarm call structure is heritable. We studied yellow-bellied marmots ( Marmota flaviventris ) and made nine quantitative measurements of their alarm calls. With a known genealogy, we used the animal model (a statistical technique) to estimate alarm call heritability. In juveniles, only one of the measured variables had heritability significantly different from zero; however, most variables had significant maternal environmen

Behavioral response of Mountain White-Crowned Sparrows towards an interspecific competitor - R. S. Siller (2013)
This study examined interspecific competition between mountain white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) and Lincoln’s sparrows (Melospiza lincolnii) through a playback experiment. Interspecific competitive interactions influence avian fitness by affecting the distribution of species and access to resources. Mountain white- crowned sparrow males were played three different songs, a negative control of a novel song, a positive control of a conspecific song, and a treatment of a heterospecific song. The difference from baseline in their behavior was recorded and analyzed to see which playbacks they responded to and this was compared to the birds’ fitness covariates and environment. A trend was found in their Stand and Look response to both the conspecific and heterospecific playbacks, with no change in behavior to the control. None of the fitness covariates tested influenced the way the birds responded to the playbacks. This trend suggests that mountain white-crowned sparr

Scared and less noisy: glucocorticoids are associated with alarm call entropy - Y. Y. Chi; T. W. Wey; M. B. Petelle; Daniel T. Blumstein; Daniel T. Blumstein (Biology Letters, 2013)
The nonlinearity and arousal hypothesis predicts that highly aroused mammals will produce nonlinear, noisy vocalizations. We tested this prediction by measuring faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (GCMs) in adult yellow-bellied marmots ( Marmota flaviventris ), and asking if variation in GCMs was positively correlated with Wiener entropy—a measure of noise. Contrary to our prediction, we found a significant negative relationship: marmots with more faecal GCMs produced calls with less noise than those with lower levels of GCMs. A previous study suggested that glucocorticoids modulate the probability that a marmot will emit a call. This study suggests that, like some other species, calls emitted from highly aroused individuals are less noisy. Glucocorticoids thus play an important, yet underappreciated role, in alarm call production.

Gone with the shining things - Vivien Horler (Open University of Cape Town (University of Cape Town), 2013)
The lure of gold in the great reefs of Johannesburg near the end of the 19th century not only attracted the famous mining barons such as Cecil John Rhodes, Alfred Beit and Barney Barnato: working men also came from far and wide to feed their families with their labour.Among them was my great-grandfather, the miner from the Isle of Man, William Cogeen.He arrived via the tin mines of Cornwall and the silver mines of Colorado, and was among those Uitlanders who flocked in those early days to the Transvaal as skilled artisans -wheelwrights, farriers, bricklayers and, especially, experienced hard-rock miners.It was their labour, as well as of black tribesmen from all over southern Africa, that laid the financial foundation for what became the rich city of Johannesburg.It was also their influx that was the excuse that precipitated the Anglo-Boer War.His wife and daughters joined him in what was still a rough boom town, and they stayed on, until forced to flee as refugees from Johannesburg at

Duplication and population dynamics shape historic patterns of selection and genetic variation at the major histocompatibility complex in rodents - Jamie C. Winternitz; John P. Wares (Ecology and Evolution, 2013)
AbstractGenetic variation at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is vitally important for wildlife populations to respond to pathogen threats. As natural populations can fluctuate greatly in size, a key issue concerns how population cycles and bottlenecks that could reduce genetic diversity will influenceMHCgenes. Using 454 sequencing, we characterized genetic diversity at theDRBClassIIlocus in montane voles (Microtus montanus), a North American rodent that regularly undergoes high‐amplitude fluctuations in population size. We tested for evidence of historic balancing selection, recombination, and gene duplication to identify mechanisms maintaining allelic diversity. Counter to our expectations, we found strong evidence of purifying selection acting on theDRBlocus in montane voles. We speculate that the interplay between population fluctuations and gene duplication might be responsible for the weak evidence of historic balancing selection and strong evidence of purifying selecti

LA-ICP-MS analysis of quartzite from the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado - Molly Boeka Cannon; Carol M. Dehler; Hector Neff; Stephen T. Nelson; Bonnie L. Pitblado (Journal of Archaeological Science, 2013)

Fungal symbionts alter plant responses to global change - S. M. Emery; Stephanie N. Kivlin; Jennifer A. Rudgers (American Journal of Botany, 2013)
While direct plant responses to global change have been well characterized, indirect plant responses to global change, via altered species interactions, have received less attention. Here, we examined how plants associated with four classes of fungal symbionts (class I leaf endophytes [EF], arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi [AMF], ectomycorrhizal fungi [ECM], and dark septate endophytes [DSE]) responded to four global change factors (enriched CO2, drought, N deposition, and warming). We performed a meta‐analysis of 434 studies spanning 174 publications to search for generalizable trends in responses of plant–fungal symbioses to future environments. Specifically, we addressed the following questions: (1) Can fungal symbionts ameliorate responses of plants to global change? (2) Do fungal symbiont groups differ in the degree to which they modify plant response to global change? (3) Do particular global change factors affect plant–fungal symbioses more than others? In all global change scenario

The effect of habitat on intra-generic competition - M. W. Oliver (2013)
Competition and habitat selection have been great topics for ecologists for decades and play a vital role in the study of ecology. In order to avoid competition, organisms partition their niches. Burying beetles (genus: Nicrophorus) occupy the small carrion niche and use carcasses as their primary resource, both in feeding and reproduction. In this study I investigated the effects of habitat on intra-generic competition on burying beetles. I found that two of the three prominent species, Nicrophorus investigator and Nicrophorus defodiens do partition the small carrion niche. N. investigator was found primarily in the meadow and N. defodiens was found in the aspen. This may be due to the different preferences of soil or amount of shade and temperature. In the case that both N. defodiens and N. investigator were present at the same carcass, N. investigator won all of the carcasses (in both aspen and meadow habitats). Also it appears that burying beetles have a higher reproductive success

Specific-gene studies of evolutionary mechanisms in an age of genome-wide surveying - W. B. Watt (Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2013)
The molecular tools of genomics have great power to reveal patterns of genetic difference within or among species, but must be complemented by the mechanistic study of the genetic variants found if these variants’ evolutionary meaning is to be well understood. Central to this purpose is knowledge of the organisms’ genotype–phenotype–environment interactions, which embody biological adaptation and constraint and thus drive natural selection. The history of this approach is briefly reviewed. Strategies embracing the complementarity of genomics and specific‐gene studies in evolution are considered. Implementation of these strategies, and examples showing their feasibility and power, are discussed. Initial generalizations emphasize: (1) reproducibility of adaptive mechanisms; (2) evolutionary co‐importance of variation in protein sequences and expression; (3) refinement of rudimentary molecular functions as an origin of evolutionary innovations; (4) identification of specific‐gene mechanis

Phenology of high-altitude climates - F. E. Wielgolaski; David W. Inouye (Phenology: An Integrative Environmental Science, 2013)

Does infection by endophytic bacteria influence plant susceptibility to herbivory in nature? - N. M. Alexandre (2013)
Host plant genotypes often interact with the genotypes of pathogenic bacteria in order to affect the susceptibility phenotype with regards to herbivory. Often specialist herbivores illicit host plant production of jasmonic acid while biotrophic pathhogens induce a response of Salicylic acid, both of which slow growth of their target. Interestingly, production of either acid blocks the pathway of the other allowing specialist fly Scaptomyza nigrita and Pseudomonas bacteria to coinfect. A common garden was set up at Emerald Lake and three genotypes of Cardamine cordifolia were collected for planting. Three strains of bacteria as well as jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and mock treatments were used to inoculate leaves prior to larval implantation to observe rate of larval growth in the host plant as an effect of treatment. The susceptibility to herbivores varied significantly among genotypes showing a plant response that did not differ significantly between JA and SA treatments, however, r

Fitness costs of butterfly oviposition on a lethal non-native plant in a mixed native and non-native plant community - T. Paape; S. Bailey; Mifuyu Nakajima; J. S. Reithel; Carol L. Boggs (Oecologia, 2013)

Detecting between-individual differences in hind-foot length in populations of wild animals - S. D. Côte; M. Festa-Bianchet; Julien G. A. Martin; Daniel T. Blumstein (Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2013)

Flowering date of taxonomic families predicts phenological sensitivity to temperature: Implications for forecasting the effects of climate change on unstudied taxa - T. J. Davies; N. Salamin; K. Bolmgren; B. I. Cook; S. E. Travers; S. J. Mazer; N. J. B. Kraft; David W. Inouye (American Journal of Botany, 2013)
• Premise of the study: Numerous long‐term studies in seasonal habitats have tracked interannual variation in first flowering date (FFD) in relation to climate, documenting the effect of warming on the FFD of many species. Despite these efforts, long‐term phenological observations are still lacking for many species. If we could forecast responses based on taxonomic affinity, however, then we could leverage existing data to predict the climate‐related phenological shifts of many taxa not yet studied.• Methods: We examined phenological time series of 1226 species occurrences (1031 unique species in 119 families) across seven sites in North America and England to determine whether family membership (or family mean FFD) predicts the sensitivity of FFD to standardized interannual changes in temperature and precipitation during seasonal periods before flowering and whether families differ significantly in the direction of their phenological shifts.• Key results: Patterns observed among speci

Food, refuge or both? The influence of moss on grazer assemblages in high altitude streams - M. Alvarez; B. L. Peckarsky (Freshwater Biology, 2013)

Community and Ecosystem Responses to Elevational Gradients: Processes, Mechanisms, and Insights for Global Change - M. K. Sundqvist; D. A. Wardle; Nathan J. Sanders (Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics, 2013)
Community structure and ecosystem processes often vary along elevational gradients. Their responses to elevation are commonly driven by changes in temperature, and many community- and ecosystem-level variables therefore frequently respond similarly to elevation across contrasting gradients. There are also many exceptions, sometimes because other factors such as precipitation can also vary with elevation. Given this complexity, our capacity to predict when and why the same variable responds differently among disparate elevational gradients is often limited. Furthermore, there is utility in using elevational gradients for understanding community and ecosystem responses to global climate change at much larger spatial and temporal scales than is possible through conventional ecological experiments. However, future studies that integrate elevational gradient approaches with experimental manipulations will provide powerful information that can improve predictions of climate change impacts wi

Benefits of ant attendance for aphid colonies of varying density - B. M. J. Roos (2013)
Benefits between species engaged in mutualistic interactions are often dependent on ecological context. For instance, in mutualisms in which aphids exchange food for ant protection from predators, the degree of benefit that aphids receive from ants depends on the presence of other arthropod predators. In this study I examined the influence of aphid density on the benefits that aphids (Artemisaphus artemisicola) receive from ants (Formica obscuripes). Treatments of ant presence and starting aphid density (N=5, 10, or 15) were factorially crossed on individual sagebrush stems in a field experiment. A significant increase in aphid per capita growth rate was found in the intermediate density treatment with ants present. Mirroring this relationship, the abundance of predators was highest when ants were excluded and aphid populations started at an intermediate density. No ant exclusion treatments managed to establish successful aphid colonies. These results reveal a strong benefit of ant att

Estimating the effect of temporal autocorrelated environments on the demography of density-independent age-structured populations - T. Coulson; S. Engen; F. S. Dobson; M. Festa-Bianchet; Bernt-Erik Saether; Kenneth B. Armitage; Daniel T. Blumstein (Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2013)

Won't you be my neighbor: neighborhood effect influences mycorrhizal and endophyte colonization - Dominguez K.H (2013)
Abiotic and biotic factors have been known to affect plant communities. How these factors affect root-colonizing fungus such as arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) and dark septate endophytes (DSE) fungal communities is still novel to ecology. Nitrogen addition has been shown to either increase or decrease AM colonization. Furthermore, AMF and DSE colonization has shown to be altered by host-neighbor interactions. The purpose of this study was to further understand (1) the effects that nitrogen addition has on AM and DSE colonization in Festuca thurberi and helianthella quinquenervis, (2) the effects of removing a F. thurberi has on AM and DSE colonization with H. quinquenervis, and if (3) F. thurberi's fungal community has any influence on the fungal community of H. quinquenervis. I conducted the research in a sub-alpine meadow outside of Gothic, Colorado USA. A full factorial between nitrogen additions crossed with F. thurberi removal was applied randomly to 36 plots. Soil samples were taken

Taxon Categories and the Universal Species-Area Relationship - A. J. Rominger; J. Kitzes; E. A. Newman; John Harte (The American Naturalist,, 2013)
A theory of macroecology based on the maximum information entropy (MaxEnt) inference procedure predicts that the log-log slope of the species-area relationship (SAR) at any spatial scale is a specified function of the ratio of abundance, N(A), to species richness, S(A), at that scale. The theory thus predicts, in generally good agreement with observation, that all SARs collapse onto a specified universal curve when local slope, z(A), is plotted against N(A)/S(A). A recent publication, however, argues that if it is assumed that patterns in macroecology are independent of the taxonomic choices that define assemblages of species, then this principle of "taxon invariance" precludes the MaxEnt-predicted universality of the SAR. By distinguishing two dimensions of the notion of taxon invariance, we show that while the MaxEnt-based theory predicts universality regardless of the taxonomic choices that define an assemblage of species, the biological characteristics of assemblages should under M

Long-term trends mask variation in the direction and magnitude of short-term phenological shifts - N. M. Schmidt; T. T. Hoye; Amy M. Iler; David W. Inouye (American Journal of Botany, 2013)
• Premise of the study: Plants are flowering earlier in response to climate change. However, substantial interannual variation in phenology may make it difficult to discern and compare long‐term trends. In addition to providing insight on data requirements for discerning such trends, phenological shifts within subsets of long‐term records will provide insight into the mechanisms driving changes in flowering over longer time scales.• Methods: To examine variation in flowering shifts among temporal subsets of long‐term records, we used two data sets of flowering phenology from snow‐dominated habitats: subalpine meadow in Gothic, Colorado, USA (38 yr), and arctic tundra in Zackenberg, Greenland (16 yr). Shifts in flowering time were calculated as 10‐yr moving averages for onset, peak, and end of flowering.• Key results: Flowering advanced over the course of the entire time series at both sites. Flowering shifts at Gothic were variable, with some 10‐yr time frames showing significant delay

Nutrient limitation controls the strength of behavioral trophic cascades in high elevation streams - Jennifer M. Moslemi; A. R. McIntosh; M. Alvarez; B. L. Peckarsky (Ecosphere, 2013)
Indirect effects of predators on primary producers vary over space and time. Key components of the environmental context underlying that variability include the bottom‐up supply of resources and the defense, mobility and foraging efficiency of primary consumers. We manipulated key resources that limit primary producers and tested the effects of system enrichment on the strength of top‐down interactions between top predators (Salvelinus fontinalis), different types of grazing invertebrates and algae in high elevation streams of Colorado, USA. We added nitrogen and phosphorus to flow‐through microcosms powered by stream water and tested the direct effects of chemical cues from brook trout on the behavior of sedentary, predator‐resistant (caddisflies) and mobile, predator‐vulnerable grazers (mayflies), and the indirect cascading effects of predators on: (1) the biomass of algae mediated by grazer behavior and (2) the impact of grazers on algal biomass accrual. Recognizing the value of who

Are white-crowned sparrow badges reliable signals? - G. Sampson; Z. M. Laubach; L. M. Romero; J. Foufopoulos; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2013)