Phenological change in a spring ephemeral: implications for pollination and plant fitness - Zachariah J. Gezon; Rebecca E. Irwin; David W. Inouye (Global Change Biology, 2016)
Climate change has had numerous ecological effects, including species range shifts and altered phenology. Altering flowering phenology often affects plant reproduction, but the mechanisms behind these changes are not well-under- stood. To investigate why altering flowering phenology affects plant reproduction, we manipulated flowering phe- nology of the spring herb Claytonia lanceolata (Portulacaceae) using two methods: in 2011–2013 by altering snow pack (snow-removal vs. control treatments), and in 2013 by inducing flowering in a greenhouse before placing plants in experimental outdoor arrays (early, control, and late treatments). We measured flowering phenology, pollinator visi- tation, plant reproduction (fruit and seed set), and pollen limitation. Flowering occurred approx. 10 days earlier in snow-removal than control plots during all years of snow manipulation. Pollinator visitation patterns and strength of pollen limitation varied with snow treatments, and among years. Plants in

Effects of climate change on phenologies and distributions of bumble bees and the plants they visit - G. H. Pyke; James D. Thomson; Tom E. X. Miller; David W. Inouye (Ecosphere, 2016)
AbstractSurveys of bumble bees and the plants they visit, carried out in 1974 near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado, were repeated in 2007, thus permitting the testing of hypotheses arising from observed climate change over the intervening 33‐yr period. As expected, given an increase in average air temperature with climate warming and a declining temperature with increasing elevation, there have been significant shifts toward higher elevation for queens or workers or both, for most bumble bee species, for bumble bee queens when species are combined, and for two focal plant species, with no significant downward shifts. However, contrary to our hypotheses, we failed to observe significant altitudinal changes for some bumble bee species and most plant species, and observed changes in elevation were often less than the upward shift of 317 m required to maintain average temperature. As expected, community flowering phenology shifted toward earlier in the season throughou

Discriminating Quartzite Sources Petrographically in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado: Implications for Paleoamerican Lithic-Procurement Studies - Cody L. Dalpra; Bonnie L. Pitblado (PaleoAmerica, 2016)
Archaeologists lack a protocol for systematically attributing quartzite artifacts to particular geologic sources of the material. This paper, in an effort to begin to remedy that situation, reports the preliminary results of a petrographic study of quartzite samples from the Upper Gunnison Basin (UGB), Colorado. In that region, the overwhelming predominance of quartzite (often > 90 per cent) at most archaeological sites has hampered efforts to ascertain with any certainty the mobility strategies of Paleoamerican (and later) residents. In this study, qualitative and quantitative characterization of texture and grain composition of 50 UGB quartzite specimens led to the identification of six statistically distinct groups of samples. The groups are not arbitrary divisions of the data set; rather, they are meaningful from geologic, geospatial, chronological, and human-behavioral perspectives.

Competitive context drives pollinator behavior: linking foraging plasticity, natural pollen deposition, and plant reproduction. - Heather M. Briggs (2016)
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 efficiency 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, though the potential ecosystem functional implications of such changes in specialization remain unexplored. We conducted manipulative field experiments in which we temporarily removed single pollinator species from study plots, to test the hypothesis that interactions between pollinator species can shape in

Productivity of Montane Meadows in a Warming World: Evidence from an Elevation Gradient and a Warming Experiment - Amanda Henderson (2016)
Climate change is expected to disproportionately impact high elevation ecosystems by disrupting current temperature and precipitation regimes. The future carbon balance of these systems is uncertain, given the interplay between longer growing season length and the potential for increased drought. Currently, the most robust inferences about ecosystem responses to changing climate come from the integration of experimental and observational methods. In this thesis, I utilize evidence from a warming experiment and an elevational gradient to gain insights into how aspects of ecosystem productivity and community functional composition change in response to the abiotic environment. First, I show that ecosystem productivity was similar in the heated and ambient treatment groups of the warming experiment. Net ecosystem productivity (NEP) was similar between treatments with only slightly increased NEP in the early season in the heated treatment. Important leaf functional traits (leaf mass per ar

Do Social Interactions Decrease Basal Stress Levels In Breeding Female Yellow-Bellied Marmots? - X. Ortiz Ross (2016)
In order for sociality to exist, the benefits must outweigh the costs. Benefits include better territorial defense, co-operative foraging, and predator avoidance. Costs include increased disease transmission, intraspecific competition for resources or mates, and reproductive suppression. One way to examine the costs and benefits of group living is to assess the impact of social stressors on basal glucocorticoid (GC) levels. In certain species, social interactions such as grooming have been shown to decrease basal GC levels. Since elevated levels of GC have been shown to increase mortality and decrease reproductive rates, decreased stress levels could be a benefit of social living. We investigated whether social interactions decreased stress levels in breeding female yellow-bellied marmots. We found that relationship strength, not the number of relationships, decreased stress levels in females both before and soon after their litter emergence, supporting our hypothesis that decreased ba

Colorado’s Water Wars Begin, 1920–1940 - Steven C. Schulte (University Press of Colorado eBooks, 2016)

Caddisfly behavioral responses to drying cues in temporary ponds: Implications for effects of climate change - J. O. Lund; B. L. Peckarsky; S. A. Wissinger (Freshwater Science, 2016)
Aquatic organisms that live at high latitudes and elevations are especially vulnerable to climate-change-induced alterations in snowpack, snowmelt, and evaporation rates, all of which affect basin filling and drying dates. Extraordinarily early drying events in shallow ponds and wetlands at our study sites prompted us to conduct 2 mesocosm experiments to document how proximate cues of drying modify agonistic behaviors among larvae of the caddisfly, Asynarchus nigriculus. Larvae are mainly detritivores but can be extremely aggressive and engage in mob cannibalism, perhaps to obtain a dietary supplement that hastens escape from drying basins. In one experiment, we manipulated caddisfly density to simulate the effects of crowding during pond drying. In a 2nd experiment, we reduced water levels and manipulated a protein supplement that mimics the dietary benefits of cannibalism. We quantified the effects of those manipulations on aggressive behaviors that are precursors to cannibalism and

Morphological and physiological determinants of local adaptation to climate in Rocky Mountain butterflies - L. B. Buckley; J. G. Kingsolver; H. J. MacLean; J. K. Higgins (Conservation Physiology, 2016)
Flight is a central determinant of fitness in butterflies and other insects, but it is restricted to a limited range of body temperatures. To achieve these body temperatures, butterflies use a combination of morphological, behavioural and physiological mechanisms. Here, we used common garden (without direct solar radiation) and reciprocal transplant (full solar radiation) experiments in the field to determine the thermal sensitivity of flight initiation for two species of Colias butterflies along an elevation gradient in the southwestern Rocky Mountains. The mean body temperature for flight initiation in the field was lower (24-26°C) than indicated by previous studies (28-30°C) in these species. There were small but significant differences in thermal sensitivity of flight initiation between species; high-elevation Colias meadii initiated flight at a lower mean body temperature than lower-elevation Colias eriphyle. Morphological differences (in wing melanin and thoracic setae) drive bod

Effects of Insect Damage to Helianthella quinquenervis (Asteraceae) Inflorescences on Pollinator Visitation - K. Spells (2016)
Plant reproductive success is often influenced by not only direct effects of flower-eating herbivores (florivores) consuming floral tissues, but also the indirect effects of pollinator visitation. Previous literature suggests that florivore damage can negatively influence pollinator visitation, consequently having both direct and indirect effects on plant reproductive fitness. Studies have also shown that conspecific and heterospecific floral density can increase or decrease pollinator visitation. Here I determine the effects of inflorescence damage on pollinator visitation rate of a common perennial native to the Rocky Mountains, the aspen sunflower (Helianthella quinquenervis, Asteraceae). Damage on both the ray florets and disk florets of the sunflowers were found to decrease visitation of their two most common pollinators, bumble bees (Bombus spp.) and Muscid flies (Muscidae). Visitation rate was also observed for co-flowering heterospecifics of Helianthella within 1x1 meter observ

Abiotic mediation of a mutualism drives herbivore abundance. - C. V. Tillberg; J. S. Phillips; C. A. Sandrow; Emily H Mooney; Kailen A. Mooney; Annika S. Nelson (Ecology Letters, 2016)

Site fidelity by bees drives pollination facilitation in sequentially blooming plant species - James D. Thomson; Jane E. Ogilvie (Ecology, 2016)
AbstractPlant species can influence the pollination and reproductive success of coflowering neighbors that share pollinators. Because some individual pollinators habitually forage in particular areas, it is also possible that plant species could influence the pollination of neighbors that bloom later. When flowers of a preferred forage plant decline in an area, site‐fidelity may cause individual flower feeders to stay in an area and switch plant species rather than search for preferred plants in a new location. A newly blooming plant species may quickly inherit a set of visitors from a prior plant species, and therefore experience higher pollination success than it would in an area where the first species never bloomed. To test this, we manipulated the placement and timing of two plant species, Delphinium barbeyi and later‐blooming Gentiana parryi. We recorded the responses of individually marked bumble bee pollinators. About 63% of marked individuals returned repeatedly to the same ar

Running of the buffalo: investigations of the Roberts Ranch Buffalo Jump (5LR100), northern Colorado - Knight, Richard L.; Pante, Michael C.; LaBelle, Jason M.; Christopher M. Johnston (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2016)
Since the Roberts Ranch Buffalo Jump (5LR100) was first reported on in 1971, there has been a great deal of research on bison kills and faunal analysis, as well as advancements in analytic techniques, that can now be applied to the collection from the site. Much of the collection was reported in a thesis by Max Witkind in 1971; however, some of these data are being presented here for the first time. The site is dated to approximately between A.D. 1660-1750 and consists of the remains of at minimum 19 bison adult and sub-adult bison, as well as at minimum eight fetal bison. This thesis examines the collection from three different perspectives. It starts by analyzing the non-bone artifact assemblage, which includes different styles of arrow points, at least two different ceramic traditions, and a modified bone assemblage. These data show that much of the past site activities focused on butchery and processing of bison, but other activities were also carried out at the site. The next sect

PENGARUH EKUITAS MEREK TERHADAP MINAT BELI ULANG PADA KEDAI KOPI BLACK CANYON MALL JAMTOS - S. U. K. M. A. BAKTI (Jurnal Manajemen Terapan dan Keuangan, 2016)
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui Pengaruh Ekuitas Merek Terhadap Minat Beli Ulang Pada Kedai Kopi Black Canyon Mall Jamtos Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di Pada Kedai Kopi Black Canyon Mall Jamtos . Model penelitian yang digunakan yakni dengan metode observasi, wawancara, kuesioner dan studi kepustakaan yang dilakukan secara sistematik berdasarkan tujuan penelitian. Metode analisis yang digunakan adalah dengan metode analisis regresi linear berganda, dengan menggunakan uji hipotesis yaitu uji F dan uji t. Kemudian menggunakan perhitungan korelasi regresi berganda untuk mengetahui seberapa besar pengaruh dan signifikansi Pengaruh Ekuitas Merek Terhadap Minat Beli Ulang Pada Kedai Kopi Black Canyon Mall JamtosDari hasil analisis regresi dapat diketahui persamaan regresi berganda sebagai berikut: Y = 1,327 + 0,433X1 + 0,167X2 + 0,228X3 + e . Berdasarkan uji t, hasil yang diperoleh bahwa semua variabel ekuitas merek yaitu kesadaran merek,citra merek dan persepsi kua

Sixty-five years of change in montane plant communities in Western Colorado, USA - Stephanie Zorio; K. A. Aho; C.F. (Rick) Williams (Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 2016)
Documenting and predicting patterns of vegetation change over time are challenging due to a lack of sufficiently detailed historical data for comparison. Montane plant communities are expected to respond to anthropogenic disturbance, including climate change, in complex ways dependent on component species' responses to changing abiotic and biotic conditions. To investigate the patterns and possible causes of temporal changes in montane plant communities, we resampled 121 transects surveyed by Jean Langenheim from 1948 to 1952 in the East River Basin near Crested Butte, Colorado, U.S.A. Langenheim quantified the composition of the four predominant community types (sagebrush, spruce-fir, upland-herbaceous, and alpine) at sites ranging from 2600 to 4100 m in elevation. Our resurvey of the same sites 65 years later revealed that all four communities currently have much higher levels of heterogeneity among sites and have experienced significant changes in species composition and dominance.

Solutions for archiving data in long-term studies - a reply to Whitlock et al. - D. Reale; P. H. Becker; D. F. Westneat; B. Doligez; N. J. Dingemanse; H. Drummond; A. Margalida; F. Daunt; T. Part; L. Lens; A. Zedrosser; J. C. Coulson; et al. (Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 2016)
The objective of the recent paper was to define practices to simultaneously maximize the benefits and minimize the potential unwanted consequences of PDA.

Testing for the genetic basis of cold tolerance in a wild mustard - W. De Vries (2016)
Overwinter survival and cold tolerance are complex quantitative traits that are important in understanding adaptation to different environments. I evaluated 422 genotypes of Boechera stricta, originating form different geographic locations and elevations, in a common garden genome wide association study (GWAS) experiment in the Rocky Mountains. I measured overwinter survival in 3895 GWAS plants that have been fully sequenced as a part of the original experiment. Using sequenced genetic information from the plants, I looked for correlations between survival and genetic variation in a quantitative trait locus previously implicated in cold tolerance adaptation in this species. I found variation in overwinter survival across broad population groups reflecting different genetic and evolutionary histories, as well as in relation to one aspect of genetic variation within the quantitative trait locus specifically. The population groups Utah and West had higher survival rates than those from Co

Drought, pollen and nectar availability, and pollination success - Mary V. Price; Nickolas M. Waser (Ecology, 2016)
AbstractPollination success of animal‐pollinated flowers depends on rate of pollinator visits and on pollen deposition per visit, both of which should vary with the pollen and nectar “neighborhoods” of a plant, i.e., with pollen and nectar availability in nearby plants. One determinant of these neighborhoods is per‐flower production of pollen and nectar, which is likely to respond to environmental influences. In this study, we explored environmental effects on pollen and nectar production and on pollination success in order to follow up a surprising result from a previous study: flowers of Ipomopsis aggregata received less pollen in years of high visitation by their hummingbird pollinators. A new analysis of the earlier data indicated that high bird visitation corresponded to drought years. We hypothesized that drought might contribute to the enigmatic prior result if it decreases both nectar and pollen production: in dry years, low nectar availability could cause hummingbirds to visit

Effects of Helianthella quinquenervis Extrafloral Nectaries on Ant Abundance and Community Structure - J. Schurkman (2016)
The beneficial effects of ants to myrmecophilous species is well established, but there is little empirical evidence demonstrating the benefits of such interactions for ants. The intent of this experiment was to determine how ants are affected by their interaction with the Aspen sunflower (Helianthella quinquenervis). Ants forage on Aspen sunflower extra floral nectaries (EFN) as a carbohydrate source. Twenty 7 m diameter plots were established in a field site (Maxfield Meadow) located at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic Colorado. Half of the plots had EFN removed, the others did not. Through pitfall traps it was found that four groups of ants occupy the meadow, Tapinoma sessile, Myrmicinae, Formica fusca, and Formica rufa. By doing visual surveys of plant stems, it was found that Formica fusca and Tapinoma sessile are the predominant taxa foraging on EFN. Forager and colony abundance was not affected by EFN removal based upon pitfall trapping and examination of artif

Sex-specific responses to climate change in plants alter population sex ratios and performance. - Judith D. Soule; Ana Chicas-Mosier; William K. Petry; Tom E. X. Miller; Kailen A. Mooney; Amy M. Iler; David W. Inouye (Science, 2016)
Changing sex ratiosClimate-warming temperatures might be expected to affect the sex ratio of species if sex determination is temperature-dependent. Petryet al.show that indirect climate effects could also alter sex ratios in species in which sex is genetically determined and damage reproductive fitness (see the Perspective by Etterson and Mazer). Over four decades, sex ratios in populations of a dioecious alpine plant have shifted toward females as a result of the different water needs of the male and female plants. The lack of males has reduced the reproductive success and fitness of the females. Similar subtle differences between sexes in environmental sensitivities could eventually lead to population declines.Science, this issue p.69; see also p.32

How diploidization turned a tetraploid into a pseudotriploid - M. A. Lysak; T. Mandakova; A. D. Gloss; Noah K Whiteman (American Journal of Botany, 2016)

The Colorado River Revisited - Jason Anthony Robison (SSRN Electronic Journal, 2016)

Colorado's Water: A Problem Rooted in Geography and History - Steven C. Schulte (University Press of Colorado eBooks, 2016)

Populations of aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) with different evolutionary histories differ in their climate occupancy - Christina Tague; G. T. Howe; D. A. Roberts; B. T. Greer; Christopher Still (Ecology and Evolution, 2016)
AbstractQuaking aspens (Populus tremuloides Michx.) are found in diverse habitats throughout North America. While the biogeography of aspens' distribution has been documented, the drivers of the phenotypic diversity of aspen are still being explored. In our study, we examined differences in climate between northern and southwestern populations of aspen, finding large‐scale differences between the populations. Our results suggest that northern and southwestern populations live in distinct climates and support the inclusion of genetic and phenotypic data with species distribution modeling for predicting aspens' distribution.

Altitudinal gradients do not predict plant-symbiont responses to experimental warming. - Melanie R Kazenel (2016)

Reproductive Ecology of Female Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels - Caitlin P. Wells (2016)

Mysteries of road dust: Does road dust influence flower lifespan in scarlet gilia? - D. A. Lopez (2016)
This study aims to explore the exciting mysteries of road dust. In the beautiful Rocky Mountains, at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in western Colorado, there is an amazing diversity of plants, but one in particular near unpaved roads is Ipomopsis aggregata, Scarlet gilia, a perennial flowering plant. In this paper I unveil the effects that road dust has on the stigma closure rates on Ipomopsis aggregata. To find out this mystery, armed with a hand lens and a duster, I keep track of 216 individual flowers to see the influence of road dust. Interestingly, road dust decreases floral lifespan, and female longevity. The stigma position in these flowers also plays a role in the floral lifespan of this plant, with weather having surprising effect. With all these factors, the evidence suggests that road dust influences stigma closure rates, and therefore influence the pollen loads.

A framework for assessing feasibility of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) project sites - Strong, Kelly C.; Avi Sharma; Ozbek, Mehmet E.; Francis, James (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2016)
After the Second World War, America saw a decline in ridership on transit systems which eventually resulted in the dismantling and abandonment of many rail systems. The primary mode of public transportation shifted from transit to buses, which used the same streets and competed with the same infrastructure capacity as automobiles. For this reason, bus systems also started to fail when people realized that if they have to wait for the traffic, they might as well do it in their own automobile, which provides higher flexibility of timing and route (Ditmar, Belzer and Autler, 2004). This shift, in effect, resulted in more congestion. To counter the problem of congestion resulting from modern urbanization, society developed the idea of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD). TOD (or similar concepts like transit village, transit-friendly design, and transit-supportive development) is a type of development designed in a fashion that encourages the use of public transit and the creation of pedest

Larval feeding behavior and leaf components that affect the survival of Pieris macdunnoughii on the invasive mustard Thlaspi arvense - L. M. Fisher (2016)
Pieris macdunnoughii, a butterfly native to the Rock Mountains in Colorado, is a specialist on mustard plants. An invasive mustard, Thlaspi arvense, introduced approximately 100 years ago creates an evolutionary trap for P. macdunnoughii due to the chemical signals that encourage ovipositioning, but it does not support larval development. Such interactions suggest larvae will develop means to successfully feed on T. arvense. First instar feeding behavior on T. arvense was compared to behavior on native host plants, Cardamine cordifolia and Descurainia incana. In laboratory trials, larvae were given T. arvense or C. cordifolia and photographed in two hour intervals for gut content. The results show that larvae fill their guts soon after encountering C. cordifolia, but for T. arvense larvae eat only small amounts of leaves and hardly fill their guts, exhibiting deterrent properties. Similar patterns of herbivory were observed in field trials where larvae were placed on either T. arvense

The Effects of Ants on Ecosystem Dynamics: Investigating the Ecological Influence of Ant Nests in the Rocky Mountains - W. Arnold (2016)
Formica obscuripes, or the Western Thatching Ant, is a native North American ant species commonly found throughout the central and western US. Like many ant species, F. obscuripes acts as an ecosystem engineer, as colonies can significantly alter the nutrient content, moisture content, temperature, and pH of the soil when constructing and maintaining their nests. And while the immediate effects of F. obscuripes on the local environment are well known, it is not quite well understood how these shifts in the physical and chemical properties of the substrate affect larger ecosystem processes. As many plant and fungal species are sensitive to factors such as soil moisture and nutrient availability, we hypothesized these biotic communities would alter in composition, abundance, and diversity as ants altered the immediate environment. We explored the effect of ant nests on soil properties, plant community composition, and belowground fungal communities. As part of that, we sampled and assess

Paleoindian archaeology of the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado Rocky Mountains - Bonnie L. Pitblado (North American Archaeologist, 2016)
The past two decades have seen a fluorescence of work at Paleoindian sites in Colorado’s Upper Gunnison Basin (UGB). This article presents and synthesizes the results of that work in two parts, the first, a landscape-scale analysis of 82 UGB Paleoindian components as reported in Colorado state site files; the second, a higher-resolution analysis of Paleoindian sites excavated in recent years. Conclusions include that starting as early as Folsom time, Paleoindian groups occupied the UGB year-round, and that UGB Paleoindian settlement strategies varied significantly both synchronically and diachronically. Both findings relate in large part to the enormously diverse resource base of the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene Rocky Mountains in general and UGB in particular.

Historical changes in thermoregulatory traits of alpine butterflies reveal complex ecological and evolutionary responses to recent climate change - J. G. Kingsolver; H. J. MacLean; L. B. Buckley (Climate Change Responses, 2016)
Background: Trait evolution and plasticity are expected to interactively influence responses to climate change, but rapid changes in and increased variability of temperature may limit evolutionary responses. We use historical specimens to document changes in the size and thermoregulatory traits of a montane butterfly, Colias meadii, in Colorado, USA over the past 60 years (1953–2012). We quantify forewing wing length, ventral wing melanin that increases solar absorption, and the length of thorax setae that reduces convective heat loss. Results: The mean of all three traits has increased during this time period despite climate warming. Phenological shifts may have extended the active season earlier at low elevations and later at high elevations, increasing exposure to cool temperatures and selecting for increases in thermoregulatory traits. Fitness increases at higher elevations due to warming could also increase thermoregulatory traits. Warmer temperatures during pupal development and

Stare Decisis: Dueling Legal Interpretations of the Douglas County, Colorado Choice Scholarship Program - Robert A. Fox (Journal of School Choice, 2016)
In the absence of incontrovertible performance data in support of, or opposition to, school vouchers, court decisions on their legality become increasingly important. Analysis of legal challenges provides a rich opportunity for scholars and policymakers to follow arguments for or against their positions. We present a chronicle of the litigation history of the Douglas County, Colorado Choice Scholarship Program; a voucher program incorporating religious-based “public school partners” in which voucher recipients may enroll. We take particular notice of the differences in the way identical fact bases are interpreted by successive jurists. At this writing, the Choice Scholarship Program has been permanently enjoined from operating but further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court would surprise no one.

Floodplain Price Impacts by Property Type in Boulder County, Colorado: Condominiums Versus Standalone Properties - James R. Meldrum (Environmental and Resource Economics, 2016)

Strain diversity and host specificity in a specialized gut symbiont of honeybees and bumblebees - John Wesley Powell; N. Ratneyeke; N. A. Moran (Molecular Ecology, 2016)
AbstractHost‐restricted lineages of gut bacteria often include many closely related strains, but this fine‐scale diversity is rarely investigated. The specialized gut symbiont Snodgrassella alvi has codiversified with honeybees (Apis mellifera) and bumblebees (Bombus) for millions of years. Snodgrassella alvi strains are nearly identical for 16S rRNA gene sequences but have distinct gene repertoires potentially affecting host biology and community interactions. We examined S. alvi strain diversity within and between hosts using deep sequencing both of a single‐copy coding gene (minD) and of the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene. We sampled workers from domestic and feral A. mellifera colonies and wild‐caught Bombus representing 14 species. Conventional analyses of community profiles, based on the V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene, failed to expose most strain variation. In contrast, the minD analysis revealed extensive strain variation within and between host species and individuals. Snodgra

The effects of Na pulses on subalpine ecosystems - R. Fitzpatrick (2016)
Sodium is an essential nutrient for all animals, and in terrestrial ecosystems it is often difficult for plant consumers to obtain the necessary amount of Na since plants generally do not prosper in high salt environments. While carnivores get adequate salt due to bioaccumulation from their prey, herbivores are limited by Na and often must seek out salt deposits or drink urine to maintain osmotic balance. In ecosystems far from the ocean this Na craving is thought to be even higher. In this study, I used three different experiments in and around the Gothic townsite in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado to examine the use of Na in subalpine ecosystems. These ecosystems have significant Na shortfall; plant and nectar consumers are drawn to resourcess that have higher salt concentrations. Large mammalian herbivores (e.g., deer) grazed selectively in plots sprayed with a 1% NaCl solution suggesting that they have adapted to detect even small amounts of salt. This grazing had cascading consequ

Captive-breeding of captive and wild-reared Gunnison sage-grouse - Lief A. Wiechman (Zoo Biology, 2016)
Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) distribution in North America has decreased over historical accounts and has received federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. We investigated captive-breeding of a captive-flock of Gunnison sage-grouse created from individuals reared in captivity from wild-collected eggs we artificially incubated. We also introduced wild-reared individuals into captivity. Our captive-flock successfully bred and produced fertile eggs. We controlled the timing and duration of male-female breeding interactions and facilitated a semi-natural mating regime. Males established a strutting ground in captivity that females attended for mate selection. In 2010, we allowed females to establish eight nests, incubate, and hatch eggs. Females in captivity were more successful incubating nests than raising broods. Although there are many technical, financial, and logistic issues associated with captive-breeding, we recommend that federal biologists and managers

Persistence of high elevation fens in the Southern Rocky Mountains, on Grand Mesa, Colorado, U.S.A. - George Austin; David J. Cooper (Wetlands Ecology and Management, 2016)

The effect of demographic correlations on the stochastic population dynamics of perennial plants - Michelle E. Sneck; Bret D. Elderd; Haldre S. Rogers; Brad M. Ochocki; Hans Jacquemyn; Andrew J. Bibian; Emily L. Schultz; Aldo Compagnoni; Tom E. X. Miller; Amy M. Iler; David W. Inouye (Ecological Monographs, 2016)
AbstractUnderstanding the influence of environmental variability on population dynamics is a fundamental goal of ecology. Theory suggests that, for populations in variable environments, temporal correlations between demographic vital rates (e.g., growth, survival, reproduction) can increase (if positive) or decrease (if negative) the variability of year‐to‐year population growth. Because this variability generally decreases long‐term population viability, vital rate correlations may importantly affect population dynamics in stochastic environments. Despite long‐standing theoretical interest, it is unclear whether vital rate correlations are common in nature, whether their directions are predominantly negative or positive, and whether they are of sufficient magnitude to warrant broad consideration in studies of stochastic population dynamics. We used long‐term demographic data for three perennial plant species, hierarchical Bayesian parameterization of population projection models, and

Controls on selenium distribution and mobilization in an irrigated shallow groundwater system underlain by Mancos Shale, Uncompahgre River Basin, Colorado, USA - John A. Thomas; Gabrielle Keith; Taylor J. Mills; M. Alisa Mast (Science of The Total Environment, 2016)
Groundwater Se concentrations ranged from below detection limit (<0.5μgL(-1), and primarily are controlled by high groundwater nitrate concentrations that maintain oxidizing conditions in the aquifer despite low dissolved oxygen concentrations, which indicate nitrate is largely derived from natural sources in the Mancos Shale and alluvial material.

Nesting aggregation as a determinant of brood parasitism in mason bees (Osmia spp.) - A. Groulx (2016)
Identifying forces that affect population dynamics can allow us to better understand the

The Douglas County Model in Western Colorado - Mark Noble; John A. Thomas (Journal of Library Administration, 2016)
In 2012 the Marmot Library Network implemented the Douglas County Library Model of ebook collection and circulation. By 2014 Marmot had loaded 838 ebooks purchased direct from publishers and independent authors to an Adobe Content Server, and made them available in an open source discovery layer based on VuFind. In late 2015, after 3 years of disappointing circulation and tedious acquisition processes, Marmot decided to move some of this collection to OverDrive and abandon the local ACS. This article reports lessons learned from that experiment.Column Editor’s Note This column focuses on formal collaboration and networking among libraries through consortia. It offers in-depth examinations of issues facing modern library consortia including (but not limited to) e-resource licensing, ebooks, next generation integrated library systems, shared print programs, shared digital repositories, governance, cooperative services and other relevant topics. Contributions are accepted for this column

Pinedale glacial history of the upper Arkansas River valley - Ralph R. Shroba; Charles M. Russell; Jason P. Briner; Avriel D. Schweinsberg; Joseph M. Licciardi; Eric M. Leonard (Geological Society of America eBooks, 2016)
This field trip guidebook chapter outlines the glacial history of the upper Arkansas River valley, Colorado, and builds on a previous GSA field trip to the same area in 2010. The following will be presented: (1) new cosmogenic 10Be exposure ages of moraine boulders from the Pinedale and Bull Lake glaciations (Marine Isotope Stages 2 and 6, respectively) located adjacent to the Twin Lakes Reservoir, (2) numerical modeling of glaciers during the Pinedale glaciation in major tributaries draining into the upper Arkansas River, (3) discharge estimates for glacial-lake outburst floods in the upper Arkansas River valley, and (4) 10Be ages on flood boulders deposited downvalley from the moraine sequences. This research was stimulated by a new geologic map of the Granite 7.5’ quadrangle, in which the mapping of surficial deposits was revised based in part on the interpretation of newly acquired LiDAR data and field investigations. The new 10Be ages of the Pinedale terminal moraine at Twin Lakes

Geographic divergence in upper thermal limits across insect life stages: does behavior matter? - J. G. Kingsolver; H. J. MacLean; J. K. Higgins; L. B. Buckley (Oecologia, 2016)
The findings are inconsistent with the hypothesis that thermoregulatory behavior inhibits the geographic divergence of physiological traits in mobile stages, and suggest that sessile stages may evolve similar heat tolerances in different environments due to microclimatic variability or evolutionary constraints.

Effects of larval dietary restriction on body morphology, with implications for flight and life history - Carol L. Boggs (Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 2016)
AbstractMany morphological traits of adult insects show a plastic response to larval environmental conditions. Past studies of Lepidoptera, other than on irruptive species, focused on species with specific ecologies or life histories. These studies must be interpreted in the context of past selection associated with those specializations. Here, we examined the effects on adult morphology of quantitative dietary restriction in the late last instar of Speyeria mormonia Edwards (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Heliconiini). This univoltine species lives in open populations in montane meadows. Adults fed ad libitum as larvae on Viola sororia Willd. (Violaceae) were larger than those fed a restricted diet, for wet and dry body mass, dry mass of head, thorax, or abdomen, and forewing length. Females were larger than males for all but head mass. However, both males and individuals fed a restricted diet had a heavier head and thorax as a proportion of total mass, indicating conservation of visual or

Multi-decadal and multi-centennial variability in Colorado River streamflow - Reza Namdar Ghanbari; Sajad Ahmad Hamidi (International Journal of River Basin Management, 2016)
A 1240-year-long record of reconstructed annual flows of the Colorado River at Lees Ferry is analysed using singular spectrum analysis and multi-taper method of spectral analysis. Spectral analysis of the 100-year-long recent record of annual flows of Colorado River in the measured and reconstructed forms shows similar oscillations in high- and low-frequency bands. Therefore, the oscillatory components and trends extracted from the reconstructed data are a good representative of inter-annual, multi-decadal, and multi-centennial variability of natural flow in the river. In Colorado River the length of flow data is 1240 years and multi-centennial and multi-decadal oscillatory components can be extracted at a high confidence level. In this research we attempt to find whether the changes in streamflow in the twentieth century are due to an external cause such as climate change or whether they are part of the natural variability of flow observed in the past. The results suggest that there i

Seasonal variation in the secondary chemistry of foliar and reproductive tissues of Delphinium nuttallianum. - A. H. Slominski; J. A. Pfister; D. R. Gardner; Daniel Cook; Rebecca E. Irwin (Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 2016)

Selenium Biofortification and Phytoremediation Phytotechnologies: A Review - Elizabeth A. H. Pilon‐Smits; Michela Schiavon (Journal of Environmental Quality, 2016)
The element selenium (Se) is both essential and toxic for most life forms, with a narrow margin between deficiency and toxicity. Phytotechnologies using plants and their associated microbes can address both of these problems. To prevent Se toxicity due to excess environmental Se, plants may be used to phytoremediate Se from soil or water. To alleviate Se deficiency in humans or livestock, crops may be biofortified with Se. These two technologies may also be combined: Se‐enriched plant material from phytoremediation could be used as green fertilizer or as fortified food. Plants may also be used to “mine” Se from seleniferous soils. The efficiency of Se phytoremediation and biofortification may be further optimized. Research in the past decades has provided a wealth of knowledge regarding the mechanisms by which plants take up, metabolize, accumulate, and volatilize Se and the role plant‐associated microbes play in these processes. Furthermore, ecological studies have revealed important

Natal philopatry varies with larval condition in salamanders - Michael P. Moore; Howard Whiteman (Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2016)
An important, long-lasting role of the natal environment on reproductive site selection is suggested, and the conditions experienced in early development can strongly affect reproductive behaviors across the life cycle, as well as differences in philopatry based on natal pond.

Assessing the sensitivity of foraging and vigilance to internal state and environmental variables in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris). - H. E. Chmura; T. W. Wey; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2016)

Observed forest sensitivity to climate implies large changes in 21st century North American forest growth - Margaret E. K. Evans; Benjamin Poulter; Valerie M. Trouet; Sydne Record; David Frank; Flurin Babst; Noah D. Charney; Brian J. Enquist (Ecology Letters, 2016)
AbstractPredicting long‐term trends in forest growth requires accurate characterisation of how the relationship between forest productivity and climatic stress varies across climatic regimes. Using a network of over two million tree‐ring observations spanning North America and a space‐for‐time substitution methodology, we forecast climate impacts on future forest growth. We explored differing scenarios of increased water‐use efficiency (WUE) due to CO2‐fertilisation, which we simulated as increased effective precipitation. In our forecasts: (1) climate change negatively impacted forest growth rates in the interior west and positively impacted forest growth along the western, southeastern and northeastern coasts; (2) shifting climate sensitivities offset positive effects of warming on high‐latitude forests, leaving no evidence for continued ‘boreal greening’; and (3) it took a 72% WUE enhancement to compensate for continentally averaged growth declines under RCP 8.5. Our results highlig

Bill Morphology and Niche Partitioning in Selasphorus platycercus - I. Chen (2016)
It has often been stated that the bill shape of hummingbirds is an example of ecological adaptation, as the morphology of their bills are strongly associated with flower nectar resources (Bleiweiss 1999). ​ Broadtailed hummingbirds (​Selasphorus platycercus) are considered the most characteristic hummingbird of the Rocky Mountain region (Grant & Grant 1968). At the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Gothic, Colorado, the ecology and behavior of Broadtailed hummingbirds have been studied, but the reason behind why Broadtailed hummingbirds visit specific flowers has yet to be thoroughly examined. To explore this question, we caught a total of 198 Broadtailed hummingbirds in the summer of 2016 and measured their bill length, width, and curvature. We found that females have significantly longer, wider, and curvier bills. In addition, we examined the association between sex and flower visitation using pollen swabs as a proxy for flower visitation. A total of 13 species of po

The fingerprints of global climate change on insect populations - Carol L. Boggs (Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2016)
Synthesizing papers from the last two years, generalizations about the fingerprints of climate change on insects' population dynamics and phenology are examined to show that knowledge of effects ofClimate change is still biased by organism and geographic region, and to some extent by scale of climate parameter.

Assessing best management practices for the remediation of selenium in surface water in an irrigated agricultural river valley: sampling, modeling, and multi-criteria decision analysis - Brent E. Heesemann; Bailey, Ryan T.; Hoag, Dana L.; Gates, Timothy K. (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2016)
The ecological impacts of selenium have been studied for decades and regulatory standards established in an effort to mitigate them. Agricultural activities in regions with high levels of alluvial selenium can lead to in-stream levels that far exceed regulatory limits. Agricultural best management practices (BMPs) are being considered to reduce in-stream selenium concentrations, but exploring the potential effectiveness of these BMPs can only be done after gaining an understanding of the in-stream processes that govern the speciation and transport of selenium in response to loading from irrigation return flows. This study uses extensive field data enhanced by numerical modeling to achieve this. In-stream water and sediment selenium samples, collected over a period of eight years in a region of Colorado’s Lower Arkansas River Valley, were analyzed. A sensitivity analysis (SA) was performed on a two part steady-state water quality / solute transport numerical model capable of simulating

Declining recruitment of Gunnison Sage-Grouse highlights the need to monitor juvenile survival - Amy J. Davis; Michael L. Phillips; Paul F. Doherty (The Condor, 2016)
Recruitment of juveniles is an important vital rate that influences population growth and is fundamental to understanding trends in population size. Estimates of recruitment are often focused on the period just after hatching (prefledgling stage), which is typically the lowest survival period and often the most variable. Few studies examine true recruitment—survival from hatching to entering the breeding population—although this information is more relevant to understanding population trends. We studied the recruitment of Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus), a federally threatened species in the U.S., to examine the relative importance of chick and juvenile survival to recruitment patterns. We evaluated recruitment from 2005 to 2010 by combining separate estimates of chick survival (hatching to 30 days of age) and juvenile survival (31 days of age to the start of the first breeding season). To explain variation in these survival rates, we examined the effects of population, ind

EPISODIC UPLIFT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS: EVIDENCE FROM U-PB DETRITAL ZIRCON GEOCHRONOLOGY AND LOW-TEMPERATURE THERMOCHRONOLOGY WITH A CHAPTER ON USING MOBILE TECHNOLOGY FOR GEOSCIENCE EDUCATION - Maria Magdalena Sandoval Donahue (UNM’s Digital Repository (University of New Mexico), 2016)
The timing and processes of development of the high topography and high relief of the southern Rocky Mountains of Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico has been controversial for over a hundred years. The Mesozoic and Paleozoic rocks in the region formed a 3-4 km thick sub-horizontal stratigraphy that resided at elevations of zero to minus 4 km at the end of the Cretaceous. These units have been differentially uplifted/subsided and are presently at elevations of -10 to 4 km elevations, and have been eroded from above the core of many Precambrian basement cored uplifts exposed in > 4 km peaks. This study applies several different methodologies towards understanding the timing and relative importance of the events that uplifted and shaped the Rocky Mountains. These studies include incision studies (Chapter 1), detrital zircon analysis of Cenozoic fluvial deposits resting on the Rocky Mountain Erosion Surface (Chapter 2), and low temperature apatite fission track (AFT) and U-Th/He (AHe) low te

Frost sensitivity of leaves and flowers of subalpine plants is related to tissue type and phenology. - Justin A. Bain; Paul J. CaraDonna (Journal of Ecology, 2016)

Writing an Effective Response to a Manuscript Review - B. W. Taylor (Freshwater Science, 2016)
An author’s response to referees’ comments is a key component of the peer review process that affects whether a manuscript is accepted or rejected, the speed at which a manuscript moves through the review process, the workload of editors and referees, and the quality and clarity of published science. However, guidance on how to write a response to manuscript reviews is lacking from the instructions for authors of most journals and from science writing manuals. I offer some recommendations for authors, referees, and journals that can be implemented easily to improve the response to reviews and, thereby, enhance the publishing and reviewing process for authors, referees, and editors.

Who pays? Intra- versus inter-generational costs of reproduction - J. A. Moore; Caitlin P. Wells; D. H. Van Vuren (Ecosphere, 2016)
AbstractReproduction is thought to be costly for female mammals due to high energetic costs associated with pregnancy and lactation. Such costs of reproduction can be particularly high for younger females, who are less experienced and smaller than fully grown adults, and can manifest themselves within (intra‐individual or intra‐generational trade‐offs) or between (inter‐generational trade‐offs) generations. Using lifetime survival and reproductive histories of 416 female golden‐mantled ground squirrels (Callospermophilus lateralis) in Colorado, USA, we tested for the evidence of intra‐ and inter‐generational trade‐offs between age of first reproduction and fitness and its components. Females who waited to begin reproduction lived longer but they did not experience a greater number of lifetime reproductive events, did not produce larger litters, nor did they have higher lifetime reproductive success than those females who attained reproductive maturity earlier. However, delaying age of

Do bees show response diversity to environmental variables in a montane ecosystem? - S. K. Z. Cook (2016)
With climate change threatening a wide variety of organisms and ecosystems, expanding our knowledge of how they will respond is vital for making predictions and conservation decisions. One important group of organisms impacted by climate change is the wild bees, which provide an essential ecosystem service through their role as plant pollinators. Therefore, in an effort to understand better how bees are responding to changing weather patterns, we examined how the abundances of different species changed with response to environmental variables. Additionally, we looked at the relationship between response diversity and environmental variables and bee traits. We sampled bees at three groups of sites at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab in Gothic, CO, using pan traps and netting, and collected environmental data on yearly wind, precipitation, and temperature from nearby weather stations. Using generalized linear models we found that different species exhibited significant responses to diff

Effects of experimental warming on herbivory and fungal pathogen load on subalpine grasses - Ian W. McCowen (2016)
Rising global temperatures are predicted to alter community dynamics by shifting species ranges and altering biotic interactions. Herbivory is expected to increase with prolonged growing seasons and heightened animal metabolic rates; pathogen damage may increase as well. Thus, we investigated whether damage by herbivores and pathogens on subalpine grass species would increase with warming. We compared percentage aboveground herbivory and foliar pathogen loads on three grass species (Festuca thurberi, Poa pratensis, and Achnatherum lettermanii) using a long-term experimental warming treatment in which plots subjected to experimental warming by infrared heaters alternated with ambient control plots. Within our warming plots there was an increase in the magnitude of herbivory for two of the three subalpine grass species observed. This increase in herbivory suggests that with global warming the damage from insects on grasses will can increase, but may be species specific.

Carbon Dioxide Fluxes in Alpine and Subalpine Soils of the East River Watershed - Maeve McCormick (2016)

Assessment of resource changes in backcountry campsites from 1989-1996 in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado - Victoria Grace Steele (Montana State University ScholarWorks (Montana State University), 2015)
One of the major contributing factors affecting wilderness resources is camping.The objectives of this study were to describe the resource changes that occur in backcountry campsites in Rocky Mountain National Park as measured by campsite area and campsite score from the Backcountry Campsite Impact Assessment and Monitoring System (BCIAMS).Six categories, with several sub-categories each, were tested for change in area and total BCIAMS score.Categories were relative aspect, campfire, campsite type, distance from the trailhead, elevation and use.Each sub-category was analyzed independently and for each test, missing area measurements, or total scores of zero were dropped from that analysis.This produced different numbers of campsites in each test.Most sites increased in area over time, but most sites decreased in total score over time.Sites that increased significantly in area over time were: northeast, southeast, northwest, no fire, campfire, individual, any distance from the trailhead

First report of a giant neosuchian (Crocodyliformes) in the Williams Fork Formation (Upper Cretaceous: Campanian) of Colorado (Cretaceous Research, 2015)

Social and ecological aspects of conservation development as a strategy for biodiversity conservation on private lands - Cooper M. Farr; Bailey, Larissa L.; Reed, Sarah E.; Seidl, Andrew F.; Pejchar, Liba (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Private lands harbor a large proportion of the world’s biodiversity, and they are also facing widespread threats from extractive land uses, anthropogenic disturbances, and land conversion for residential and commercial development. With decreased funding and support for public land acquisition and management, developing effective and economically viable tools for conservation on private lands is increasingly important. One method is conservation development (CD), an alternative to residential sprawl designed to decrease negative environmental impacts by clustering houses in a small portion of a property while preserving the remaining land as protected open space. Although CD makes up approximately one-fourth of all of the private lands conserved in the U.S., little research has assessed where and why this tool is implemented, long-term management of CD open space, or specific positive or negative effects on wildlife communities. I conducted a thorough investigation of CD as a private l

Timing is everything: Phenological change and the implications for plants, pollinators and their interactions. - Zachariah J. Gezon (2015)

Impacts of climate change on the formation and stability of late Quaternary sand sheets and falling dunes, Black Mesa region, southern Colorado Plateau, USA - Leslie D. McFadden; Shannon A. Mahan; Amy L. Ellwein (Quaternary International, 2015)

Skill Assessment of Water Supply Outlooks in the Colorado River Basin - Brent Harrison; Roger Bales (Hydrology, 2015)
Water-supply outlooks that predict the April through July (snowmelt) runoff and assist in estimating the total water-year runoff, are very important to users that rely on the major contributing watersheds of the Colorado River. This study reviewed the skill level of April through July forecasts at 28 forecast points within the Colorado River basin. All the forecasts were made after 1950, with considerable variation in time period covered. Evaluations of the forecasts were made using summary measures, correlation measures and categorical measures. The summary measure, a skill score for mean absolute error, indicated a steady increase in forecast skill through the forecast season of January to May. The width of the distribution for each monthly forecast over the 28 locations remained similar through the forecast season. The Nash-Sutcliffe score, a correlation measure, showed similar results, with the Nash-Sutcliffe median showing an increase from 0.4 to 0.8 during the forecast season. Th

Empowering collaborative forest restoration with locally relevant ecological research - Binkley, Daniel; Reid, Robin S.; Battaglia, Mike A.; Megan Matonis; Steingraeber, David A. (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Collaborative forest restoration can reduce conflicts over natural resource management and improve ecosystem function after decades of degradation. Scientific evidence helps collaborative groups avoid undesirable outcomes as they define goals, assess current conditions, design restoration treatments, and monitor change over time. Ecological research cannot settle value disputes inherent to collaborative dialogue, but discussions are enriched by locally relevant information on pressing natural resource issues. I worked closely with the Uncompahgre Partnership, a collaborative group of managers, stakeholders, and researchers in southwestern Colorado, to develop research questions, gather data, and interpret findings in the context of forest restoration. Specifically, my dissertation (1) explored ways to better align collaborative goals with ecological realities of dynamic and unpredictable ecosystems; (2) defined undesirable conditions for fire behavior based on modeling output, publishe

Bee- to bird-pollination shifts in Penstemon: effects of floral-lip removal and corolla constriction on bumble bee preference - M. C. Castellanos; J. L. Zung; James D. Thomson; Jessica R.K. Forrest (Evolutionary Ecology, 2015)

The effects of primary and secondary nectar robbing of Ipomopsis aggregata on hummingbird visitation. - Cherie J. Nelson (2015)
Nectar robbers feed on the nectar obtained through holes that have been chewed into the flower. This behavior often leads to a reduction in effective pollination because nectar robbers avoid floral reproductive structures (Inouye 1980). Primary nectar robbers puncture the flower, creating an opening in the petal from which to remove nectar, while secondary nectar robbers use the holes created by primary robbers. Studies have shown that nectar robbing can negatively affect plant reproduction by deterring legitimate pollinators (Irwin et al. 2010). Furthermore, data have shown that secondary nectar robbing can result in increased reproduction costs beyond that caused by primary robbing alone (Richman et al. in prep). One reason this might be is that legitimate pollinators are further deterred as plants incur more nectar robbing. I have tested this hypothesis by collecting 30 Ipomopsis aggregata plants and subjecting them to varying levels of nectar robbing: none, primary robbing only, an

Interspecific competition between a non-native metal-hyperaccumulating plant (Noccaea caerulescens, Brassicaceae) and a native congener across a soil-metal gradient - J. P. Che-Castaldo; David W. Inouye (Australian Journal of Botany, 2015)
Adaptive traits are hypothesised to incur fitness trade-offs, and a classical example is metal-tolerant plants that exhibit reduced competitive ability when grown on low-metal substrates. In the present study, we examined whether metal-hyperaccumulating plants exhibit a similar trade-off, by assessing competition across a soil-metal gradient in the context of phytoremediation. We studied the cadmium- and zinc-hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens (J. Presl & C. Presl) F.K. Mey., which has been introduced to potential remediation sites contaminated with those metals, and the nickel- and zinc-hyperaccumulator Noccaea fendleri subsp. glauca (A. Nelson) Al-Shehbaz & M. Koch, which is native to our study sites. We performed a greenhouse experiment with a response-surface design to quantify their competitive interactions on higher- and lower-metal substrates from each of three mine sites. Overall competitive effects between the species were weak, but we did find evidence of competiti

The evolutionary ecology of ultraviolet floral pigmentation - M. H. Koski (2015)

Barriers to Gene Flow across a Light Gradient in Cardamine cordifolia. - S. Faries (2015)
Ecotypic variation can be driven by a disproportionate balance between selective pressures and gene flow. If the strength of selection is weak relative to the level of gene flow, genetic variation will likely be homogenized among populations. However, in the absence or severe limitation of gene flow, divergent selection pressures are more likely to result in adaptive evolution to local environmental conditions. Both biotic and abiotic factors can limit gene flow, and these barriers can highly influence the exhibited traits in plants along a habitat gradient. At the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, a native mustard Cardamine cordifolia has exhibited habitat specific differentiation across a light quality gradient. Flowering phenology was examined in Cardamine cordifolia in open sun, intermediate shade and deep shade habitats to determine if a separation of first, peak and last flowering time within the different environments was a mechanism for pre-zygotic isolation. I hypothesized

A mutualistic endophyte alters the niche dimensions of its host plant - Y. Y. Chung; N. D. Charlton; C. L. Debban; L. B. Ranelli; W. Q. Hendricks; T. Pendergast; C. A. Young; Melanie R Kazenel; Jennifer A. Rudgers (AoB Plants, 2015)
Mutualisms can play important roles in influencing species coexistence and determining community composition. However, few studies have tested whether such interactions can affect species distributions by altering the niches of partner species. In subalpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains, USA, we explored whether the presence of a fungal endophyte (genus Epichloë) may shift the niche of its partner plant, marsh bluegrass (Poa leptocoma) relative to a closely related but endophyte-free grass species, nodding bluegrass (Poa reflexa). Using observations and a 3-year field experiment, we tested two questions: (i) Do P. leptocoma and P. reflexa occupy different ecological niches? and (ii) Does endophyte presence affect the relative fitness of P. leptocoma versus P. reflexa in the putative niches of these grass species? The two species were less likely to co-occur than expected by chance. Specifically, P. leptocoma grew closer to water sources and in wetter soils than P. reflexa, and also ha

Effects of Bombus Pollinator Removal on Fly Foraging Behavior. - Z. Pouncey (2015)
Native Bombus species are in decline in the United States. Since pollinators are such integral species in a system, the extinction of a single Bombus species could potentially have far reaching consequences on crop production and plant reproduction necessary for species diversity ad agriculture. However, there are studies to suggest that other pollinators would fill the niche of the most abundant Bombus in a system should that Bombus become extinct (Memmott et al. 2004). This study examines how Diptera fly pollinators in a system react to the removal of a single Bombus species. I hypothesized that Diperta pollinators will expand their foraging range in the absence of the most abundant Bombus species. By comparing fly behavior in controlled and manipulated (experimental species removal) states, I observed a change in fly foraging that was supported by the data analysis. This study confirmed my hypothesis showing a correlation between fly foraging and the removal of the most abundant Bom

Survival of Gunnison sage‐grouse Centrocercus minimus in Colorado, USA - Michael L. Phillips; Paul F. Doherty; Amy J. Davis (Journal of Avian Biology, 2015)
Gunnison sage‐grouse Centrocercus minimus has declined from their historic range and recent monitoring has provided evidence that some populations are continuing to decline. The evaluation of long‐term, population‐specific survival rates is important to assess population stability, and is necessary for conservation of this species of concern. We evaluated adult and yearling survival in two dynamically different populations of Gunnison sage‐grouse (a relatively large, more stable population and a small, declining population). Our goal was to examine the relationship between annual survival and population, and test hypotheses with regards to temporal effects (across years and within year) and individual effects (sex and age). We also evaluated the effects of snow depth on sage‐grouse survival. We tracked 214 radiomarked birds in the large population from 2005–2010 and 25 birds in the small population from 2007–2010. We found no evidence for a diffe

Effects of Gunnison Sage-Grouse habitat treatment efforts on associated avifauna and vegetation structure - Steve Boyle; Paul M. Lukacs; Amy Seglund (Avian Conservation and Ecology, 2015)
Lukacs, P. M., A. Seglund, and S. Boyle. 2015. Effects of Gunnison Sage-Grouse habitat treatment efforts on associated avifauna and vegetation structure. Avian Conservation and Ecology 10(2):7.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00799-100207

Pattern and variation of the time budget of yellow-bellied marmots - C. M. Salsbury; Kenneth B. Armitage (Ethology, Ecology and Evolution, 2015)
We measured the time budgets of yellow-bellied marmots to determine what constraints limited energy acquisition and whether trade-offs occurred among the behaviors. Therefore, we focus on which behaviors form a consistent pattern among marmot populations, the degree of phenotypic plasticity in the time allocated to the behaviors, and the biotic and abiotic factors associated with variations in time allocations. Time budgets for 14 behaviors were recorded at six sites in the Upper East River Valley in western Colorado over two active seasons. Data were analyzed for cohort, day-period and season-period, and for interactions among the main effects. Sitting and vigilance, accounting for 63% of aboveground activity, are strongly associated with wariness, the need for marmots to monitor the presence of conspecific and predatory intruders. Foraging accounts for 15% of daily activity. These three activities are the major contributors to time budgets at all sites. Radiation, acting as a thermal

Paleoecology of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah: Human impacts on landscape and implications for resource management on the southern Colorado Plateau - Matthew K. Zweifel; Robert M. D'Andrea; Kenneth L. Cole; Richard J. Anderson (Quaternary International, 2015)

Nest Success of Gunnison Sage-Grouse in Colorado, USA - Paul F. Doherty; Michael L. Phillips; Amy J. Davis (PLOS ONE, 2015)
Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus) is a species of concern for which little demographic information exists. To help fill this information gap, we investigated factors affecting nest success in two populations of Gunnison Sage-Grouse. We assessed the relative effects of (1) vegetation characteristics (e.g., shrub height, shrub cover, grass cover, and grass height), (2) temporal factors (e.g., year, timing of incubation initiation, and nest age), (3) precipitation, and (4) age of the nesting female (yearling or adult) on nest success rates. We found 177 nests in the Gunnison Basin population (that contains 85-90% of the species) from 2005-2010 and 20 nests in the San Miguel population (that contains < 10% of the species) from 2007-2010. Temporal factors had the greatest impact on nest success compared to vegetation characteristics, precipitation, and female age. Nest success varied considerably among years ranging from 4.0%-60.2% in Gunnison Basin and from 12.9%- 51.9% in San Mi

The ecology of co-infection in the phyllosphere: unraveling the interactions between microbes, insect herbivores, and the host plants they share. - Parris T Humphrey (2015)

Causes and consequences of plant responses to environmental change over physiological, ecological, and evolutionary time. - L. L. Sloat (2015)

Lack of sex-specific differences in mycorrhizal associations and response to herbivory in the gynodioecious herb, Polemonium foliosissimum - J. B. Gonzalez; G. L. Clarke; Alison K. Brody (Plant Ecology, 2015)

Plasticity in functional traits in the context of climate change: A case study of the subalpine forb Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae) - Zachariah J. Gezon (Global Change Biology, 2015)
Environmental variation often induces shifts in functional traits, yet we know little about whether plasticity will reduce extinction risks under climate change. As climate change proceeds, phenotypic plasticity could enable species with limited dispersal capacity to persist in situ, and migrating populations of other species to establish in new sites at higher elevations or latitudes. Alternatively, climate change could induce maladaptive plasticity, reducing fitness, and potentially stalling adaptation and migration. Here, we quantified plasticity in life history, foliar morphology, and ecophysiology in Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae), a perennial forb native to the Rocky Mountains. In this region, warming winters are reducing snowpack and warming springs are advancing the timing of snow melt. We hypothe- sized that traits that were historically advantageous in hot and dry, low-elevation locations will be favored at higher elevation sites due to climate change. To test this hypothesi

Scale collapse and the emergence of the power law species–area relationship - M. Wilber; J. Kitzes; John Harte (Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2015)
AbstractAimThe recently proposed maximum entropy theory of ecology predicts that all nested species–area relationships (SARs) will collapse to a single, universal curve that exhibits a decreasing log–log slope with increasing scale, suggesting that the power law form of the SAR is invalid at any scale. In this analysis we test the generality of this scale collapse behaviour and determine the scale at which approximate power law behaviour of the SAR is predicted to occur.LocationGlobal.MethodsWe use common SAR models to recursively upscale SARs to (1) look for scale collapse of SARs built from different community assumptions and (2) identify the scale at which approximate power law SARs are recovered. We explore four SAR models in which species abundance distributions and the spatial aggregation of species vary within and across scales according to observed patterns.ResultsWe show that scale collapse is a property of nested SARs, not of maximum entropy theory, and that many types of SAR

The effect of the foresummer drought on carbon exchange in subalpine meadows - C. A. Lamanna; L. L. Sloat; Brian J. Enquist; Amanda Henderson (Ecosystems, 2015)
Climate in subalpine meadows of the Rocky growing season drought conditions. Manipulating Mountains can be characterized by an early (fore- the strength of the foresummer drought by watering summer) drought that occurs after snowmelt (May) revealed that the timing of growing season pre- and lasts until the start of the summer monsoon cipitation is more important than the total amount season (July). Climate change models predict an for determining cumulative NEP. The strength of the increase in the length and severity of this dry period foresummer drought did not significantly impact due to earlier snowmelt dates, rising air tem- ecosystem respiration rates, but plants that experi- peratures, and shifts in the start and/or intensity of enced a strong foresummer drought exhibited more the North American monsoon. However, it is un- water stress, and lower instantaneous rates of NEP, known how changes in the severity of this early even during the rainy season. Our results highlight season

Captive‐rearing of Gunnison sage‐grouse from egg collection to adulthood to foster proactive conservation and recovery of a conservation‐reliant species - Lief A. Wiechman (Zoo Biology, 2015)
Gunnison sage‐grouse (Centrocercus minimus) are distributed across southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah, United States. Their distribution has decreased over the past century and the species has been listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Reduced genetic diversity, small population size, and isolation may affect Gunnison sage‐grouse population persistence. Population augmentation can be used to counteract or mitigate these issues, but traditional translocation efforts have yielded mixed, and mostly unsuccessful, results. Captive‐rearing is a viable, although much debated, conservation approach to bolster wild conservation‐reliant species. Although there have been captive‐rearing efforts with greater sage‐grouse (C. urophasianus), to date, no information exists about captive‐rearing methods for Gunnison sage‐grouse. Therefore, we investigated techniques for egg collection, artificial incubation, hatch, and captive‐rearing of chicks, juveniles, subadults, and

An ephemeral meandering river system: Sediment dispersal processes in the Río Colorado, Southern Altiplano Plateau, Bolivia - Marinus E. Donselaar; Menno R. Bloemsma; Jiaguang Li; Maarten A. Prins; Gert Jan Weltje; Stefan M. Luthi (Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, 2015)
© 2014 Gebr. Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, Germany. The Río Colorado meandering river system feeds the Salar de Uyuni, the World's largest salt pan in the southern Altiplano plateau (Bolivia). It is characterized by ephemerality due to the high aridity of the region, and a downstream decrease of river bankfull width and depth in the river terminus. Dryland meandering river systems in high-Altitude regions have rarely been reported. We investigated the active processes in this system from the alluvial fan to the lower coastal plain. On-site surveys combined with high-precision GPS and high-resolution satellite imagery show that Río Colorado area is typified by generally fine sediment and a low gradient in the coastal plain. In the alluvial fan, where channel meandering is weak but still recognizable, the deposits are characterized by fining-upward sequences with gravelprone sediments at the bottom, paleosols in the middle and clay-dominated sediments at the top. In the coa

Effects of increased flight on the energetics and life history of the butterfly Speyeria mormonia - Carol L. Boggs (PLoS One, 2015)
Movement uses resources that may otherwise be allocated to somatic maintenance or reproduction. How does increased energy expenditure affect resource allocation? Using the butterfly Speyeria mormonia, we tested whether experimentally increased flight affects fecundity, lifespan or flight capacity. We measured body mass (storage), resting metabolic rate and lifespan (repair and maintenance), flight metabolic rate (flight capacity), egg number and composition (reproduction), and food intake across the adult lifespan. The flight treatment did not affect body mass or lifespan. Food intake increased sufficiently to offset the increased energy expenditure. Total egg number did not change, but flown females had higher early-life fecundity and higher egg dry mass than control females. Egg dry mass decreased with age in both treatments. Egg protein, triglyceride or glycogen content did not change with flight or age, but some components tracked egg dry mass. Flight elevated resting metabolic rat

The effect of repeated, lethal sampling on wild bee abundance and diversity - Eli S. Wyman; John S. Ascher; Zachariah J. Gezon; Rebecca E. Irwin; David W. Inouye (Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2015)
Summary Bee pollinators provide a critical ecosystem service to wild and agricultural plants but are reported to be declining world‐wide due to anthropogenic change. Long‐term data on bee abundance and diversity are scarce, and the need for additional quantitative sampling using repeatable methods has been emphasized. Recently, monitoring programmes have begun using a standardized method that employs a combination of pan traps and sweep netting, resulting in lethal sampling of bees. This standardized method can remove a large number of bees from sites during each sampling day, raising concern that the sampling itself could have a negative effect on bee populations. We conducted an experiment to assess whether lethal sampling for bees using pan traps and netting affected bee abundance and diversity when done every two weeks throughout a season and over multiple years. We compared bee abundance, richness, evenness and functional group composition between sites that had been sampled ev

Adaptation to climate and climate change in Rocky Mountain butterflies: Morphology, physiology, and behavior - H. J. MacLean (2015)
Heidi Joan MacLean: ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN BUTTERFLIES: MORPHOLOGY, PHYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR (Under the direction of Joel G. Kingsolver and Lauren B. Buckley)

Caddisfly Larval growth and Development as Functions of Temperature Fluctuations During Pond Drying. - Melvin T. Smith (2015)

Quantifying direct vs. indirect effects of nectar robbers on male and female components of plant fitness - Candace Galen; P. E. Howell; Rebecca E. Irwin (Journal of Ecology, 2015)
SummaryPlants interact simultaneously with both mutualists and antagonists. While webs of plant–animal interactions in natural systems can be highly complex, most interactions can be simplified into those that are either direct (mediated through pairwise interactions) or indirect (mediated through third‐party species). Mechanistic studies of the direct and indirect pathways by which foliar herbivores affect plants have been well explored; however, mechanistic explorations of how floral herbivores, such as nectar robbers, affect total plant fitness via direct vs. indirect pathways have received less attention.The goal of this study was to assess the importance of direct vs. pollinator‐mediated indirect effects of a floral antagonist on female and male components of plant fitness. We focused on the hummingbird‐pollinated plant scarlet gilia,Ipomopsis aggregata, which is nectar‐robbed by the bumblebeeBombus occidentalis. Prior studies have found evidence for pollinator‐mediated indirect e

Mineralogical controls on the weathering characteristics of arid continental deposits of the Colorado Plateau - Ragnhild Johanne Tunheim (Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA) (University of Bergen), 2015)
The Permian to Jurassic stratigraphy of the Colorado Plateau includes a number of units that were deposited under arid depositional conditions. These units each show distinctive weathering characteristics which cannot solely be attributed to variation in depositional environment or burial history. The stratigraphic units are the Permian Cutler Formation, the Triassic Chinle Formation, the Jurassic Wingate Sandstone, the Kayenta Formation, the Navajo Sandstone, the Slickrock Member and the Moab Member. The objective of this study is to document and explain the differences in weathering pattern observed in these units. Typical slope angles were recorded to quantify weathering profiles. The Moab Member, the Kayenta Formation and the Wingate Sandstone have steep weathering slopes ranging from 70-90°. The main weathering processes are physical weathering leading to the formation of vertical joints and eventually splitting of the rocks. The Slickrock Member, the Navajo Sandstone and the Cutl

Causes and consequences of dominant and subdominant plant species effects on ecosystem function: using above-and belowground traits in an alpine meadow system - H. Thayer (2015)
While there has been extensive studies done on how dominant affect community dynamics and ecosystem function, fewer studies address the relative influence of dominant vs. subdominant species to affect systems. Further, not enough studies have been done addressing the role of dominant vs. subdominant species effects on above- and belowground functional traits that influence ecosystem function (Mariotte 2014). Our study addressed how functional traits of dominant and subdominant species mediated ecosystem processes such as the input and output of carbon. In an alpine meadow system, we conducted removals of dominant and subdominant species to see how above- and belowground functional traits—specific leaf area (SLA) and specific root length (SRL) respectively—and ecosystem functions (leaf area index (LAI) and soil respiration) were affected by the loss of either species. We established a randomized plot design plant removal experiment and measured carbon input (via LAI) and carbon output (

Climate variability slows evolutionary responses of Colias butterflies to recent climate change - J. G. Kingsolver; L. B. Buckley (Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 2015)
How does recent climate warming and climate variability alter fitness, phenotypic selection and evolution in natural populations? We combine biophysical, demographic and evolutionary models with recent climate data to address this question for the subalpine and alpine butterfly, Colias meadii , in the southern Rocky Mountains. We focus on predicting patterns of selection and evolution for a key thermoregulatory trait, melanin (solar absorptivity) on the posterior ventral hindwings, which affects patterns of body temperature, flight activity, adult and egg survival, and reproductive success in Colias . Both mean annual summer temperatures and thermal variability within summers have increased during the past 60 years at subalpine and alpine sites. At the subalpine site, predicted directional selection on wing absorptivity has shifted from generally positive (favouring increased wing melanin) to generally negative during the past 60 years, b

Does snowmelt timing affect bumble bee colony abundance? - R. Billingsley (2015)
Average temperatures are increasing globally and causing shifts in the timing of weather events such as spring snowmelt, which may have profound consequences on the phenology of many organisms. Working at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab in central Colorado, we examined the relationship between spring snowmelt timing and patterns of bumble bee abundance throughout the foraging season. To do this, we conducted net sampling at each site every two weeks throughout the summer for 7 consecutive years (2009-2015) and recorded each bumble bee caught on a flower. We looked at the effects of year, date, snowmelt timing, annual precipitation, and temperature on bumble bee abundance using generalized linear mixed models in R. We found that the abundance of Bombus bifarius was significantly affected by the date of sampling, the date of first snowmelt, and temperature, while the abundance of Bombus appositus and Bombus flavifrons were significantly affected by date and precipitation. We conclude t

Geographic variation in flowering phenology in Boechera stricta: testing for adaptive response to climate across the species range - R. Walker (2015)
As climate continues to shift, species existing over broad and variable ranges must exhibit the ability to adapt functional traits to novel environmental conditions. In this study, I used a large-scale common garden experiment to examine the variation in flowering time of 137 Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae) genotypes, representing populations from across the species range. The experiment found variance in date of first open flower among genotypes, with those originating at northern and high-elevation (i.e. shorter growing season) sites flowering sooner than those from southern and low-elevation sites. These results suggested that adaptation of flowering phenology has occurred on a fine scale and is driven by local environmental conditions historically experienced at each genotype’s site of origin. Broader-scale phenological adaptation was investigated by partitioning the genotypes into six population groups based on genetic divergence over approximately 2,000 generations; however, evid

The conservation biology of the Uncompahgre fritillary and the related northern dingy fritillary - Hugh B. Britten (Montana State University ScholarWorks (Montana State University), 2015)

Evaluating genetic mechanisms and performance characteristics of alternative oilseed crops for on-farm biofuel production in Colorado - McKay, John; Byrne, Patrick; Brian Campbell; Johnson, Jerry; Seshadri, Arathi (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Dryland winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping systems dominate most of the agricultural landscape in Colorado’s semi-arid eastern plains. Since this area’s climate is characterized by frequent heat and drought, it is important to maximize water use efficiency to make agricultural lands as productive as possible. Adding a spring crop in rotation with winter wheat intensifies the rotation, increasing water use efficiency by up to 37%. Recent research has explored further intensifying this rotation by adding an oilseed crop into a wheat – spring crop – fallow rotation during the fallow period. Ideally, the oilseed crop acts as a cover crop for part of the season and leaves enough time at the end of the season to regenerate water in the soil profile before planting wheat in the fall. The oil from this crop can be used to produce on-farm biofuels, offsetting petroleum diesel costs without displacing high-value food crops. Additionally, the meal from this crop acts as a value-added bypro

Consuming ideals: an archaeological investigation of the Social Hygiene Movement in Colorado - Kristy Kay Griffin; Kwiatkowski, Lynn; Van Buren, Mary; Payne, Sarah (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Historical investigations of the Social Hygiene Movement (1890s-1930s) tend to focus on the urban origins of the concerns that sparked much of the resulting reform efforts. Furthermore, archaeological investigations that address artifacts associated with the Social Hygiene Movement often focus on either an urban or a rural setting, and usually only examine a single aspect of the movement rather than considering the impact of the totality of the movement’s ideology on American consumer behaviors. As a result, little is known about the materialization of the Social Hygiene Movement in the archaeological record and the differential appearance of associated artifacts at urban relative to rural sites. This project seeks to define Social Hygiene Movement-associated artifact types and undertake a comparative analysis of the occurrence of these artifacts at two urban and four rural sites in the state of Colorado in an effort to better understand the early material expressions of the movement i

Integrating macroecological metrics and community taxonomic structure - Y. J. Zhang; A. J. Rominger; John Harte (Ecology Letters, 2015)
John Harte,1* Andrew Rominger2 We extend macroecological theory based on the maximum entropy principle from species level to and Wenyu Zhang3 higher taxonomic categories, thereby predicting distributions of species richness across genera or families and the dependence of abundance and metabolic rate distributions on taxonomic tree structure. Predictions agree with qualitative trends reported in studies on hyper-dominance in tropical tree species, mammalian body size distributions and patterns of rarity in worldwide plant communities. Predicted distributions of species richness over genera or families for birds, arthro- pods, plants and microorganisms are in excellent agreement with data. Data from an intertidal invertebrate community, but not from a dispersal-limited forest, are in excellent agreement with a predicted new relationship between body size and abundance. Successful predictions of the origi- nal species level theory are unmodified in the extended theory. By integrating macr

Genes Suggest Ancestral Colour Polymorphisms Are Shared across Morphologically Cryptic Species in Arctic Bumblebees - M. V. Berezin; B. Cederberg; A. M. Byvaltsev; J. Huang; F. Odegaard; S. T. Williams; P. H. Williams; C. S. Sheffield; C. Rasmussen; L. L. Richardson (PLoS One, 2015)
Our grasp of biodiversity is fine-tuned through the process of revisionary taxonomy. If species do exist in nature and can be discovered with available techniques, then we expect these revisions to converge on broadly shared interpretations of species. But for the primarily arctic bumblebees of the subgenus Alpinobombus of the genus Bombus, revisions by some of the most experienced specialists are unusual for bumblebees in that they have all reached different conclusions on the number of species present. Recent revisions based on skeletal morphology have concluded that there are from four to six species, while variation in colour pattern of the hair raised questions as to whether at least seven species might be present. Even more species are supported if we accept the recent move away from viewing species as morphotypes to viewing them instead as evolutionarily independent lineages (EILs) using data from genes. EILs are recognised here in practice from the gene coalescents that provide

Effects of Light Environment on Recovery from Harvest and Antibacterial Properties of OshÃ¡ Ligusticum porteri (Apiaceae) - R. P. Blessin; Martin A. A.; Emily H Mooney (Economic Botany, 2015)
The ability to inhibit Bacillus cereus decreased in extracts from plants harvested from high light environments, which follows plant defense theory, and harvest sustainability in L. porteri is equivocal among the light environments examined in this study, although some medicinal properties vary.

Environmental Correlates and Fitness Consequences of a Flower Color Polymorphism in Boechera stricta. - Ansley McDurmon (2015)

Analysis of temporal change in high-elevation plant community composition, East River Basin, Colorado, USA. - Stephanie Zorio (2015)

Does Bumble Bee Diet Breadth vary with the Floral Abundance in a Meadow? - G. Hennage (2015)
Years of early snowmelt tend to have a decrease in floral abundance throughout the year. This causes flowers to be more susceptible to frost and drought stress. Based on which flowers are successful this can affect bumble bee diet breadth due to the direct correlation between bumble bee proboscis length and flower corolla length. It was found that there is no relation between Bombus appositus diet breadth and floral abundance. Other factors such as floral richness, and overall bumble bee abundance also proved to not have an influence on diet breadth. The relationship between Delphinium barbeyi abundance and the proportion of flowers visited also did not have any significance.

Disturbance legacies and nutrient limitation influence interactions between grazers and algae in high elevation streams - Jennifer M. Moslemi; M. Alvarez; A. R. McIntosh; B. L. Peckarsky (Ecosphere, 2015)
Debate about control of interaction strength among species is fueled by variation in environmental contexts affecting food webs. We used extensive surveys and two field experiments to test the individual and interactive influences of variation in the assemblages and associated traits of grazers as shaped by the legacy of disturbance, nutrient limitation and the presence of top predators on the accrual of basal resources. We quantified hydrologic variation and streambed movement to describe the legacy of disturbance and sampled biota of 20 streams over five years in a high‐elevation catchment in Colorado, USA. Grazer assemblages switched from caddisfly‐dominated to mayfly‐dominated as disturbance increased. We manipulated the composition of grazer assemblages and the availability of nutrients (N and P) within flow‐through mesocosms assembled adjacent to 10 streams, and also deployed larger in‐stream channels manipulating the presence of top predators (brook trout) in five streams varyin

Population-level consequences of phenotypic plasticity in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris). - Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro (2015)

Context-dependent reproductive isolation mediated by floral scent and color - A. Jurgens; Mascha Bischoff; Robert A. Raguso; Diane R. Campbell (Evolution, 2015)

Petroglyphs of Western Colorado and the Northern Ute Indian Reservation as Interpreted by Clifford Duncan - Carol Patterson (2015)
Clifford Duncan, a Northern Ute elder, believed in educating the public to know and understand the meaning of Ute petroglyphs. By doing this, he believed it would help to preserve and protect them. Over the course of eight years, Clifford and the author visited and revisited all of these sites, discussing what they might represent. Clifford’s father was an Uncompahgre Ute and wanted Clifford to know the traditional homelands of the Uncompahgres in western Colorado. Clifford made special trips all through the Uncompahgre Plateau, seeking out any Ute petroglyphs and cultural sites. Later, he and the author visited many of the petroglyphs on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation, which were authored by the Uncompahgre and White River Utes. The interpretations of the petroglyphs are supplemented with cultural and political history, and ethnographic information from scholars provides a deep appreciation as to what makes Ute petroglyphs so unique and fascinating. Full-color illus.

Reservoir and Source Potential of Eocene Microbialites, Green River Formation, USA - Nick Cestari (KU ScholarWorks (The University of Kansas), 2015)
In recent years, large petroleum discoveries within the lacustrine microbialite facies of pre-salt systems of offshore Brazil, Angola, and Gabon have increased interest in the potential of microbial carbonates as reservoir rocks. Whereas a multitude of studies have been conducted on microbialites and the associated lacustrine facies separately, there is still little known regarding whether there are definitive dissimilarities between the geochemical footprints of microbialites and associated lithofacies within a system. To explore this unknown, organic geochemistry was evaluated with the aim of comparing the microbialite facies (stromatolites and thrombolites) with the associated lacustrine carbonates (dolomitic marlstone, ooid grainstone, peloidal packstone and wackestone) to test if there are dissimilarities in regard to reservoir and source potential. Specifically, the goal is to understand the petroleum significance of lacustrine microbialites deposited in various lake conditions.

Pigmentation as stress response in A. septentrionalis. - A. Linder (2015)

Uncompahgre fault geometry: A seismic, field, and gravity study near Nucla, Colorado, Paradox Basin, USA - Carter B. Timbel (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Seismic, well, field and gravity data are used to further understand the Uncompahgre fault near Nucla, Colorado, Paradox Basin, USA. The data help explain the complex sedimen- tary and structural history associated with faulting and salt flowage along the eastern margin of the Paradox Basin. Near Nucla, Colorado, 2D seismic lines document several episodes of thrust tectonics, sedimentation, and salt flowage associated with the late Paleozoic-age Uncompahgre Thrust. Prominent unconformities and disconformities within the Permian Cutler Group are vis- ible in the study area. Faults and unconformities seen on seismic data give an indication for the timing of salt flow caused by episodic sedimentation triggered by Uncompahgre fault movement. In addition, along-strike variability of Uncompahgre fault is evident in the seismic data. Along- strike Uncompahgre fault structural variation has been a subject of scientific debate, and the data collection near Nucla, Colorado reveal two end member

2: Ute Rock Art of Western Colorado - Carol Patterson (2015)
Chants have no words. They are spiritually uplifting in a motion.-Clifford DuncanThe rock art of the Uncompahgre Plateau in western Colorado includes the Uncompahgre and Gunnison River drainage system on the eastern side, and the Dolores River drainage on the western side. According to Clifford, this territory was his father's ancestral land. The selection of petroglyphs sites included here was chosen for its clear images, distinct style, and age estimations. The rock art included outlines the broad array of petroglyphs found on the Uncompahgre Plateau, with examples from each era, depicting various categories of images.METHODOLOGY AND INTERPRETATIONThe age estimations of the petroglyphs of the Uncompahgre Plateau are based on engraving style, weathering, and direct dating if possible, with relative dates determined from soils and archaeological material associated with the panels. Chronology of styles is based on a large database of sites composed of images found throughout the platea

Lacustrine lithofacies, depositional processes, and diagenesis of the Uteland Butte Member, Green River Formation, eastern Uinta Basin, Utah and Colorado - S. Katherine Logan (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)

Altered Fire Regimes and the Persistence of Quaking Aspen in the Rocky Mountains: A Literature Review - Aaron Rosenblum (Open Journal of Forestry, 2015)
The persistence of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is of significant importance to land managers in the Rocky Mountain region. Fire suppression in the past century has been im- plicated as a mechanism influencing aspen population dynamics, as aspen are generally consi- dered an early seral disturbance adapted species. The heterogeneity of aspen community assem- blages and fire regimes makes it difficult to discern what the result of fire suppression has been at large spatial and temporal scales. Decision makers should investigate the questions at hand at the stand level in their study location to best determine the mechanisms at play, as well as consider future potential changes to the system.

Alfalfa reference crop evapotranspiration in Colorado and its use for irrigation scheduling - Abdulkariem Mukhtar Aljrbi; Qian, Yaling; Hansen, Neil; Davis, Jessica G.; Andales, Allan A. (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
The goal of irrigation scheduling is efficient use of water such that water is applied to the field for optimal crop production. Previous studies have optimized irrigation scheduling using different models to manage sprinkler irrigation. This research evaluated approaches for obtaining alfalfa reference evapotranspiration (ETr) and its use in a new irrigation scheduling model for a furrow irrigation system. The objectives of this research were to: 1) Compare seasonal trends of daily ETr from the American Society of Civil Engineers Standardized Penman-Monteith (ASCE-SPM) equation and the Penman-Kimberly (PK) equation along a climatic gradient in Colorado, 2) Verify the agreement between calculated ETr from the ASCE-SPM equation and measured ETr from a lysimeter during the 2010 season for the Arkansas Valley of Colorado and correct the lysimeter ETr for alfalfa overgrowth, and 3) Test the ASCE-SPM ETr along with a locally adapted Kcr curve for corn in an irrigation scheduling spreadsheet

Competition for pollination and the evolution of flowering time - Nickolas M. Waser; Nickolas M. Waser (American Naturalist, 2015)
This item was digitized from a paper original and/or a microfilm copy. If you need higher-resolution images for any content in this item, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.

Evolution of herbivory in Drosophilidae linked to loss of behaviors, antennal responses, odorant receptors and ancestral diet - Richard S. Mitchell; J. G. Hildebrand; C. P. Faucher; R. L. Lapoint; Noah K Whiteman (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 2015)
SignificanceThe evolution of herbivory in animals is rare but has resulted in major adaptive radiations. Its rarity suggests that there are barriers to colonization of plants. Behavioral adaptations, involving host plant finding, are likely the first to evolve during the transition to herbivory. A recently evolved herbivorous fly species was derived from yeast-feeding ancestors. This herbivorous fly, unlike its yeast-feeding relatives, lost attraction to yeast volatiles, the ability to detect yeast volatiles, and three genes that encode olfactory receptors critical for detecting yeast volatiles inDrosophila melanogaster. Loss-of-function mutations may play a role in the transition to herbivory in insects, which account for nearly 25% of all species of life.

Multi‐decadal Stochastic Streamflow Projections and Application to Water Resources Decision Making in the Colorado River Basin - Solomon Tassew Erkyihun (CU Scholar (University of Colorado Boulder), 2015)
Effective water resources planning and management requires skillful decisions on multiyear or decadal timeframes. In basins such as the Colorado River Basin (CRB), streamflow is not stationary but exhibits variability that reflects teleconnections with large scale climate indices such as Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). This research addresses this problem with four main contributions: It develops a stochastic streamflow simulation model and decadal scale streamflow projections based on these climate indices, compares this with other models recently developed, identifies and quantifies periods of unpredictability, and demonstrates the value of adding decadal scale projections to existing decision criteria in the CRB Supply and Demand Study (Basin Study). The novel WKNN model identifies and reconstructs dominant signals in the AMO and PDO using wavelet analysis, simulates each using block K-nearest neighbor (K-NN) bootstrap, then simulates

Using the literature to test pollination syndromes - some methodological cautions - A. R. Rech; J. Ollerton; Mary V. Price; Nickolas M. Waser (Journal of Pollination Ecology, 2015)
“Pollination syndromes” are specific combinations of floral traits that are proposed to evolve convergently across angiosperm lineages in response to different types of animal pollinators. In spite of their long history, pollination syndromes have not been tested adequately–they rarely have been examined critically to determine how well they describe floral trait diversity or predict pollinators. In a recent meta-analysis of data from the literature, Rosas-Guerrero et al. (2014) provide a welcome test that draws on insights from past studies. At the same time, their study illustrates several difficulties of meta-analysis approaches in general, and for pollination biology in particular. Here we discuss those difficulties and propose some solutions. We first consider how to gather studies from the literature without introducing unintended bias, such as the old-fashioned method of working backward from cited literature. We next consider how to deal with difficulties that invariably arise

Microgeographic patterns of genetic divergence and adaptation across environmental gradients in Boechera stricta(Brassicaceae) - Nadeesha Perera; Bashira Chowdhury (The American Naturalist, 2015)

Relating Pollinator Foraging Behavior to Potential for Self-fertilization in Delphenium barbeyi Different Floral Display Sizes. - C. Whiting (2015)

How an environment's moisture heterogeneity affects a community's traits - Lake Crawford (2015)
A plant’s functional traits, which aid with survival, growth, and reproduction, are shaped by different abiotic and evolutionary elements. Some communities have a larger degree of variation in their functional traits, and this study aimed to see if this variation is directly linked to the level of environmental heterogeneity. This was accomplished by looking at differing traits of plant communities at 5 different sites. The analyzed traits were SLA, LDMC, and plant height. These traits were plotted against the environmental variation (as determined by soil moisture or microclimate) to determine if there was a correlation between the two. The data indicate that there is a positive correlation between the log(sd of LDMC) and the mean sd of soil moisture, but there is no correlation between the log(sd of height) or log(sd of SLA) and the mean sd of soil moisture. This demonstrates that, in some cases, a wider range of functional diversity can be driven by greater environmental heterogenei

FOSSIL PLANTS AND PALYNOMORPHS FROM THE LATE PALEOZOIC CUTLER FORMATION, EASTERN PARADOX BASIN - Kendall R. Grazul (2015)
The late Paleozoic Cutler Formation, where exposed near the modern-day town of Gateway, Colorado, has traditionally been interpreted as the product of alluvial fan deposition within the easternmost portion of the Paradox Basin. The Paradox Basin formed between the western margin of the Uncompahgre Uplift segment of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains and the western paleoshoreline of the North American portion of Pangea. The Paradox Basin region is commonly thought to have experienced semi-arid to arid conditions and warm temperatures during the Pennsylvanian and Permian. Evidence described in this paper support prior interpretations regarding paleoclimate conditions and the inferred depositional environment for the Cutler Formation near Gateway, Colorado. Plant fossils collected from the late Paleozoic Cutler Formation in The Palisade Wilderness Study Area (managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management) of western Colorado include Calamites, Walchia, Pecopteris,

Habitat Selection in Nicrophoryus investigator and defodiens. - K. Menzel (2015)
We investigated habitat selection in Nicrophorus investigator, an obligate carrion breeder. The source-sink hypothesis states that some environments will be resource rich and produce a high amount of offspring while other environments will be resource low and produce a low amount of offspring. Carcasses were put out in pairs with one carcass in the meadow and one in the aspen. N. investigator and N. defodiens prefer the meadow to the aspen, the size of the Nicrophorus beetles was larger in the meadow than the aspen, competition was higher in the aspen than in the meadow, and the only successful broods were in the meadow. All of these support that the meadow and aspen are source and sink environments respectively.

Convergent ecosystem responses to 23-year ambient and manipulated warming link advancing snowmelt and shrub encroachment to transient and long-term climate–soil carbon feedback - S. R. Saleska; C. R. Levy; John Harte (Global Change Biology, 2015)
Ecosystem responses to climate change can exert positive or negative feedbacks on climate, mediated in part by slow- moving factors such as shifts in vegetation community composition. Long-term experimental manipulations can be used to examine such ecosystem responses, but they also present another opportunity: inferring the extent to which contemporary climate change is responsible for slow changes in ecosystems under ambient conditions. Here, using 23 years of data, we document a shift from nonwoody to woody vegetation and a loss of soil carbon in ambient plots and show that these changes track previously shown similar but faster changes under experimental warming. This allows us to infer that climate change is the cause of the observed shifts in ambient vegetation and soil carbon and that the vegetation responses mediate the observed changes in soil carbon. Our findings demonstrate the realism of an experimental manipulation, allow attribution of a climate cause to observed ambient

Scaling from traits to ecosystems: Developing a general trait driver theory via integrating trait-based and metabolic scaling theories - V. M. Savage; Campbell O. Webb; L. L. Sloat; S. P. Bonser; J. Norberg; C. Violle; Brian J. Enquist; Amanda Henderson (Advances in Ecological Research, 2015)

Phenological responses to climate change do not exhibit phylogenetic signal in a subalpine plant community - Paul J. CaraDonna; David W. Inouye (Ecology, 2015)
Phylogenetic relationships may underlie species‐specific phenological sensitivities to abiotic variation and may help to predict these responses to climate change. Although shared evolutionary history may mediate both phenology and phenological sensitivity to abiotic variation, few studies have explicitly investigated whether this is the case. We explore phylogenetic signal in flowering phenology and in phenological sensitivity to temperature and snowmelt using a 39‐year record of flowering from the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA that includes dates of first, peak, and last flowering, and flowering duration for 60 plant species in a subalpine plant community. Consistent with other studies, we found evidence in support of phylogenetic signal in first flowering date. However, the strength and significance of that signal were inconsistent across other measures of flowering in this plant community: peak flowering date exhibited the strongest phylogenetic signal, followed by first flowering

An altitudinal cline in UV floral pattern corresponds with a behavioral change of a generalist pollinator assemblage - M. H. Koski; T. L. Ashman (Ecology, 2015)
Spatial variation in pollinator communities or behaviors can underlie floral diversification. Floral traits in the UV spectrum are common and mediate plant–pollinator interactions, but the role of pollinators in driving or maintaining their geographic variation has not been fully explored. We identify an altitudinal cline of increasing relative size of the UV bullseye pattern inArgentina anserina(Rosaceae) flowers, and assess whether pollination context contributes to clinal variation. At four sites that varied in altitude, we document the pollinator assemblage, and pollinator preference and visitation behavior. We then determine how pollinator visits affected pollen receipt and export. Finally, we describe how the functional relationship between UV floral phenotype and pollen receipt changed with altitude. Floral UV bullseye size increased with altitude, which corresponded with a change from a hymenopteran‐ to a dipteran‐dominated pollinator assemblage. While dipteran and hymenopteran

Floral pigmentation patterns provide an example of Gloger’s rule in plants - M. H. Koski; T. L. Ashman (Nature Plants, 2015)
It is shown that Gloger's rule explains patterns of variation in UV-absorbing floral pigmentation in a widespread plant, Argentina anserina (Rosaceae), and UV as an agent of selection and bullseye size as a target increases with proximity to the Equator in both hemispheres.

Archiving primary data: solutions for long-term studies. - James A. Mills; Céline Teplitsky; Daniel T. Blumstein (Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 2015)
The recent trend for journals to require open access to primary data included in publications has been embraced by many biologists, but has caused apprehension amongst researchers engaged in long-term ecological and evolutionary studies. A worldwide survey of 73 principal investigators (Pls) with long-term studies revealed positive attitudes towards sharing data with the agreement or involvement of the PI, and 93% of PIs have historically shared data. Only 8% were in favor of uncontrolled, open access to primary data while 63% expressed serious concern. We present here their viewpoint on an issue that can have non-trivial scientific consequences. We discuss potential costs of public data archiving and provide possible solutions to meet the needs of journals and researchers.

A CASE STUDY OF DATA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE GUNNISON RIVER BASIN, COLORADO - Rhianna L. Williams (2015)
In the American Southwest, a growing population combined with climate change induced weather pattern changes are creating growing conflict for uses of the over appropriated Colorado River System. Water managers use a variety of tools and data to make decisions at the local and regional level which will impact access for future users. The purpose of this study is to understand how water managers use data and knowledge to manage current and future access to water resources in a water scarce region. A case study of the Gunnison River Basin located within the larger Colorado River Basin was conducted over 14 months. Information was collected in the form of regional documentation, participant observation, and interviews of nine regional water professionals. Gathered data was analyzed throughout the collection process using the theory building and testing methods of grounded theory. Rather than directly informing management, findings indicate that the use of data is mediated by the social in

Solutions to Burnout and Retention as Perceived by County Extension Agents of the Colorado State University Extension System - Amy Harder; Jeff Goodwin; Matt Benge (Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 2015)
This study explored solutions to the issue of burnout and retention of Extension agents. Extension agents experience burnout for reasons such as long hours, stress, and organizational factors. As Extension administration addresses job satisfaction and performance of Extension employees, burnout and retention issues identified in this study can facilitate efforts to enhance the effectiveness of a statewide Extension program. Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory was the theoretical framework for this study. Researchers used the constant-comparative method of analysis to identify recurring themes from the open-ended items of an online-administered survey. Twelve primary themes emerged, including (a) compensation, (b) hiring practices, (c) promotion and advancement within Extension, (d) organizational support regarding agent development, (e) organizational support regarding administration, (f) organizational support regarding colleagues, (g) reporting, (h) recognition, (i) resources, (j) p

Inferring Regional-Scale Species Diversity from Small-Plot Censuses - J. Kitzes; John Harte (PLOS ONE, 2015)
Estimation of the number of species at spatial scales too large to census directly is a long- standing ecological challenge. A recent comprehensive census of tropical arthropods and trees in Panama provides a unique opportunity to apply an inference procedure for up-scal- ing species richness and thereby make progress toward that goal. Confidence in the under- lying theory is first established by showing that the method accurately predicts the species abundance distribution for trees and arthropods, and in particular accurately captures the rare tail of the observed distributions. The rare tail is emphasized because the shape of the species-area relationship is especially influenced by the numbers of rare species. The infer- OPEN ACCESS ence procedure is then applied to estimate the total number of arthropod and tree species at Citation: Harte J, Kitzes J (2015) Inferring Regional- spatial scales ranging from a 6000 ha forest reserve to all of Panama, with input data only Scale Species

Using geochemical indicators to distinguish high biogeochemical activity in the subsurface. - A. M. Kenwell (2015)

Does locomotor ability influence flight initiation distance in yellow-bellied marmots? - G. F. Flores; Nathalie Munoz; Daniel T. Blumstein (Ethology, 2015)
Flight initiation distance (FID) is the distance between a potential threat and the point at which a potential prey flees. Animals may modify their FID to compensate for increased risk generated by external/extrinsic factors such as habitat type, visibility, group size, time of year, predator-approach velocity, and distance to burrow, as well as internal/intrinsic factors such as physical condition, body temperature, crypsis, and morphological antipredator defenses. The intrinsic speed at which an animal can escape a predator is a factor that should influence FID. We studied the relationship between an individual's intrinsic escape speed and FID in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) to determine whether marmots compensated for slower escape speeds by fleeing at greater distances. We found no evidence of risk compensation. Rather, we found that slower marmots tolerated closer approaches. This behavioral syndrome may be explained by a coevolution of FID and escape speed in det

Environmental drivers of plant community composition in subalpine and alpine fens of the San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA - Betsy L. H. Bultema; Cooper, David J.; Steingraeber, David A.; Dwire, Kathleen A. (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Fens are a widely distributed type of wetland worldwide and offer vital habitat for plant and animal species in the Rocky Mountains. Fens support a high biodiversity of flora and fauna given the proportionally small space they occupy on the landscape, often serving as refugia for disjunct plant species at the extremes of their ranges. While some literature exists on subalpine fens in the southern Rocky Mountains of the United States, alpine fens in this region remain understudied. Alpine fens are relatively rare in the southern Rocky Mountains and are concentrated within the San Juan Mountains where topography and climate favor peat development in the alpine. While studies of montane and boreal peatlands have identified water chemistry as a main driver of plant community composition, it is unclear whether the same drivers of plant community composition are important in alpine fens in the San Juan Mountains. The goal of this study was to 1.) Describe and classify the vegetation of subal

Multimodal Integration in Uncertain Environments: A Quantitative Model and Field Experiments with Yellow-bellied Marmots (Marmota flaviventris). - Nathalie Munoz (2015)

Growth, developmental and stress responses of larvae of the clouded sulphur butterfly Colias eriphyle to repeated exposure to high, sub-lethal temperatures - J. K. Higgins; L. B. Buckley; J. G. Kingsolver; H. J. MacLean (Physiological Entomology, 2015)

Wise flies: a pre-dispersal seed predator prefers hermaphrodites over females in the gynodioecious Polemonium foliosissimum - G. L. Clarke; Alison K. Brody (Ecological Entomology, 2015)

Rare-Earth Element mineralization and formation of the Iron Hill carbonatite complex, Gunnison County, Colorado, USA - J.G. Erickson (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)

Assessing community phenotype of Populus tremuloides: the effect of ploidy level on associated arthropod communities. - Matthew J. Hecking (2015)

Group size affects social relationships in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) - L. Hubbard; Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology, 2015)

Studies of minerals from Hall's Valley, Park County, Colorado – Chemistry of cupropavonites (5,5) ( 5,5P) and (4,6) ( 4,6P): crystal structure of natural pavonite and crystal structure of orthorhombic berryite - William G. Mumme; Nick Wilson; Robert W. Gable (Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie - Abhandlungen, 2015)

Direct and Indirect Consequences of Climate Change on Net Ecosystem Exchange. - P. Meidl (2015)

Response to Bergey and Spaulding - M. L. Bothwell; B. W. Taylor (BioScience, 2015)

Fine-Grained Distribution of a Non-Native Resource Can Alter the Population Dynamics of a Native Consumer - Mifuyu Nakajima; Carol L. Boggs (PloS one, 2015)
New interactions with non-native species can alter selection pressures on native species. Here, we examined the effect of the spatial distribution of a non-native species, a factor that determines ecological and evolutionary outcomes but that is poorly understood, particularly on a fine scale. Specifically, we explored a native butterfly population and a non-native plant on which the butterfly oviposits despite the plant's toxicity to larvae. We developed an individual-based model to describe movement and oviposition behaviors of each butterfly, which were determined by plant distribution and the butterfly's host preference genotype. We estimated the parameter values of the model from rich field data. We simulated various patterns of plant distributions and compared the rates of butterfly population growth and changes in the allele frequency of oviposition preference. Neither the number nor mean area of patches of non-native species affected the butterfly population, whereas plant abun

Quantifying within-season floral trait distributions of flowers in Colorado Rocky Mountain sub-alpine dry meadows. - K. Wyatt (2015)

Stress hormone metabolites predict overwinter survival in yellow-bellied marmots - L. Lin; M. L. Patton; T. W. Wey; Daniel T. Blumstein (Acta Ethologica, 2015)

Do birds differentiate white noise and deterministic chaos? A playback experiment. - J. Kennen (2015)
Evocative sounds are known to elicit heightened responses from receivers across animal taxa. Many species of caregivers specifically have been shown to have increased arousal from infant baboon screams providing a unique conspecific identification for baboon mothers to discriminate their young from nearby infants (Rendall et al. 2009) to women decreasing their parasympathetic drive after exposure to infants crying, impelling them to react and care for the infants (Tkaczyszyn et al. 2012) to infant giant pandas (Ailuropoda melaneuca). Despite them being relatively common, the function of these nonlinearities is less well-understood. One hypothesis suggests that non-linearities function to increase fear and arousal in receivers (Blumstein and Recapet 2009; Slaughter et al., 2013). Playback experiments have been very useful in evaluation of this nonlinearity and fear hypothesis. In them, investigators have used white noise as a substitute for deterministic chaos. Determinstic chaos contai

Plant selection of mycorrhizal symbionts in response to abiotic stress. - M. Garrett (2015)

Bears benefit plants via a cascade with both antagonistic and mutualistic interactions - Joshua B. Grinath; N. C. Underwood; Brian D. Inouye (Ecology Letters, 2015)

Effects of Weather on Mountain White-Crowned Sparrow Reproductive Success - E. Putnam (2015)

Propagating climate and vegetation change through the hydrologic cycle in a mountain headwaters catchment. - C. E. Pribulick (2015)
Prediction of hydrologic response to global climate change is paramount for regions that rely upon snowpack for their dominant water supply. Temperature increases are anticipated to be greater at higher elevations perturbing headwaters systems that provide water to millions of downstream users. In this study, the relationships between climatic change and associated vegetation succession with the corresponding response in hydrologic processes of mountainous terrain are studied in the East River headwaters catchment near Crested Butte, CO. This catchment is emblematic of other headwater systems within the upper Colorado River basin. Therefore, perturbations seen at this study site are likely to occur across the region, altering the water quantity and quality of the Colorado River. Here, we study the effect of climate-induced changes on the hydrologic response of three different characteristic components of the catchment: a steep high-energy mountain system, a medium-grade lower-energy sy

Exploring the behavioral rules influencing sociality in a facultatively social species, yellow-bellied marmots - J. Yang (2015)

Investigating Herbivore Relationships to Boechera stricta in a Climate Change Context. - L. Schumm (2015)
Boechera stricta is a mustard that grows naturally throughout a wide range of altitudes in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. B. stricta has a variety of natural herbivores, which makes it an interesting system in which to study how plant-herbivore relationships vary over an elevational gradient. Through this study we begin to characterize the relationships between Boechera stricta and its surrounding insect herbivore community. We sampled the insect community surrounding B. stricta in a collection of quadrats, and analyzed how the diversity and abundance of these insects varied across an elevational gradient. We analyzed the insect community as a whole, and conducted with more pointed analyses focusing on insects in taxonomical groupings known to herbivorize plants. Other variables affecting insect diversity were also taken into account such as the density of plant cover at each site. We found that insect diversity decreases as elevation increases, and that insect diversity increases as pl

Effects of experimental warming on herbivory and pathogen loads on subalpine grass species Festuca thurberi, Poa pratensis, and Achnatherum lettermanii - Nisreen Abo-Sido (2015)
Rising global temperatures are predicted to alter community dynamics by shifting species ranges and altering biotic interactions. Herbivory is expected to increase with prolonged growing seasons and heightened metabolic rates; pathogen damage may increase as well. We predict that damage by herbivores and pathogens on subalpine grass species Festuca thurberi, Poa pratensis, and Achnatherum lettermanii will increase with warming. Comparisons of estimated percent herbivory on these species in a meadow containing plots subject to experimental warming by infrared heaters and alternating ambient control plots revealed some evidence of increasing herbivory with warming and, thus, increased vulnerability of plants to the indirect effect of global warming of rising herbivore activity.

Fungal Phytopathogens Decrease Plant-Insect Interactions. - A. Niedweicki (2015)
Rusts are pathogens of rapidly growing plant tissue and are of particular concern in agricultural settings due to their reduction of plant fitness. These phytopathogens depend heavily on abiotic features such as humidity, temperature, and UV strength, and with a changing climate, the rust ranges may be altered in future years and new hosts can be infected. Since this organism is a obligate pathogen changes in host ranges could introduce rusts into new communities and lead to novel interactions. Not much research has been conducted to understand the natural communities of which rusts are a part. Previous research has indicated mixed effects of fungal presence on arthropods associated with plants. Decreases in herbivory have been noted as well as increase in pollinator attraction. This study aims to elucidate natural patterns of insect herbivory and pollination, and the effects on plant fitness utilizing infected Helianthella quinquenervis. Results indicate significant decreases in herbi

How does relative refuge angle influence escape behavior: an empirical test with yellow-bellied marmot. - K. Wrenford (2015)
Flight initiation distance, or FID, is the distance between a predator and its prey at which the prey decides to flee. FID is influenced by several internal and external factors, which influence the potential costs and benefits of escape. For refuging prey, their path to a refuge may force them to get closer to the prey or permit them to flee the approaching predator. If the prey assesses the risk of fleeing towards a predator to be greater than when fleeing away from a predator, FID when fleeing towards a predator to a refuge would be expected to be larger. The relative position between predator, prey, and a refuge creates an angle called the relative refuge angle, or RRA. A recent model uses these variables to predict FID. Using yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris), we evaluated the efficacy of this model in predicting FID, and then asked how much variation in FID was explained by RRA. We found, that although the model successfully predicted FID in our data, RRA had almost n

Gender inequality in predispersal seed predation contributes to female seed set advantage in a gynodioecious species - G. L. Clarke; Alison K. Brody (Ecology, 2015)
Most flowering plants are hermaphrodites. However, in gynodioecious species, some members of the population are male‐sterile and reproduce only by setting seed, while others gain fitness through both male and female function. How females compensate for the loss of male function remains unresolved for most gynodioecious species. Here, as with many plants, fitness differences may be influenced by interactions with multiple species. However, whether multiple species interactions result in gender‐specific fitness differences remains unknown. Using observational data from 2009–2010, we quantified seed set of the two sex morphs of Polemonium foliosissimum and asked how it is affected by pollination, and seed predation from a dipteran predispersal seed predator (Anthomyiidae: Hylemya sp.). We assessed seed production and losses to predation in 27 populations for one year and in six populations for a second year. Females set significantly more seed than did hermaphrodites in both years. Of the

Are social attributes associated with alarm calling propensity? - H. Fuong; Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology, 2015)
Emitting alarm calls may directly benefit individuals if callers have an increased chance of surviving, if calling increases the caller’s status, or if calling functions through reciprocity. Although previous studies have examined the costs and benefits of alarm calling, few have examined how an individual’s social position can influence the propensity to emit calls. An individual’s position in its social network may vary and individuals differ in the strength and degree to which they are connected to others. We hypothesized that this variation could influence the rate at which individuals emit calls. We examined how various social attributes (degree centrality, closeness centrality, eigenvector centrality, strength, and embeddedness) were related to the likelihood that yellow-bellied marmots ( Marmota flaviventris ) emitted calls. To do so, we first defined 2 principle components—“popularity” and “relationship strength”—and used generalized linear mixed effects models to explain both

Nectar yeasts in Delphinium nuttallianum (Ranunculaceae) and their effects on nectar quality - R. N. Schaeffer; R. L. Vannette; Rebecca E. Irwin (Fungal Ecology, 2015)

To what extent does road dust affect sexual reproduction in different plant species? - G. Casco (2015)

Effects of Alpine Shrub Cover on Territorial Male White-Crown Sparrows Densities. - E. Nault (2015)
Avian populations at high elevation are well-adapted to extreme and variable abiotic conditions. Species have adapted efficient foraging strategies, as well as well-timed nest incubation patterns. These behavioral traits are essential in order for parents to meet their metabolic needs while simultaneously having a successful reproductive season. Alpine vegetation structure can be seen as a determinant for a species’ success, or overall abundance due to gap structure and efficient foraging opportunities. Alpine environments consist largely of fragmented vegetation due to steep elevation gradients. Yet, alpine bird populations historically have preferred dense and protective vegetative structures. This study investigates the relationship at singing male white-crowned sparrow densities and percent willow (Salix spp.) cover between three alpine sites located across the Elk Mountain Range, Colorado. Post-migratory sparrow males pair with a female, breed, and establish delineated territory b

Do yellow-bellied marmots perceive enhanced predation risk when they are farther from safety?: an experimental study - A. M. Anderson; R. Monclus; Daniel T. Blumstein (Ethology, 2015)

A restraining device to aid identification of bees by digital photography - J. L. Zung; Jonathan R. Thompson (Journal of Pollination Ecology, 2015)

Male bumble bees are important pollinators of a late-blooming plant - James D. Thomson; Jane E. Ogilvie (Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 2015)
Overall, male bumble bees are common and capable pollinators of G. parryi and in some years and sites could be more important than workers, and animal sexes may differ in their pollinator performance in other systems.

Effects of proximity to riparian zones on avian species richness and abundance in montane aspen woodlands. - J. R. Glass; C. H. Floyd (Journal of Field Ornithology, 2015)
Riparian zones often provide more food or nesting resources than surrounding ecosystems and thus support more species or a greater abundance of birds. However, the extent to which the positive effects of riparian zones extend into adjoining habitats has rarely been investigated. We examined bird species richness and abundance in aspen (Populus tremuloides) woodlands of the upper East River Valley in Colorado, a region with extensive stands of aspen located upslope from riparian zones dominated by willows (Salix spp.). Our objective was to determine how species richness and abundance in aspen stands located closer to riparian zones compared to that of aspen stands farther away. To control for elevation effects, we conducted point counts for birds and examined the effects of riparian proximity on avian species richness and abundance in three elevation belts (low, 2840–2875 m; middle, 2940–2960 m; and high, 3040–3060 m). We determined riparian proximity by measuring distances from each ce

Flies and Flowers III: Ecology of Foraging and Pollination - P. G. Kevan; B. M. H. Larson; David W. Inouye (Journal of Pollination Ecology, 2015)
Diptera are important flower visitors and pollinators for many plant species and in a variety of habitats. Although Diptera are not as well studied as other groups of pollinators, there is a growing literature that we review here about the ecology of their foraging behaviour and their effectiveness as pollinators. We consider (1) how their foraging is constrained by the interaction among body size, colour, and environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, wind, and light; (2) what is known about their foraging at scales ranging from their movements between flowers on a plant, between individuals in a population, and among species in a community (i.e., constancy); and (3) the evidence for effects of intra- and interspecific competition on foraging. We conclude with a discussion of the effectiveness of Diptera as pollinators. The available data suggest that Diptera exhibit many of the same foraging behaviours as other flower visitors and that they are effective pollinators in both

Effects of early snowmelt and frost on plant-pollinator interactions. - L. Howe-Kerr (2015)
As a result of climate change, plants are experiencing shifts in flowering phenology due to early snowmelt, and thus becoming more susceptible to damage from spring frost events. These direct effects of snowmelt and frost on plants can indirectly impact plant- pollinator interactions, yet few studies have examined these indirect effects. At the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, we conducted a series of experiments to answer the following questions: 1) Does variation in the phenology of flowering plants affect pollinator visitation rate? and 2) How do species and community level plant-pollinator responses to early snowmelt and frost damage compare? At our study site, we had 40 2m2 plots assigned to one of four treatment types: 1) early snowmelt and frost, 2) early snowmelt no frost, 3) natural snowmelt and frost, and 4) natural snowmelt and no frost, Pollinator observations were conducted over 8 weeks and visitation rates were compared among treatment type. We found that early snow

Population dynamics and competitive outcome derive from resource allocation statistics: the governing influence of the distinguishability of individuals - Y. J. Zhang; John Harte (Theoretical Population Biology, 2015)
The theory clarifies the condition for the energetic equivalence rule (EER) to hold, and provides a statistical explanation for the importance of species functional variation in determining population dynamics and coexistence patterns.

Floral herbivory: a possible mechanism maintaining a flower color polymorphism in a selfing species, Boechera stricta. - Michaela Keefe (2015)
Many studies have shown that pollinators are largely responsible for changing and maintaining flower color morph frequencies in nature. However, the preferences of pollinators do not always reflect observed frequencies in nature, especially in self-pollinating species. Thus, non-pollinator forces could be acting to change color morph frequencies. To test this hypothesis I used two species of Lepidopteran larvae and exposed them to floral and foliar tissue from white and purple Boechera stricta plants using choice and no-choice tests. I also observed natural populations for damage to leaves and reproductive structures. In the choice and no-choice tests, I found that both generalist larvae and specialist on Brassicaceae larvae preferred tissue from white over purple color morphs. In nature there was no difference in damage to plants of either color across all sites. Observed natural damage did not depend on the frequency of the purple morph, nor did frequencies differ between sites. Ther

Why doesn't nectar robbing decrease seed set in some bee-pollinated plants? - Janice Y. Park (2015)
Herbal impact on nectar robbing is species specific by pollinator species (Maloof and Inouye 2014). Unlike hummingbird pollinated plants, some bee-pollinated species does not suffer reproductive loss by nectar robbing (Maloof 2001, Mayer et al. 2014, Maloof and Inouye 2014). This observational study is investigating the probability that Bombus.sp forage either Mertensia ciliata or Corydalis caseana legitimately at least once before the flower is robbed. I also measured population-label robbing rate. I bagged the flower two days before, and on the days of experiment I waited in front of the uncovered flowers in order to voice- record Bumble bees’ visit type (legitimate vs. robbing). Furthermore, I conducted transects on the flower patch, and every time I saw the bee I recorded their visit type. Bombus sp. (B.flavifrons, B. mixtus. B. bifarius, B.appositus) was very likely visit legitimately first before it robbed (94.12 %, n=32), than robbing first (5.88%, n=2). Populational robbing rat

Roles of Stridulation in Nicophorus investigator. - V. Ortiz (2015)
Stridulation is a key behavior to determining survival in Nicrophorus investigator. In this paper, the roles it plays in competition over a carcass, burying process, and larval development have been studied. Their ability to stridulate was manipulated through clipping part of their plectra and they were given simulations that required some form of communication. Stridulation is vital to effectively communicate certain dominate behaviors. The experiments suggests that it is necessary to decrease the time it takes to winning a carcass in order to complete the beginning stages of the Nicrophorine life cycle.

Elevational and temporal variation in Ipomopsis floral and vegetative traits. - G. Trujillo (2015)
Exploring the geographical and temporal movement of hybrid zones provides practical evidence for conservation biologists investigating the dynamics of species invasions (Buggs 2007). Genetically based clines in floral traits can also help us to understand potential adaptation in responses to climate change. We re-measured floral traits in Ipomopsis in 12 populations along an elevational gradient in Poverty Gulch, Gunnison County that was first measured in 1991 and 1992. Corolla length increased by 4.4 mm on average and corolla width by 0.11mm on average between 1992 and 2015. In a common garden experiment, we also found a genetic and environmental basis for variation in corolla length and anther position. Since there is a genetic component to the variation, the change in corolla length over 23 years could represent an evolutionary change rather than just a response to environment. Unlike corolla length, corolla width did not change systematically over time when supplementary data from

Improving our chemistry: Challenges and opportunities in the interdisciplinary study of floral volatiles - Jonathan R. Thompson; Robert A. Raguso; Diane R. Campbell (Natural Products Reports, 2015)
Here we review next-generation questions in the study of plant–pollinator interactions mediated by floral volatiles, and the potential for renewed collaboration between biologists and chemists in answering such questions.

Environmentally induced phenotypic variation in wild yellow-bellied marmots - Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro; Kenneth B. Armitage; Julien G. A. Martin; Daniel T. Blumstein (Journal of Mammalogy, 2015)
Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of an individual to modify its phenotype according to the conditions it experiences, is a source of between-individual variation and a mechanism by which individuals can cope with environmental change. Plasticity is expected to evolve in response to environmental heterogeneity, such as seasonality and year-toyear variation. We aimed to characterize patterns of phenotypic change in morphological (body mass), life-history (reproductive success and litter size), and social (embeddedness) traits of female yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) in response to climatic and social variation. We used data collected over 36 years on a population of yellow-bellied marmots studied in Colorado. We used mixed effect models to explore phenotypically plastic responses and tested for individual variation in mean trait values (i.e., intercept) and in plasticity (i.e., slope). All examined traits were plastic, and the population's average plastic response often

Identifying PCR primers to facilitate molecular phylogenetics in Caddisflies (Trichoptera) - J. M. Marcus; B. S. McCullagh; S. A. Wissinger (Zoological Systematics, 2015)

Turnover and reliability of flower communities in extreme environments: Insights from long-term phenology data sets - T. M. Crimmins; K. L. Vanderbilt; K. W. Wright; C. David Bertelsen; David W. Inouye (Journal of Arid Environments, 2015)
Looking at the entire flower community as a resource for foraging pollinators, it is found that flowers are an unreliable resource, especially in unpredictable environments.

Utilization of naturalized mustard Thlaspi arvense by insect enemies. - C. Cerilla (2015)

How does dust affect pollination in Ipomopsis aggregata? - M. Diaz (2015)

How do distributions of belowground grass-fungal symbioses change over altitudinal gradients in the Colorado Rocky Mountains? - K. Clausen (2015)
Fungal symbionts are pervasive and crucial components of terrestrial ecosystems. They can often reduce the effects of stressors such as drought and heat and can increase nutrient and water uptake for plants. Because of these roles, fungal symbionts may be important in mitigating the stressors of climate change. Because plants will likely move up in elevation in search of more favorable environments as climate change occurs, altitudinal gradients can be used to model the effects of climate change. We aimed to gain an understanding of the distribution of fungal symbionts over altitudinal gradients in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. We collected roots from 14 different grass species over 6 altitudinal gradients and quantified colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, fine arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, dark septate endophytes, and saprotrophs. The distribution of fungal symbionts over altitudinal gradients is not well understood and many studies focus on only one host species, one fungal

The next century of ecology - David W. Inouye (Science, 2015)
The science of ecology is about relationships—among organisms and habitats, on all scales—and how they provide information that helps us better understand our world. In the past 100 years, the field has moved from observations to experiments to forecasting. Next week, the Ecological Society of America (ESA), the world's largest ecological society, celebrates its centennial in Baltimore, an opportunity to reflect on the field's past and future. The gathering of international scientists, policy-makers, and students will not only explore the knowledge in hand, but consider what else is needed to chart a course over the next century in which humanity sustains and even improves the relationships that underpin life on Earth.

Correlating road dust with reproduction of Ipomopsis aggregate. - J. Solverson (2014)
Roads potentially impact nearly one-fifth of the continental United States. Runoff, traffic disturbance, and maintenance associated with roads can affect both the abiotic and biotic features of roadside ecosystems. Species along unpaved roads are particularly susceptible to road dust effects. Plant physiology, such as gas exchange and overall productivity, is found to deteriorate in increased dust conditions. However, few studies have examined how dust influences plant reproduction. In this study, I examined how road dust impacts pollen delivery, pollen adhesion, and the translation of pollen to seed in Rocky Mountain populations of Ipomopsis aggregata. However, no stage of reproduction in I. aggregata was correlated with different dusting treatments, perhaps because visitation rates and pollen loads were high from high levels of pollinator activity. This study highlights the importance of temporal variation in future studies of road dust effects on plant reproduction.

Coyotes, deer, and wildflowers: diverse evidence points to a trophic cascade - S. R. Arozqueta; A. N. Pistoia; B. D. Castro-Escobar; R. L. Pickens; Mary V. Price; Nickolas M. Waser; Daniel T. Blumstein (Naturwissenschaften, 2014)
Judging from two palatable wildflower species whose seed crop and seedling recruitment were greatly reduced near the field station, the coyote–deer–wildflower trophic cascade has the potential to influence plant community composition.

Functional trait space and the latitudinal diversity gradient - C. A. Lamanna; C. Violle; Brian J. Enquist; Benjamin Blonder (PNAS, 2014)
SignificanceWe present a conceptual framework for testing theories for the latitudinal gradient of species richness in terms of variation in functional diversity at the alpha, beta, and gamma scales. We compared ecological community theory with large-scale observational data of tree species richness and functional diversity. We found that the patterns of functional trait diversity are not consistent with any one theory of species diversity. These conflicting results indicate that none of the broad classes of biodiversity theory considered here is alone able to explain the latitudinal gradient of species diversity in terms of functional trait space.

Aboveground and belowground traits of dominant and sub-dominant species along an elevational gradient. - J. Gutierrez (2014)

Beyond the species-area relationship: Improving macroecological extinction estimates. - J. Kitzes; John Harte (Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2014)

Do Stream Mayflies Exhibit Trade-Offs Between Food Acquisition and Predator Avoidance Behaviors? - S. A. Hernandez; B. L. Peckarsky (Freshwater Science, 2014)
Organisms often experience trade-offs between behaviors necessary for food acquisition and predator avoidance. In mesocosms and microcosms, we manipulated the risk and resource environments of grazing mayflies (Baetis bicaudatus) common in streams near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in western Colorado, USA. We exposed mayflies to treatments with or without chemical cues from predatory brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and high or low levels of benthic algal resources to test the nonconsumptive effects of predators and food availability on grazer foraging behavior, predator-avoidance behavior, growth rates, and the effect of grazers on accrual of algal food resources. Total drift (daytime + nighttime) of Baetis was significantly reduced under conditions of fish cues and high food levels. However, daytime drift, a risky food-search behavior, was negligible in all cases except the no-fish-cue/low-food treatment. Therefore, predator-induced nocturnal periodicity of drif

The flush early and avoid the rush hypothesis holds after accounting for spontaneous behavior - D. S. M. Samia; W. E. Cooper; Dana M. Williams; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology, 2014)
When approached by a predator, prey make economic decisions between remaining where they are and obtaining benefits from their current activity or leaving and enhancing their safety. The "flush early and avoid the rush" hypothesis suggests that animals that flee to escape approaching threats flee soon after they become alert to an approaching predator so as to reduce any costs incurred by ongoing monitoring of the predator. This hypothesis has been supported by several studies, but some researchers argue the relationship may be partially or entirely a consequence of bouts of spontaneous vigilance and/or bouts of spontaneous locomotion (vigilance or locomotion that occur when the animal is unaffected by a predator), rather than an economic decision related to the approaching predator. If this were true, spontaneous vigilance might incorrectly be recorded as alert distance (predator–prey distance when the prey becomes aware of and begins to monitor the predator) and spontaneous locomotio

Responses of high-altitude graminoids and fungal fungi to 20 years of experimental warming - Kenneth D. Whitney; Stephanie N. Kivlin; Mary V. Price; Jennifer A. Rudgers; Nickolas M. Waser; John Harte (Ecology, 2014)

Long-term effects of litter sex ratio on female reproduction in two iteroparous mammals - D. von Holst; H. G. Rodel; R. Monclus; Daniel T. Blumstein (Functional Ecology, 2014)

Influence of elevation on the sexual dimorphic gap in mountain white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha). - C. Welke (2014)
This study examined sexual dimorphism and dichromatism in mountain white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) and how it changes over an elevational gradient. Birds living in high elevation habitats are subject to harsh climatic conditions and a shorter breeding season, which affects how many MWCS can inhabit the area, how females select a mate, and how much energy for parental care is required for both males and females to acquire reproductive success. This increased parental effort requirement then has an impact on sexual selection pressures on males and on individual fitness. Mountain white-crowned sparrows were trapped with potter traps and mist nets at low (2962m) and high elevations (3240m) and measurements taken on wing, retrices, tarsus, and culmen length as well as crown stripe width and then compared between three pools of male and female pairs: 1) All birds caught during this study randomly paired from low elevation compared to high elevation, 2) Potentially br

Plant community light efficiency: measuring light response as a function of both photosynthesis irradiance. - J. Vaverka (2014)
Light response is a unique plant trait that is caused by a species level adaptation to a particular light environment and leaf morphology. By ignoring individuals and focusing on communities as a whole, I was better able to understand how irradiance levels shape plant life. I measured some key characteristics of light responses: dark respiration, maximum rate of photosynthesis, and light compensation point as functions of light environment, reduced light environment, and leaf traits. The leaf area of the dominant species has a strong relationship to light compensation point and the maximum rate of photosynthesis of the community. Leaf mass per area had a negative correlation to dark respiration rates. The association between the leaf traits and light response characteristics demonstrated how communities respond to differences in irradiance levels.

Aging, lifespan, and energetics under adult dietary restriction in Lepidoptera - A. Perez; Carol L. Boggs (Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 2014)

Dynamics and structure of a native Pieris population in the presence of a non-native, toxic larval host plant - A. Cummings; J. Bowsher; F. S. Chew; Mifuyu Nakajima; Carol L. Boggs (Journal of the Lepidopterists Society, 2014)
There have been reports of butterflies that oviposit on non-native plants that do not support the development of the larvae, and the fitness cost of this behavior has been estimated in one such case. However, the long-term consequences of this fitness cost for the population dynamics of such butterflies have not been studied. Here we report changes over 40 years in a population of Pieris macdunnoughii (Lepidoptera, Pieridae; formerly Pieris napi macdunnoughii Remington), which oviposits on a lethal, non-native plant, Thlaspi arvense (Brassicaceae), as well as on suitable native hosts. Mark-release-recapture (MRR) studies conducted at four intervals over 40 years showed no significant trends across years in population structure or dynamics, including estimated population density and temporal changes in the number of newly emerged individuals within a year. The estimated daily residence rate differed between the sexes. However, male estimated daily residence rate showed no significant ch

On theory in ecology - P. Marquet; John Harte (BioScience, 2014)
We argue for expanding the role of theory in ecology to accelerate scientific progress, enhance the ability to address environmental challenges, foster the development of synthesis and unification, and improve the design of experiments and large-scale environmental-monitoring programs. To achieve these goals, it is essential to foster the development of what we call efficient theories, which have several key attributes. Efficient theories are grounded in first principles, are usually expressed in the language of mathematics, make few assumptions and generate a large number of predictions per free parameter, are approximate, and entail predictions that provide well-understood standards for comparison with empirical data. We contend that the development and successive refinement of efficient theories provide a solid foundation for advancing environmental science in the era of big data.