An Analysis of the Emergency Fire Response to the Colorado 2012 Waldo Canyon and 2013 Black Forest Fires - Ronald M. Sega; Gregory S. Marzolf (Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 2018)
Abstract This research hypothesizes that changes in command and control along with increased levels of trust and training led to a stronger response in Colorado’s 2013 Black Forest fire than that of the 2012 Waldo Canyon fire. Because the fires were categorized as the worst in the region’s history, and because they occurred in very close succession, in roughly the same area, involving many of the same responders, the fires provide valuable insights into how the response system adapted, or failed to adapt, to overcome key events under both scenarios. The study found that the ability to tailor command and control and supporting response structures to a particular event instead of using traditional rigid frameworks were instrumental to a more effective response. The study goes on to suggest that even though the Black Forest fire was met with an improved response, a systems approach is needed to better accommodate increasingly complex future events.

Conditional Exploitation and Context-Dependent Fitness Consequences of Pollination Mutualisms (http://hdl.handle.net/10150/628436, 2018)
The aboveground primary productivity within each of four areas, differing in length of the snow-free season, was determined in a high subalpine (3380 m) herbaceous meadow in Colorado. Net productivity, minus losses to herbivores, ranged from 114 g -m™ - yr“ in the area with the shortest snow-free period, to maximum values of 192 g - m™?. yr“ in areas with snow-free periods of intermediate length. Caltha leptosepala and Senecio cras- sulus, the only dominant forb species com- mon to all four areas, showed differing pat- terns of productivity within and between areas. Domestic sheep may have removed up to 38% of the peak standing crop within the study area during 6 h of grazing. Variation in dominance-diversity curves among the four areas suggests that the effect of snow cover in controlling the length of the growing season may be less important than its influence on moisture availability in determining the over- all structure of this subalpine community.

Climate Warming Drives Local Extinction: Evidence from Observation and Experimentation - M. L. Stanton; A. M. Panetta; John Harte (ScienceAdvances, 2018)
Climate warming causes plant populations to crash by reducing fecundity and survival across multiple life stages.

White-Crowned Sparrow respond to the alarm calls of local species but do not discriminate among them - K. Ziska (2018)
Eavesdropping is recognizing and gleaning information from a communication intended for someone else. Eavesdropping on alarm calls can benefit eavesdroppers by decreasing the time they spend allocated to vigilance, giving them more time for other behaviors such as foraging. Although there have been many studies done on eavesdropping on heterospecifics among birds, there have been few studies on migratory birds and their ability to learn heterospecifics alarm calls of local species in their breeding ranges. We conducted a playback on white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) using alarm calls from Lincoln’s sparrows (Melospiza lincolnii), yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris), gray jays (Catharus minimus), American robins (Turdus migratorius), and white-crowned sparrows to try and understand if they listened to these acoustically variant alarm calls and gained any different information from each of them. We found that while sparrows responded to all playbacks, they did not discriminate amongst treatments. Thus, sparrows obtain general information about threats in their territories but do not respond in ways consistent with the alarm calls providing differential information about these threats. We speculate that fledglings probably learn the alarm calls of local species before migration, and remember them when they return to breed themselves. KEY WORDS: Alarm call, heterospecifics eavesdropping, mountain White-crowned sparrow, migration 1

Investigation of Inbreeding Depression in Boechera stricta Fitness - K. Schepke (2018)
Maintaining high levels of self-fertilization within a population increases homozygosity, exposes deleterious alleles, and may cause inbreeding depression. Yet, many species of flowering plants have evolved to self-fertilize a majority of the time. Often, self-fertilization is favored over outcrossing when small populations experience harsh or stressful environments. Self-compatibility may evolve after a founder event or when natural selection favors high reproductive assurance, such as when there is limited pollinator activity. When this occurs, selfing syndrome, the reduction of petal size and pollen production, may follow. Conversely, natural selection may remove deleterious alleles from highly self-fertilizing plants, allowing for combinations of locally-adapted alleles to arise. As a result some species may show no evidence of inbreeding depression, and in fact may have decreased fitness due to loss of locally co-adapted allele combinations following outcrossing. In ​Boechera stricta ​(Brassicaceae), a highly selfing perennial wildflower, the relative fitness costs of inbreeding vs. outcrossing are not characterized. In order to test for inbreeding depression and signs of selfing syndrome in Boechera stricta, ​I performed​ ​controlled crosses and and measured trait variation among selfed and outcrossed genotypes in a common garden experiment. Our results suggest a trend that more inbred populations of ​Boechera stricta ​may have higher fitness, such as larger fruit size, than outbred populations. In addition, more inbred populations were observed to reach reproductive maturity and flower earlier than outbred populations.

Microenvironment and functional-trait context dependence predict plant community dynamics - Oystein H.; Bente J. Graae; Jacob M. Heiling; Rebecca M. Dalton; Benjamin Blonder (Journal of Ecology, 2018)
Abstract Predicting the structure and dynamics of communities is difficult. Approaches linking functional traits to niche boundaries, species co‐occurrence and demography are promising, but have so far had limited success. We hypothesized that predictability in community ecology could be improved by incorporating more accurate measures of fine‐scale environmental heterogeneity and the context‐dependent function of traits. We tested these hypotheses using long term whole‐community demography data from an alpine plant community in Colorado. Species distributions along microenvironmental gradients covaried with traits important for below‐ground processes. Positive associations between species distributions across life stages could not be explained by abiotic microenvironment alone, consistent with facilitative processes. Rates of growth, survival, fecundity and recruitment were predicted by the direct and interactive effects of trait, microenvironment, macroenvironment and neighbourhood axes. Synthesis . Context‐dependent interactions between multiple traits and microenvironmental axes are needed to predict fine‐scale community structure and dynamics.

Utilizing sustainability criteria to evaluate river basin decision-making: the case of the Colorado River Basin - John Berggren (Regional Environmental Change, 2018)

First reports of turtle tracks from the Williams Fork Formation (‘Mesaverde’ Group), Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of western Colorado - M. Ryan King; Martin G. Lockley; John Ward Smith (Cretaceous Research, 2018)

The Effect of Climate Change on Plant Communities in the Rocky Mountains: How floral traits differ along an elevational gradient and in reciprocally transplanted communities - M. Lundin (2018)
Alpine zones are characterized by climatic conditions that can vary over short vertical distances. Therefore, elevational gradients have been used to study how changes in climate can influence plant form, function, and diversity. In my study, I examined floral traits in native communities along an elevational gradient as well as in a novel experimental set of transplant communities to understand how shifts in temperature and elevation influence floral traits. I measured flower diameter, flower radius, flower length, height of the highest flower and number of flowers (count) at a variety of sites in Washington Gulch. At three different experimental transplant sites, I sampled each transplanted and control plot. I also sampled at long-term research sites of Dr. Brian Enquist and Department of Energy (DOE) sites in the vicinity of Crested Butte, Colorado. I predicted that flower diameter, flower radius, flower length and height of the highest flower will increase at higher elevations because alpine plants typically have larger floral structures to compensate for the paucity of pollinators in the alpine and because water availability is better in alpine environments as opposed to lowland habitats. Conversely, I expect the number of flowers to decrease as elevation increases because there are fewer pollinators and harsher environmental conditions like heightened wind velocities which stunt growth. Helianthella quinquenervis​ and ​Potentilla pulcherrima d​ id not show any discernible trends for diameter, height or length along the gradient but both had compelling findings embedded in the data for certain sites. Significant differences were found between sites for each trait but further analysis is required to contextualize these variations. This project is unique in that we measured native plant communities that were transported to higher and lower elevation sites and also quantitatively compared different flower morphologies and attributes in these varied settings.

Selenium Distribution for Soils Derived from Mancos Shale in Gunnison and Uncompahgre River Basins, West-Central Colorado - Moustafa A. Elrashidi (Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 2018)
Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for humans and animals and can be toxic when present in high concentrations in soil and water. Many soils in Gunnison and Uncompahgre River Basins in West-Central Colorado are formed from deposits derived mainly from weathered Mancos shale that have high concentration of Se and salts. Elevated concentrations of Se and salts were detected in streams and rivers in this area. The objectives were to determine the amount and distribution of different forms of Se and relationships with physical and chemical properties for soils derived from Se-rich Mancos shale. The information may help to improve land management practices and minimize the environmental impact on natural water resources. A total of 48 topsoil samples and soils from horizons in 9 pedons were investigated. The total and water-soluble Se and other elements as well as physical and chemical properties were determined in soils. The total Se ranged from 330 to 5,673 µg/kg with a mean of 2,224 µg/kg. The water-soluble Se ranged from a minimum of 4.95 µg/kg to a maximum of 2,415 µg/kg and a mean of 338 µg/kg. A highly significant correlation was detected between the total and water-soluble Se in soils. Both the total organic carbon (TOC) and CaCO3% had significant positive correlations with the total Se. A highly significant correlation was also found between the water-soluble Se and electric conductivity (EC), as well as with the water-soluble chloride, sulfate, nitrate, molybdenum, and sodium in soils. For the pedons tested, in general, both the total and water-soluble Se increased with depth. However, the water-soluble Se concentrations were greater in shallow than deep pedons where most Se was removed from soils with drainage water. It could be concluded that Se leaching from topsoils and that dissolving from Se-rich parent materials would be a major source of elevated Se concentrations in streams/rivers for the West-Central Colorado area. To minimize the impact on water quality, an appropriate land/water management practices should be followed to minimize Se leaching from soils derived from Mancos shale.

Building up Biogeography: Pattern to Process - F. K. Pearse; S. A. Keith; L. J. Harmon; A. M. Barbosa; S. A. Fritz; John Harte (Journal of Biogeography, 2018)
Abstract Linking pattern to process across spatial and temporal scales has been a key goal of the field of biogeography. In January 2017, the 8th biennial conference of the International Biogeography Society sponsored a symposium on Building up biogeography—process to pattern that aimed to review progress towards this goal. Here we present a summary of the symposium, in which we identified promising areas of current research and suggested future research directions. We focus on (1) emerging types of data such as behavioural observations and ancient DNA , (2) how to better incorporate historical data (such as fossils) to move beyond what we term “footprint measures” of past dynamics and (3) the role that novel modelling approaches (e.g. maximum entropy theory of ecology and approximate Bayesian computation) and conceptual frameworks can play in the unification of disciplines. We suggest that the gaps separating pattern and process are shrinking, and that we can better bridge these aspects by considering the dimensions of space and time simultaneously.

A molecular investigation of soil organic carbon composition across a subalpine catchment - H. T. Hsu; C. R. Lawrence; Katharine Maher; Matthew Winnick; John R. Bargar (Soil Systems, 2018)
The dynamics of soil organic carbon (SOC) storage and turnover are a critical component of the global carbon cycle. Mechanistic models seeking to represent these complex dynamics require detailed SOC compositions, which are currently difficult to characterize quantitatively. Here, we address this challenge by using a novel approach that combines Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and bulk carbon X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) to determine the abundance of SOC functional groups, using elemental analysis (EA) to constrain the total amount of SOC. We used this SOC functional group abundance (SOC-fga) method to compare variability in SOC compositions as a function of depth across a subalpine watershed (East River, Colorado, USA) and found a large degree of variability in SOC functional group abundances between sites at different elevations. Soils at a lower elevation are predominantly composed of polysaccharides, while soils at a higher elevation have more substantial portions of carbonyl, phenolic, or aromatic carbon. We discuss the potential drivers of differences in SOC composition between these sites, including vegetation inputs, internal processing and losses, and elevation-driven environmental factors. Although numerical models would facilitate the understanding and evaluation of the observed SOC distributions, quantitative and meaningful measurements of SOC molecular compositions are required to guide such models. Comparison among commonly used characterization techniques on shared reference materials is a critical next step for advancing our understanding of the complex processes controlling SOC compositions.

Why are some plant-nectar robber interactions commensalisms? - Heather Ellison; Trevor Ledbetter; Jacob M. Heiling; Rebecca E. Irwin (Oikos, 2018)
Many plants that bear hidden or recessed floral nectar experience nectar robbing, the removal of nectar by a floral visitor through holes pierced in the corolla. Although robbing can reduce plant reproductive success, many studies fail to find such effects. We outline three mechanistic hypotheses that can explain when interactions between plants and nectar‐robbers should be commensal rather than antagonistic: the non‐discrimination (pollinators do not avoid robbed flowers), visitor prevalence (robber visitation is rare relative to pollinator visitation), and pollen saturation (stigmas receive sufficient pollen to fertilize all ovules with one or very few pollinator visits) hypotheses. We then explore these mechanisms in the North American subalpine, bumble bee‐pollinated and nectar‐robbed plant Corydalis caseana (Fumariaceae). We first confirmed that the effects of nectar robbing on female reproductive success were neutral in C. caseana . We then tested the three mechanisms underlying these neutral effects using a combination of observational studies and experiments. We found evidence for all three mechanisms. First, consistent with the non‐discrimination hypothesis, pollinators failed to discriminate against experimentally robbed flowers or inflorescences even though naturally robbed flowers offered significantly lower nectar rewards than unrobbed flowers. Second, C. caseana was more commonly visited by pollinators than by nectar robbers, in accordance with the visitor prevalence hypothesis. Third, stigmas of unvisited flowers as well as those visited once by pollinators were saturated with pollen, with all stigmas bearing pollen loads several orders of magnitude higher than the number of ovules per fruit, consistent with the pollen saturation hypothesis. Our investigation of the mechanisms driving the commensal outcome of nectar robbing in this system deepens our understanding of the ecology of nectar robbing and contributes to a more general understanding of the variation in the outcomes of interactions between species.

Women, Crime and Justice: Balancing the Scales E. Gunnison, F.P. Bernat and L. Goodstein. Chichester: Wiley (2017) 306pp. £75.50hb ISBN 9781118793466 - Gillian McNaull (The Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, 2018)
Women, Crime and Justice is an expansive teaching tool, focused on the position of women in the criminal justice system, as victims, offenders, and professional agents working within it. In addition, Gunnison, Bernat and Goodstein consider how the law impacts upon distinctly gendered issues, with women as the focus of legal social control. The textbook is accompanied by a series of online resources, accessible via the ‘instructor companion site’ of the publishers, which includes essay questions, quiz questions and PowerPoint slides for each of the book's eleven chapters. For students, the online resources feature additional engagement activities, reading and media suggestions, as well as chapter outlines and a glossary. Each chapter of the book commences with student learning outcomes, incorporates case studies and ‘special legal issues’, and closes with student activities and discussion questions. Chapter 1, ‘Foundations for understanding women and crime’, locates issues of women, crime, gender, and criminology historically, while outlining the development of the feminist movement in the United States and the progression of global feminist criminological theory. The authors highlight how ‘what we know’ about women and criminal justice has primarily been discovered over ‘the past several decades’ due to criminological focus on the crimes of men (p.2) and introduce key concepts necessary for learning in this area: differences between sex and gender; the law and its position in defining acts as criminal (p.4); the impact of laws put in place; and the necessity for intersectional accounts of gender and crime (p.5). The book is aimed at an American audience, basing discussions on the United States legal system and positioning global examples and experiences alongside the United States’ implementation of criminal justice. Ontologically, the authors position the criminal justice system as engaged in ‘a battle to reduce crime’ (p.1) and consider the text useful for students in that it will ‘greatly improve your preparation for professions in law and in the criminal justice system’ (p.2). If we do not have a full comprehension of the multifaceted reasons why women commit crime, then correctional administrators, practitioners, and policy makers may not implement policies that are needed to help women … who may be on a troubled path and to help women who are already involved in offending to stop. (p.41) This is representative of the liberal reformist lens of the text, highlighting the gendered issues of criminal justice that need reformed to produce a more effective system. Chapter 3 examines convicted women and the punishments they received, opening with a commentary on high-profile offenders, Martha Stewart and Tonya Harding, who are held as exemplars throughout the chapter, using the case study of Malala Yousafzai to highlight the culturally-constructed nature of crime and punishment that women experience. Middle Eastern countries are held up as defining certain behaviours of women and girls as criminal, in comparison with the United States (p.52). The chapter analyses gender sentencing, highlighting the ‘chivalry thesis’ as the reason that more men than women are sentenced to prison. However, this conception fails to recognise the disproportionate hyperincarceration of women in recent decades, or parallel explanations of sentencing rooted in women's ‘double deviance’ in the eyes of criminal justice agents. The history of women's imprisonment in the United States is discussed, alongside an examination of the types of women imprisoned, with a welcome emphasis on the disproportionate incarceration of African American women, and the impact of the ‘war on drugs’ on this process (p.56). Also covered in the chapter are the conditions and processes experienced by women in prison, particularly with regards to health care provision, and how that manifests for mothers and transgender women (pp.65–6). Chapter 4 moves on to other conceptions of women and criminal justice, exploring the exertion of legal control over women's bodies and reproductive systems, from a macro level, through the criminalisation of abortion and the infliction of involuntary sterilisation, to the micro level of physical control of women prisoners, shackled as they give birth. Via its exploration of ‘the nexus of women's reproductive lives and legal control’ by systems which ‘punish, coerce, or restrict the behaviour of women’, the chapter highlights how ‘imposing legal constraints on women simply by virtue of their role as child-bearers’ serves to target specific minority and disadvantaged groups of women (pp.83–4). In Chapters 5, 6, and 7, the authors address the victimisation of women, through sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and technologically-enabled cyberbullying and harassment. Chapter 5 provides an examination of the processes and problems of definition and prosecution of rape, as well as measurements of the prevalence of sexual victimisation, and the aftermath of rapes for victims. The chapter explores rape through multiple mediums: legislation and policy, micro- and macro-orientated theoretical and societal constructs of rape, as well as survivor poetry, providing a number of ways for students to consider the topic, and concludes with a consideration of how to prevent sexual violence (p.143). Student engagement activities include creating a ‘bystander intervention model’ for universities, considering the pros and cons of reporting sexual assault to criminal justice agents, and discussing the prevalence and manifestation of ‘rape culture’ (p.146). Chapter 6, in examination of domestic violence, considers its exertion as a form of physical, sexual, emotional and economic violence, comparing its manifestation across different nations, and exploring criminal justice and social service responses for victims as well as programmes for offenders. As with much violence against women, the chapter notes that ‘legal change is not enough to alter attitudes and beliefs about domestic violence’ (p.174). In Chapter 7, the authors locate gendered victimisation within the contemporary technological world, examining violence exerted by cyberbullying, cyberstalking, and cyberharassment. The chapter explores the suicidal response of the victims of this form of violence, in response to gendered cyberbullying they received (p.190), and highlights ‘the ability of offenders to be anonymous’, with comments ‘spread fast and widely to others’ in this electronic, cyberjurisdiction (p.186). Central to the chapter, is the assumption that national and global collaboration regarding definition and legislative responses to cybervictimisation is necessary. Yet, in light of the chapter's note that ‘most cyberbullying perpetrators are girls’ (p.193), perhaps more space could be given to responses that do not criminalise young people, but, instead, emphasise the necessary social and community steps (p.194) that could be taken to address this issue. In the last third of the book, the authors move on to an interesting and expansive consideration of women's position as professionals within criminal justice, focusing on women working in policing (Chapter 8), in the courts as lawyers and jurists (Chapter 9), and within prison institutions (Chapter 10). Chapter 5 opens with a celebration of first responder police officers killed at the World Trade Centre on 11 September, before moving on to examining issues of institutional sexism and discrimination experienced by female police officers in the Los Angeles Police Department (p.199). The chapter gives an overview of the history of women in policing, and of contemporary comparative experiences of women police officers globally, where the position of gender, race, and sexual orientation are challenges emerging from police cultures. The chapter concludes that ‘there need to be organizational changes and attitudinal changes … for the goal of gender equity to be achieved in policing today’ (p.215). In Chapter 9, the history of women in the legal profession is explored. The chapter examines the gendered expectations and judgments that women face regarding their attire in court rooms of the United States, as well as the discrimination they face regarding equal payment (p.223). Women working in legal professions today still find ‘gains have been slowed by social and cultural views that women do not belong in a male-defined profession’, with women lawyers prevalent in ‘lower paid, public sector position … to balance family interest’ (p.231). As the chapter considers, perhaps if more women and ethnic minority jurists are appointed, judicial representation can become ‘more reflective of the diverse population of this nation’, garnering ‘the court’ with understanding of ‘the real-world implications of its rulings’ (p.236). The final substantive chapter of the book, Chapter 10, examines women working in the corrections profession, outlining the history and contemporary manifestation of women working in prisons. A number of issues are highlighted: women's safety in prisons; the crossing of professional boundaries through smuggling and sexual relations with prisoners; abuse and disrespect from prisoners; negative stereotypes regarding their suitability for prison work; sexual harassment from co-workers; blocked career advancement; stress and the imbalance of work and home life. As in earlier chapters, the exceptional is emphasised with case studies of violent attacks and sexual relations of women prison officers opening a chapter which asks: ‘are women working in correctional facilities somehow vulnerable to the manipulation of men?’ (p.244). In a sense, these depictions detract from the daily gendered and racial harassment and abuse women correctional officers endure within the institutional regime of the prison, often at the hands of their colleagues (pp.252–4). While the chapter concludes that women prison officers have ‘unique skills … that are both an asset for their male colleagues and for helping those in their communities’ (p.260), this is within the context of a section entitled ‘the effectiveness of women correctional workers’ (p.257). This panders to the idea that workplace effectiveness of women as distinct from men needs to be proven. Would we ask the same question of men? Finally, the authors conclude with Chapter 11, considering the ‘depictions of crime and victimisation presented’, and how they serve to ‘highlight what we know about gender and crime … from both a domestic and international point of view’ (p.269). The authors highlight the interrelationship of crime and victimisation, often cast as ‘distinct categories’, putting forward that feminist criminology can explain this intersection, created by the oppression of ‘social, cultural and legal institutions’ (p.274). As the textbook considers, while the law can be used to challenge injustices, equally it can ‘create or entrench disparity’ (p.275). While these are worthwhile criminological questions to raise, the content of the text did not quite rise to the challenge of fully examining these issues. Critical feminist perspectives were briefly touched upon throughout, but broadly, existing entrenched conceptions of crime and criminal justice were left unchallenged. Overall, this textbook provides an extensive overview of issues women face when they intersect with the criminal justice system, either as employees, victims or ‘offenders’. Methodologically, the range of interactive features provided both throughout the text and through a range of online facilities, produces a textbook which is pedagogically sound. However, while the book succeeds in its aims to provide ‘a cross-cultural perspective’, the international element of the text is delivered from a North American subjectivity, with other global experiences always the comparative object.

Geochemical exports to river from the intra-meander hyporheic zone under transient hydrologic conditions: East River Mountainous Watershed, Colorado - Nick Spycher; J. D. Moulton; Michelle Newcomer; Bhavna Arora; Boris Faybishenko; Patricia Fox; Carl I. Steefel; P. S. Nico; Baptiste Dafflon; Dipankar Dwivedi; Kenneth Hurst Williams (Water Resources Research, 2018)
AbstractTo understand how redox processes influence carbon, nitrogen, and iron cycling within the intrameander hyporheic zone, we developed a biotic and abiotic reaction network and incorporated it into the reactive transport simulator PFLOTRAN. Two‐dimensional reactive flow and transport simulations were performed (1) to evaluate how transient hydrological conditions control the lateral redox zonation within an intrameander region of the East River in Colorado and (2) to quantify the impact of a single meander on subsurface exports of carbon and other geochemical species to the river. The meander's overall contribution to the river was quantified by integrating geochemical outfluxes along the outside of the meander bend. The model was able to capture the field‐observed trends of dissolved oxygen, nitrate, iron, pH, and total inorganic carbon along a 2‐D transect. Consistent with field observations, simulated dissolved oxygen and nitrate decreased along the intrameander flow paths while iron (Fe2+) concentration increased. The simulation results further demonstrated that the reductive potential of the lateral redox zonation was controlled by groundwater velocities resulting from river stage fluctuations, with low‐water conditions promoting reducing conditions. The sensitivity analysis results showed that permeability had a more significant impact on biogeochemical zonation compared to the reaction pathways under transient hydrologic conditions. The simulation results further indicated that the meander acted as a sink for organic and inorganic carbon as well as iron during the extended baseflow and high‐water conditions; however, these geochemical species were released into the river during the falling limb of the hydrograph.

Clines in traits compared over two decades in a plant hybrid zone - G. Trujillo; A. Faidiga; Diane R. Campbell (Annals of Botany, 2018)
The increase in corolla length provides a rare example of a match between predicted and observed evolution of a plant trait in natural populations. The clinal properties are consistent with the hypothesis that habitat-mediated divergent selection on vegetative traits and pollinator-mediated selection on floral traits both maintain species differences across the hybrid zone.

Efficient hydrogeological characterization of remote stream corridors using drones - Cian Dawson; C. L. Holmquist-Johnson; J. W. Lane; Martin Briggs; Kenneth Hurst Williams (Hydrological Processes. doi 10.1002/hyp.13332, 2018)
Data S1 Supporting Information Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.

The Where of Mineral Names: Creedite, Colorado Fluorspar Company Mine, Wagon Wheel Gap, Mineral County, Colorado - Mark Ivan Jacobson (Rocks & Minerals, 2018)
CREEDITE, Ca3Al2(SO4)(OH)2F8·2H2O, is a calcium aluminium sulfate fluoro-hydroxide. It forms colorless to white to purple, monoclinic prismatic crystals, frequently in acicular radiating sprays of ...

Influence of Metal Contamination and Sediment Deposition on Benthic Invertebrate Colonization at the North Fork Clear Creek Superfund Site, Colorado, USA - Jacob L. Williamson; William H. Clements; Brittanie L. Dabney; James F. Ranville (Environmental Science & Technology, 2018)
Assessing benthic invertebrate community responses to multiple stressors is necessary to improve the success of restoration and biomonitoring projects. Results of mesocosm and field experiments were integrated to predict how benthic macroinvertebrate communities would recover following the removal of acid mine drainage from the North Fork of Clear Creek (NFCC), a U.S. EPA Superfund site in Colorado, USA. We transferred reference and metal-contaminated sediment to an upstream reference site where colonization by benthic macroinvertebrates was measured over 30 days. Additionally, a mesocosm experiment was performed to test the hypothesis that patches of metal-contaminated substrate impede recolonization downstream. Abundance in all treatments increased over time during field experiments; however, colonization was slower in treatments with metal-contaminated fine sediment. Community assemblages in treatments with metal-contaminated fine substrate were significantly different from other treatments. Patterns in the mesocosm study were consistent with results of the field experiment and showed greater separation in community structure between streams with metal-contaminated sediments and reference-coarse habitats; however, biological traits also helped explain downstream colonization. This study suggests that after water quality improvements at NFCC, fine-sediment deposition will likely reduce recovery potential for some taxa; however highly mobile taxa that avoid patches of contaminated habitats can recover quickly.

Transgenerational and within-generation plasticity in response to climate change: insights from a manipulative field experiment across an elevational gradient - Rachel M. MacTavish; Susana M. Wadgymar (Am. Nat., 2018)
Parental environmental effects-or transgenerational plasticity-can influence an individual's phenotype or fitness yet remain underexplored in the context of global change. Using the perennial self-pollinating plant Boechera stricta, we explored the effects of climate change on transgenerational and within-generation plasticity in dormancy, germination, growth, and survival. We first conducted a snow removal experiment in the field, in which we transplanted 16 families of known origin into three common gardens at different elevations and exposed half of the siblings to contemporary snow dynamics and half to early snow removal. We planted the offspring of these individuals in a factorial manipulation of temperature and water level in the growth chamber and reciprocally transplanted them across all parental environments in the field. The growth chamber experiment revealed that the effects of transgenerational plasticity persist in traits expressed after establishment, even when accounting for parental effects on seed mass. The field experiment showed that transgenerational and within-generation plasticity can interact and that plasticity varies clinally in populations distributed across elevations. These findings demonstrate that transgenerational plasticity can influence fitness-related traits and should be incorporated in studies of biological responses to climate change.

Marmots do not consistently use their left eye to respond to an approaching threat but those that did fled sooner - A. Diaz; L. Yin; Daniel T. Blumstein (Current Zoology, 2018)
In many vertebrates, the brain's right hemisphere which is connected to the left visual field specializes in the processing of information about threats while the left hemisphere which is connected to the right visual field specializes in the processing of information about conspecifics. This is referred to as hemispheric lateralization. But individuals that are too predictable in their response to predators could have reduced survival and we may expect selection for somewhat unpredictable responses. We studied hemispheric lateralization in yellow-bellied marmots Marmota flaviventer, a social rodent that falls prey to a variety of terrestrial and aerial predators. We first asked if they have lateralized responses to a predatory threat. We then asked if the eye that they used to assess risk influenced their perceptions of risk. We recorded the direction marmots were initially looking and then walked toward them until they fled. We recorded the distance that they responded to our experimental approach by looking, the eye with which they looked at us, and the distance at which they fled (i.e., flight initiation distance; FID). We found that marmots had no eye preference with which they looked at an approaching threat. Furthermore, the population was not comprised of individuals that responded in consistent ways. However, we found that marmots that looked at the approaching person with their left eye had larger FIDs suggesting that risk assessment was influenced by the eye used to monitor the threat. These findings are consistent with selection to make prey less predictable for their predators, despite underlying lateralization.

Dormancy rates in microbial communities across an elevational gradient - M. Manto (2017)
Despite the broad impacts microbial dormancy has on ecosystems and ecosystem models, dormancy as a response to climate-change-related environmental stressors is poorly understood. Dormancy is an essential bet-hedging strategy used by microbes to tolerate unfavorable conditions and increase overall community diversity. Accurate estimates of dormancy improve existing models of microbial systems. However, the ways in which climatic gradients shape the level of dormancy in soil bacterial and fungal communities remains unclear. Here, we performed a genomics-based, integrated field and laboratory study to evaluate the level of dormancy in bacterial and fungal communities across a natural climate gradient to test if dormancy in bacterial and fungal communities was related to changes in soil properties and climatic factors. To test this question, we examined microbial dormancy at five sites along an elevational gradient near Crested Butte, CO. Additionally, temporal changes over the growing season may shift dormancy patterns at a single site, leading us to collect weekly samples from a low and high elevation site to compare dormancy shifts among sites and temporal shifts within sites. Dormancy work is ongoing, however some preliminary evidence has shown that pH decreases from low to high elevation and increases over the growing season. A better grasp of microbial dormancy will improve our ability to model microbial communities and ecosystems, thus leading to a more thorough understanding of the effects climate change will have on microbial communities and the myriad of environmental processes that they support.

Pond nutrient storage across permanence and temporal gradients - A. Long (2017)
Our goal was to understand how range shifts in detrivorous larval caddisflies could affect nutrient storage along a pond permanence gradient in the Mexican Cut Preserve (Gunnison County, Colorado). As part of a larger project quantifying other ecological impacts and interactions arising from the caddisfly range shift, this study focused on measuring nutrient distributions along the permanence gradient. First, through an observational study, we measured levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water column and took samples of benthic organic matter (BOM) and sedge for analysis at a later date. By sampling these nutrient compartments with respect to time and pond permanence, we will be better able to understand the magnitude and timing of nutrient storage in oligotrophic subalpine ponds. Second, we designed an experiment to quantify the effects of caddisflies on pond nutrient distribution. We created an in- situ cage experiment to compare the effects of two Limnephilid caddisfly species: L. externuns and L. picturatus. This allowed us to understand the nutrient cycling that caddisflies are responsible for within these ponds. This experiment also serves to contextualize our nutrient observations with respect to larval caddisfly activity and the ongoing research on caddisfly distributional shifts and nutrient excretion.

Variation in bill morphology and pollen prevalence in the Broad-Tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) - T. J. Barnes (2017)
We found that the Broad-Tailed Hummingbird (Selasphorus platycercus) exhibits significant intraspecies variation across several morphological traits, including those important in foraging. However, the effects of these morphological variation on flower visitation is not well understood. To begin to understand the effects morphological variation on flower foraging, we quantified morphological variation across a total of 521 Broad-Tailed Hummingbirds across two summers at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. We also quantified prevalence of Ipomopsis spp. pollen in this population in order to test for a link between variation in bill morphology and variation in Ipomopsis visitation. We found that females are significantly larger in full gape, exposed culem, bill width, bill depth, mandible width than males. There was no difference in curvature of bill and wing chord between males and females. We found a significant and positive association between bill length in males and the presence of Ipomopsis spp. pollen in males and a negative association between curvature and Ipomopsis spp. presence in both males and females. Overall, our analysis suggests that the considerable variation in bill traits in the Broad-Tailed Hummingbird at RMBL may be functionally important. These patterns may mirror patterns across hummingbird species, which show tight linkages between bill length and curvature and morphological traits of nectar plants.

The Effects of Early Snow-melt on the Pollination and Seed Production of Delphinium nuttallianum - L. Gonzalez (2017)

Variation in Undisturbed Plant and Animal Populations and Its Implications for Studies of Recovering Ecosystems - David W. Inouye (2017)
Variation in population sizes of indicator species on an annual scale is much more likely to be of significance for most studies of ecosystem recovery. This broader time scale encompasses the regularly occurring seasonal climatic cycles and the corresponding variation in population dynamics of most plants and animals. Variation toward the long-term end of the temporal continuum is certainly significant on an evolutionary time scale, but can probably be safely ignored with regard to the recovery of damaged ecosystems. In this chapter, the author presents the analyses of two sets of data: a Christmas bird count of Passer domesticus (house sparrow) from 1947 to 1984 in Wichita, Kansas, and counts of the number of flowers of Helianthella quinquenervis (aspen sunflower) from 1974 to 1985 at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Both of these data sets are perhaps representative of the types of census data that might be collected by researchers monitoring the status of recovering ecosystems.

Young inversion with multiple linked QTLs under selection in a hybrid zone - T. Mandakova; Julius Mojica; Baosheng Wang (Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2017)
AbstractFixed chromosomal inversions can reduce gene flow and promote speciation in two ways: by suppressing recombination and by carrying locally favoured alleles at multiple loci. However, it is unknown whether favoured mutations slowly accumulate on older inversions or if young inversions spread because they capture pre-existing adaptive quantitative trait loci (QTLs). By genetic mapping, chromosome painting and genome sequencing, we have identified a major inversion controlling ecologically important traits inBoechera stricta. The inversion arose since the last glaciation and subsequently reached local high frequency in a hybrid speciation zone. Furthermore, the inversion shows signs of positive directional selection. To test whether the inversion could have captured existing, linked QTLs, we crossed standard, collinear haplotypes from the hybrid zone and found multiple linked phenology QTLs within the inversion region. These findings provide the first direct evidence that linked, locally adapted QTLs may be captured by young inversions during incipient speciation.

Social security: are socially connected individuals less vigilant? - R. Mady; Daniel T. Blumstein (Animal Behaviour, 2017)
Group size effects, whereby animals allocate less time to antipredator vigilance as a function of increasing group sizes are widely reported in many taxa, but group size is but one of many social attributes that could increase a individual’s sense of security. Indeed, meta-analyses suggest that group size only explains about 20% of the variation in vigilance, and studies have shown that social factors, such as dominance status, also influences perceived risk and time allocated to vigilance. Social network statistics quantify a variety of specific social attributes, some of which have been suggested to influence security. Using vigilance as an indicator of risk assessment, we tested the prediction that more socially connected female yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) allocate less time to vigilance while foraging compared to less socially connected individuals. We used a principle component analysis to reduce social attributes to three factors. After explaining variation accounted for by glucocorticoid levels, substrate, incline, and day of the year and, individuals in larger social groups allocated less time to vigilance while those in more cohesive social relationships allocated more time to vigilance. These somewhat contradictory results suggest that vigilance is multi-faceted and highlight the importance of using an attribute-based approach to explaining variation in vigilance. The attribute-based approach has allowed us, for the first time to show that social group size indeed reduces risk, and suggest that maintaining social relationships requires social vigilance. 2

Measuring occupation span at two stone circle sites in Larimer County, Colorado - Pante, Michael; Halston F.C. Meeker; Jacobi, Tobi; LaBelle, Jason M. (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2017)
Stone circle sites are notorious for low artifact frequencies. This deters archaeological study because low artifact frequencies are thought to limit research potential. Two stone circle sites, Killdeer Canyon (5LR289) and T-W Diamond (5LR200) offer insight into short-term habitations, despite their low artifact frequencies. The two sites are located in northern Colorado, in the hogback zone along the Front Range of the Southern Rocky Mountains. The Colorado State University field school excavated the sites in 1982 and 1971 respectively. Artifacts from the interior of the features include lithic tools and debris, bone, and ceramics. This thesis examines each artifact class from excavated context as a proxy for understanding the length and number of occupations. Local and non-local chipped stone ratios, faunal procurement and processing strategies, and petrographic analysis are used to address how long and how many times each site was occupied. New radiocarbon dates show contemporaneity between rings at each site, dating Killdeer Canyon to the late A.D. 1600s and T-W Diamond to the late A.D. 1200s. These data demonstrate the ephemerality of the two sites but highlight potential differences in site use. While Killdeer Canyon likely represents a small group passing through an area, T-W Diamond could represent a larger group congregation, perhaps for hunting purposes. Furthermore, this thesis attests to the merit of using multiple lines of evidence to compensate for small sample sizes.

Biogeography of plant-associated fungal symbionts in mountain ecosystems: A meta-analysis - K. K. Beals; Melanie R Kazenel; Stephanie N. Kivlin; Jennifer A. Rudgers; Joshua S. Lynn (Diversity and Distributions, 2017)
AbstractAimPredicting the potential for climate change to disrupt host–microbe symbioses requires basic knowledge of the biogeography of these consortia. In plants, fungal symbionts can ameliorate the abiotic stressors that accompany climate warming and thus could influence plants under a changing climate. Forecasting future plant–microbe interactions first requires knowledge of current fungal symbiont distributions, which are poorly resolved relative to the distributions of plants.LocationWe used meta‐analysis to summarize the biogeographic distributions of plant‐fungal symbionts in mountain ecosystems worldwide, because these ecosystems are likely to be among the first to experience climate change‐induced range shifts.MethodsWe analysed 374 records from 53 publications to identify general trends, pinpoint areas in need of greater study and develop reporting guidelines to facilitate future syntheses.ResultsElevational patterns varied strongly among fungal and plant functional groups. Fungal diversity and abundance increased with altitude for the ectomycorrhizal fungi. However, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and localized foliar endophytes declined in either abundance or diversity with altitude. In shrubs, fungal abundance increased with elevation, but in C3 grasses, fungal abundance declined with elevation. Altitudinal patterns in fungal composition were stronger than gradients in fungal abundance or diversity, suggesting that species turnover contributes more to elevational gradients in fungal symbionts than does variation in abundance or richness. Plant functional groups were overrepresented by C3 grasses and trees, with surprisingly few data on sedges or shrubs, despite their ecological dominance in mountain ecosystems. Similarly, epichloae, ericoid mycorrhizal fungi and root endophytes were understudied relative to other fungal groups.Main ConclusionsMeta‐analysis revealed broad biogeographic patterns in plant‐fungal symbiont abundance, diversity and composition that inform predictions of future distributions.

A statistical estimator for determining the limits of contemporary and historic phenology - Charles Davis; Davis T.J.; R. B. Primack; Pearse W.D.; David W. Inouye (Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2017)

Social Security: social relationship strength and connectedness influence how marmots respond to alarm calls - E. L. Palmer; H. Fuong; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2017)
Yellow-bellied marmots are studied to suggest a new way that social relationships can be beneficial: they increase perceptions of security and this ultimately may facilitate foraging and illustrate an effect of social relationships on predation risk assessment.

Do birds differentiate between white noise and deterministic chaos? - J. Kennen; J. R. Whitaker; Daniel T. Blumstein (Ethology, 2017)
AbstractNoisy, unpredictable sounds are often present in the vocalizations of fearful and stressed animals across many taxa. A variety of structural characteristics, called nonlinear acoustic phenomena, that include subharmonics, rapid frequency modulations, and deterministic chaos are responsible for the harsh sound quality of these vocalizations. Exposure to nonlinear sound can elicit increased arousal in birds and mammals. Past experiments have used white noise to test for effects of deterministic chaos on perceivers. However, deterministic chaos differs structurally from white noise (i.e., random signal with equal energy at all frequencies), and unlike white noise, may differ dramatically depending on how it is produced. In addition, the subtle structural variation of chaos may not be distinguishable in the environment due to the attenuation and degradation of sound over distance and different habitat types. We designed two experiments to clarify whether American robins (Turdus migratorius) and warbling vireos (Vireo gilvus) discriminate between white noise and deterministic chaos. We broadcast and re‐recorded white noise and two exemplars of deterministic chaos—one generated with a Chua oscillator and the other generated using a logistic equation—at 1, 10, 20, 30, 40, and 80 m across open and forested habitat and used spectrogram correlations to compare stimuli along this degradational gradient. We found that sounds degraded similarly in both habitats when compared to a reference distance of 1 m. Comparing pairs of stimuli across distances suggested that Chua chaos was more easily distinguishable from noise and logistic chaos. In addition, all stimuli became more distinctive over increased distance. The second experiment tested behavioral responses of robins and warbling vireos to control sounds of tropical kingbird (Quiscalus mexicanus), white noise, and two exemplars of deterministic chaos (Chua and logistic). Neither American robins nor warbling vireos responded differently to at least two types of deterministic chaos and white noise, validating previous playback studies that used white noise as a surrogate for deterministic chaos. Uniform responses to a variety of nonlinear features in these birds possibly reflect error management in alarm signal detection.

Constraining the Timing of River Incision in the Upper Colorado Drainage Basin Using Apatite (U-Th)/He Thermochronology in the Elk Mountains, Western Colorado - C. Hiett (2017)
This study utilizes apatite (U-Th)/He, or AHe, to produce a vertical transect of cooling histories along the height of the partially exhumed Crystal Pluton in the Elk Mountains of west/central Colorado. These cooling histories are interpreted to reflect exhumation controlled by the incision of the Crystal River – a tributary of the Colorado River. A period of rapid exhumation is observed from 8 – 11 Ma, likely beginning earlier, that is consistent with previous AHe data taken from nearby exhumed plutons in the Elk and northern West Elk Mountains. This period of exhumation predates the incision of a low relief surface that developed in northwestern Colorado by ca. 10 Ma, and is therefore not believed to have been controlled by the incision of the Colorado River. A review of previously noted incision constraints suggests that post-10 Ma Colorado River incision has become more rapid in the last 1 – 3 Ma, suggesting that climate change, rather than epeirogenic uplift, is the major driver for recent river incision.

Plant-Pollinator Interactions and Environmental Change: Effects of Experimental Changes in Phenology and Water Availability on a Montane Wildflower - Michael Gallagher (2017)

Aboveground resilience to species loss but belowground resistance to nitrogen addition in a montane plant community - Jeremiah A Henning; Quentin D Read; Aimee T Classen; Nathan J. Sanders (Journal of Plant Ecology, 2017)
Aims resembled those of the previously removed dominant species. Decades of empirical work have demonstrated how dominant plant Ecosystem productivity generally increased with N addition: soil species and nitrogen fertilization can influence the structure and carbon efflux was ~50% greater when either form of N was added, function of plant communities. More recent studies have examined while inorganic N addition increased aboveground biomass pro- the interplay between these factors, but few such studies use an duction by ~60% relative to controls. The increase in production explicit trait-based framework. In this study, we use an explicit trait- was mediated by increased average height, leaf mass:area ratio and based approach to identify potential mechanisms for community- leaf dry matter content in plant communities to which we added level responses and to test ecological niche theory. inorganic N. Contrary to our predictions, there were no interactive effects of N fertilization and dominant species loss on plant com-

Foraging strategy predicts foraging economy in a facultative secondary nectar robber - Rebecca E. Irwin (Oikos, 2017)
In mutualistic interactions, the decision whether to cooperate or cheat depends on the relative costs and benefits of each strategy. In pollination mutualisms, secondary nectar robbing is a facultative behavior employed by a diverse array of nectar‐feeding organisms, and is thought to be a form of cheating. Primary robbers create holes in floral tissue through which they feed on nectar, whereas secondary robbers, which often lack chewing mouthparts, feed on nectar through existing holes. Because primary robbers make nectar more readily available to secondary robbers, primary robbers facilitate the behaviors of secondary robbers. However, the net effect of facilitation on secondary robber fitness has not been empirically tested: it is unknown whether the benefit secondary robbers receive is strong enough to overcome the cost of competing with primary robbers for a shared resource. We conducted foraging experiments using the bumble bee Bombus bifarius , which can alternatively forage ‘legitimately’ (from the floral opening) or secondary‐rob. We measured the relative foraging efficiencies (handling time per flower, flowers visited per minute, proportion of foraging bout spent consuming nectar) of these alternative behaviors, and tested whether the frequency of primary robbing and nectar standing crop in primary‐robbed flowers of Linaria vulgaris (Plantaginaceae) affected foraging efficiency. Surprisingly, there was no effect of primary robbing frequency on the foraging efficiency of secondary‐robbing B. bifarius . Instead, foraging strategy was a major predictor of foraging efficiency, with legitimate foraging being significantly more efficient than secondary robbing. Legitimate foraging was the more common strategy used by B. bifarius in our study; however, it is rarely used by B. bifarius foraging on L. vulgaris in nature, despite indications that it is more efficient. Our results suggest the need for deeper investigations into why bees adopt secondary robbing as a foraging strategy, specifically, the environmental contexts that promote the behavior.

Evolution of Water Institutions in the Indus River Basin: Reflections from the Law of the Colorado River - Erum Sattar; Daniel McCool; Jason Anthony Robison (SSRN Electronic Journal, 2017)
Transboundary water institutions in the Indus River Basin can be fairly characterized as broken in key respects. International relations between India and Pakistan over the Indus Waters Treaty, as well as interprovincial relations within Pakistan over the 1991 Water Accord, speak to this sentiment. Stemming from research undertaken by the authors for the Harvard Water Federalism Project and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), this Article seeks to spur the evolution of the Indus River Basin’s water institutions by offering a comparative perspective from North America’s most “institutionally encompassed” basin, the Colorado River Basin. Mindful of the importance of context for comparative water law and policy scholarship, the Article begins with overviews of the Colorado and Indus basins. In turn, the Article considers in greater detail major water-related challenges facing the latter basin, including climate change and overallocation. Against this backdrop, the Article ultimately turns to analysis and prescription. Examining a host of topics involving transboundary water allocation, conservation, and governance, the Article considers key institutions associated with these topics in the Colorado River Basin and reflects on how, if at all, they may serve as reference points for institutional evolution in the Indus Basin. Many of the proposals in the Article are expensive. But compared to military operations, they are quite modest in terms of expense and minimize the risk of loss of life and destruction of property. Still, the Article prioritizes solutions that maximize individual and local freedom to the greatest extent possible. This means relying upon voluntary market-based transfers that protect the vulnerable, favoring incentives rather than regulations, and creating a reward structure that includes benefits other than water.

Interannual bumble bee abundance is driven by indirect climate effects on floral resource phenology - Zachariah J. Gezon; Sean R. Griffin; N. C. Underwood; Jane E. Ogilvie; Brian D. Inouye; Rebecca E. Irwin; David W. Inouye (Ecology Letters, 2017)
Jane E. Ogilvie,1,2* Climate change can influence consumer populations both directly, by affecting survival and repro- Sean R. Griffin,1,3 duction, and indirectly, by altering resources. However, little is known about the relative impor- Zachariah J. Gezon,1,4,5 tance of direct and indirect effects, particularly for species important to ecosystem functioning, Brian D. Inouye,1,2 like pollinators. We used structural equation modelling to test the importance of direct and indi- Nora Underwood,1,2 rect (via floral resources) climate effects on the interannual abundance of three subalpine bumble David W. Inouye1,6 and bee species. In addition, we used long-term data to examine how climate and floral resources have Rebecca E. Irwin1,3 changed over time. Over 8 years, bee abundances were driven primarily by the indirect effects of climate on the temporal distribution of floral resources. Over 43 years, aspects of floral phenology changed in ways that indicate species-specific effects on bees. Our study suggests that climate- driven alterations in floral resource phenology can play a critical role in governing bee population responses to global change.

Intraspecific variation in traits reduces ability of trait-based models to predict community structure - Jeremiah A Henning; Quentin D Read; Nathan J. Sanders (Journal of Vegetation Science, 2017)
AbstractQuestionsIs it possible to predict the composition of local plant assemblages? Trait‐based approaches have offered some promise, especially in cases where deterministic processes such as environmental filtering and niche differentiation shape communities. In this study, we asked how much intraspecific variation contributes to trait distributions within and among plant communities, and whether trait distributions resulting from environmental filtering and niche differentiation can predict accurately the relative species abundances of montane plant species in local communities.LocationWest Elk Mountains, Colorado, USA.MethodsWe collected functional trait, species composition and environmental data from 14 sites along a broad climate gradient in Colorado, USA, ranging in elevation from 2480 to 3560 m. We partitioned the variation within and among sites into intraspecific and interspecific components, and compared the results to values from a recent global meta‐analysis, which examined intraspecific trait variability patterns. We also used these data to parameterize statistical models that have been shown to reproduce patterns associated with the processes of environmental filtering and niche differentiation. We fit two models to the data, one assuming that niche differentiation is invariant among sites, and another assuming that niche differentiation varies among sites.ResultsWe found that the trait‐based models were worse at predicting species relative abundances in local communities than a null model assuming equal abundances of all species. One plausible explanation for the poor performance of the models is that intraspecific variation in functional traits, which in our system was higher than the global averages documented in the meta‐analysis, swamped the effects of interspecific variation in functional traits along the climatic gradient. In particular, almost all variation in root traits was within rather than among species, even among sites.ConclusionOur results suggest that a greater focus be placed on measuring intraspecific trait variability and determining its consequences for community assembly and ecosystem properties.

Detrending phenological time series improves climate-phenology analyses and reveals evidence of plasticity - N. M. Schmidt; T. T. Hoye; Amy M. Iler; David W. Inouye (Ecology, 2017)
AbstractTime series have played a critical role in documenting how phenology responds to climate change. However, regressing phenological responses against climatic predictors involves the risk of finding potentially spurious climate–phenology relationships simply because both variables also change across years. Detrending by year is a way to address this issue. Additionally, detrending isolates interannual variation in phenology and climate, so that detrended climate–phenology relationships can represent statistical evidence of phenotypic plasticity. Using two flowering phenology time series from Colorado, USA and Greenland, we detrend flowering date and two climate predictors known to be important in these ecosystems: temperature and snowmelt date. In Colorado, all climate–phenology relationships persist after detrending. In Greenland, 75% of the temperature–phenology relationships disappear after detrending (three of four species). At both sites, the relationships that persist after detrending suggest that plasticity is a major component of sensitivity of flowering phenology to climate. Finally, simulations that created different strengths of correlations among year, climate, and phenology provide broader support for our two empirical case studies. This study highlights the utility of detrending to determine whether phenology is related to a climate variable in observational data sets. Applying this as a best practice will increase our understanding of phenological responses to climatic variation and change.

The importance of seasonal resource selection when managing a threatened species: targeting conservation actions within critical habitat designations for the Gunnison sage-grouse - Mindy B. Rice; Lief A. Wiechman (Wildlife Research, 2017)
Context The ability to identify priority habitat is critical for species of conservation concern. The designation of critical habitat under the US Endangered Species Act 1973 identifies areas occupied by the species that are important for conservation and may need special management or protection. However, relatively few species’ critical habitats designations incorporate habitat suitability models or seasonal specificity, even when that information exists. Gunnison sage-grouse (GUSG) have declined substantially from their historical range and were listed as threatened by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in November 2014. GUSG are distributed into eight isolated populations in Colorado and Utah, and one population, the Gunnison Basin (GB), has been the focus of much research. Aims To provide season-specific resource selection models to improve targeted conservation actions within the designated critical habitat in the GB. Methods We utilised radio-telemetry data from GUSG captured and monitored from 2004 to 2010. We were able to estimate resource selection models for the breeding (1 April–15 July) and summer (16 July–30 September) seasons in the GB using vegetation, topographical and anthropogenic variables. We compared the seasonal models with the existing critical habitat to investigate whether the more specific seasonal models helped identify priority habitat for GUSG. Key results The predictive surface for the breeding model indicated higher use of large areas of sagebrush, whereas the predictive surface for the summer model predicted use of more diverse habitats. The breeding and summer models (combined) matched the current critical habitat designation 68.5% of the time. We found that although the overall habitat was similar between the critical habitat designation and our combined models, the pattern and configuration of the habitat were very different. Conclusions These models highlight areas with favourable environmental variables and spatial juxtaposition to establish priority habitat within the critical habitat designated by USFWS. More seasonally specific resource selection models will assist in identifying specific areas within the critical habitat designation to concentrate habitat improvements, conservation and restoration within the GB. Implications This information can be used to provide insight into the patterns of seasonal habitat selection and can identify priority GUSG habitat to incorporate into critical habitat designation for targeted management actions.

Structural evolution of the Hamilton Creek-Dry Creek anticline and its relationship to the southeast termination of Paradox Valley, SW Colorado, The - Elizabeth P. Wilson (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2017)
The Pennsylvanian-Permian Paradox Basin is an asymmetrical basin on the Colorado Plateau (Figure 1.1) that has been studied for decades due to its unique geologic history and economic quantities of potash, petroleum, and minerals such as uranium, vanadium, radium, and copper. The basin has a complex tectonic history, made more difficult to interpret due to the large volume of Pennsylvanian-aged salt deposited in the northern part of the basin, now forming a series of salt walls. The basin has been interpreted as a foreland basin by Barbeau (2003), formed in response to loading by the Uncompahgre Uplift, which delineates the northeastern boundary of the basin. There is no definitive evidence, to date, of the tectonic influence of later tectonic events, namely the Late Cretaceous Laramide orogeny. Understanding the evolution of the salt walls and intervening strata within the basin will help identify indicators of tectonic regimes and influences throughout the basin history. The Paradox Basin contains the thickest contiguous salt deposit in continental North America (Hite, 1960), which makes it an important outcrop analog for subsurface salt systems around the world, including the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, and south Atlantic Margin. Most of the work to date in the northern Paradox Basin has been conducted on the large-scale salt walls, such as Castle Valley, Salt Valley, and Moab Valley in Utah (Figure 1.1), but relatively little work has been done on the Colorado side of the basin to the southeast. Additionally, little work has been conducted on smaller-scale salt structure, such as Gibson dome, Lockhart anticline, and Rustler dome (Figure 1.1). Research must be conducted on these small-scale salt features to further academic and industrial understanding of the geology and evolution of this salt system because these features are more intact, less eroded, and, therefore, may contain better preserved evidence of the relationship between tectonic movement and reactivation, salt wall evolution, and halokinetic stratigraphy.

Growth Tendencies in Didymosphenia geminata - J. Kast (2017)
Didymosphenia geminata cells, when secreting excessive exopolysaccharide stalks, can coalesce and form blooms that affect their local community. It is unknown what causes D. geminata cells to produce stalk, as not all D. geminata cells do produce stalk. Natural growth patterns and the potential for D. geminata cells to utilize a population dynamic such as quorum sensing to begin to produce stalk was tested through placement of microscope slides in Copper Creek and the East River (to observe undisturbed growth over time) and observations of stalk production based on compartmentalized D. geminata populations of different cell densities (8, 80, 800, and 8000 cells/cm2), to monitor how cell density affects stalk production. Statistical analyses found that stalk production (measured by the frequency of cells with stalks, or FSC) was significantly different due to differing cell densities, and that after a threshold of approximately 15 cells/cm2, the rate of change of FSC changed, indicating that cell density does affect stalk production.

Genetic basis of between-individual and within-individual variance of docility - E. Pirotta; M. B. Petelle; Julien G. A. Martin; Daniel T. Blumstein (Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2017)
AbstractBetween‐individual variation in phenotypes within a population is the basis of evolution. However, evolutionary and behavioural ecologists have mainly focused on estimating between‐individual variance in mean trait and neglected variation in within‐individual variance, or predictability of a trait. In fact, an important assumption of mixed‐effects models used to estimate between‐individual variance in mean traits is that within‐individual residual variance (predictability) is identical across individuals. Individual heterogeneity in the predictability of behaviours is a potentially important effect but rarely estimated and accounted for. We used 11 389 measures of docility behaviour from 1576 yellow‐bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) to estimate between‐individual variation in both mean docility and its predictability. We then implemented a double hierarchical animal model to decompose the variances of both mean trait and predictability into their environmental and genetic components. We found that individuals differed both in their docility and in their predictability of docility with a negative phenotypic covariance. We also found significant genetic variance for both mean docility and its predictability but no genetic covariance between the two. This analysis is one of the first to estimate the genetic basis of both mean trait and within‐individual variance in a wild population. Our results indicate that equal within‐individual variance should not be assumed. We demonstrate the evolutionary importance of the variation in the predictability of docility and illustrate potential bias in models ignoring variation in predictability. We conclude that the variability in the predictability of a trait should not be ignored, and present a coherent approach for its quantification.

Effects of Life History Traits in the Mountain White-Crowned Sparrow During Incubation - G. Shwahla (2017)
Reproductive success in passerines is dependent upon the fitness of the parents. Knowledge of how life history traits affect fitness is required to understand fitness and nest cycle relations. There was no significance between body mass and wing length and morning off bout frequency found. Blood parasite loads were not examined and therefore not included in data analysis. A larger sample size is needed to conclude any results from this study. Knowing how life history traits relate to fitness, and how fitness influences incubation is crucial in our understanding of Z. I. oriantha population dynamics.

Skiing for science - Daniel T. Blumstein (Science, 2017)

Effects of road dust on the pollination and reproduction of wildflowers - J. Solverson; Morales A-L; G. Casco; M. Diaz; Mary V. Price; Nickolas M. Waser (International Journal of Plant Sciences, 2017)
Premise of research. Dust particles and pollen grains are similar in size. Dust deposition might therefore influence the pollination and reproduction of flowering plants. Little is known about such effects, however, despite more general interest in ecological effects of dust.Methodology. We used observational and experimental methods to explore whether dust generated by traffic on unpaved roads affects the amounts of pollen received and numbers of seeds produced by four species of native wildflowers in the western United States.Pivotal results. Flowers of Nuttall’s larkspur (Delphinium nuttallianum), scarlet gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata), Lewis flax (Linum lewisii), and sulphur paintbrush (Castilleja sulphurea) growing 1–2 m from a road received substantially more dust and less pollen than those growing 40–50 m away. We observed the same pattern when we transplanted individuals of the first two species into pots and placed pots near to compared with far from a road. Experimental “hand dusting” of scarlet gilia and Lewis flax plants also reduced stigma pollen loads to a degree that resembled the average effect of road proximity for those species. On the other hand, numbers of seeds per flower (“seed set”) did not vary consistently for any species as a function of road proximity or hand-dusting treatment.Conclusions. Several mechanisms might contribute to the different effects of dust on pollen loads and seed set. We discuss four possible mechanisms, which we refer to as pollen excess, pollen quality, resource limitation, and compensatory herbivory. These mechanisms suggest avenues for further study of dust, pollination, and plant reproduction with this and other systems.

Differences in Evolutionary History and Ploidy Type Shape the Interactions of Populus tremuloides Michx. with Climate - B. T. Greer (2017)

Examining Spatial Patterns of Exhumation in Colorado’s Elk Mountains During the Late Miocene Using Apatite (U-Th)/He Thermochronology - N. McCorkel (2017)
Spatial patterns of the magnitude and rate of exhumation occurring during the late

Impact of intra-meander hyporheic flow on nitrogen cycling - G. Bisht; Bhavna Arora; Carl I. Steefel; Dipankar Dwivedi (Procedia Earth and Planetary Science, 2017)
Redox gradients within hyporheic zones significantly impact the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen. To investigate the effect of these redox gradients on nitrogen transformation in the subsurface, we integrated a genome-informed complex reaction network into PFLOTRAN, which is an open source, massively parallel, three-dimensional, reactive flow and transport code. This study was conducted in the lower East River catchment in southwestern Colorado. The lower East River has multiple river meanders extending over a distance of 11 km in rolling to mountainous region of the East Taylor watershed. We carried out reactive flow and transport simulations within two stream meanders to describe the biogeochemical zonation that evolves due to upwelling of nutrient rich groundwater and downwelling of oxygen rich stream. The specific objectives were to examine (1) the effect of hyporheic flow on biogeochemical zonation and (2) how meanders affect local nitrogen fluxes and transformation. Simulation results demonstrate that hyporheic flow paths within intra-meander regions lead to lateral redox zonation, which significantly impact nitrogen export into the stream system. Also, meander-driven hyporheic flow paths enhance denitrification rates because of the extended hyporheic region.

Metabolic Partitioning across Individuals in Ecological Communities - A. J. Rominger; E. A. Newman; John Harte (Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2017)
AbstractThe mechanistic origin and shape of body‐size distributions within communities are of considerable interest in ecology. A recently proposed light‐limitation model provides a good fit to the distribution of tree sizes in a tropical forest plot. The maximum entropy theory of ecology (METE) also predicts size distributions, but without explicit mechanistic assumptions, and thus its predictions should hold in ecosystems generally, regardless of whether they are light limited. A comparison of the form and success of the predictions of the model and the theory can provide insight into the role that mechanisms play in shaping patterns in macroecology. The prediction by the METE of the size distribution of organisms is remarkably similar in form to that of the model: power‐law behaviour in the size range where the light‐limitation model predicts a power law, and exponential behaviour in the size range where the model predicts an exponential tail. The METE prediction matches data widely, including data in ecosystems where light is not limiting. We show examples for three disparate communities: trees in a tropical forest plot; herbaceous plants in a treeless subalpine meadow; and island arthropods. We conclude that the success of METE's predicted form across systems, including those that are clearly not light limited, enriches our capacity to predict patterns in macroecology without making explicit mechanistic assumptions and provides a unified framework that can capture ubiquitous features of those patterns across diverse ecosystems governed by a variety of mechanisms.

Consistently inconsistent drivers of patterns of microbial diversity and abundance at macroecological scales - J. N. Hendershot; Jeremiah A Henning; Quentin D Read; Aimee T Classen; Nathan J. Sanders (Ecology, 2017)
AbstractMacroecology seeks to understand broad‐scale patterns in the diversity and abundance of organisms, but macroecologists typically study aboveground macroorganisms. Belowground organisms regulate numerous ecosystem functions, yet we lack understanding of what drives their diversity. Here, we examine the controls on belowground diversity along latitudinal and elevational gradients. We performed a global meta‐analysis of 325 soil communities across 20 studies conducted along temperature and soil pH gradients. Belowground taxa, whether bacterial or fungal, observed along a given gradient of temperature or soil pH were equally likely to show a linear increase, linear decrease, humped pattern, trough‐shaped pattern, or no pattern in diversity along the gradient. Land‐use intensity weakly affected the diversity‐temperature relationship, but no other factor did so. Our study highlights disparities among diversity patterns of soil microbial communities. Belowground diversity may be controlled by the associated climatic and historical contexts of particular gradients, by factors not typically measured in community‐level studies, or by processes operating at scales that do not match the temporal and spatial scales under study. Because these organisms are responsible for a suite of key processes, understanding the drivers of their distribution and diversity is fundamental to understanding the functioning of ecosystems.

Interactions between bee foraging and floral resource phenology shape bee populations and communities - Jane E. Ogilvie; Jessica R.K. Forrest (Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2017)
The interactions between floral resource phenology, bee foraging behaviour, and traits such as diet breadth, sociality, and body size are discussed and greater use of information contained in museum collections on bee phenologies and floral hosts is encouraged.

The effect of maternal glucocorticoid levels on juvenile docility in yellow-bellied marmots - B. N. Dang; M. B. Petelle; Daniel T. Blumstein (Hormones and Behavior, 2017)
The results suggest that a mother's life history stage interacts with stress to influence offspring personality, a personality trait, and can have long lasting effects on an individual's docility throughout life.

Does environmental heterogeneity drive functional trait variation? A test in montane and alpine meadows - Lake Crawford; Rebecca Lehman; Jordan Stark; Brian J. Enquist; Benjamin Blonder (Oikos, 2017)
While community‐weighted means of plant traits have been linked to mean environmental conditions at large scales, the drivers of trait variation within communities are not well understood. Local environmental heterogeneity (such as microclimate variability), in addition to mean environmental conditions, may decrease the strength of environmental filtering and explain why communities support different amounts of trait variation. Here, we assess two hypotheses: first, that more heterogeneous local environments and second, that less extreme environments, should support a broader range of plant strategies and thus higher trait variation. We quantified drivers of trait variation across a range of environmental conditions and spatial scales ranging from sub‐meter to tens of kilometers in montane and alpine plant communities. We found that, within communities, both environmental heterogeneity and environmental means are drivers of trait variation. However, the importance of each environmental factor varied depending on the trait. Our results indicate that larger‐scale trait–climate linkages that hold across communities also apply at small spatial scales, suggesting that microclimate variation within communities is a key driver of community functional diversity. Microclimatic variation provides a potential mechanism for helping to maintain diversity in local communities and also suggests that small‐scale environmental heterogeneity should be measured as a better predictor of functional diversity.

Integrating viability and fecundity selection to illuminate the adaptive nature of genetic clines - S. Caroline Daws; Susana M. Wadgymar (Evolution Letters, 2017)
AbstractGenetically based trait variation across environmental gradients can reflect adaptation to local environments. However, natural populations that appear well-adapted often exhibit directional, not stabilizing, selection on ecologically relevant traits. Temporal variation in the direction of selection could lead to stabilizing selection across multiple episodes of selection, which might be overlooked in short-term studies that evaluate relationships of traits and fitness under only one set of conditions. Furthermore, nonrandom mortality prior to trait expression can bias inferences about trait evolution if viability selection opposes fecundity selection. Here, we leveraged fitness and trait data to test whether phenotypic clines are genetically based and adaptive, whether temporal variation in climate imposes stabilizing selection, and whether viability selection acts on adult phenotypes. We monitored transplants of the subalpine perennial forb, Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae), in common gardens at two elevations over 2–3 years that differed in drought intensity. We quantified viability, and fecundity fitness components for four heritable traits: specific leaf area, integrated water-use efficiency, height at first flower, and flowering phenology. Our results indicate that genetic clines are maintained by selection, but their expression is context dependent, as they do not emerge in all environments. Moreover, selection varied spatially and temporally. Stabilizing selection was most pronounced when we integrated data across years. Finally, viability selection prior to trait expression targeted adult phenotypes (age and size at flowering). Indeed, viability selection for delayed flowering opposed fecundity selection for accelerated flowering; this result demonstrates that neglecting to account for viability selection could lead to inaccurate conclusions that populations are maladapted. Our results suggest that reconciling clinal trait variation with selection requires data collected across multiple spatial scales, time frames, and life-history stages.

The Effect of Dominant Floral Resource Removal on Plant-Pollinator Interactions - R. G. Dickson (2017)
In order to understand the ecological and evolutionary significance of plant-pollinator mutualisms, it is critical to first comprehend the fluctuating and complex nature of plant- pollinator interactions. Specifically, it is important to realize how these interactions respond to changes in factors such as phenology, morphology, and abundance. To examine the effect of floral resource removal on plant-pollinator interactions, we removed a dominant floral resource, Helianthella quinquenervis (Asteraceae) from 10 plots. We paired each removal plot with a control plot and conducted paired plant- pollinator observations for 30 hours per week for 5 weeks. We then analyzed differences in pollinator visitation rates between control and removal plots using paired t-tests and linear mixed effects models. We found that overall pollinator visitation increases in response to resource availability. We also found that removal of H. quinquenervis facilitates the pollination of some plant species and competes for pollination with others.

Shifts in water availability mediate plant–pollinator interactions - Michael Gallagher; Diane R. Campbell (New Phytologist, 2017)
SummaryAltered precipitation patterns associated with anthropogenic climate change are expected to have many effects on plants and insect pollinators, but it is unknown if effects on pollination are mediated by changes in water availability. We tested the hypothesis that impacts of climate on plant–pollinator interactions operate through changes in water availability, and specifically that such effects occur through alteration of floral attractants.We manipulated water availability in two naturally occurringMertensia ciliata(Boraginaceae) populations using water addition, water reduction and control plots and measured effects on vegetative and floral traits, pollinator visitation and seed set.While most floral trait values, including corolla size and nectar, increased linearly with increasing water availability, in this bumblebee‐pollinated species, pollinator visitation peaked at intermediate water levels. Visitation also peaked at an intermediate corolla length, while its relationship to corolla width varied across sites. Seed set, however, increased linearly with water.These results demonstrate the potential for changes in water availability to impact plant–pollinator interactions through pollinator responses to differences in floral attractants, and that the effects of water on pollinator visitation can be nonlinear. Plant responses to changes in resource availability may be an important mechanism by which climate change will affect species interactions.

Consequences of Nectar Robbing in Colorado Wildflowers: Insect Variation and Nectar Sugar Concentration - D. Drouilhet (2017)
Nectar robbing is a process used by various insects to retrieve nectar from flowers that would otherwise be inaccessible. The community-level consequences of nectar robbing have not been widely studied, and the differences between primary and secondary robbing have been studied even less. Fitness costs to plants from nectar robbing have been documented, such as reductions in male and female components of plant reproduction, but there is room for additional experimentation. In this study, I examined the consequences of nectar robbing on insect visitation and nectar sugar concentration. This was accomplished through both manipulation and natural surveys in an attempt to observe any differences between flowers that had been robbed and those that had not. In general, I found no evidence to support that insects chose flowers based on the presence of nectar robbing in Ipomopsis aggregata, nor did I find evidence that sugar concentration in nectar differs depending on the size of robber holes. I found significantly more insects in robbed flowers than unrobbed flowers in Linaria vulgaris, but this data is not enough to prove preference. Due to this difference, further experimentation into L. vulgaris would help to clarify insect preference in this plant in robbed versus unrobbed flowers, and these results may provide better insight into the consequences and effects of nectar robbing.

A Presence-Only Species Distribution Model Comparison Predicting the Distribution of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) - M. L. Torres (2017)

Blooms of benthic diatoms in phosphorus-poor streams - M. L. Bothwell; B. W. Taylor (Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 2017)
During the past 50 years, freshwater ecologists have mostly attributed massive accumulations of algal biomass in lakes and rivers to high nutrient inputs. While researching the role that phosphorus (P) plays in increasing diatom biomass in rocky-bottomed rivers, I (MLB) was puzzled by the presence of thick mats (“blooms”) of the benthic diatom Didymosphenia geminata in low-nutrient rivers with no obvious evidence of a pollution source (Figure 1a). D geminata has long been associated with nutrient-poor conditions and is native to but historically rare in North America (Figure 1b). Beginning in the early 1990s, thick and visually unappealing mats of the diatoms appeared suddenly in streams that drained pristine watersheds, despite no obvious increase in pollution. The basic natural history of this species was unknown and the origin of the blooms remained an unsolved mystery for more than 20 years. (a) Didymosphenia geminata mat formation in North York Creek, a nutrient-poor stream in the Canadian Rocky Mountains (1600-m elevation). (b) A single specimen of D geminata was found in seven sediment cores taken 7 km WNW of Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The sediment layer in which this D geminata specimen was found dated to between 11,000 and 12,000 calendar years ago (Letham et al. 2016). U Silins B Letham After the species was introduced to New Zealand, D geminata blooms began to be observed there in 2004 (Kilroy 2004), but early evidence suggested that more was involved than a simple movement of cells into previously uninhabited areas. For instance, when transplanted into spring-fed creeks that were tributaries of rivers already infested with D geminata, the diatoms failed to flourish (Sutherland et al. 2007) even though nutrient levels, including P, were higher in the creeks than in the rivers. These creeks also appeared to be physically suitable habitats for the species. Because D geminata did not form blooms when P concentrations were high, it was hypothesized that a different chemical constituent of stream water was critical for bloom formation. A carefully conducted study was undertaken in New Zealand in search of a “silver bullet” in spring water that would prevent D geminata establishment and might be useful for controlling the blooms in other rivers. I designed a riverbank flume apparatus that would allow settled D geminata cells to be bathed in either river water or spring water without first having to be physically transplanted. Once D geminata cells had attached on the bottoms of all flumes exposed to river water, the source of water for some populations was gradually switched to the spring water. I assumed that the newly settled cells would perish, but something unexpected happened (Bothwell and Kilroy 2011). After being exposed to spring water for 8 days, 40% of D geminata cells were in late stages of cell division compared to only 10% of the cells with continued exposure to river water (Figure 2). D geminata cells seemed to thrive in spring water and a follow-up experiment confirmed that, when exposed to spring water, cell division rates were elevated because of the higher nutrient levels, especially dissolved P (Bothwell and Kilroy 2011). (a) A non-dividing D geminata cell; (b) D geminata undergoing cell division; (c) D geminata cell division complete, but new daughter cells remain attached in a “doublet” stage; (d) after division and separation, daughter cells remain attached to the same stalk until new stalks are produced by each cell. Under low light, cells can be “trapped” in this stage because high photosynthetic rates are needed for new stalk production. M Bothwell and G Meyer So, why would higher P concentrations have a positive impact on cell division but a negative impact on bloom development? This paradox was clarified by an additional observation – that D geminata populations with rapidly dividing cells tended to have much shorter stalks, which would adversely affect bloom development. Observations on the frequency of cellular division allowed us to explore the influence of P on D geminata growth and mat development in rivers. On the South Island of New Zealand, river surveys showed the counterintuitive, inverse relationship between low rates of D geminata cell division and the more extensive coverage and thickness of D geminata mats on river bottoms (Kilroy and Bothwell 2012). For mats to develop, D geminata's extracellular stalks – which are composed of polysaccharides (Hoagland et al. 1993) – need to elongate, but frequent cell division results in shorter stalks (Kilroy and Bothwell 2011) and a lower probability of benthic mat formation. By increasing the rates of cell division, high P concentrations appear to leave little time for stalks to grow longer and so mats fail to develop. The presence of D geminata blooms in nutrient-poor conditions challenges the long-held view of the relationship between limiting nutrients and algal production in freshwater ecosystems. The opposing effects of P availability on cell division versus non-cellular mat development suggest a strategy that is more reminiscent of terrestrial plants reallocating energy into tissues and structures (eg roots or shoots) needed to access limiting resources. Production of long extracellular stalks allows cells to have better access to nutrients in free-flowing water; this enhanced accessibility is one of the longstanding explanations for the adaptive significance of diatom stalk production (Hudon and Bourget 1981). The explanation for higher algal-derived carbon in a declining P regime is the shunting of carbon into non-P-containing stalks. Unlike algal “blooms” in the limnological lexicon, D geminata mat formation does not necessarily represent increased cellular biomass. An even greater paradox is that, because an excessive P supply results in the decline of mats (Kilroy and Larned 2016), the D geminata mats produced in response to low P must remain P-limited to continue to dominate benthic algal communities. A careful balance between P acquisition and allocation of growth to stalks is required for D geminata to remain the dominant algal taxon in a stream ecosystem. While lower P concentrations provide an explanation for why D geminata mats form, whether or not dissolved P in pristine streams worldwide is declining remains unknown (Taylor and Bothwell 2014). Surprisingly, studying the natural history of D geminata's cellular division has been the key to deciphering the larger-scale natural history of mat formation and the recent dominance of this organism when P concentrations are low. The experiments described here were a collaborative undertaking between Environment Canada's National Water Research Institute and New Zealand's National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.

Selection for early reproduction in the solitary bee Hoplitis fulgida - Lydia H. Wong (2017)
Reproductive timing is an important determinant of offspring success which ultimately contributes to an individual’s overall fitness. In seasonal environments with short growing seasons, organisms must time reproductive activity so that offspring experience relatively high levels of resource abundance but also have enough time to undergo sufficient ontogenetic development to successfully overwinter. The timing of other life-history events that necessarily precede reproduction such as gonadal maturation, migration, and emergence from diapause may place further constraints on reproductive timing. We investigated the effects of reproductive timing in subalpine populations of the solitary bee Hoplitis fulgida on individual reproductive output and offspring success. Specifically, we examined how timing of nesting in H. fulgida affected both individual reproductive output (given by nest construction rate and total number of brood cells constructed per nest), and offspring success (using larval development as a proxy). We also conducted surveys of H. fulgida floral hosts to determine temporal patterns of resource abundance. Nest construction rate significantly declined over the course of the season but was only explained by the day of the year and was not associated with floral resource abundance in our models. Similarly, the total number of brood cells per nest decreased seasonally but was only explained by the day on which the nest was initiated and not by floral resource abundance. Both results seemed to suggest that H. fulgida individuals are under directional selection for early reproduction; however, the selective pressures that are driving these trends have yet to be investigated.

Effects of global change on insect pollinators: multiple drivers lead to novel communities - Nicole E. Rafferty (Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2017)
Global change drivers, in particular climate change, exotic species introduction, and habitat alteration, affect insect pollinators in numerous ways. In response, insect pollinators show shifts in range and phenology, interactions with plants and other taxa are altered, and in some cases pollination services have diminished. Recent studies show some pollinators are tracking climate change by moving latitudinally and elevationally, while others are not. Shifts in insect pollinator phenology generally keep pace with advances in flowering, although there are exceptions. Recent data demonstrate competition between exotic and native bees, along with rapid positive effects of exotic plant removal on pollinator richness. Genetic analyses tie bee fitness to habitat quality. Across drivers, novel communities are a common outcome that deserves more study.

Assessing the Presence of Supercooled Liquid Water and Stability Using Radiometer Data Collected during the 2015-2016 Winter Cloud Seeding Program in the Upper Gunnison River Basin, Colorado - Stephanie D. Beall; Don A. Griffith (The Journal of Weather Modification, 2017)
During the 2015-2016 Winter Cloud Seeding Program, a Radiometrics microwave radiometer was installed in the Upper Gunnison River Basin cloud seeding target area.  The main purpose of using this device was to provide the ability to measure temperature and liquid water in frequent vertical profiles of the atmosphere above the radiometer.  With observations of these two variables, the presence of supercooled liquid water can be identified. This information may be used in real-time to determine the “seedablity” of naturally occurring winter storms that impact the target area. Data may also be used in the post-analysis of these winter storms. For example, the radiometer data used in conjunction with the Rawindsonde Observation Program (RAOB), can be used to generate a vertical sounding of temperature dew point (no winds are observed from these radiometers). Such plots can be used to assess lower level atmospheric stability during storm periods that contain “supercooled” liquid water, which is the target of glaciogenic winter cloud seeding programs.   The ensuing analyses indicated that stability is present in the lower valley levels upwind of the target area during most winter storms but that these inversions have a negligible effect on seeding operations primarily due to the very shallow nature of these inversions. Radiometer data were also compared to a nearby ground-based icing meter to determine if there was any correlation between the two types of observations.

Can yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) learn foraging innovations? - M. Standen (2017)
Innovation is widespread in animals and may help them modify their behavior to changes in the environment. A common method to determine whether a species possesses innovative abilities is to present them with a novel foraging problem and then to explain the traits that may predict success. Individuals differ in their innovative propensity and factors that have been linked to such differences include age, sex, rank, and personality. Yellow-belied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) are 3-5 kg ground dwelling squirrels that live in female kin groups at predictable locations, making them an ideal subject of an innovation study. Here we asked whether yellow- bellied marmots can learn foraging innovations and how the factors of age, sex, and sociality affect an individual’s innovative propensity. We presented individuals with a two-action puzzle box and began by determining who was able to solve it, and who was not. We used logistic regression to study characteristics associated with success and our preliminary data suggest that the social group to which an individual belongs to was an important predictor of innovative success. To determine whether innovative success illustrated learning, we asked whether marmots’ latency to open the box declined over repeated exposures. We also asked whether the diversity of behaviors used to open the box decreased with successive experience. Surprisingly, we found no evidence that marmots learned to open the box either faster or more efficiently with more experience. In order to better study innovation, larger sample sizes will be needed. In addition, future studies will ask whether innovation can be socially transmitted through marmot groups.

The ability of ants to associatively learn based on olfactory chemical cues produced by plants. - K. Sentner (2017)
Associatively learning is commonly observed throughout the natural world in many interactions between species and their environment. We know ants utilize environmental cues in their foraging patterns to locate and recruit to food, but little is known about their ability to associatively learn to forage using these cues. Associative learning in ants has been tested in laboratory settings but the experiment has never been replicated in the field. It is also unknown to what extent the ants learn on certain environmental cues including olfactory cues. After allowing ants to forage and recruit to baits associated with scents produced by plants associated with sugar rich resources (either Ligusticum porteri or Helianthella quinquenervis), we found that additional baits with the same scent were significantly more likely to be discovered than those with the other scent (30-40% more likely to be discovered), although there was no significant difference in how quickly the baits were discovered or the number of ants that recruited to the bait. Furthermore, significantly more ants recruited to the baits if the first bait smelled like Ligusticum porteri as opposed to Helianthella quinquenervis (23% more likely). This result indicates that ants detect plant scents when foraging for sugar rich resources and subsequently forage more frequently for resources on those same plant species. This learned association could increase the capability of ants to forage successfully and increase the fitness of ant colonies.

Effects of Climate Changes on Ecologically Important Bees and Flowers - H. Rocha (2017)
Climate warming affects the phenology, abundance and distributions of plants and pollinators. Despite this, there is still limited knowledge on how temperature affects plant- pollinator mutualisms. The ongoing project with Dr. Rebecca E. Irwin in collaboration with David Inouye has been gathering data at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (Colorado, USA). We are studying bee phenology and abundance, and flower phenology and abundance, and how those relationships have been changing over time as they are impacted by climate change. We have used historical data from 2009 - 2016 to determine if the increase in temperature causes phenological mismatches. Our results showed that flowers are reacting to temperature changes and may be blooming earlier, leaving a bee pollinator without food resources. Thus, bees are altering their flower visitations over the years and how flower abundance at any given site has been changing as well.

A Comparative Analysis of Saxicolous Lichen Diversity and Cover along an Elevation Gradient on Talus Slopes in Gunnison National Forest to Infer Possible Climate Change Effects - M. Rada (2017)
Climate change in Colorado has already increased temperatures by 2 ℉ and is predicted to continue to rise. Precipitation during winter months is predicted to increase, while projected precipitation for the spring, summer and fall is still uncertain. It is important to understand how saxicolous lichen communities (those growing on or in rock) will respond to climate change as they are primary successors and many other organisms rely on their ecological services. Saxicolous lichen communities are important primary successors of barren talus rock slopes, slowly eroding rock and creating habitats for micro and eventually macro plant communities. Some other roles of lichens include; nutrient deposition, nesting material, habitat for microscopic organisms, erode rock, and forage for reindeer (Pegau 1968, Nash et al. 1995, Crossman et al. 2001, Winchester et al. 2008). Lichen communities are expected to change in species diversity, distribution and cover along an elevational gradient and with varying aspect differences. Climate warming and changes in precipitation patterns may lead to a shift in community diversity and cover, and ultimately ecosystem function. The diversity and cover of saxicolous lichens were measured along an elevational gradient on talus slopes in Gunnison National Forest, Colorado. Six sites and a total of 180 transects were analyzed for abundance and cover of lichen thalli and bare rock using the image processing program ImageJ. Talus slopes with varying aspects and elevations had significantly different compositions of lichen species. Diversity and abundance of lichens decreased with elevation and on drier south-facing slopes. This has potential negative implications for the persistence of lichen communities that colonize harsh environments already experiencing extreme conditions. It is important to look at how these lichen communities are structured to predict how they might respond to a rapidly changing climate, as many biological models do not represent these communities. This study pursued how lichen cover and diversity will change over time as climate change progresses.

Conflict of interest? Investigating the costs and benefits of herbivore defense using the model plant Boechera stricta - J. Poole (2017)
Boechera stricta, a native forb common to the Rocky Mountain range in western North America, is a model species at the forefront of genetics and ecology. Over millennia, in response to herbivory, plants have developed secondary metabolite defensive compounds to deter wide ranges of herbivores. Glucosinolates represent one such type of compound produced by Brassicaceous plants. However glucosinolates may act as cues for oviposition for specialist herbivores and thus may lead to a conflict of interest for their host plant. This study focused on whether contrasting glucosinolate chemical profiles confer costs or benefits to overall fitness in relation to defense against specialist herbivores. I combined field observations from two separate studies to infer whether glucosinolate chemical profile influences specialist oviposition and feeding behavior, and if this behavior may result in selection for plant chemistry, thus influencing phenotypic diversity in defensive strategy. Overall, I found that there was no significant response in specialist oviposition or abundance based on chemical profile. However, in natural populations of B. stricta, plants on which Euchloe ausonides were present had significantly higher levels of herbivore damage to fruits than plants on which the specialist was absent. These results indicate that plants that attract specialist herbivores suffer a reproductive disadvantage, but that host plant chemical profile does not appear to influence that attraction. Factors influencing specialist herbivore oviposition, presence/absence, and abundance remain unknown.

The Role of Castilleja spp. In Plant and Mycorrhizae Communities Within Various Climates - M. McKibben (2017)
Hemiparasites such as those in the genus Castilleja have important effects on the plant communities they are found in. For example, hemiparasitic plants may reduce the abundance of dominant plant species, opening niche space for sub- ordinates. This effect may be driven by direct parasitism of Castilleja on dominant hosts species or maybe mediated through indirect interactions as Castilleja compete with root-associated fungal communities, like arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and dark septate endophytes, for host carbon. Here we explored how Castilleja affects plant diversity, richness, and community composition, and how Castilleja influenced the relationship between dominant plants in the community and their root-associated fungal communities. Overall, we found that the presence of Castilleja increased plant diversity 9%, increased species richness 11%, without influencing plant community composition. Additionally, we found that Castilleja affected dominant plant interactions with mycorrhizal fungi, leading to an 18% reduction in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization within dominant root tissues.

Genetic basis of plant-insect interactions: insect recruitment to Boechera stricta - L. Macias (2017)
Mutualistic interactions are ubiquitous in nature. These type of interactions generally provide benefits to interacting species. Insects and plants are commonly involved in diverse forms of mutualism, however little is known if genetic variation among plants allows for a positive symbiosis with arthropods. In this study, we investigated whether plant traits in Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae) play a role in arthropod recruitment, and if so, whether the genetic basis of the plant contribute to this interaction. We also addressed whether visitation by ants and other insects minimized herbivory. We established a common garden experiment in which insect visitation to B. stricta was observed. We assessed insect visitation and herbivory on >400 known genotypes, as well as other plant traits. Within plant characteristics (number of flowers and fruits), plant height had a predominantly positive effect on the abundance of arthropods. Overall, plant height led to higher insect visitation, but the abundance of ants and other insects had no effect on herbivory due low insect observations and insufficient statistical power. Furthermore, we found a significance in the genetic basis of ant recruitment. These results indicate ant visitation can be influenced by plant traits, yet further studies are needed to determine what specific genes underlie in these traits.

Do the differing pollen foraging strategies of Megachile sp. and Bombus spp. result in differing pollen removal and deposition rates in Lupinus bakeri? - D. Jacobsmeyer (2017)
Mutualistic interactions between flowering plants and bees are a pairwise interaction, but exist in a network of similar interactions (Bronstein, 2001). The outcomes of these interactions differ, for example, the costs and benefits for flowering plants caused by floral visitors (Bronstein, 2001). Lupinus bakeri is a pollen-rewarding plant species that controls the amount of pollen removed by each floral visitor (Gori 1989; Harder 1990a). The bee genera Bombus spp. and Megachile sp. remove pollen differently from Lupinus bakeri, perhaps affecting the reproductive success of the plant differently. We assessed whether pollen removal and deposition rates are different for each bee genus through a interview stick based observational study. More Bombus spp. visited Lupinus bakeri than Megachile sp., but we did not detect a statistically significant difference in removal and deposition rates between bee taxa.

To the Rockies and back: studying marmots in Colorado - Svenja B. Kroeger (Mammal News, 2017)

Facilitated exploitation of pollination mutualisms: fitness consequences for plants - Cherie J. Nelson; Rebecca E. Irwin (Journal of Ecology, 2017)

40 years of progress in pollination biology, and what it means for citizen scientists - Mary V. Price; Nickolas M. Waser (Aquilegia: Newsletter of the Colorado Native Plant Society, 2017)

Determinants of multiple paternity in a fluctuating population of ground squirrels - M. B. McElreath; C. H. Floyd; K. M. Tomalty; B. May; Caitlin P. Wells; D. H. Van Vuren (Behav Ecol Sociobiol, 2017)
It is found that the frequency of multiple paternity in golden-mantled ground squirrels varied considerably from year to year, that density of female kin interacted with male density to influence multiple paternity, and that older and heavier females tended to be less likely to produce multiply-sired litters.

Plant-pollinator interactions under climate change: the use of spatial and temporal transplants - E. M. Morton; Nicole E. Rafferty (Applications in Plant Sciences, 2017)
Climate change is affecting both the timing of life history events and the spatial distributions of many species, including plants and pollinators. Shifts in phenology and range affect not only individual plant and pollinator species but also interactions among them, with possible negative consequences for both parties due to unfavorable abiotic conditions or mismatches caused by differences in shift magnitude or direction. Ultimately, population extinctions and reductions in pollination services could occur as a result of these climate change–induced shifts, or plants and pollinators could be buffered by plastic or genetic responses or novel interactions. Either scenario will likely involve altered selection pressures, making an understanding of plasticity and local adaptation in space and time especially important. In this review, we discuss two methods for studying plant–pollinator interactions under climate change: spatial and temporal transplants, both of which offer insight into whether plants and pollinators will be able to adapt to novel conditions. We discuss the advantages and limitations of each method and the future possibilities for this area of study. We advocate for consideration of how joint shifts in both dimensions might affect plant–pollinator interactions and point to key insights that can be gained with experimental transplants.

The Colorado River Aqueduct - T.R. Witcher (Civil Engineering Magazine, 2017)
One of the greatest achievements in engineering the West, the 242 mi long Colorado River Aqueduct brought water to Southern California and paved the way for the region’s tremendous growth.

Roderick Nash 1939– - Gregory Graves (2017)
Roderick Nash was one of many young, talented scholars attracted to the university's majestic setting on the Pacific Coast just west of Santa Barbara. As Nash developed courses in American environmental history, fate stepped in when oil from a drilling pipe rupture on an offshore platform bubbled 70,000 barrels of crude into the ocean and onto the beaches of Santa Barbara. Nash's interest in environmental history and intellectual history led to an array of books, articles, and other publications. Presently, Nash spends extensive time cruising his tugboat, Forever Green, in the Gulf of California, the central coast of California, and the inland passages to British Columbia and Alaska, while also skiing one hundred days a year near his winter home in Crested Butte, Colorado. Nash has told the story of attitudes toward wilderness, and has also expanded that concept to capture the dynamics of modern environmentalism.

A global test for phylogenetic signal in shifts in flowering time under climate change - Paul D. Nabity; Nicole E. Rafferty (Journal of Ecology, 2017)

States and transitions in aspen dominated ecosystems in western Colorado - Shepperd, Wayne; Fernandez-Gimenez, Maria; Christopher Patrick King Dickey; Melzer, Susan; Meiman, Paul (Digital Commons - USU (Utah State University), 2017)
In Colorado and the southwestern United States, quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is a species of high ecological, economic, and aesthetic importance. In response to the interests of several landowners and land managers in my study sites, this thesis describes my efforts to identify differences among aspen stand types in western Colorado and the ecological sites on which they occur; to describe aspen communities on different ecological sites based on species composition, functional traits, and drivers of change; and to synthesize this information in state-and-transition models (STM) applicable to specific ecological sites (ESs). In Chapter 2, I analyzed the results of aspen inventories and found that three of my four study sites contained aspen stands that are considered stable aspen subtypes. The fourth site contained stands representing a seral aspen type where conifer encroachment has occurred. I found higher frequencies and intensities of browsing in areas with isolated stands compared to areas with large continuous stands and in these areas there was evidence that browsing has affected juvenile aspen stem densities. Clear-felling on one site with large stable stands stimulated new stem growth, while prescribed burns on another site with smaller stable stands did not stimulate new stem growth. In Chapter 3, I classified sites based on soil and other abiotic site characteristics using partitioning around medoids (PAM). I then developed STMs for these sites using agglomerative hierarchical clustering analysis, indicator species analysis, permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA), non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMS), and the Random Forest algorithm to identify plant species associations and correlated abiotic factors and management treatments. Three of my STMs depict aspen and non-aspen dominated states associated with differences in abiotic site characteristics, and one STM depicts a single aspen dominated state. My investigation of aspen health and factors contributing to aspen mortality provides land managers in western Colorado with useful information for making informed decisions regarding aspen management. The STMs I have developed for these sites show which abiotic variables can be expected to be correlated with specific vegetation states and will inform future STM development for aspen-dominated systems. My findings suggest that the frequency and intensity of herbivory has played a major role in aspen survival at three of my four study sites. Future work is needed to develop more complete STMs for aspen-dominated systems in western Colorado.

Elevation alters ecosystem properties across temperate treelines globally - J. C. Clement; R. D. Bardgett; A. Fajardo; Jordan R. Mayor; E. Cieraad; D. Oberski; Z. Gedelof; C. Chisholm; M. Bahn; G. Kudo; K. Grigulis; M. K. Sundqvist; et al. (Nature, 2017)
Evaluated treeline ecotones in seven temperate regions of the world find that declining temperatures with increasing elevation did not affect tree leaf nutrient concentrations, but did reduce ground-layer community-weighted plant nitrogen, leading to the strong stoichiometric convergence of ground- layer plant community nitrogen to phosphorus ratios across all regions.

Reservoir trends and exploration potential of the El Vado Sandstone Member of the Mancos Shale, northwestern New Mexico - Tiffany Setare Hedayati (Texas ScholarWorks (Texas Digital Library), 2017)
The El Vado Sandstone Member (late Coniacian) of the Mancos Shale is considered by many to be an important unconventional hydrocarbon resource target (Ridgley, 2001) in the San Juan Basin located in northwestern New Mexico. The shelf sandstones of the El Vado were deposited along the western margin of the Western Interior Cretaceous Seaway. The El Vado is part of a transgressive-regressive wedge of rock that overlies a large, older transgressive wedge which contains the Tocito Sandstone (the largest oil producer in the basin). Despite its productivity in parts of the basin, the nature, origin, and distribution of the El Vado Sandstone is poorly understood. Using well logs and core, the subsurface has been mapped to illustrate the distribution of the El Vado Sandstone across its extent in the San Juan Basin. The El Vado is reflected in logs as a thick (~ 120 foot) interval of low gamma ray and high resistivity. The gamma ray log character reflects highly laminated sand-to-silts interbedded with shales. A total of 13 cross sections were constructed based on the high density of well log control. Isopach maps were then generated for the entire interval and individual cycles of the El Vado. Regional net sand and net-to-gross maps, determined from 104 digitized well logs, highlight the regional distribution of sand content. Two regions in the basin were examined in outcrop, the northeast and the southeast. In the northern outcrops, the El Vado consists of five cycles of similar thickness (~ 4 m each) separated by marine shales with cycles becoming progressively sandier upward. To the south, the El Vado Sandstone appears to transition from a shelf deposited sandstone into a lower shoreface sandstone. Examining the El Vado Sandstone in the subsurface and in outcrops helped the author to improve the understanding of the nature and distribution of the sands throughout the basin.

Technical Appendix: Legal Analysis - Shepherding Appropriated Water in Colorado for Colorado River Compact Security - Anne J. Castle; Lawrence J. MacDonnell (SSRN Electronic Journal, 2017)

East River and East River #2 by Mitchell Johnson - Margaret R. Wentz (Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 2017)
Recognizing the contribution art has had in the Mayo Clinic environment since the original Mayo Clinic Building was finished in 1914, Mayo Clinic Proceedings features some of the numerous works of art displayed throughout the buildings and grounds on Mayo Clinic campuses.

Is Compensatory Growth Costly? - S. Heissenberger (2017)
1. Compensatory growth is well-studied and exhibited across a variety of taxa, including plants, invertebrates, and a variety of vertebrates. Compensatory mechanisms allow individuals to recover from adverse conditions, potentially enhancing survival and fitness. However, to compensate for a low body condition, individuals may allocate energetic resources to a few physiological functions, affecting the ability of other bodily functions to perform efficiently. Such costs associated with compensatory growth are shown in previous studies, and are expected to be strongest at early life stages. The allocation of resources to accelerate body growth may be traded-off against other essential physiological processes, such as bone growth, immunocompetence, and tissue repair. 2. We quantified short and long-term consequences of differential body growth rates in a wild population of yellow-bellied marmots, Marmota flaviventer, obligate hibernators with a short active season. We used mass measurements collected from 2002-2014 to calculate individual growth trajectories, and estimated annual survival from 688 females at distinct life stages (142 adults, 239 yearlings, 643 juveniles) distributed along a mild elevational gradient (165 m). We also estimated longevity utilizing 322 longitudinal mass measurements throughout the lifespan of 72 females. 3. We found that increased mass gain rate, coupled with the demands of a harsher higher- elevation environment, reduced annual survival in the young cohort. Older individuals with accelerated mass gain had higher survival, regardless of location in the elevational gradient. Collectively, we found that rapid mass gain had no effect on longevity. 2 4. Thus, while adults may benefit from accelerated mass gain, it may be that younger individuals pay a price. This cost in the younger cohort varies according to environmental conditions. Developing individuals face conflicting demands of structural vs. fat reserve growth, and one may be prioritized over the other in adverse conditions. Therefore, the benefits and costs of rapid growth are age and site- specific, and the costs are concentrated in young individuals in harsh environments. Furthermore, the costs of accelerated growth in this species may be exerted in the short-term, rather than paid later in life.

Native ant (Formica rufa, Formica fusca), Nicrophorus spp. interactions at small mammal carcass resources in the southern Rocky Mountains, Gunnison National Forest, Colorado. - A. Solis (2017)
Competition for carcass resources can be fierce with a broad range of taxa vying for control of the nutrient rich resource. Arthropod competition for carcasses is well studied. Flies, beetles, and ants are common carcass utilizers. The burying beetle (Nicrophorus spp). is an obligate carrion breeder who has developed many methods of securing carcasses. Ants are opportunistic scavengers who would utilize many resource made available to them, including carcasses. Competition between the two taxa is not well understood, but invasive species Solenopsis invicta and native species of Florida, Solenopsis geminata, have been shown to have significant effect on Nicrophorus reproductive success. The purpose of this study is to investigate if native ants of the higher latitude and elevation of southern Rocky Mountains, Gunnison National forest, Colorado, have the same negative effect on Nicrophorus sequestration of carcass resource for reproduction. The study found the native ant species Formica rufa and Formica fusca had no effect on the burial of carcasses by Nicrophorus. These findings support previously established evidence of decreased competition for carcasses in higher elevations and latitudes.

Snowmelt controls on concentration-discharge relationships and the balance of oxidative and acid-base weathering fluxes in an alpine catchment, East River, Colorado - Reed M. Maxwell; Matthew Winnick; Katharine Maher; Wenming Dong; Kenneth Hurst Williams (Water Resources Research, 2017)

Zen Ecology and the origin of scientific ideas - Mary V. Price; Nickolas M. Waser (American Society of Naturalists, 2017)

Methods in Stream Ecology, Volume 1: Ecosystem Structure - G. A. Lamberti; B. L. Peckarsky (2017)

Quantifying Whitewater Recreation Opportunities in Cataract Canyon of the Colorado River, Utah: Aggregating Acceptable Flows and Hydrologic Data to Identify Boatable Days - J. J. Vaske; E. Stafford; N. Fey (River Research and Applications, 2017)
AbstractThe structural norm approach was combined with the Potential for Conflict Index to define recreation streamflow needs for the Colorado River in Utah and Colorado. An online survey was completed by 128 commercial and non‐commercial boaters, who evaluated a range of flows for whitewater boating. For the Cataract Canyon reach, respondents rated the quality of their recreation experience of specific flows, describing the quality of boating opportunities across the full range of historical streamflows. Ranges for both acceptable and optimum flows were defined, as well as thresholds for unacceptable flows. These ranges were then evaluated against historical hydrologic records to quantify the timing, frequency, and duration of days when defined whitewater flows exist across different year types (i.e. average boatable days). Results indicated that on average, a total of 257 boatable days existed in dry years, and 353 total boatable days occurred in dry‐typical years. In wet and wet‐typical years, 362 and 365 total boatable days respectively, occurred on average. Results of the boatable days' analysis indicated that over the 23‐year period of record, whitewater boating opportunities occurred nearly every day of the year in all but the driest year types. Results from this study provide resource managers with information which can be used in the development of annual operating plans for the Colorado River Basin and help managers understand how changes in flow impact the quality of recreational opportunities. This application demonstrates the value of analysing boatable days on any river where recreation management is a priority. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Female kin density affects offspring sex ratio in an asocial mammal, the golden-mantled ground squirrell Callospermophilus lateralis - Caitlin P. Wells; D. H. Van Vuren (Animal Behaviour, 2017)

Multitrophic interactions mediate theÂ effects ofÂ climate change onÂ herbivore abundance - Anthony T. Robinson; Emily H Mooney; Jane E. Ogilvie; David W. Inouye (Oecologia, 2017)
Observational and experimental results show the importance of multitrophic species interactions for predicting the effect of climate change on the abundances of herbivores.

Distribution of native and nonnative ancestry in red foxes along an elevational gradient in central Colorado - M. J. Statham; B. N. Sacks; J. E. Janecka; R. R. Lopez; C. Merson; N. J. Silvy (Journal of Mammalogy, 2017)
The red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) indigenous to the mountains of the western United States are high-elevation specialists that could face range reduction due to climatic warming, as well as potential encroachment, loss of adaptive alleles, and displacement by introduced nonnative red foxes. We investigated the genetic integrity of the native Rocky Mountain red fox (V. v. macroura) in Colorado through analysis of the composition, distribution, and patterns of gene flow between native and nonnative red fox populations along an elevational gradient. The study area spanned the high plains around Denver in the east to the alpine zone of the Rocky Mountains adjacent to Gunnison and Crested Butte in the west. We used microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from Colorado foxes, along with previously published reference data from other native western and nonnative populations, to evaluate the distribution of native versus nonnative ancestry and its relationship to elevation, distance, and landscape type. Nonnative red fox ancestry predominated in Denver and low-lying areas, whereas native ancestry was most prevalent at high elevations. The genetic integrity of foxes at higher elevations (i.e., within the historical native range) was greater in terms of mtDNA than nuclear DNA, consistent with higher male-mediated gene flow. Nonnative admixture was most pronounced in human-altered landscapes. Our findings provide baseline data necessary to monitor future trends of these Rocky Mountain red fox populations and highlight the potential for similar threats to affect genetic integrity of endangered montane red fox subspecies along the Pacific Crest.

Modeling the population dynamics and community impacts of Ambystoma tigrinum: A case study of phenotype plasticity - M. Chen; Amy E. Dunham; O. Prosper; M. L. McCarthy; E. Hu-Wang; Diana Wallace; E. T. Rheingold; Howard Whiteman (Mathematical Biosciences, 2017)

Adaptation, assisted migration, and extinction in a warming world: Understanding the response of Androsace septentrionalis to climate change through climate manipulation and transplant experiments - A. M. Panetta (2017)

Thermal evolution and exhumation history of the Uncompahgre Plateau (northeastern Colorado Plateau), based on apatite fission track and (U-Th)-He thermochronology and zircon U-Pb dating - Christian Rønnevik; Haakon Fossen; Anna K. Ksienzyk; Joachim Jacobs (Geosphere, 2017)
Over the past two decades, thermochronological studies have greatlyincreased our knowledge of the Cenozoic evolution of the Colorado Plateau(western United States). There has been particular interest in the southwesternpart of the plateau, leading to debate regarding the timing of uplift andfluvial incision along the Colorado River system. We here combine apatite fissiontrack (AFT) and apatite (U-Th)-He (AHe) analyses as well as zircon U-Pbdating to investigate the much less studied northeastern Colorado Plateau,particularly the Uncompahgre Plateau and the Unaweep Canyon, which has avery unusual drainage pattern in two opposite directions.We obtained 12 AFT ages from the Uncompahgre Plateau: 3 from the top ofthe basement of the plateau reveal Laramide ages (65–63 Ma), and 6 samplesfrom the Unaweep Canyon (35–27 Ma) and 3 from the northeastern plateaumargin (33–17 Ma) underwent complete thermal resetting in the late Eoceneto Oligocene. Thermal history modeling of top basement samples revealsLate Cretaceous heating to temperatures of at least 90 °C, implying sedimentaryburial to ~3 km, followed by cooling throughout the latest Cretaceous toEocene.However, AHe ages (38–31 Ma) indicate minor reheating to 40–80 °C forthese samples in the late Eocene to Oligocene.Zircons from the La Sal Mountains laccolith gave an Oligocene U-Pb crystallizationage of 29.1 ± 0.3 Ma. AFT ages from the laccolith range from 33 to27 Ma, confirming rapid cooling of this shallow subvolcanic intrusion. Thislate Eocene to Oligocene magmatism caused thermal resetting of most of theAFT (except top basement) and AHe ages from the Uncompahgre Plateau,even though samples were collected as much as 60 km away from the intrusion.Canyon samples also underwent an increase in cooling rates in the past5–10 m.y. This Miocene–Pliocene cooling event is interpreted as regional upliftof the Colorado Plateau associated with canyon incision.

Comment on Cognition-mediated evolution of low-quality floral nectars. - G. H. Pyke; Nickolas M. Waser (Science, 2017)
Nachev et al (Reports, 6 January 2017, p. 75) present dilute nectar in bat-pollinated plants as "paradoxical" because bats prefer concentrated nectar, but paradox disappears with realistic assumptions about nectar evolution. We argue that they make unrealistic assumptions about the cognitive abilities of bat pollinators, invoke Weber's law inappropriately, and cannot predict observed nectar concentrations of bat flowers or negative correlations between pollinator body size and average concentration.

Hibernation as a major determinant of life-history traits in marmots - Kenneth B. Armitage (Journal of Mammalogy, 2017)
During the downward trend of Quaternary global temperatures, crown-group marmots evolved to occupy harsh, seasonal environments at high latitudes and elevations. Marmots evolved hibernation and large body size, which allowed them to cope with a long, cold season with low, stressful ambient temperatures when food was unavailable. Harsh conditions during a short active season frequently cause reproductive failure and reproductive skipping in marmots. Seasonal phenology is controlled by a circannual rhythm that directs metabolic changes and fat accumulation for hibernation and reproduction. Metabolism and water balance in marmots are adapted to the low environmental temperatures of hibernation. Thus, marmots are subject to heat stress from solar radiation and high ambient temperatures during the active season. Energy conservation characterizes metabolism in marmots throughout the annual cycle: metabolic rates are lower than predicted from body size and decline during the active season, metabolism is actively suppressed to enter torpor, and most of the time during hibernation is spent at low metabolism in deep torpor. Young typically require 2 or more of the short active seasons to reach reproductive maturity and are retained at home, which leads to sociality based on kinship. Competition within the social group is expressed primarily as reproductive suppression, which delays the age of 1st reproduction that in turn strongly affects demography. Early snowmelt due to global warming may enable marmots to colonize new habitats or increase population growth. However, climate change most likely will diminish the ability of marmots to mobilize sufficient energy resources in a drier, warmer active season, which will reduce both survivorship and reproduction.

Assessing Plant Community Assembly Along an Elevational Gradient: A Functional Niche Hypervolume Approach - K. Hayashi (2017)
Niche-based processes, such as environmental filtering and niche differentiation, have been proposed to contribute to the assembly of ecological communities. While functional traits can be useful for testing hypotheses regarding niche-based community assembly, most studies utilizing functional traits to examine such hypotheses have focused on patterns of individual traits or of mean trait values. We tested for signatures of environmental filtering and niche differentiation on the assembly of subalpine meadow communities in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA by constructing site-level and species-level trait space hypervolumes from field-collected functional trait data (foliage height, SLA, LDMC). We found a trend of increasing community trait space volume and decreasing community trait space density (species/volume) with increasing elevation. Species-level trait space, however, exhibited no relationship with elevation. Additionally, we found that pair-wise distances of species-level trait space hypervolume increases with elevation. Overall, contrary to conventional hypotheses regarding niche-based community assembly, our results support a pattern of larger community trait space at higher elevations and more “packed” trait space at lower elevations. Incorporation of additional communities, sites, and trait combinations into our study should yield further insights into the patterns observed here.

Interaction rewiring and the rapid turnover of plant-pollinator networks - James L. Cunningham; Ross M. Brennan; William K. Petry; Nickolas M. Waser; Nathan J. Sanders; Paul J. CaraDonna (Ecology Letters, 2017)
Paul J. CaraDonna,1,2,3,4* Whether species interactions are static or change over time has wide-reaching ecological and evo- William K. Petry,1,5,6 lutionary consequences. However, species interaction networks are typically constructed from tem- Ross M. Brennan,1,7 porally aggregated interaction data, thereby implicitly assuming that interactions are fixed. This James L. Cunningham,1,2 approach has advanced our understanding of communities, but it obscures the timescale at which Judith L. Bronstein,2 interactions form (or dissolve) and the drivers and consequences of such dynamics. We address Nickolas M. Waser1 and this knowledge gap by quantifying the within-season turnover of plant–pollinator interactions Nathan J. Sanders1,3,8 from weekly censuses across 3 years in a subalpine ecosystem. Week-to-week turnover of interac- tions (1) was high, (2) followed a consistent seasonal progression in all years of study and (3) was dominated by interaction rewiring (the reassembly of interactions among species). Simulation models revealed that species’ phenologies and relative abundances constrained both total interac- tion turnover and rewiring. Our findings reveal the diversity of species interactions that may be missed when the temporal dynamics of networks are ignored.

Factors Influencing Ungulate Barking Patterns of Populus tremuloides - D. Sapena (2017)

Effects of Didymosphenia germinata on American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) Territory Size - Richard G. Baker (2017)
The American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) is a medium-sized passerine that forages predominantly in

Does Road Dust Affect Hylemya Oviposition in Scarlet Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata)? - C. Rosas (2017)
A previous study conducted at RMBL has found that road dust affects wildflower pollination and reproduction, this study included Ipomopsis aggregata. In 19 of 20 independent tests wildflowers carried less pollen on their stigmas in dusty conditions, but their seed sets were not consistently affected. The study lists compensatory herbivory as a mechanism that could contribute to the inconsistent seed set, therefore for this study we will be looking at the pre-dispersal seed predator the Anthomyiid fly Hylemya spp. We studied whether road dust affects Hylemya oviposition. We found more Hylemya eggs in experimentally undusted than in dusted Ipomopsis aggregata plants, both on a per-flower and whole-plant basis. On average there were 4.3 eggs per undusted plant and 2.2 eggs per dusted plant. This study also compared the results of a similar 2016 study. In both years undusted plants had higher egg loads, but egg loads were overall higher in 2016. Overall, between both years, 11.43% of undusted elongated buds had an egg and 5.22% of dusted elongated buds had an egg with a significant difference.

The behavioral ecology of nectar robbing: why be tactic constant? - L. L. Richardson; J. L. Barker; Rebecca E. Irwin (Current Opinion in Insect Science, 2017)
It is documented that even though individuals can switch foraging tactics, they often do not, and hypotheses of floral constancy are extended to understand when and why visitors exhibit tactic constancy and raise questions for future research.

Direct benefits and indirect costs of warm temperatures for high-elevation populations of a solitary bee - S. P. M. Chisholm; Jessica R.K. Forrest (Ecology, 2017)
AbstractWarm temperatures are required for insect flight. Consequently, warming could benefit many high‐latitude and high‐altitude insects by increasing opportunities for foraging or oviposition. However, warming can also alter species interactions, including interactions with natural enemies, making the net effect of rising temperatures on population growth rate difficult to predict. We investigated the temperature‐dependence of nesting activity and lifetime reproductive output over 3 yr in subalpine populations of a pollen‐specialist bee, Osmia iridis. Rates of nest provisioning increased with ambient temperatures and with availability of floral resources, as expected. However, warmer conditions did not increase lifetime reproductive output. Lifetime offspring production was best explained by rates of brood parasitism (by the wasp Sapyga), which increased with temperature. Direct observations of bee and parasite activity suggest that although activity of both species is favored by warmer temperatures, bees can be active at lower ambient temperatures, while wasps are active only at higher temperatures. Thus, direct benefits to the bees of warmer temperatures were nullified by indirect costs associated with increased parasite activity. To date, most studies of climate‐change effects on pollinators have focused on changing interactions between pollinators and their floral host‐plants (i.e., bottom‐up processes). Our results suggest that natural enemies (i.e., top‐down forces) can play a key role in pollinator population regulation and should not be overlooked in forecasts of pollinator responses to climate change.

Oxytocin experiments shed light on mechanisms shaping prosocial and antisocial behaviors in non-human mammals - H. Cristofari; Smith J.E.; Jerome E.L.; M. B. Petelle; Daniel T. Blumstein (Integrative and Comparative Biology, 2017)

Groundhog day is so silly. But as a groundhog scientist I love it anyway - Daniel T. Blumstein (2017)

Does it stay or does it go: exploring seasonal influences on nutrients across topography in a Colorado mountain watershed - E. Ballor (2017)
Climate change is a current issue that impacts ecosystems and the natural processes within them. Through the variance of factors such as, temperature, precipitation and hydrology due to climate change key processes such as nutrient cycling are affected. This study focused on the movement of nitrogen in a Colorado mountain watershed. Through the measurement of various forms of nitrogen, i.e. nitrate and ammonium (NH4+ & NO3-) which are available to aid plant growth, found throughout the cycle and potential effects of climate change can be realized. Nitrogen amounts were compared with NDVI data, soil water content, near infrared photography and microclimate data to find any correlations that affect the nitrogen cycle and the amount of available nitrogen in the ecosystem. This study looked at a different way to view the Colorado mountain watershed. Over time NDVI values changed at both sites (Lower Montane and Lower Sub-Alpine). How NDVI changes over time varies and depends on the site specific conditions.

Effects of Microclimate on the regeneration of Quaking Aspens, Populus tremuloides - Marco Castaneda (2017)
Populus tremuloides is a keystone species found throughout North America. P. tremuloides aids the regeneration of eco systems, however as climate changes, the health of P. tremuloides is changing. P. tremuloides populations are on the decline in the American southwest, and with time it could affect P. tremuloides populations in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. In this Study the relationship between tree regeneration, tree death, soil temperature and soil moisture, a one hectare plot was tested to show if low soil moisture and higher soil temperatures were causing higher P. tremuloides mortality rates and low regeneration rates. The study resulted in no significance between dead trees and soil moisture and soil temperature. However, regenerating trees expressed a decline when soil temperature rises.

How does experimental warming effect the rate of herbivory and fungi on host grasses? - Shermila B. Villanueva (2017)
As there is an increase in greenhouse gasses, it is causing direct and indirect changes in plant interactions with herbivory and fungal pathogens. By imitating the increase in climate change through temperature, it is possible to observe the indirect effect it has on herbivory/fungal pathogens on their plant hosts. In collecting data on three grass species, it cannot be concluded that there is an effect of warming on herbivory/pathogen damage on plant hosts however there is a pattern seen in all species the different plots. The accumulation of herbivory/pathogens in warmed and controlled plots have significance at various time interval of different species. Weather could be affecting the herbivory and pathogens at different plots which can be a reason for the pattern across plots.

Social capital and socio-cultural sustainability: mountain resort tourism and the community of Steamboat Springs - Natalie Ooi (Figshare, 2017)
Mountain resort tourism, in particular ski tourism, has brought about significant change to many alpine communities within North America. Providing an alternative to past industries such as ranching, agriculture, mining, and logging, tourism has been heralded by some as a panacea for the revitalisation of what are largely declining economic bases, whilst others have described it as a destructive force that has brought about many economic, environmental, and socio-cultural concerns. Although significant recognition exists within the academic literature regarding the various economic and environmental impacts resulting from mountain resort tourism, there appears to be a lack of detailed and targeted examination of its socio-cultural sustainability. My research addresses this gap within the mountain resort tourism literature by focusing on this often overlooked dimension of sustainability. This is achieved through using social capital as a conceptual lens to examine the networks, norms, and resources that form a part of our everyday socialisation. While social capital has been widely adopted within sociology, its use in exploring tourism phenomena has thus far been limited. This is despite its ability to highlight the various sociological processes and interactions that occur within tourism-dependent communities and how they have been affected by tourism development. Adopting an ethnographic case study design, I immersed myself within the community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, living and participating in the daily activities of community members for ten months spanning the winter and summer tourism seasons. During this time, I undertook 53 qualitative interviews with a range of community members from various interest areas to help illuminate many of the socio-cultural issues faced as a result of mountain resort tourism. I accompanied these with participant observation of both special events and day-to-day activities, which were recorded in a field work journal. This was alongside photographs that were captured to provide a complementary visual record of my observations and experiences, as well as the analysis of relevant documentation in the form of council and county reports and plans, the local newspaper, local websites, and magazines. Overall, my research identified mountain resort tourism as having brought about a wide range of impacts that have affected the social capital components of networks, norms, and resources in numerous ways. These effects include the strengthening of community bonding networks, the reinforcement of social norms, and the mobilisation of shared resources through collective action; all of which highlight the existence of such positive aspects of socio-cultural sustainability as a sense of community, democratic community participation, collaboration, and empowerment. At the same time, mountain resort tourism was found to have contributed to such negative social capital outcomes as the social exclusion and isolation of newcomers and other marginalised groups within the community, the creation of anti-social norms in response to its many impacts, resource inequities both within Steamboat Springs and between the surrounding communities, and a growing sense of powerlessness. These outcomes appear reflective of the socio-culturally unsustainable nature of mountain resort tourism as they can be seen as negatively affecting quality of life, a sense of community ownership and attachment, the ability and willingness of many community members to democratically and equitably participate, and the likelihood of inter-community collaboration, whilst also exacerbating socio-economic class distinctions. This raises a number of socio-cultural concerns for the community of Steamboat Springs in regards to the long-term sustainability of mountain resort tourism. In particular, my research highlights the importance of more effective tourism governance, with the community needing to address such issues as future community ownership, democratic and equitable community representation, increased government transparency, and the development of intra- and inter-community bridging networks in order for the socio-cultural sustainability of mountain resort tourism to be achieved. At the same time, the potential for social capital to act as a heuristic device to guide the examination of the socio-cultural sustainability of tourism can also be noted. This is because of its ability to go beyond the identification of mountain resort tourism impacts to explore how individuals, groups, and organisations within tourism-dependent communities have responded to tourism development and its effects on their everyday lives, thereby providing a more holistic understanding of tourism sustainability within a mountain resort community context.

Colorado State University reports : Colorado Agriculture Bibliography - Allison V. Level; Sierra Standish (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2017)
The records in this bibliography may cover several subject areas and are listed alphabetically by author.

Water and irrigation : Colorado Agriculture Bibliography - Allison V. Level; Sierra Standish (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2017)
The records in this bibliography may cover several subject areas and are listed alphabetically by author.

Floral Albedo as a Response Factor of Climate Change, A case study in Helianthella quinquenervis - A. Walwema (2017)
Because phenology and climate are linked, studying the consequences of shifting phenology can help scientists understand the systems that make up current climates and construct future ones. In the Rocky Mountains, climate change has led to earlier snowmelt, an event that triggers the start of the growing season. When Helianthella quinquenervis flowers early, the harsher abiotic conditions of the early growing season can damage the buds that would have otherwise flowered that year. We hypothesize that locations with a dense population of H. quinquenervis, like the population located in Maxfield Meadow, are now subject to drier conditions and increased water stress in years when H. quinquenervis flowers are frosted by the low night temperatures of the earlier growing season. In this study, Helianthella bud removal simulated the bud frosting effect. We hypothesized that the lack of H. quinquenervis changes the overall color of the meadow from yellow to green, decreasing the amount of light that the meadow can reflect, decreasing soil moisture and increasing plant water stress. We found that Helianthella flower petals reflect significantly more light than leaves, and this effect persists at the plot-level. The data show that the effect of reduced albedo on soil moisture is most likely to occur during sunny conditions. It also shows Helianthella removal did result in a trend supporting the initial hypothesis, with slightly increased water stress in the removals, although this effect was not significant. Helianthella was not blooming as densely as has in the past years, and effects of reduced albedo on soils and plants may be stronger when floral density is higher.

Nano-scale Petrophysical Studies of The Gothic Shale Interval in the Paradox Basin, Colorado, U.S.A. - Marvin L Dunbar (UTA ResearchCommons (University of Texas Arlington), 2017)
Hydrocarbon production from shale has become a main energy source for the United States. Consequently, an increased knowledge of the petrophysical properties of shale such as porosity, permeability, tortuosity, and fluid-rock interactions (e.g., contact angle, imbibition) will improve production efficiency. Because of their minute size (nanoscale), the knowledge of pore structure (i.e., pore geometry and connectivity) has proven difficult to understand. Analyzing the pore size distribution and pore connectivity of Gothic Shale from selected locations in the Montezuma County of Colorado will lead to recommendations for greater oil production efficiency, fostering innovation into a thriving, environmentally safe, oil and gas industry. \nThis study investigated the pore structure and fluid interaction of Gothic Shale to understand the movement of hydrocarbon molecules in unconventional shale reservoirs, specifically focusing on the nano-scale pore geometry and connectivity of the organic matter and minerals, which are affected by maturity and mineralogy. In order to achieve this, a total of 10 core samples collected from four wells (A for 9-21 Antelope; KF for 1-4 Kissinger Federal; NF for 1-4 Norton Federal; UM for 44-34 Ute Mountain) received tests for organic carbon, pyrolysis, x-ray diffraction, contact angle, mercury injection capillary pressure, and fluid imbibition. \nPyrolysis results showed samples contained a percent carbonate from 42 – 69% with one outlier, sample UM8741, having a percent carbonate of 34%. TOC content varies within the dataset, containing values from 0.74 – 2.14. Tmax values ranged from 445 – 529⁰C corresponding with a vitrinite reflectance range from 0.92 – 1.79. Most samples are classified as a type of carbonate mudstone (i.e. mixed or silica-rich) and are dominated by either calcite or dolomite minerals. Samples NF5913 and UM8741 deviated from the other samples and contained a majority of quartz, these samples were classified as a mixed mudstone. \nDependent upon the availability of sample size, contact angle and core plug porosity /permeability were conducted for selected samples. MICP results show that many of the samples have porosity that fell within 0.5-1.0%. The dataset had an average porosity of 0.593% with the lowest porosity, 0.224%, found in the NF5915 (5915 ft of 1-4 Norton Federal) sample, and the highest, 0.951%, in sample NF5871, both of which are calcite dominated carbonate mudstones. Most samples had pore types that were dominated by either micro-fractures, particularly 1-10 micrometer sized pores, or inter-clay platelet pores (2.8-5 nm sized pore-throats). Furthermore, no correlation was found between pore size distribution and mineralogy or maturity. Permeability values reached 1.378 mD for sample A5989; however, this was an exception. The average value of the dataset was 0.541 mD. \nContact angle results show both API brine and 10% IPA are good wetting fluids, however 10% IPA typically displays better wettability. For most samples, n-decane imbibition showed higher slopes for pore connectivity in the rock matrix, indicating that the pore system has a better connection to oil wetting fluids, the only exceptions being KF5898 and A5985. Correlations between mineralogy (clay, carbonates, quartz) and pore connectivity are found, and discussed in further detail.

Does bumble bee (Bombus spp.) diet breadth vary with differences in floral resource abundance? - V. Watson (2017)
In the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, changes in the availability of floral resources through the growing season may affect the ability of bumble bee colonies to successfully complete their life cycle and produce reproductive individuals in the season’s end. A way bees could potentially deal with this challenge is by broadening their diets —visiting a wider variety of flower species for pollen and nectar. I investigated the diet breadths of three bumble bee species in that region at the species and individual levels, asking whether bee diet breadths varied with floral resource abundance. I found that at both the species and individual level, bees’ diet breadth does not seem to vary with floral resource abundance. Bees may have another strategy for dealing with a lack of floral resources, or their diet breadth may be constrained by other factors such as competition.

Concentration-discharge behavior as an indication of groundwater contribution in Copper Creek sub-catchment of the Upper East River Basin - M. Ruckhaus (2017)
Groundwater in high elevation watersheds is difficult to quantify, but remains a major component in the hydrologic budget for the western United States. Concentration-discharge (C-Q) data can provide a framework for characterizing groundwater flow in small alpine catchments by indicating fluid residence times and solute fluxes. Such factors heavily influence biochemical processes and mixing behaviors downstream. Complimenting field measurements, End Member Mixing Analysis (EMMA) was conducted to apply a statistical approach for identifying solutes. Most small catchments exhibit chemostatic behavior which is defined as nearly constant solute concentration with changing discharge rates (Maher, 2011) therefore, SF6 and N2/Ar samples were collected to estimate fluid residence time and recharge temperature. We investigated these relationships in the Copper Creek sub-catchment by analyzing solute concentrations of anions, cations, and dissolved organic and inorganic carbon coupled with discharge measurements to assess its groundwater and solute contributions to East River.

Climate Change Affects Boechera stricta Genotypes Through Local Maladaptation - A. Neild (2017)
As environments continue to change, plant communities will increasingly be pressured to adapt to their environment to maintain fitness levels. The most common release of climatic stressor result in range shifts and changes in phenology for plants. Boechera stricta, a perennial forb native to a range of elevations in the Rocky Mountains in the western United States, has been study species for adaptation responses from climate change. Already, it has been documented that local maladaptation has occurred for this wild mustard species. Low elevation species adapted B. stricta was recorded to do better along an entire elevation gradient than its locally adapted counterparts. This study inquires if, by manipulating snowfall to mimic historic levels, we can reverse the maladaptation in B. stricta, and see locally adapted mustards do better than either high or low adapted genotypes. We found that we were able to restore local adaptation of B. stricta for all sites in our snow addition treatment. In addition, we saw a continued shift in optimum source elevation to lower elevation genotypes. However, with notably high mortality rates among all gardens on all treatments, more than one climatic factor needs to be changed for there to be any lasting impact on these local adaptations.

Pollinator traits and competitive context shape dynamic foraging behavior in bee communities - Heather M. Briggs (bioRxiv, 2017)

Species Co-occurrence Patterns and Mechanisms for Rhyacophila in High-Altitude Streams - B. Sparrow (2017)
Currently, due to global warming, we are seeing large range shifts in many different species across the world. As these species shift they are encountering new species and new environments. The way that a species interacts with these new species and environments will determine its ability to expand its range, preventing extinction by being successful in this new environment. Rhyacophila is a genus of caddisflies, which belong to a group of terrestrial insects that complete their aquatic larval stage in cold, fast-flowing and highly oxygenated freshwater streams. Previous research has shown that the distribution and abundance of species in this genus vary greatly across streams in the Upper East River Basin in Gunnison, Colorado. In this study we wanted to determine if there were any species co-occurrence patterns that we could identify that would explain the distribution of these species. We also wanted to test potential mechanisms such as species interactions and environmental variables to see if they would explain these distribution patterns. We did find both positive and negative association patterns between various species. Rhyacophila alberta seemed to be negatively associated with Rhyacophila brunnea and weakly positively associated with Rhyacophila hyalinata. Both Rhyacophila alberta and Rhyacophila brunnea seem to have environmental preferences that were opposite of each other and Rhyacophila hyalinata seemed to fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. Using an experiment we tested whether or not predation and growth rates of Rhyacophila alberta were affected by the presence of species it commonly co-existed with compared to species it rarely co- occurred with. We did find effects on both predation rate and growth rate depending on treatment. However, predation rate did not predict growth rate. This experiment shows that species distributions can be influenced by both interspecific and intraspecific species interactions and environmental factors.

Factors that affect territory size in Mountain White-Crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) - R. LaRitz (2017)
Male songbirds sing on the edge of their territory to warn away competing males. The mountain white-crowned sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) prefers to sing on the edge of willows and spruce trees. High quality territory is determined by the availability of food, water and shelter. Meanwhile, lower quality territory lacks these key resources and reduce the chances of the holding male’s breeding success. I hypothesized that perimeter and area of a territory are directly correlated to elevation. However, due to unexpected restrictions in sample size, my analysis was strictly descriptive. For this study, I walked through the willows and recorded the GPS coordinates of the singing spots of each male. The median total territory area was 4047.2 meters squared and a total territory perimeter of 83.2 meters squared. I constructed four GIS maps which allowed the visualization of the variety of territory shapes.

Phenology and Phenotypic Variation of Thlaspi arvense Along an Elevational Gradient - A. Glasser (2017)
Thlaspi arvense, a non-native plant in the Brassicaceae family, was first introduced to the Gunnison valley of Colorado in the 1800s (Chew 1975). Long-term studies done at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory suggest the presence of T. arvense has negative impacts on the fitness of native Pieris butterflies (Nakajima et. al 2013, Chew 1975). It may also negatively impact native plants in its introduced range; a closely related invasive mustard found in Northeast North America, Alliaria petiolata, is known to impede growth of native plants by reducing mycorrhizal colonization of plant roots through production of antifungal glucosinolates similar to those produced by T. arvense (Wolfe et. al 2008, Chumala and Suchy 2003). Current research is investigating the capacity of T. arvense to disrupt plant-mycorrhizal associations of surrounding native plants where it grows (Stinson lab unpub.). Thlaspi arvense shows a high degree of phenotypic plasticity for traits such as branching, fruit number and height, which may increase its competitiveness (Best and McIntyre 1974). In order to determine where T. arvense will spread and potentially dominate as climate changes, we measured phenology, specifically timing of seed set, and phenotypic variation of adaptive traits along an elevational gradient. At nine sites, we assessed phenology and phenotypic traits for a subpopulation of plants within consistent 1m2 plots. While there was no significant relationship between change in phenology and elevation, there were significant relationships between phenotypic traits and elevation, with high elevation sites favoring shorter plants with fewer fruits and branches. Low elevation sites had denser populations of plants than medium and high elevation sites, and tended to have plants with more fruits and branches. Many factors that could impact trait plasticity of T. arvense vary predictably along the elevational gradient, including temperature, soil moisture and nitrogen availability (McCain and Grytnes 2010). Knowing that conditions at low elevations favor reproductive success of T. arvense, as climate changes and high elevation climates increasingly resemble current low elevation climates, T. arvense may be able to increase its range and persist at higher elevations.

Carbon Dioxide Efflux and Storage in Small, Drying Alpine Ponds - S. Campbell (2017)
Climate change is expected to influence the drying regimes of small ponds, impacting their carbon cycling capabilities and potentially inducing unprecedented pond drying that could lead to higher greenhouse gas efflux rates. Small ponds are already known to release disproportionately high amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. Riverine, lake and large pond systems have all received increasing attention, both for their vulnerability to climate change and their ability to exacerbate it. Yet the role of small ponds, especially alpine ponds, has remained understudied. The goal of our work was to quantify aqueous CO2 concentrations in small alpine ponds in northwestern Colorado and to explore the drivers of these concentrations. Additionally, we linked these concentrations to drying patterns and the unique characteristics of ponds with different permanence traits. We found that these ponds had smaller concentrations than comparable small ponds at temperate latitudes, and more closely resembled concentrations in boreal ponds. Our study ponds had aqueous CO2 concentrations ranging from 33.6 to 77.6 μmol/L, as compared to measurements as high as 360 μmol/L in Connecticut ponds. We found that permanence traits had no significant relationship with CO2 concentrations early in the season, and that dissolved oxygen was not a good predictor of these concentrations. Further work will be conducted into investigating CO2 concentration drivers. Our work impacts understanding of the global carbon budget with respect to the role of small ponds.

Assessing the Role of Oxbow Deposits in Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics within Alpine Watersheds - Z. Birnholz (2017)
Despite their abundance, floodplains are poorly understood components of the global carbon cycle that are not well represented in Earth system models. The hydrology of floodplains was thought to be the major factor in controlling the chemical state and microbial activity within their sediments and groundwater. This paper seeks to characterize the impact of changing water levels on carbon and nitrogen cycling within alpine floodplains. This study took place in a meander in the East River floodplain in Central Colorado, where the summer drawdown causes a rapid decline in the floodplain’s groundwater. Although carbon and nitrogen data have not been received at the time of writing, reduced iron was found to increase throughout the meander over time even as groundwater levels fell, with an unexpected peak in the center of the meander. This peak suggests that there is also a peak in metabolized organic carbon in the same location, which tends to drive the reduction of iron. We expect that ammonium (reduced nitrogen) will follow the same trend as reduced iron, while nitrate should follow the opposite trend, as nitrogen and iron are both redox-active. Dissolved oxygen was low in the center of the meander but occurred in higher concentrations along the riverbanks. Plants in the floodplain, which can oxygenate the subsurface via their roots, may be the cause of the oxicity of the downstream edge of the meander. Overall, it is clear that there are other major controls on floodplain chemical cycling beyond hydrology.

Is Plant Fitness Proportional to Seed Set? An Experiment and a Spatial Model - George Aldridge; Alison K. Brody; Mary V. Price; Nickolas M. Waser; Diane R. Campbell (The American Naturalist, 2017)
Individual differences in fecundity often serve as proxies for differences in overall fitness, especially when it is difficult to track the fate of an individual's offspring to reproductive maturity. Using fecundity may be biased, however, if density-dependent interactions between siblings affect survival and reproduction of offspring from high- and low-fecundity parents differently. To test for such density-dependent effects in plants, we sowed seeds of the wildflower Ipomopsis aggregata (scarlet gilia) to mimic partially overlapping seed shadows of pairs of plants, one of which produced twice as many seeds. We tested for differences in offspring success using a genetic marker to track offspring to flowering multiple years later. Without density dependence, the high-fecundity parent should produce twice as many surviving offspring. We also developed a model that considered the geometry of seed shadows and assumed limited survivors so that the number of juvenile recruits is proportional to the area. Rather than a ratio of 2∶1 offspring success from high- versus low-fecundity parents, our model predicted a ratio of 1.42∶1, which would translate into weaker selection. Empirical ratios of juvenile offspring and of flowers produced conformed well to the model's prediction. Extending the model shows how spatial relationships of parents and seed dispersal patterns modify inferences about relative fitness based solely on fecundity.

Biotic and abiotic drivers of plant symbionts determine plant performance, the maintenance of diversity, and response to global change - Jeremiah A Henning (2017)
Interactions among organisms regulate the structure and function of ecosystems and the response of ecosystems to global change. The outcome of species interactions is shaped by the partners involved in the interaction and the climate contexts of the systems in which they reside. Global change is altering the distributions of organisms as well as the climate contexts of the systems they reside within, shifting the biotic and abiotic factors shaping species interactions. Thus, predicting the response of ecosystem structure and function to global change remains unresolved. For my dissertation, I explored how the interactions among plants and their mutualistic communities alter individual plant, community, and ecosystem function and how these interactions are shaped by changing biotic and abiotic factors. To do this, I combined a series of experiments and observations across scales, from detailed root-microbe experiments in laboratory mesocosms to coupled observations and experiments conducted along elevation gradients. Overall, my work provides mechanistic insights on how microbial community composition shapes the morphology and physiology of plant hosts, how plant community composition shapes the structure and function of microbial communities, and how abiotic and biotic contexts shape fungal endophyte assemblages at global scales. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS

Neighborhood Influence on Plant Interactions with Seed-Eating Flies and Pollinating Bees - E. Zuniga (2017)

Confounding effects of spatial variation on shifts in phenology - C. W. de Keyzer; James D. Thomson; Nicole E. Rafferty; David W. Inouye (Global Change Biology, 2017)
Shifts in the timing of life history events have become an important source of information about how organisms are responding to climate change. Phenological data have generally been treated as purely temporal, with scant attention to the inherent spatial aspects of such data. However, phenological data are tied to a specific location, and considera- tions of sampling design, both over space and through time, can critically affect the patterns that emerge. Focusing on flowering phenology, we describe how purely spatial shifts, such as adding new study plots, or the colonization of a study plot by a new species, can masquerade as temporal shifts. Such shifts can look like responses to climate change but are not. Furthermore, the same aggregate phenological curves can be composed of individuals with either very different or very similar phenologies. We conclude with a set of recommendations to avoid ambiguities arising from the spatiotemporal duality of phenological data.

Phenological shifts of native and invasive species under climate change: insights from the Boechera Lythrum model - Robert I. Colautti; J. Agren (Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2017)

Metabolism of toxic sugars by the bee gut symbiont Gilliamella apicola - P. Engel; H. Zheng; A. Nishida; H. Koch; N. A. Moran; W. K. Kwong; M. I. Steele (mBio, 2017)

The maintenance of flower colour polymorphism in self-pollinating Boechera stricta - Priya Vaidya (2017)
Pollinator-mediated selection cannot explain why flower colour polymorphisms exist in self-pollinating plants. There is a tight link between plant stress response and anthocyanin pigment production, which means that abiotic stress, such as UV radiation or drought, and biotic stress, such as herbivory or competition, can also affect flower colour selection indirectly. I used Boechera stricta to test whether environmental factors are responsible for flower colour polymorphism in self-pollinating plants, and evaluate 1) the biotic and abiotic correlates of flower colour variation, 2) the fitness consequences of this polymorphism, and 3) whether flower colour variation and ultimately pigment production are plastic traits. I sampled at Gothic, Colorado along an elevational range of approximately 2700m to 3400m, where I visited 11 locations and sampled from six 15m transects randomly per location. I measured plant growth and reproduction, along with abiotic and biotic factors that may correlate with flower colour. I also analyzed data from the long-term common garden experiment run by the Anderson lab to determine plasticity of flower colour. The observational data are still under analyses, but we have analyzed some of the common garden data and can conclude that 1) lower elevation plants are more likely to produce pink or purple flowers, and 2) pink or purple flowered plants have lower herbivore damage than white flowered plants. Water availability and natural enemies may play important roles in the first pattern because lower elevations generally show lower precipitation and a greater influence of biotic interactions. Plants with pigmented flowers may also induce greater herbivore-resistance compounds due to the shared biosynthetic pathway of anthocyanin and other flavonoids. This may present indirect selection on flower colour if herbivores influence chemical resistance traits in these plants. However, we will need to analyze the observational data to determine how these abiotic and biotic factors correlate with flower colour, and analyze heritability from the common garden.

A cost of being amicable in a hibernating marmot. - Wei Jenny Yang; Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology, 2017)

Phenological responses to multiple environmental drivers under climate change: insights from a long-term observational study and a manipulative field experiment - A. E. Weis; Susana M. Wadgymar; Jane E. Ogilvie; David W. Inouye (2017)
Abstract Climate change has induced pronounced shifts in the reproductive phenology of plants, with the timing of first flowering advancing in most species. Indeed, population persistence may be threatened by the inability to track climate change phenologically. Nevertheless, substantial variation exists in biological responses to climate change across taxa. Here, we explore the consequences of climate change for flowering phenology by integrating data from a long-term observational study and a manipulative experiment under contemporary conditions. Dissecting the environmental factors that influence phenological change will illuminate why interspecific variation exists in responses to climate change. We examine a 43-year record of first flowering for six species in subalpine meadows of Colorado in conjunction with a 3-year snow manipulation experiment on the perennial mustard Boechera stricta from the same site. We analyze shifts in the onset of flowering in relation to environmental drivers known to influence phenology: the timing of snowmelt, the accumulation of growing degree days, and photoperiod. At our study site, climate change is reducing snowpack and advancing the timing of spring snowmelt. We found that variation in phenological responses to climate change depended on the sequence in which species flowered, with early-flowering species flowering faster, at a lower heat sum, and under increasingly disparate photoperiods in comparison to species that flower later in the season. Furthermore, climate change is outpacing phenological change for all species. Early snow removal treatments confirm that the timing of snowmelt governs observed trends in flowering phenology of B. stricta and that climate change can reduce the probability of flowering, thereby depressing fitness. Shorter-term studies would not have captured the trends that we document in our observational and experimental datasets. Accurate predictions of the biological responses to climate change require a thorough understanding of the specific environmental factors driving shifts in phenology.

Can individual variation in phenotypic plasticity enhance population viability? - D. W. Read; Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro; Daniel T. Blumstein (Ecological Modeling, 2017)
It is found that compensatory growth plays an important role in decreasing the probability of extinction under both less favorable colder and random climate scenarios and the importance of trade-offs in population dynamics.

Does a foliar endophyte improve plant fitness under flooding? - A. E. Adams; Melanie R Kazenel; Jennifer A. Rudgers (Plant Ecology, 2017)
The novel hypothesis that endophyte symbiosis promotes host fitness under flooded conditions, contributing to niche differentiation between the two bluegrass species is investigated, demonstrating an overall benefit of fungal symbiosis in this system.

Variability in the effectiveness of Penstemon strictus pollinators and the role that water availability plays - A. Morse (2017)
Plant-pollinator interactions play a vital role in the functioning and stability of our ecosystems. Without pollination, angiosperms would not be able to set seed and reproduce, and most organisms would lose their primary source of nutrients and resources. Owing to the fact that pollination services are becoming increasingly threatened by anthropogenic impacts, a thorough understanding of the factors that influence the success of pollen transfer is important, relevant, and timely. In this study, we evaluate how water availability influences pollinator effectiveness. Pollinator effectiveness is defined as the amount of conspecific pollen deposited on the stigma in a single pollinator visit. Many researchers have compared and assessed pollinator effectiveness, while others have investigated how water availability influences floral and vegetative traits, but few have studied the relationship between environmental factors and conspecific pollen deposition. Using a water manipulation experiment on 80 paired Penstemon strictus plants growing in Crested Butte, Colorado, we were able to show that different types of pollinators vary in their behavior, handling time, and effectiveness. Our water treatment did not exert a significant effect on any of the floral or vegetative traits that we measured, so the pathway by which we predicted water availability to operate on pollinator performance was irrelevant. In our analysis of pollinator behavior, handling time and effectiveness, we therefore have not factored in water treatment or soil moisture (yet). With respect to pollinator effectiveness, we did not find a significant correlation between handling time and conspecific pollen deposition for any of the pollinators. We did, however, find a significant relationship between behavior and conspecific pollen deposition. Buzz pollination or sonication, a particular pollen foraging behavior employed by Bombus bifarius, yielded the greatest amount of pollen received by the stigma. Based on these findings, we suggest that behavior in conjunction with physical traits of pollinator species and genera, such as size, hairiness, and pollen-bearing structures, exert the largest influence on pollinator effectiveness.

Effect of Road Dust Deposition on the Floral Lifespan of Scarlet gilia, Ipomopsis aggregata - D. A. Lopez (2017)
The Rocky Mountains are one of the world’s most diverse areas in all of Western United States. Like most wonders of the world, the Rocky Mountains are also subjected to unpaved roads, and these roads often produce fine particulates of dirt that are able to rise into the air with ease. In this study, we investigate how these dust particulates influence the life span of flowers. The plant used in this study was the sub montane perennial Scarlet gilia, Ipomopsis aggregata. We unveil how road dust particulates may be the mechanism that could explain of lower pollen loads on Scarlet gilia near unpaved roads. When exposed to the dusty treatment, the stigma on the flowers remain receptive only a fraction of the time as those that are undusted. This evidence supports the idea that road dust reduces the amount of time the stigma is receptive to pollen, which would explain the low pollen loads of Scarlet gilia near unpaved roads.

Identifying targets and agents of selection: Innovative methods to evaluate the processes that contribute to local adaptation - Mactavish R.; Byron C.; D. Lowry; Gould B.; Susana M. Wadgymar (Method in Ecology and Evolution, 2017)
Summary Extensive empirical work has demonstrated local adaptation to discrete environments, yet few studies have elucidated the genetic and environment mechanisms that generate it. Here, we advocate for research that broadens our understanding of local adaptation beyond pattern and towards process. We discuss how studies of local adaptation can be designed to address two unresolved questions in evolutionary ecology: Does local adaptation result from fitness trade‐offs at individual loci across habitats? How do agents of selection interact to generate local adaptation to discrete contrasting habitats types and continuous environmental gradients? To inform future investigations of the genetic basis of local adaptation, we conducted a literature review of studies that mapped quantitative trait loci (QTL) for fitness in native field environments using reciprocal transplant experiments with hybrid mapping populations or Genome‐wide Association Study (GWAS) panels. We then reviewed the literature for field experiments that disentangle the contributions of various agents of selection to local adaptation. For each question, we suggest future lines of inquiry and discuss implications for climate change and agriculture research. (i) Studies in the native habitats of five biological systems revealed that local adaptation is more often caused by conditional neutrality than genetic trade‐offs at the level of the QTL. We consider the ramifications of this result and discuss knowledge gaps in our current understanding of the genetic basis of local adaptation. (ii) We uncovered only five studies that identified the agents of selection that contribute to local adaptation, and nearly all were conducted in discrete habitats rather than across the continuous environmental gradients that many species inhabit. We introduce a novel experimental framework for illuminating the processes underlying local adaptation. A holistic view of local adaptation is critical for predicting the responses of organisms to climate change, enhancing conservation efforts, and developing strategies to improve crop resilience to environmental stress. Experiments that manipulate agents of selection in native field environments using pedigreed populations or GWAS panels offer unique opportunities for detecting the genetic and environmental mechanisms that generate local adaptation.

Experimental species removals impact the architecture of pollination networks - Kyle Niezgoda; Heather M. Briggs (Biology Letters, 2017)
Mutualistic networks are key for the creation and maintenance of biodiversity, yet are threatened by global environmental change. Most simulation models assume that network structure remains static after species losses, despite theoretical and empirical reasons to expect dynamic responses. We assessed the effects of experimental single bumblebee species removals on the structure of entire flower visitation networks. We hypothesized that network structure would change following processes linking interspecific competition with dietary niche breadth. We found that single pollinator species losses impact pollination network structure: resource complementarity decreased, while resource overlap increased. Despite marginally increased connectance, fewer plant species were visited after species removals. These changes may have negative functional impacts, as complementarity is important for maintaining biodiversity–ecological functioning relationships and visitation of rare plant species is critical for maintaining diverse plant communities.

Lateralized Function Without Lateralization - A. Diaz (2017)
In many vertebrates, the right hemisphere/left visual field is used to process information about threats while the left hemisphere/right visual field is used to process information about conspecifics. This is referred to as hemispheric lateralization. But prey that are too predictable in their response to predators could have reduced survival. We studied hemispheric lateralization in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer), a social rodent that falls prey to a variety of terrestrial and aerial predators. We first asked if they have lateralized responses to a predatory threat. We then asked if the eye that they used to assess risk influenced their perceptions of risk. We recorded the direction marmots were initially looking and then walked towards them at 0.5 m/s. We recorded the distance that they responded to our experimental approach by looking, the eye with which they looked at us, and the distance at which they fled (i.e., flight initiation distance; FID). We found that marmots had no eye preference with which they looked at an approaching threat. Furthermore, the population was not comprised of individuals that responded in consistent ways. However, we found that marmots who looked at the approaching person with their left eye had larger FIDs suggesting that risk assessment was influenced by they eye with which they used when assessing risk. These findings are consistent with selection to make prey less predictable for their predators, despite lateralized function.

Diversification of Type VI Secretion System Toxins Reveals Ancient Antagonism among Bee Gut Microbes - W. K. Kwong; M. Whiteley; N. A. Moran; M. I. Steele (mBio, 2017)
ABSTRACT Microbial communities are shaped by interactions among their constituent members. Some Gram-negative bacteria employ type VI secretion systems (T6SSs) to inject protein toxins into neighboring cells. These interactions have been theorized to affect the composition of host-associated microbiomes, but the role of T6SSs in the evolution of gut communities is not well understood. We report the discovery of two T6SSs and numerous T6SS-associated Rhs toxins within the gut bacteria of honey bees and bumble bees. We sequenced the genomes of 28 strains of Snodgrassella alvi , a characteristic bee gut microbe, and found tremendous variability in their Rhs toxin complements: altogether, these strains appear to encode hundreds of unique toxins. Some toxins are shared with Gilliamella apicola , a coresident gut symbiont, implicating horizontal gene transfer as a source of toxin diversity in the bee gut. We use data from a transposon mutagenesis screen to identify toxins with antibacterial function in the bee gut and validate the function and specificity of a subset of these toxin and immunity genes in Escherichia coli . Using transcriptome sequencing, we demonstrate that S. alvi T6SSs and associated toxins are upregulated in the gut environment. We find that S. alvi Rhs loci have a conserved architecture, consistent with the C-terminal displacement model of toxin diversification, with Rhs toxins, toxin fragments, and cognate immunity genes that are expressed and confer strong fitness effects in vivo . Our findings of T6SS activity and Rhs toxin diversity suggest that T6SS-mediated competition may be an important driver of coevolution within the bee gut microbiota. IMPORTANCE The structure and composition of host-associated bacterial communities are of broad interest, because these communities affect host health. Bees have a simple, conserved gut microbiota, which provides an opportunity to explore interactions between species that have coevolved within their host over millions of years. This study examined the role of type VI secretion systems (T6SSs)—protein complexes used to deliver toxic proteins into bacterial competitors—within the bee gut microbiota. We identified two T6SSs and diverse T6SS-associated toxins in bacterial strains from bees. Expression of these genes is increased in bacteria in the bee gut, and toxin and immunity genes demonstrate antibacterial and protective functions, respectively, when expressed in Escherichia coli . Our results suggest that coevolution among bacterial species in the bee gut has favored toxin diversification and maintenance of T6SS machinery, and demonstrate the importance of antagonistic interactions within host-associated microbial communities.

Impacts of Historical Hydroperiod on Bird Predation of Emergent Aquatic Insects - Kenneth Hurst Williams (2017)
As global climate changes ephemeral freshwater systems face changes in historical hydroperiod with a shift towards shorter wet periods. Vernal ponds are one such type of lentic ephemeral system; in general they are relatively small and shallow, which causes them to dry in late spring or early summer. Their size allows vernal ponds to have a close connection with the terrestrial environment adjacent to them, and changes in their hydroperiod could have effects on both the species, which inhabit the ponds. Emergent aquatic insects are an important food source for terrestrial birds and shifts in hydroperiod may affect the availability of this resource. The present study investigates how birds in the Mexican Cut Nature Preserve interact with ponds of different hydroperiods. There were a greater number of bird observations at permanent ponds than at temporary ponds (Linear mixed effects model, p<0.001, F = 68.82). Permanent ponds are more diverse and consistent systems, which may attract birds to them. More research is required to understand how birds interact with aquatic systems to better aid in conservation efforts in the future.

Using geochemical indicators to distinguish high biogeochemical activitiy in floodplain soils and sediments - A. S. Hering; R. Prugue; A. K. Navarre-Sitchler; A. M. Kenwell; J. R. Spear; Reed M. Maxwell (Sci Total Environ, 2016)
This study develops a methodology to predict potential elevated rates of biogeochemical activity (microbial "hotspots") in subsurface environments by correlating microbial DNA and aspects of the community structure with the spatial distribution of geochemical indicators in subsURface sediments.

Use of Low Quality Pollen by Asteraceae-Specialist Osmia Mason Bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) - S. Killingsworth (2016)

The Changing Floral Color Landscape Across an Alpine Elevation Gradient - M. Gray (2016)
Flowers at high elevation must deal with less than ideal conditions, both abiotic and biotic. A limiting biotic factor plants must cope with at high elevations is pollinator limitation. With increasing elevation, insect groups such as Hymenoptera decrease with abundance whereas the abundance of Dipteran as a group remains the same. Thus, there is a shift in the dominant pollinator guild with increasing elevation: bees are predominant at lower elevations and with increasing elevation flies predominate. With this pollinator shift there could be a corresponding shift in floral color composition of communities with increasing elevation. Using spectral analysis we found that with increasing elevation there is a significant decrease in violet and blue- flowered species and a significant increase in green, yellow, orange and red flowered species. In our initial analysis of both bee and vision space we have evidence that pollinators may be able to distinguish these changes in floral color composition in communities of different elevations.

A PIT tagging technique for Ambystomatid salamanders - J. Earl; S. Thomason; C. B. Aubee; T. Schoborg; Robert Z. Brown; Jacqueline Doyle; Howard Whiteman (Herpetological Review, 2016)

The future of plant-fungal symbioses along elevational gradients - A. Freed (2016)
Plant-fungal symbioses affect the growth and fitness of most plants on earth. Moreover, they can structure plant community composition and feedback to affect ecosystem-level properties such as carbon storage. As climate change drives species distribution shifts in plants, the fungi may or may not co-disperse along with their symbiotic plant species. Thus, the future of these relationships could look very different, and owing to the potential community and ecosystem-level ramifications, it is important to understand the consequences of these potential plant-symbiont mismatches. We simulated the species distribution shift of Festuca thurberi and Festuca saximontana expected under climate warming in the next century and manipulated the fungal communities of plants at high and low elevation. We found that broadly distributed Festuca saximontana will perform poorly if associated with fungi from low elevation, regardless of which elevation it is grown in. Festuca thurberi on the other hand, will perform better at all elevations if they co-disperse with their fungi from lower elevations. This difference in performance could disrupt current montane plant communities and lead to a change in carbon storage and nutrient cycling in these ecosystems.

The energetic and carbon economic origins of leaf thermoregulation - J. Zhou; B. R. Helliker; M. D. Weiser; N. G. McDowell; M. Kaspari; S. T. Michaletz; Brian J. Enquist (Nature Plants, 2016)
The theory, parameterized with global averaged leaf traits and microclimate, predicts a moderate level of leaf thermoregulation across a broad air temperature gradient, and predicts that net carbon assimilation can be maximized by means of a trade-off between leaf thermal stability and photosynthetic stability.

Niche partitioning due to adaptive foraging reverses effects of nestedness and connectance on pollination network stability - P. Moisset de Espanes; R. Ramos-Jiliberto; N. D. Martinez; F. S. Valdovinos; Heather M. Briggs (Ecology Letters, 2016)
AbstractMuch research debates whether properties of ecological networks such as nestedness and connectance stabilise biological communities while ignoring key behavioural aspects of organisms within these networks. Here, we computationally assess how adaptive foraging (AF) behaviour interacts with network architecture to determine the stability of plant–pollinator networks. We find thatAFreverses negative effects of nestedness and positive effects of connectance on the stability of the networks by partitioning the niches among species within guilds. This behaviour enables generalist pollinators to preferentially forage on the most specialised of their plant partners which increases the pollination services to specialist plants and cedes the resources of generalist plants to specialist pollinators. We corroborate these behavioural preferences with intensive field observations of bee foraging. Our results show that incorporating key organismal behaviours with well‐known biological mechanisms such as consumer‐resource interactions into the analysis of ecological networks may greatly improve our understanding of complex ecosystems.

Accounting for the nested nature of genetic variation across levels of organization improves our understanding of biodiversity and community ecology - M. B. Eppinga; S. M. Hoban; J. A. Schweitzer; Quentin D Read (Oikos, 2016)
Recent work has demonstrated that the presence or abundance of specific genotypes, populations, species

Temperature response of soil respiration largely unaltered with experimental warming - J. C. Carey; M. Estiarte; B. R. Johnson; A. M. Panetta; Brian J. Enquist; Amanda Henderson; John Harte (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016)
Significance One of the greatest challenges in projecting future shifts in the global climate is understanding how soil respiration rates will change with warming. Multiple experimental warming studies have explored this response, but no consensus has been reached. Based on a global synthesis of 27 experimental warming studies spanning nine biomes, we find that although warming increases soil respiration rates, there is limited evidence for a shifting respiration response with experimental warming. We also note a universal decline in the temperature sensitivity of respiration at soil temperatures >25 °C. Together, our data indicate that future respiration rates are likely to follow the current temperature response function, but higher latitudes will be more responsive to warmer temperatures.

Pattern and variation of the time budget of yellow-bellied marmots. - C. M. Salsbury; Kenneth B. Armitage (Ethology, Ecology and Evolution, 2016)

Pollen thieving and pollen limitation in gynodioecious Polemonium foliosissimum (Polemoniaceae) - Brittany N. Smith (2016)
The limitation of pollen available to pollinators and visitors alike may potentially direct pollinator visitation choice as well as the plant’s ability to provide pollen rewards, nectar rewards, and plant defense mechanisms. Such trade-offs exist in Polemonium foliosissimum A. Gray (Polemoniaceae) a gynodioecious perennial plant in that we tested the hypothesis that pollen limitation would correlate to differences in stigma pollen deposition and plant fitness between females and hermaphrodites within a population sampled off of Kebler Pass Road near Crested Butte, CO (38.86301,-107.12087). As theory dictates that females must either produce more seeds, seeds of higher quality, or render themselves less attractive to herbivores and pre- dispersal seed predators to compensate for loss of male fitness in order to persist in gynodioecious populations (Burd 1994). The role of trade-offs effectively can alter plants’ choices of resource allocation between attracting pollinators and limiting harm from enemies. As such this balance has been investigated for herbivores, florivores, and pre-dispersal seed predators such as Hylemya (Delia) sp. (Diptera: Anthomyiidae), yet there has been insufficient attention in regards to these trade-offs in response to pollen thieves. Pollen thieving muscid flies (Diptera: Muscidae) consume protein-rich pollen with little to no direct pollination. Within hermaphroditic and female P. foliosissimum hermaphroditic advantages of offering protein-rich pollen and male siring capabilities are essentially lost to pollen thieves. This therefore allots females representative equal fitness amongst the gynodioecious population and can potentially warrant correlation with differences in fitness via seed-set quality and quantity between P. foliosissimum. Nevertheless, throughout the manipulation of pollen neighborhoods by removing half of the available pollen from Polemonium in ten 2m 2 plots we saw significant differences in pollen deposition between hermaphroditic and female flowers (p<0.001), but not between manipulation treatments, as denoted as “pre-treatment” and “post- treatment” (p=0.3892) Pollinator visitation rate as well substantiated that pollinators and pollen thieving muscid flies on average spend 95% more time upon hermaphroditic flowers as compared to female flowers (p<0.001). Yet, pollinators and enemies significantly visit more hermaphrodites than females on average (p<0.001), but do not significantly discriminate between number of flowers visited between hermaphrodites and females (p=0.0539) as analyzed in a One-way ANOVA using JMP.

Sex ratio and reproductive success along elevational gradients of gynodioecious populations of Geranium richardsonii - S. Antecon (2016)
We studied the sex-ratio and reproductive success of gynodioecious populations of Geranium richardsonii along elevational gradients near Gothic, Colorado. Gynodioecious means that the species produces hermaphrodite and female plants. The hermaphrodites have male (anthers and pollen) and female (ovules and seeds) functioning parts, while females produce non- functional anthers. Genetic and ecological factors are known to influence sex ratio and reproductive success of gynodioecious species (Alonso, 2005). We hypothesized low female frequency at high elevations because wetter, cooler environmental conditions would favor the hermaphrodites, which have higher resource demands, but also have higher individual relative fitness compared to females. Also, we expected hermaphrodites to have larger pollen receipt compared to females due to self-pollination and allocation of resources to pollinator attraction (flower size), when pollinators are limiting. We measured the sex ratio of 31 populations and compared 4 of our populations with data collected in 1997. Reproductive success was assessed for 10 out the 31 populations spanning an elevation range from 9400-11500 feet, by counting stigma pollen loads on hermaphrodite and female flowers. There was a significant negative correlation between the proportion of females in populations and elevation. However, there was no significant relationship between elevation and hermaphrodite or female pollination success. Relative female pollination success declined somewhat as population sex ratio increased, as predicted, but this relationship was not significant in the populations studied. Therefore, pollination success does not appear to be the main reason driving the increase in hermaphrodite frequency in higher elevation populations. Sex ratio has not changed over the past 20 years in four populations studied near Gothic, suggesting that individuals may the long-lived, or that selection maintains constant sex ratios over time.

Contrasting the hydrologic response due to land cover and climate change in a mountain headwaters system - C. E. Pribulick; A. K. Navarre-Sitchler; L. M. Foster; L. A. Bearup; Reed M. Maxwell; Kenneth Hurst Williams (Ecohydrology, 2016)
Land cover change due to drought and insect-‐induced tree mortality or altered vegetation succession is one of the many consequences of anthropogenic climate change. While the hydrologic response to land cover change and increases in temperature have been explored independently, few studies have compared these two impacts in a systematic manner. These changes are particularly important in snow-‐dominated, headwaters systems that provide streamflow for continental river systems. Here we study the hydrologic impacts of both vegetation change and climate warming along three transects in a mountain headwaters watershed using an integrated hydrologic model. Results show that while impacts due to warming generally outweigh those resulting from vegetation change, the inherent variability within the transects provides varying degrees of response. The combination of both vegetation change and warming results in greater changes to streamflow amount and timing than either impact individually, indicating a nonlinear response from these systems to multiple perturbations. The complexity of response underscores the need to integrate observational data and the challenge of deciphering hydrologic impacts from proxy studies. Cite as: Pribulick, C.E., Foster, L.M., Bearup, L.A., Navarre-‐Sitchler, A.K., Williams, K.H., Carroll, R.W.H, and Maxwell, R.M. Contrasting the hydrologic response due to land cover and climate change in a mountain headwaters system. Ecohydrology, in press, 2016.

A model of inter-cohort cannibalism and paedomorphosis in Arizona tiger salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum - M. L. McCarthy; Howard Whiteman (International Journal of Biomathematics, 2016)
Cannibalism is widespread in size-structured populations. If cannibals and victims are in different life stages, dominant cohorts of cannibals can regulate recruitment. Arizona Tiger Salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum, exhibit facultative paedomorphosis in which salamander larvae either metamorphose into terrestrial adults or become sexually mature while still in their larval form. Although many salamanders exhibit cannibalism of larvae, the Arizona Tiger Salamander also exhibits cannibalism of young by the aquatic adults. We formulate a differential equations model of this system under the assumption that the terrestrial adults do not impact the system beyond their contribution to the birth of young larvae. We establish non-negativity, boundedness and persistence of the salamander population under certain assumptions. We consider the equilibrium states of the system in the presence or absence of a birth contribution from the terrestrial or metamorph adults. Constant per capita paedomorphosis leads to asymptotically stable equilibria. The per capita paedomorphosis rate of the larvae must be density dependent in order for periodic solutions to exist. Furthermore, the stage transition rate must be sufficiently decreasing in order to guarantee the existence of an unstable equilibrium. Periodic solutions are only possible in the presence of a unique nontrivial unstable equilibrium. Our results conform to previous theory on paedomorphosis which suggests general applicability of our results to similar systems.

Aversion and attraction to harmful plant secondary compounds jointly shape the foraging ecology of a specialist herbivore - M. R. Fremgen; S. C. Groen; Martha M Villalobos; L. N. Meihls; G. Jander; N. M. Alexandre; A. D. Gloss; Parris T Humphrey; Noah K Whiteman (Ecology and Evolution, 2016)
AbstractMost herbivorous insect species are restricted to a narrow taxonomic range of host plant species. Herbivore species that feed on mustard plants and their relatives in the Brassicales have evolved highly efficient detoxification mechanisms that actually prevent toxic mustard oils from forming in the bodies of the animals. However, these mechanisms likely were not present during the initial stages of specialization on mustard plants ~100 million years ago. The herbivorous fly Scaptomyza nigrita (Drosophilidae) is a specialist on a single mustard species, bittercress (Cardamine cordifolia; Brassicaceae) and is in a fly lineage that evolved to feed on mustards only in the past 10–20 million years. In contrast to many mustard specialists, S. nigrita does not prevent formation of toxic breakdown products (mustard oils) arising from glucosinolates (GLS), the primary defensive compounds in mustard plants. Therefore, it is an appealing model for dissecting the early stages of host specialization. Because mustard oils actually form in the bodies of S. nigrita, we hypothesized that in lieu of a specialized detoxification mechanism, S. nigrita may mitigate exposure to high GLS levels within plant tissues using behavioral avoidance. Here, we report that jasmonic acid (JA) treatment increased GLS biosynthesis in bittercress, repelled adult female flies, and reduced larval growth. S. nigrita larval damage also induced foliar GLS, especially in apical leaves, which correspondingly displayed the least S. nigrita damage in controlled feeding trials and field surveys. Paradoxically, flies preferred to feed and oviposit on GLS‐producing Arabidopsis thaliana despite larvae performing worse in these plants versus non‐GLS‐producing mutants. GLS may be feeding cues for S. nigrita despite their deterrent and defensive properties, which underscores the diverse relationship a mustard specialist has with its host when lacking a specialized means of mustard oil detoxification.

Detection, prevalence and phylogenetic relationships of Demodex spp and further skin prostigmata mites (Acari, Arachnida) in wild and domestic mammals - J. N. Curti; N. Sastre; O. Francino; D. L. Fraser; Tiffany Armenta (PLoS ONE, 2016)
This study was conceived to detect skin mites in social mammals through real-time qPCR, and to estimate taxonomic Demodex and further Prostigmata mite relationships in different host species by comparing sequences from two genes: mitochondrial 16S rRNA and nuclear 18S rRNA. We determined the mite prevalence in the hair follicles of marmots (13%) and bats (17%). The high prevalence found in marmots and bats by sampling only one site on the body may indicate that mites are common inhabitants of their skin. Since we found three different mites (Neuchelacheles sp, Myobia sp and Penthaleus sp) in three bat species (Miotis yumanensis, Miotis californicus and Corynorhinus townsendii) and two different mites (both inferred to be members of the Prostigmata order) in one marmot species (Marmota flaviventris), we tentatively concluded that these skin mites 1) cannot be assigned to the same genus based only on a common host, and 2) seem to evolve according to the specific habitat and/or specific hair and sebaceous gland of the mammalian host. Moreover, two M. yumanensis bats harbored identical Neuchelacheles mites, indicating the possibility of interspecific cross-infection within a colony. However, some skin mites species are less restricted by host species than previously thought. Specifically, Demodex canis seems to be more transmissible across species than other skin mites. D. canis have been found mostly in dogs but also in cats and captive bats. In addition, we report the first case of D. canis infestation in a domestic ferret (Mustela putorius). All these mammalian hosts are related to human activities, and D. canis evolution may be a consequence of this relationship. The monophyletic Demodex clade showing closely related dog and human Demodex sequences also supports this likely hypothesis.

Fitness and hormonal correlates of social and ecological stressors of female yellow-bellied marmots. - K. N. Keeley; John Ward Smith; Daniel T. Blumstein (Animal Behaviour, 2016)
The results suggest that elevated baseline FGM levels failed to mediate reproductive suppression in marmots, highlighting the importance of social status, body condition and predator abundance on determining reproductive success in highly seasonal breeders.

The Visual Ecology of Speyeria mormonia - N. Sanchez Gonzalez (2016)
Variations in environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation, and day

Delving deeper: Questioning the decline of long-tongued bumble bees, long-tubed flowers and their mutualisms with climate change - S. R. Colla; C. F. Kent; C. W. de Keyzer; L. L. Richardson; James D. Thomson; Nicole E. Rafferty (Journal of Pollination Ecology, 2016)
Miller-Struttmann et al. (2015) suggest that, in a North American alpine ecosystem, reduced flower abundance due to climate change has driven the evolution of shorter tongues in two bumble bee species. We accept the evidence that tongue length has decreased, but are unconvinced by the adaptive explanation offered. It posits foraging responses and competitive relationships not seen in other studies and interprets phenotypic change as evidence of evolutionary adaptation. By oversimplifying a complex phenomenon, it may exaggerate the potential for bees to quickly adapt to environmental changes.

Temperature and Nestling Development: Temporal Variations in Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha Feeding Frequency - Savannah Troy (2016)
Mountain White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) are unique in that their nestlings, which require parental care for 9 days before fledging, have a 25% higher metabolic rate than other open-nesting passerines. This unusually high energetic demand requires that parents frequently feed their young; however, female sparrows must balance their time between bouts of foraging and incubating to protect vulnerable nestlings from extreme temperatures. I hypothesized that this tradeoff in parental nest attendance behavior varies on colder versus warmer days. In particular, feeding rates are reduced and/or delayed on cold mornings and on hot afternoons. These patterns would accommodate for incubation during early hours and shading from intense sun during afternoon hours. This was tested by monitoring Mountain White-crowned Sparrow nests with data loggers that recorded temperature every two minutes and a nest camera that revealed the frequency of different behaviors. Analysis showed a significant but extremely weak negative correlation between the frequency of feeding and temperature (R2 = 0.063831, p = 0.0042) and between the proportion of time parents were absent from the nest and temperature (R2 = 0.047224, p = 0.0141). ANOVAs of both temperature with feeding frequency and temperature with parental absence over 3.5 hour intervals revealed that cold mornings have higher feeding frequency but a lower proportion of parental absence than warm mornings. In cold afternoons, there is a higher feeding frequency but an equivalent proportion of parental absence as warm afternoons. However, only the difference in morning feeding frequency is significant (p = 0.03).

The effect of body size and habitat on the evolution of alarm vocalizations in rodents. - V. Garcia-Nava; Daniel T. Blumstein (Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2016)

Effects of phenological stage and temperature on Ligusticum porteri’s volatiles and trophic interactions - Anthony T. Robinson (2016)
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted by plants as signals to other organisms and are interrelated with atmospheric chemistry and climate change. Typically, phenology advances and temperature increases with climate change. How floral volatiles of Ligustigum porteri influences its multitrophic interactions and changes with increased temperature is unknown. We investigated how elevated temperature and phenological stage affects both the volatiles released by host plants and the performance of intraguild Miridae predators and their competitor/prey, aphid Aphis helianthi. Throughout the study we monitored phenological stage and insects present on L. porteri. Open top warming chambers (OTC) increased the temperature surrounding the plants by 0.81°C on average and were removed after 23 days for the advanced phenology treatment group, though no significant phenological advancement occurred (p=0.682). The OTC remained on plants for the advanced phenology plus increased temperature treatment group. Silicon tubing (ST) captured floral volatiles, and was analyzed by thermal desorption coupled to gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) to quantify volatiles released. Ten aphids from existing colonies were placed onto test of suitable condition. Miridae abundance was correlated to phenological stage and the amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) (p=2.782 e-11) and found to drive plant damage (p=0.02716). The ability for aphids to colonize host plants was related to the amount of plant damage. Thus, Miridae populations seem to indirectly negatively impacting aphid performance, even though elevated temperatures typically increase aphid abundance. The volatile profile is expected to correlate with phenological stage, which may explain Miridae abundance patters. Additionally, the defense volatiles may play a role in why aphid ability to colonize host plants. As temperature increases and phenology advances with the changing climate, the biotic interactions associated with phenology may be stronger than direct effects of temperature

Testing for nutrient limitation of algal biomass across elevational and permanence gradients in high elevation ponds near the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab - C. Parisek (2016)
We investigated nutrient limitation in high elevation ponds in the Gothic, Colorado, USA area and whether it varied with elevation and/or degree of permanence. Nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are often the key limiting nutrients in aquatic systems that regulate algal biomass (Pick & Lean 1987; Heo & Kim 1995). Rock weathering is the primary way phosphorus enters a system. As in many location, the bedrock at subalpine and alpine ponds such as those at Mexican Cut are have little or no phosphorus, and I therefore predicted that this element would limit algal growth. In contrast, at montane elevations (e.g., Kettle Ponds below the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab (RMBL)) ponds should have a greater phosphorus supply from surface and subsurface water flow, and therefore be more likely to be nitrogen or nitrogen-phosphorus co-limited. We found a significant difference in algal biomass between elevational and permanence gradients, as well as in their interactions. However, even within the same permanence gradient nutrient limitation between the ponds varied. On average, permanent ponds showed no nutrient limitation, while semi-permanent and temporary ponds had lower mean chlorophyll a in the nutrient-addition treatments compared with the control. We believe that high control treatments may be due to extensive grazing on algae growing on nutrient addition treatments, or that the presence of the nutrients actually inhibited algal growth. Studying nutrient limitation is important in understanding the basics of this system, as well as providing useful preliminary data in understanding how this system might change as species migrate up-slope with globally warming temperatures, thereby altering the ecosystem structure currently in place.

Social security: Are socially connected individuals less vigilant? - R. Mady (2016)
Group size effects, whereby animals allocate less time to antipredator vigilance as a function of increasing group sizes are widely reported in many taxa, but group size is but one of many social attributes that could increase a individual’s sense of security. Indeed, meta-analyses suggest that group size only explains about 20% of the variation in vigilance, and studies have shown that social factors, such as dominance status, also influences perceived risk and time allocated to vigilance. Social network statistics quantify a variety of specific social attributes, some of which have been suggested to influence security. Using vigilance as an indicator of risk assessment, we tested the prediction that more socially connected female yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) allocate less time to vigilance while foraging compared to less socially connected individuals. We used a principle component analysis to reduce social attributes to three factors. After explaining variation accounted for by glucocorticoid levels, substrate, incline, and day of the year and, individuals in larger social groups allocated less time to vigilance while those in more cohesive social relationships allocated more time to vigilance. These somewhat contradictory results suggest that vigilance is multi-faceted and highlight the importance of using an attribute-based approach to explaining variation in vigilance. The attribute-based approach has allowed us, for the first time to show that social group size indeed reduces risk, and suggest that maintaining social relationships requires social vigilance. 2

Assessing pollinators’ contribution to the reproductive success of Mertensia ciliata - A. Hacker (2016)
Shifting flowering phenologies as a result of climate change have the potential to disrupt plant-pollinator interactions through changes in temporal overlap of flowering and pollinator activity, decreasing plant fitness. Understanding current plant-pollinator interactions is key to predicting how plant fitness might be affected by such changes. The impact of temporal mismatch of flowering and pollinator activity on plant fitness should depend on how much each pollinator species contributes to a plant’s reproductive success. Using seed set to determine effectiveness, this study investigates the differences in the pollinator effectiveness of visitors of Mertensia ciliata (Boraginaceae). We conducted single pollinator visit observations and obtained average seed set per flower for each type of M. ciliata visitor. Bumble bees and muscid flies were the two primary visitors to M. ciliata. We found that bumble bees had a higher visitation rate than muscid flies and that bumble bee single visits resulted in a higher seed set per flower than muscid fly single visits. We concluded that bumble bees were more effective pollinators for M. ciliata than muscid flies. To continue elucidating plant-pollinator interactions, future research should incorporate visitation rate with pollinator effectiveness to determine pollinator importance and consider how pollinator effectiveness and importance might be impacted by climate change.

How do Plant Traits Affect Thermoregulation? - Sabastian Escobar (2016)
Plants are known to regulate their leaf temperature, undergoing limited homeothermy. This may advantageous as it allows plants to utilize important photosynthetic and respiratory enzymes. We studied which traits affect a plant’s ability to regulate their temperature across highly variable air temperatures, helping build better models to predict which species will have a higher performance across different environmental gradients with a changing climate. Using a thermal camera, we took diurnal videos for seven separate sites over a 1,401 meter elevation gradient. After the diurnal measurements, we took trait measurements that include: leaf area, leaf height, stomatal conductance, and wet and dry mass. Using MATLAB, we cross-referenced thermal images with visible images to find individual leaves in a given plot. We determined which traits were responsible for the greatest deviation in the leaf’s temperature from ambient air temperature. The traits responsible for how quickly a plant can regulate its temperature can be found by finding the derivatives of air temperature versus time and the leaf temperature versus time functions and comparing them.

Behavioral strategies of golden-mantled ground squirrels, Callospermophilus lateralis - Francis, James (2016)
Observational studies of behavior provide insight into the fitness consequences of varying behavioral strategies in mammals. The behavior of golden-mantled ground squirrels (Callospermophilus lateralis, GMGS), an asocial hibernating species, is constrained by the energetic demands of reproduction, predator avoidance, and a short active season. This study used activity budgets, compiled through daily observations of the GMGS population in Gothic, Colorado throughout the active seasons of 2015 and 2016, to quantify responses to variations in demands for survival across ages and sexes. The percentages of time spent alert and foraging were examined in four groups: adult males, adult females, all adults, and juveniles. The activity budgets of reproductive females were also compared to those of non-reproductive females. Juveniles were found to spend a significantly greater portion of their time foraging than adults (P < 0.01). This effect may be due to the time-constrained pressure to store fat for hibernation. Adult females spent more time alert than males (P = 0.02), and reproductive females spent more time alert than non-reproductive females (P = 0.03). While other behavioral comparisons (foraging ~ sex, foraging ~ reproductive status, alertness ~ age) were not significant, there appears to be a correlation between average body mass and alertness in juvenile males. Future studies might focus on comparisons of temporal variability in activity between different age and sex classes of GMGS in order to account for reproduction-driven fluctuations in behavior and body mass during the active season.

Road Dust, Ipomopsis aggregata Seed Count, and attack by Hylemya Flies—Are they Linked? - V. Ramirez (2016)
At the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), road dust is easily dispersed by vehicle transportation and can travel 200 meters from the road. A previous study found that road dust had an ecological impact on several species of common wildflowers at the RMBL, including scarlet gilia, Ipomopsis aggregata. I studied the effects of road dust on the anthomyiid fly Hylemya sp., a pre-dispersal seed predator of I. aggregata. Experimental application of road dust affected the number of elongated flower buds produced by plants, but not the number of open flowers. Hylemya females laid eggs approximately twice as often on undusted flowers as on dusted flowers. The likelihood of finding Hylemya larvae or larval damage in fruits that came from flowers with eggs did not differ between treatments, nor did the estimated seed counts. The seed count remained relatively similar throughout the season regardless of the treatment. Results in this study suggest that Hylemya females are using cues from I. aggregata to select the best host, and additionally manipulating the hosts’ condition to benefit their offspring.

Effects of Plant Diversity on Selection for Insect Resistance Traits in Boechera stricta - A. Simha (2016)
Evolution by natural selection is influenced by an organism’s environment. Biodiversity, an aspect of the biotic environment, is rapidly changing due to anthropogenic activity, so its impacts on selection must be better understood. In this study, the effects of diversity on selection for an insect resistance gene and trait were studied in Boechera stricta. In naturally-occurring B. stricta, abundances of morphospecies in 1x1-meter plots containing the focal species were recorded. Damage and fitness data were also collected. Fitness was shown to decrease significantly across damage, confirming the theoretical basis of the study and allowing damage to proxy fitness, though this was not the case in a model that considered phenological stage as a covariate. Richness was shown to predict damage with marginal significance (p =0.0614), but a Shannon-Weaver Index and Simpson Index analysis yielded no meaningful results. A principal components analysis (PCA) allowed researchers to identify species that correlated most strongly with the third PCA axis, which significantly predicted damage. 3 of those top 5 species abundances significantly correlated positively with damage directly, without the PCA axis as an intermediate. These results show the importance of community composition, which accounts for species identity, in insect damage. It also points to the importance of low-density, low-abundance species, which may not create a strong signal in indices like Simpson, but which affect richness more strongly, and some of which were shown to influence damage through the PCA. Further study is certainly necessary to understand which sorts of species might be most important in influencing damage and the extent of their potential influence. Simha 3

Analyzing the effect of climate change on Boechera stricta seed germination and fitness along an elevational gradient - J. Adachi (2016)
Climate change alters many biotic and abiotic factors in environments around the world. At higher elevations in particular, climate change brings warmer mean temperatures, reduced snowpack, earlier snowmelt, and more extreme drought. In this study, we analyzed the effect of early snow removal on Boechera stricta seed germination and establishment along an elevational gradient. We predicted that climate change would alter long-standing patterns of local adaptation by favoring seeds from hot and dry low elevation populations (whose current climate reflects the future climate in higher elevation locations). In 2014, the Anderson lab planted B. stricta seeds with 200 distinct genotypes into five common gardens at differing elevations (2530m to 3340m) in Gothic Valley in Colorado and subjected half of the seeds to an early snow removal treatment. We found the lowest germination and establishment success at the most stressful site (2530m) where hot and dry conditions severely restricted seed germination. Local adaptation was more apparent in the mid-elevation gardens (2710m, 2890m) where seeds from lower elevation families had a higher probability of germination than those from higher elevations. At one of the mid-elevation sites (2890m), the snow removal treatment eliminated evidence for local adaptation. Local adaptation was also evident in a higher elevation garden (3133m) such that germination success actually increased with source elevation under control treatments. However, as predicted, snow removal completely disrupted local adaptation there, favoring lower elevation genotypes. In the current experiment, we found no evidence for local adaptation in the highest garden (3340m). From these data we can see that germination success and fitness are influenced in different ways and to differing degrees based on their environment.

Understanding how leaf endophytes are affected by climate change: Examining fungi in grass species with warming - V. Silva (2016)
Climate change is impacting ecological systems around the globe with much of current research characterizing direct plant and animal responses. However, there is a gap in our knowledge regarding the direct response of fungal symbionts to climate change. Horizontally transmitted leaf endophytes (type II and III) exist within all plant tissue surveyed to date and potentially play a fundamental role in altering plant response to global change in their ability to alter plant physiology and growth in response to stress. Potential benefits observed in endophyte-positive plants include increased resistance to herbivores, increased competitive ability, increased plant vigor, greater drought-tolerance and changes in nutrient cycling and content of plants (Clay & Rudgers 2005, Rudgers et al. 2009, Kivlin et al. 2013). Here, we examined three grass species from controlled (ambient temperature) or warming plots (2°C increase in temperature) from Gothic, Colorado and assessed their fungal endophytes. We measured physiological responses such as growth rate and alpha and beta diversity via changes in species richness and composition in response to temperature increases mimicking climate change. We hypothesized that increased temperature would increase endophytic growth rates, decrease diversity and change composition of the endophyte communities. However, our analysis showed that there was no significant relationship between temperature variation and the three dependent variables in culturable fungal endophytes. Therefore, plants may buffer their endophytes against moderate increases in temperature expected with climate change. Analyses also found that species played a integral role in fungal response to increased temperatures.

Assessing the Role of State and Local Public Health in Outreach and Enrollment for Expanded Coverage: A Case Study on Eagle, Garfield, and Pitkin Counties, Colorado - Kate Heyer; Malcolm Williams; Laurie T. Martin; Christian Lopez; Courtney Armstrong; Nazleen Bharmal (RAND Corporation eBooks, 2016)
Part of a series highlighting innovative models and best practices for leveraging local health departments' involvement in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment, this report is a case study on three Colorado counties that captures nuanced differences in how health departments support these efforts, identifies facilitators and barriers to these approaches, and develop lessons learned from these activities.

Analysis of Ice Detector Observations at Mount Crested Butte, Colorado during the 2014-2015 Winter Season - Shauna M. Ward; David P. Yorty; Don A. Griffith (The Journal of Weather Modification, 2016)
See paper, could not copy and paste absract.

Influence of Parasitism on Consumer Driven Nutrient Recycling by Aquatic Insects - M. Ealy (2016)
Parasites have only recently gained the attention they deserve in studies involving their role in ecosystems. Using ecological stoichiometry will allow parasite roles to be established. I attempted to establish parasite effects on hosts by measuring the excretion Nitrogen:Phosphorus of infected Megarcys signata, infected Baetis bicaudatus, and their parasite free counterparts. I had hypothesized that the excretion N:P of infected hosts would be greater than the excretion N:P of parasite free hosts. However, the data is proving that the excretion N:P does not shift for Megarcys signata of increasing infection level. The shift in excretion occurs from parasite free to parasitized; the N:P’s of excretion significantly differ. The Megarcys signata mass specific excretion rates of ammonium(N) and phosphate(P) do increase, but N increased at nearly twice the rate of P. My interpretation of these results is that the change in excretion is not because of a functional change in the Megarcys, but simply because of the addition of mites to the overall organism excretion equation. The increase of N and P excretion reflects the low body N:P of the water mite parasites. The mass specific excretion of phosphorous and nitrogen from Baetis bicaudatus were not found to be significantly different as the increased. Since nitrogen and phosphorus excretion did not change, this implies that the N:P of excretion did not change. The difference between the effects of mites and Mermithids is proposed to be because of their location and how they feed on the host.

Individual variation in plant traits drives species interactions, ecosystem functioning, and responses to global change. - Quentin D Read (2016)
Ecologists have long sought to understand the processes that lead to the riotous diversity in communities of organisms that inhabit disparate climates and landscapes. Such a diversity of traits leads to a diversity of interactions among species in natural communities, which in turn generates a diversity of potential responses to ongoing global change. In this dissertation, I do three things: I explore the forces that structure plant communities and the ecosystem functions that they mediate, I describe patterns of variation among communities, species, and individual organisms across environmental contexts, and I disentangle the direct effects of global change from the indirect, cascading effects that result from disruptions of species interactions. I accomplish these goals through the synthesis of global data, the development of statistical and mathematical models, and the manipulation of global change drivers in field experiments. In the first chapter, I present a globe-spanning meta-analysis of plant functional trait patterns along elevational gradients. This meta-analysis shows that the plant traits that drive ecosystem function follow predictable trends with elevation due to climate filtering, and that much of this variation is at the level of the individual organism. In the second chapter, I present simulated data sets and illustrative experimental case studies that quantify how important individual-level variation is for explaining patterns in nature. In the third chapter, I present results from intensive plant sampling across a wide range of mountain environments; even in these harsh environments where only the hardiest species can survive, individual-level variation is so high that it makes predictions based on species identity nearly impossible. The fourth and fifth chapters consist of experimental evidence that ongoing human-caused global change is affecting montane plant communities, that species interactions mediate many of these effects, and that variation in the abiotic environment causes variation in both species interactions and in global change response. I demonstrate this through an experiment that combines nitrogen fertilization with removal of a dominant plant species in a montane meadow, and an experiment replicated at low and high elevations crossing dominant species removal with simulation of global warming. iv

Habitat patch use, density, and territoriality of American Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in the southwestern Rocky Mountains, Colorado - E. Peterson-Trujillo (2016)
American Red Squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) inhabit patches of conifer trees, relying upon the cones for food. They stockpile cones in middens, which are large piles of cones at the base of trees, and exhibit territorial behavior (alarm and warning calls) to protect their midden from squirrels and other mammals. Midden presence is an indicator of squirrel presence and can be used to predict squirrel population sizes within a patch of conifers, because each squirrel relies on the stockpile of cones in their middens to survive the winter. Previous studies have shown that Red Squirrels select conifer tree patches to occupy based on size, shape, and quality of tree availability. I investigated three questions related to the relationship between habitat patches and squirrel presence: 1) Is there a minimum patch size that squirrels will occupy? 2) Does squirrel density vary with patch size? 3) Does squirrel territoriality vary with patch shape or squirrel density? I searched nineteen patches of conifers of a range of sizes for middens, and observed 11 patches to note individual territorial behavior. I found that: 1) the smallest patch that a squirrel will occupy is 0.75 hectares in area, 2) more abandoned middens were found in smaller patches, indicating higher transience for squirrel occupation, 3) midden density did not vary with tree density or patch size. For the study on patch shape, I found fewer active middens in strip shaped patches, where there were also fewer territorial calls during observation periods, possibly explained by fewer neighbors and fewer territorial boundaries.

Effects of Elevation on Trap Behavior in Mountain White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) - Richard G. Baker (2016)
The Mountain White-crowned Sparrow(Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) is a migratory songbird that nests in alpine and sub-alpine meadows in the Rocky Mountains. They return to their natal elevation to breed, and nest from 2,438m to 3,657m above sea level in the spring to late summer. Because they nest at such high elevations, these birds have adapted to endure increased solar heating, low nocturnal temperatures, sudden intense storms, large interannual variations in residual snowpack, a shorter growing season, lower plant productivity, and seasonal delays in insect and fruit emergence (Körner 2003). As the elevation increases each of these effects of elevation increase or intensifies as well; hence, habitat at low elevation would be considered higher quality and we would predict to see more competitive and aggressive individuals establish territories in these areas. The ideal despotic distribution theory states that competitive individuals occupy the preferred elevations and habitats, while inferior competitors breed in suboptimal habitats that are typically higher in elevation (Bear et al. 2009). With such differences in elevation I hypothesized that at lower elevations we will see more active and more aggressive birds due to the abundance in high quality habitat and a high number of competitors. Data was collected from June 1st 2016 to August 1st 2016. Behavioral response data was collected by recording the activity of each bird in the trap for 15 seconds. The duration of each activity performed within the 15 seconds was recorded. To analyze the data we broke the activities down into three categories—low activity, high activity and damaging activity—and assigned each individual action to a category. Our results came out to be significant between high elevation low activity and low elevation low activity (P=0.00033) and showed that birds at low elevation displayed significantly more low activity responses than birds at high elevation. My results did not support my hypothesis nor does it support the ideal despotic distribution theory. With this as the pilot study I believe more research should be done to gather a larger sample size to better understand why these results did not support this well tested theory.

The Effects of Nest-Site Selection and Microclimate on Nest Survival in Sparrows of High Elevation - L. Michael (2016)
Nest-site selection is important in the determination of nest success in several bird species (Holway 1991, Wells and Fuhlendorf 2005). Birds that nest in high elevation breeding sites are under greater environmental stress, making it even more crucial for individuals to choose nest microclimates that buffer the nest and offspring from extreme weather events and provide stable conditions for the young (Bears et al. 2009). The Microclimate Selection Hypothesis predicts that females should choose nesting sites that best protect them and their offspring from severe or unpredictable weather events, such as extreme temperatures or high wind (With and Webb 1993, Wells and Fuhlendorf 2005). The relationship between nest-site characteristics, nest microclimate, and nest survival was examined in Mountain White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) and the Lincoln’s Sparrows (Melospiza lincolnii) in three subalpine meadow sites in Gothic, CO. There were no significant differences between the nest-site characteristics of nests with a more stable microclimate and nests with a less stable microclimate, though the two groups did have significantly different microclimates. Overhead nest concealment and distance to the nearest road had a positive effect on daily nest survival but none of the nest characteristics had a significant positive or negative effect on the model.

Combattere lo sprawl con il trasporto pubblico: il Transit-Oriented Development in Colorado - Gabriele Manella (Archivio istituzionale della ricerca (Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna), 2016)
Secondo l’U.S. Census Bureau, il 50% della popolazione degli Stati Uniti viveva in aree suburbane nel 2000. Stando ai dati del censimento 2010, questa quota è ulteriormente cresciuta, passando al 58%. Un aumento enorme, se pensiamo che negli anni ’20 del xx secolo questa quota era attorno al 15%. Nonostante segnali di controtendenza in alcune zone, la suburbanizzazione resta quindi una realtà profondamente radicata negli Stati Uniti. La dimensione di quanto è successo ci viene confermata dai dati sulla metratura media delle abitazioni suburbane: se nel 1950 era di 95 metri quadrati, nel 2000 arriva a 235, quasi due volte e mezzo.
\nQuesti dati evidenziano l’immenso urban flight avvenuto negli Stati Uniti, un esodo dai centri delle città verso il suburbano che è stato spiegato con tanti fattori diversi. In questo contributo, però, non intendo concentrarmi su questo esodo, quanto su alcune esperienze significative sorte per frenarlo e possibilmente invertire la tendenza. Una di queste è il Transit-Oriented Development, attraverso cui si prova a ripensare lo sviluppo urbano in modo più compatto, attorno alle direttrici del trasporto pubblico.
\nIl contributo considera l’implementazione di questa strategia nel Colorado, concentrandosi su quanto avvenuto nella regione della capitale Denver. Anche in altre zone del Colorado sono state intraprese politiche analoghe, ad esempio nella città di Boulder e nell’area della Roaring Fork Valley. Il caso di Denver, tuttavia è il più articolato e quello che ha dato risultati più interessanti.
\nIl contributo che propongo si basa sulla ricerca bibliografica e lo studio di rapporti e documenti, nonché su un soggiorno di ricerca che ho svolto presso la University of Denver. Quest’ultimo mi ha permesso di osservare direttamente la città e i suoi cambiamenti riguardo il trasporto pubblico.

Heterospecific pollen deposition in Delphinium barbeyi: linking stigmatic pollen loads to reproductive output in the field - L. M. Atalla; A. M. Delva; E. K. Dobbs; Lesleigh Anderson; Heather M. Briggs (Annals of Botany, 2016)

Mutualistic Networks Over Time: The Effects of Changing Floral Abundances on Plant- Pollinator Interactions - R. Poulton-Kamakura (2016)
Plant-pollinator networks have been shown to have a general structure that is constant across time and geographic range. However, the identities of the plants and pollinators within these networks and the ways in which they interact are highly variable. We investigated a possible mechanism for this variability: niche breadth changes driven by changing levels of intraspecific competition. If intraspecific competition can partially explain changing network composition, we can use it to predict future ecosystem changes and help maintain ecosystem and species stability in a changing climate. We examined the effects of changing floral abundance on niche breadth throughout one growing season. We predicted that increasing floral abundance, accompanied by greater intraspecific competition, would increase plant species niche breadth above that expected due to increased abundance of inflorescences alone; probabilistically species will interact with the most abundant species the most even if abundance were the only factor. We found that the pollination networks in the sites investigated are all highly nested and found evidence that a species' niche breadth varies across sites (as predicted by the literature). The data do not currently support the claim that niche breadth increases with increasing abundance due to increased intraspecific competition; finer pollinator species identification may reveal further trends in the data. Once pollinators are identified to species, the analysis will be redone and the hypothesis revisited.

Population and community consequences of ecological differences between the sexes. - William K. Petry (2016)

Comparing clines in floral and vegetative traits along an elevation gradient in an Ipomopsis hybrid zone - A. Faidiga (2016)
Gene flow in hybrid zones acts as a barrier to speciation, yet we still see cases in which separate hybridizing species are maintained. Selection for different floral traits at each end of a hybrid zone by pollinators and for different vegetative traits by environmental gradients are two possible sources of selection that could maintain different allele frequencies at different locations within a hybrid zone. In this study we measured five floral traits and three vegetative traits along an elevational gradient in an Ipomopsis hybrid zone and calculated their resultant clines to test predictions about selective forces that drive speciation and maintain species differences between I. aggregata populations at lower elevations and I. tenuituba populations at higher elevations within the hybrid zone. Corolla length increased with elevation, while corolla width, nectar production, relative redness and specific leaf area (SLA) decreased. The narrowest cline was in corolla length (w=0.12 km), followed by flower color, nectar production and corolla width (w=0.43, 0.97, and 1.4 km, respectively) while the widest cline was in SLA (w=1.7 km). Cline centers were all similarly located along the hybrid zone with the exception of nectar production which was centered closer to the low elevation I. aggregata sites. The similarity of these clines’ centers for all floral traits besides nectar production is consistent with a shift in the pollination regime approximately midway down the hybrid zone. Combined with past pollination research in this hybrid zone, the narrower clines in floral traits than in vegetative traits suggest that speciation is mainly driven by selection for longer, narrower, paler flowers at higher elevations by hawkmoths and shorter, wider, redder flowers at lower elevations by hummingbirds.

An Organizational Assessment for the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Park using Community Capital Frameworks - April-Dawn Knudsen (NDSU Repository (North Dakota State University), 2016)
The Boys & Girls Clubs of South Park (BGCSP) is a youth service 501(c)3 serving Park County, Colorado. With over 60% of Park County?s workforce commuting to another county for employment the need for affordable out-of-school youth care is apparent, but the need for BGCSP goes further. These rural communities need local opportunities for children. This isolated population is a food desert, medical desert, and had limited industry. The schools lack resources and the population is projected to see unprecedented growth over the next eight years. The need for BGCSP is apparent, but what is their impact? The following chapters are an assessment of BGCSP using mixed methods research. Through the use of interviews, ripple effects mapping, various data, finances, club documents and public documents, these chapters were formed. The use of qualitative and quantitative data created a balanced, in-depth picture of this organization?s assets, accomplishments and areas of opportunity.

Pollinator specialization: from the individual to the community (New Phytologist, 2016)
Most spermatophytes need conspecific pollen in order to produce seed. This need for specialization seems to conflict with the generalized nature of most plant–pollinator interactions. Specialization and generalization are dynamic – not fixed – and exist simultaneously in multiple states at different levels of biological hierarchy. Over the short term, specialization ensures conspecific pollen transfer, whereas over the long term, generalization improves system‐level robustness. The balance between specialization and generalization at different scales is critical for different kinds of ecological functioning and is an important factor in plant speciation and the evolution of plant mating systems. Community context, including diversity and interaction network structure at different levels of aggregation, is a key driver of specialization dynamics. Contents Summary 1190 I. Introduction 1190 II. Simultaneous specialization and generalization in pollination interactions 1191 III. The role of community context 1191 IV. Evolutionary considerations 1193 V. Conclusion 1193 Acknowledgements 1194 References 1194

Comparison of CMIP3 and CMIP5 projected hydrologic conditions over the Upper Colorado River Basin - Darren L. Ficklin; Meredith Strunk; Jessica Ayers; Iris T. Stewart (International Journal of Climatology, 2016)
This work presents updated hydrologic projections for the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) using downscaled (approximately 12 km) General Circulation Model (GCM) output from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project – Phase 5 (CMIP5) with a comparison to CMIP3 GCMs. We use the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model to simulate the impacts of end-of-century climate change on the UCRB using 21 CMIP5 and 18 CMIP3 GCMs, collected into one CMIP5 ensemble and one CMIP3 ensemble, respectively. Previous CMIP3 studies have identified a drier climate for the UCRB because of projected increases in temperature and decreases/little change in precipitation. Hydrologic simulations from CMIP5 inputs suggest wetter conditions than simulations based on CMIP3 inputs, yet drier conditions than the historical climate. Both ensembles lead to timing shifts in peak streamflow during the snowmelt season from changes in snowmelt, but the higher CMIP5 projected precipitation leads to, on average, peak streamflows 200–300 m3 s−1 larger (25–40% difference) than the CMIP3 projections. This difference is largely generated in the northern UCRB region, where CMIP5 simulations project much more significant increases in streamflow than CMIP3. This increase is largely due to an overall larger rise in precipitation in the CMIP5 ensemble (57% of the total UCRB area) compared to the CMIP3 ensemble (5%). Even with projected increases in precipitation, snowmelt is projected to decrease dramatically throughout the UCRB for both ensembles. The increases in precipitation and decreases in snowmelt leads to significant differences in hydrologic flux components between the CMIP3 and CMIP5 ensembles, such as end-of-century rises in soil water content and evapotranspiration in the CMIP5 ensemble compared to the CMIP3 ensemble. The difference between the dry CMIP3 and the somewhat wetter CMIP5 projections may be critical for water management in the already over-allocated UCRB.

Investigating the influences of climate on the high elevation snowpack hydrology in the upper Colorado region. - Claire-Louise Bode (2016)
A change in climate in the western United States has already affected and will continue to affect the onset of snow melt in many parts of the country. The effect of climate change on snow water equivalent, snowmelt runoff and total streamflow with respect to their elevation distribution is examined across the Colorado Headwaters Basin. This is a high altitude location within the Upper Colorado Basin region. The total streamflow of this region has a significant contribution from the spring season snow melt. An increase in air temperature in the Colorado Headwaters Basin over a few years will change the onset of the spring snowmelt for that season. These changes will affect many aspects of water management and utilization that the region is extremely dependent on. Snow water equivalent (SWE), mean/minimum air temperature and USGS stream gage data were collected and analyzed using Pearson correlation to assess whether warmer air temperatures corresponded to reduced snow water equivalent and streamflow discharge for each month at each station and gage in the basin at the 5% level of statistical significance. A linear regression test followed to test for trends across a 30-year time period from 1986 to 2015, followed by a series of Runs tests for stationarity which are commonly employed statistical methods in the analysis of climate and water resource time series data. As a result we see reductions in SWE and changes in snowmelt dominated streamflow timing from higher elevations. The timing, volume, and extent of mountain snowpack, and the associated snowmelt runoff, are intrinsically linked to seasonal climate variability and change. Recent observations have documented the changes in the early onset of snowmelt in the region and further indicate that the high altitude snowpacks may now be susceptible to the warming climate.

Does Stress Explain Variation in Marmot Parenting Behavior or Pup Survival? - A. Reese (2016)
Raising offspring is one of the most important roles of mothers in many species. We studied maternal care in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) and how it is affected by stress. Stress helps these rodents survive hazardous situations. To study this, we observed the marmots at The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado, USA. We recorded their alarm calling rates, social interaction rates, and vigilant behavior. We measured stress levels by analyzing the fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in feces that were collected from the marmots when they had been trapped. We found significant relationships between stress levels of female reproductive marmots and over-winter pup survival as well as between litter size and over- summer pup survival. Higher glucocorticoid levels, which signify higher stress levels, were indicative of lower over-winter pup survival and lower pup survival into the next year. Larger litter sizes were associated with lower summer survival rates. Stress is an important factor in the ability for mothers to raise their offspring into adulthood, sustaining her lineage.

Asteraceae pollen provisions protect Osmia mason bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) from brood parasitism - Sarah Silverman; Dakota M. Spear; Jessica R.K. Forrest (American Naturalist, 2016)
Many specialist herbivores eat foods that are apparently low quality. The compensatory benefits of a poor diet may include protection from natural enemies. Several bee lineages specialize on pollen of the plant family Asteraceae, which is known to be a poor-quality food. Here we tested the hypothesis that specialization on Asteraceae pollen protects bees from parasitism. We compared rates of brood parasitism by Sapyga wasps on Asteraceae-specialist, Fabeae-specialist, and other species of Osmia bees in the field over several years and sites and found that Asteraceae-specialist species were parasitized significantly less frequently than other species. We then tested the effect of Asteraceae pollen on parasites by raising Sapyga larvae on three pollen mixtures: Asteraceae, Fabeae, and generalist (a mix of primarily non-Asteraceae pollens). Survival of parasite larvae was significantly reduced on Asteraceae provisions. Our results suggest that specialization on low-quality pollen may evolve because it helps protect bees from natural enemies.

Reconstruction and spatial analysis of alpine treeline in the Elk Mountains, Colorado, USA - J. Sakulich (Physical Geography, 2016)

Temporal ecology of a subalpine ecosystem: Plant communities, plant-pollinator interactions, & climate change. - Paul J. CaraDonna (2016)
Ecological systems are inherently dynamic, and a primary way in which they are dynamic is through time. Individual organisms, populations, communities, species interactions, and ecosystem functions all follow a temporal progression from the past, to the present, and into the future. This temporal progression can occur over the course of minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, or various other timescales. In this sense, temporal dynamics are an intrinsic property of all biological systems. In fact, one of the most prominent signals of recent global climate change is the significant change in the timing of biological events for a diversity of organisms. In light of this widespread pattern, there is a renewed interest in understanding the multifaceted importance of time in ecology. In this dissertation, I investigate the temporal ecology of a subalpine ecosystem, specifically focusing on flowering plant communities and plant-pollinator interactions. I examine the temporal dynamics of this system over multiple decades in response to ongoing climate change as well as over shorter time scales within a growing season. Using a 39-year record of flowering phenology, I show that species-specific shifts in the timing of flowering in response to climate change can substantially reshape a subalpine plant community over this time period. Community phylogenetic analyses reveal that these changes are largely independent of evolutionary history. Using a laboratory experiment, I show that the timing of an important harsh abiotic event – low temperatures that cause frost damage to plants – can differentially affect flowering plant species, with implications for plant demography, community structure, and interactions with pollinators. Finally, I show that plant- pollinator interactions exhibit substantial within-season temporal turnover, and that this temporal flexibility of plant-pollinator interactions from one week to the next is consistent and predictable 8 across years. Taken together, this dissertation provides a multifaceted investigation of the temporal ecology of plant communities and plant-pollinator interactions, revealing the important consequences of ecological timing at short-term and longer-term scales. 9

A new homolid crab, Zygastrocarcinus tricki sp. nov., from the Pierre Shale (middle Campanian), Baculite Mesa, Pueblo County, Colorado, USA - Gale A. Bishop; Neal L. Larson; Alessandro Garassino; Torrey Nyborg; Malcolm Bedell (Acta Geologica Polonica, 2016)
Abstract A new species of homolid crab, Zygastrocarcinus tricki sp. nov., is reported from the Late Cretaceous (middle Campanian, Baculites scotti Zone) of the Pierre Shale Formation (Baculite Mesa, Pueblo County, Colorado). This nearly complete homolid, hereto described is the sixth species assigned to the genus and extends our knowledge along with the geographical range and geological age of this taxon.

Quantifying global soil carbon losses in response to warming - C. W. Rowe; K. E. O. Todd-Brown; T. W. Crowther; Aimee T Classen; John Harte (Nature, 2016)
A comprehensive analysis of warming-induced changes in soil carbon stocks is presented by assembling data from 49 field experiments, finding that the effects of warming are contingent on the size of the initial soil carbon stock, with considerable losses occurring in high-latitude areas.

Correlation of leaf and community traits and various spectra in meadows along an elevation gradient - R. Craig (2016)
The capabilities of remote sensing technology are advancing rapidly, and with it, the applications of those technologies are also advancing. Indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) have long been used to determine vegetative health, but no direct measurements have been made to quantify communities until recently. Studies into the spectral properties of plants and ways in which to expand the quantifiable measurements done with hyperspectral imaging and increasing with the sophistication of imaging technology and modeling techniques. Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) is a technique that can pair spectral wavelengths with measured traits. With these relationships, we can measure traits directly from the spectral signature without the need of pervasive and destructive sampling techniques. The PLSR developed with this methodology is built using data from montane and subalpine meadows in the area of Gothic, Colorado, but can be tested on other vegetative communities to assess the model’s resilience in more varied conditions. We used hyperspectral imaging with wavelengths from 400-1000 nanometers and collected leaf and community traits to construct the model. describe your results and conclusions.

The Role of Alpine Wetlands as Hot Spots of Dissolved Organic Carbon in the East River, Colorado - G. Rainaldi (2016)
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a critical chemical attribute of freshwater systems, affecting nutrient availability, toxicity and solubility of metals, and biological activity via the absorption of light and microbial consumption of O2 during DOC mineralization. Although DOC contributions to streams are distributed across the landscape in the shallow subsurface, many studies have demonstrated area-outsized contributions from riparian zones with high biological productivity and low subsurface O2 concentrations. In the East River, CO, a high-elevation watershed located in the central Rocky Mountains, initial observations show that DOC concentrations of two tributaries, Rock Creek and Gothic Creek, are elevated by 2.5-8.9 times compared to concentrations in the main East River and its other tributaries. These elevated concentrations are qualitatively linked to the unique presence of large wetlands in the headwaters of Rock and Gothic creeks, which due to potential anoxic conditions, experience reduced rates of organic matter decomposition and serve as an elevated source of DOC. In this study we quantify the cycling of organic matter in these wetlands and their area-outsized contributions to East River DOC fluxes. We present concentration profiles of DOC along stream reaches and along subsurface flowpaths that span the transition from hillslope to wetland coupled with high-resolution mapping of chronically-saturated zones and calculate area-weighted fluxes of DOC from wetlands to Rock and Gothic creeks at multiple times through the 2016 growing season. Additionally, soil and groundwater DOC fluxes are compared with depth-resolved organic carbon content from soil cores and soil surface CO2 fluxes to evaluate organic carbon budgets in the hillslope and wetland areas feeding Rock Creek. The characterization of these hotspots of DOC generation and transport in the East River is vital to the ability to predict nutrient cycling changes into the future.

Impacts of early snow removal and frost on the reproductive success of Delphinium nuttallianum - Isaac O. Jensen (2016)
Anthropogenic climate change is causing increases in global average temperature, changes in seasonality, and altered precipitation patterns which are linked to upslope range shifts, population declines, and phenological changes. This study examines the impacts of climate induced changes in snowmelt date and episodic frost on the reproductive success of a subalpine forb species, Delphinium nuttallianum, in the Rocky Mountains of south-central Colorado, USA. D. nuttallianum plants were exposed to early or natural snowmelt, reduced or natural frost, and natural pollination and supplemental pollen treatments and reproductive success was measured in order to explore the effects of climate change on plant reproductive fitness. While plant density within a plot and pollinator visitation rate was significantly higher in early snowmelt treatments, there was no significant difference between any of the climate change related treatments in reproductive fitness, indicating that snow melt, frost exposure, and supplemental pollination did not significantly impact the reproductive success of D. nuttallianum in 2016. However, this may partially be due to dry conditions which caused many plants to abort a substantial portion of flowers and fruits, diluting the effects of climate-related variables. These data indicate that while plants that bloom earlier might be at an advantage for attracting pollinators, further research is need to elucidate the effects of climate change on the reproductive fitness of Delphinium nuttallianum and other subalpine forbs.