Concepts

The study of traits controlled by multiple loci with continuous phenotypic distributions and measurable heritability

Population parameter measuring the relative frequency of males and females, specifically operational sex ratio of flowering individuals

Cortisol and glucocorticoids that help regulate energy balance in animals and could determine dispersal behavior under stressful conditions

A proxy for subsurface moisture conditions calculated as the log ratio between upslope contributing area and slope angle

The degree to which individuals can be discriminated from one another based on their vocalizations, quantified using information theory

October through September annual cycle used for water resource analysis

Predicts that species interactions should disappear at the stressful end of environmental gradients where abiotic conditions constrain species ranges

Microbial process where methane is oxidized under anoxic conditions, often coupled to reduction of alternative electron acceptors

Directed aggression toward conspecifics, increasing spatial distancing from or decreasing huddling with unfamiliar conspecifics

The lowest part of the atmosphere directly influenced by the Earth's surface

Communication through chemical signals that mediate various aspects of social activities in insects, especially regulation of reproduction

The extent to which fungal symbionts colonize plant tissues, measured as percentage of tissue colonized

The progression through larval developmental stages with associated changes in size and feeding capacity

Percentage of leaf biomass composed of water, calculated as difference between wet and dry weight divided by wet weight

Theory that predicts patterns of distribution, abundance, and energetics using instantaneous values of community state variables including total area, total abundance, total species richness, and tota...

Constraint on growth or reproduction due to insufficient availability of essential nutrients

An approximation of non-water stressed evapotranspiration calculated using energy-only methods from net radiation estimates

Reduction in reproductive output of individuals due to presence of other conspecifics, particularly older or dominant individuals

Streambed and boggy areas around streams as well as uphill water flows that are critical regions for DOC concentrations

Bird species that utilize nest cavities created by other species rather than excavating their own

Naturally occurring isotopes of hydrogen (²H) and oxygen (¹⁸O) in water molecules used to trace water sources and movement through soil-plant systems

Probability of surviving the summer active season, measured by last sighting dates relative to seasonal cutoffs

Predicts that fast-growing plants in high resource environments invest less in defense because they can easily regrow after herbivory

The role of atmospheric aerosols in cloud formation and precipitation by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice-nucleating particles (INPs)

Statistical approach that includes individual identity as a random effect linked to a pedigree to estimate additive genetic variance

The contribution of animals to ecosystem nutrient fluxes through excretion, with supply determined by animal biomass, excretion rates, and time spent in the ecosystem

SPAD measurement of leaf chlorophyll concentration indicating photosynthetic capacity

Future climate scenarios based on different greenhouse gas emission pathways, specifically RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios

The ability of plants to tolerate or compensate for herbivore damage through increased growth or reproduction

The relationship between solute concentrations and discharge in streams, widely used as a metric for interpreting interaction of hydrological processes, chemical transport, and mineral reactions in wa...

The length of flower tubes, which correlates with bumble bee proboscis length and determines flower accessibility

Age and sex characteristics affecting susceptibility to mortality

Daily activity patterns and rhythms in organism behavior

Metabolites of stress hormones measured in fecal samples as a proxy for physiological stress levels

The spatial organization of sedimentary deposits and their hydraulic properties within floodplain aquifers

Behavioral observation method where a single individual is observed continuously for a fixed time period

The hypothesis that animals allocate less time to antipredator vigilance as a function of increasing numbers of animals foraging together