Protocols

A 20-year longitudinal study tracking individually marked female marmots through live-trapping, unique marking, and behavioral observations to quantify social relationships and lifetime fitness. Uses ...

Systematic observation of plant-pollinator interactions along fixed transects with timed observations and selective insect capture for identification. Plants receiving sufficient visits are analyzed f...

Live-trapping and marking of yellow-bellied marmots followed by systematic focal behavioral observations to quantify time allocation to different behaviors including vigilance. Uses established ethogr...

Systematic observation of plant-pollinator interactions along established transects with standardized time intervals to capture natural temperature variation. Pollinator specimens collected for identi...

Collection and microscopic analysis of pollen grains deposited on wildflower stigmas using pink fuchsin gel mounting and reference collection for identification. Quantifies both conspecific and hetero...

Belt transect method for censusing lupine populations and collecting inflorescences for morphological analysis across sympatric and allopatric sites. Combines population surveying with systematic flor...

Measurement of plant species-specific cover, identification of focal species, and collection of plant biomass and functional traits including specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content.

Tagged individual plants are monitored twice weekly throughout the growing season to record bloom start dates, bloom end dates, and total flower production. This provides individual-level phenological...

Direct observation of social interactions using binoculars and spotting scopes during peak activity periods. Interactions are classified as affiliative or agonistic and used to construct weighted dire...

A method to experimentally add nectar rewards to naturally pollen-only rewarding flowers by depositing measured volumes of artificial nectar solution onto flower structures accessible to pollinators. ...

Comprehensive measurement of floral traits (corolla dimensions, anther insertion, petal color, nectar production) and vegetative traits (specific leaf area, trichome density, water-use efficiency) on ...

Plastic pan traps with soapy water deployed along stream transects to capture terrestrial invertebrates falling into or near the river. Traps are pooled by transect and processed for taxonomic identif...

Experimental addition of outcross pollen to flowers to test whether natural pollination limits plant reproductive success, comparing reproductive output between hand-pollinated and naturally pollinate...

A large-scale reciprocal transplant experiment across five elevational gardens with factorial snow and temperature manipulations to test local adaptation and evolutionary rescue potential under climat...

Twice weekly censuses recording plant vital status, reproductive phenology, and fitness components including flower and fruit production. Weekly assessments of herbivore damage quantify leaf area remo...

Systematic measurement of antipredator escape behavior by approaching focal individuals at standardized speed and recording distances at key behavioral response points. Includes observation of social ...

Controlled experiment manipulating predator presence by establishing artificial aphid colonies, protecting them from natural predators, then adding lygus bugs to treatment plants. Includes ant bridge ...

2x2 factorial design manipulating temperature and conductivity to test environmental drying cues on caddisfly development and survival. Uses shade manipulation and salt additions to simulate pond dryi...

Standardized 2-hour baiting experiments using 5 different resource types arranged in pentagonal plots to sample ant communities and assess dominance patterns. Records ant abundance and identity at reg...

Comprehensive evaluation of seed production including total fruit counts, viable seed counts per fruit, individual seed mass measurements, and visual/physical viability assessment. Combines quantitati...

Continuous measurement of soil CO2 concentrations at multiple depths using automated sensors to calculate soil CO2 fluxes via gradient approach. Includes soil temperature and moisture monitoring for e...

Comprehensive measurement of vegetative traits including specific leaf area, trichome density, water use efficiency, and percent water content from field-collected leaves using scanning, drying, weigh...

Beetles were captured using speed nets, marked with tungsten needle dot codes on elytra, and released for recapture monitoring to estimate population sizes and dispersal patterns. Elytral condition wa...

Annual capture-recapture surveys over 24 years to track individual survival, growth, reproduction and developmental pathways in a polyphenic salamander population. Combines individual marking with det...

A field-based protocol for extracting nectar from flowers that have been exposed to bee visitation, then quantifying ethanol content using enzyme-based assays. Flowers are pre-isolated to prevent nect...

Systematic collection of groundwater samples at regular depth intervals using sediment coring and peristaltic pumping, with immediate field analysis and laboratory chemical characterization. Targets t...

Microscopic assessment of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal colonization and other fungal colonization of plant roots using crosshair intercept method and grid line-intercept method for soil fungi.

Digital recording and spectral analysis of alarm vocalizations to quantify entropy and goodness of pitch as measures of call structure and acoustic properties.

Systematic monitoring of plant disease dynamics across elevation gradient to capture environmental variation effects. Involves establishment of standardized transects with complete plant population ma...

Shade cloths suspended 3m above treatment plots accelerate snowmelt by 5-7 days when snowpack reaches ~1m depth, simulating earlier spring snowmelt conditions. Cloths removed after complete treatment ...

Multi-temporal soil moisture measurements using TDR probe combined with soil coring and laboratory processing to determine moisture content, bulk density, and texture characteristics across environmen...

Stage-mass-structured IPMs incorporating seasonal demographic transitions and environmental stochasticity for population viability analysis. Uses prospective perturbation analysis and stochastic proje...

Field experiment comparing reproductive success of burying beetle species across habitat types using breeding pairs, mouse carcasses, and environmental monitoring. Measures burial success, development...

Surface sterilization of plant tissues followed by DNA extraction and high-throughput sequencing of the ITS region to characterize fungal endophyte communities. Community composition and diversity met...

Controlled experimental system using circular plastic tanks to test mayfly larval responses to chemical cues by measuring foraging behavior on substrate surfaces before and after treatment application...

A 2×2 factorial experiment combining passive warming using open-top chambers with dominant plant species removal across elevational gradients at multiple global mountain sites to test interactive effe...

Integration of temperature, precipitation, and snow cover data from multiple weather stations and remote sensing platforms to characterize environmental conditions at marmot colony sites.

DNA extraction from hair samples followed by microsatellite genotyping to determine parentage relationships and construct molecular pedigrees for quantitative genetic analysis.

Progesterone concentrations measured using radioimmunoassay with tritiated progesterone, ether extraction, and antibody binding assay. Standard curves and duplicate samples used for quantification.

Choice feeding trials where individual grasshoppers are offered leaves from different plant treatments to measure relative herbivory rates. Herbivory is quantified by measuring leaf area consumed usin...

A factorial field experiment manipulating snowmelt timing using black shade cloth and summer precipitation using rainout shelters in a split-plot design to simulate climate change effects.

Controlled choice experiments measuring butterfly oviposition preference between plant species using matched plant materials in screen cages. Preference quantified as proportion of eggs laid on test p...

Weekly monitoring of alpine plant flowering phenology coupled with snowmelt date recording to assess environmental effects on plant reproductive timing. Focuses on species-specific responses to fine-s...

Installation and monitoring of artificial wooden nesting-blocks with multiple cavity sizes to track solitary bee nesting activity, timing, and reproductive success. Involves regular visual monitoring ...

Infrared heaters suspended above experimental plots to simulate warming effects on montane vegetation communities across moisture gradients. Heating power adjusted over time to maintain consistent war...

Systematic excavation of 1-meter soil pits with depth-stratified sampling at 10 cm intervals for soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and dissolved organic carbon analysis. Includes soil profile description...

Statistical analysis using mixed effects models to evaluate relationships between plant clumping treatment and temperature responses while accounting for random effects of individual plants and sampli...

Multi-site common garden experiment using controlled crosses to partition genetic and environmental variance in vegetative and floral traits across a hybrid zone. Seeds from multiple genetic families ...

Continuous automated monitoring of soil temperature, moisture, and gas concentrations at multiple depths using sensor arrays. Provides high-resolution temporal data on soil microenvironmental conditio...

Uses full-waveform LiDAR returns processed through adaptive deconvolution and individual tree detection algorithms to map forest structure metrics including tree density, height distributions, and bas...