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...

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...

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...

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

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 ...

Systematic point count surveys conducted along an elevational gradient to assess current species distributions. Each site has four sampling points with standardized observation periods, replicated acr...

Time-lapse camera monitoring of aquatic insect landing and oviposition behavior on paired emergent rocks with different embedding characteristics. Combines behavioral observation with egg mass countin...

Weekly monitoring of fly oviposition on flowers and assessment of fruit damage by predispersal seed predators including fly larvae and caterpillars to quantify reproductive success and seed predation ...

Long-term systematic collection of first sighting and median activity dates for plants, insects, mammals, amphibians and birds in a high-elevation montane ecosystem. Standardized protocols track flowe...

Weekly monitoring of plant phenology, morphological traits, and density across an elevational gradient to assess phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental conditions. Uses standardized phenol...

Territory delineation by following singing males and recording GPS coordinates of singing locations to map territory boundaries and calculate area and perimeter.

Individual caddisflies are observed for fixed time periods to record movement patterns, social interactions, and aggressive behaviors. Follows established protocols for recording specific behaviors li...

Intensive monitoring of juvenile emergence and movements using daily visual observations and grid-based distance calculations to characterize dispersal timing, distance, and settlement patterns.

Combined direct visual observation during peak activity periods with motion-activated camera bucket traps to determine species presence/absence in meadow habitats. Camera traps used small entry holes ...

Time-lapse photography of individual flowers using motion-activated cameras to capture and quantify hummingbird feeding visits. Combined with machine learning image processing to automate detection.

Systematic recording and quantification of animal behaviors using standardized ethogram categories and time budget analysis with JWatcher software.

Comprehensive deployment of precipitation, atmospheric, and surface energy budget sensors across elevation and topographic gradients in complex terrain. Network includes core sites with full instrumen...

Systematic establishment of gridded plots across watersheds followed by long-term monitoring of tagged individual trees for mortality and recruitment rates. Combined with environmental characterizatio...

Systematic predator monitoring during behavioral observations to quantify predation pressure. Creates predation index by dividing predator counts by observation time per colony site.

Assessment of female reproductive success through behavioral observation of pup emergence from natal burrows and pedigree analysis to assign offspring to mothers.

Colony sites are visited daily starting April 19th each year to record the first emergence date of individual marmots from hibernation through direct observation and sign detection.

Systematic assessment of flower color variation across environmental gradients using standardized color categories and plot-based sampling. Combines phenotypic scoring with environmental variable meas...

Video In Situ Snowfall Sensor measurements providing particle size distributions, complexity, and fall velocity measurements to validate radar-derived microphysical processes. Uses high-speed video ca...

Field-based study of ant interactions with pollinators on Helianthella quinquenervis, involving ant identification and behavioral observations. Protocol development included ant keying skills and hone...

Field surveys of river systems to document the relationship between diatom cellular division rates and mat coverage patterns under natural conditions.

Annual one-day survey of breeding birds conducted in mid-June where multiple observer groups systematically record all birds detected by sight or sound across five areas in Gothic, Colorado over a 5-h...

Systematic field survey of natural herbivore damage patterns across different leaf positions on host plants. Quantifies within-host foraging preferences in natural populations.

Weekly monitoring of flax rust disease prevalence across multiple wild flax populations to track epidemic progression and relate it to local environmental conditions over multiple growing seasons.

Weekly assessment of fungal rust infection using a 6-class ordinal scale from absent (0) to 75-100% infected (5), with infection location recorded.

Standardized protocol for observing and scoring trap behavior of Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha using Potter traps with systematic behavioral categorization and activity indexing. Birds observed for ...

Systematic field observation of trophic interactions between organisms, primarily plants and insects, with rotating temporal sampling across multiple sites to record feeding relationships and interact...

Deployment of camouflaged security cameras or GoPro cameras near nests to record predation events, with careful timing to minimize nest abandonment and standardized recording parameters.

Systematic walking surveys through grasshopper habitat to count and score individuals for wing color morphs (orange vs yellow) across multiple populations and years. Researchers targeted 100 individua...

Individual animals are uniquely marked and tracked through capture-recapture over multiple decades to estimate survival, reproduction, and productivity parameters. This generates individual life histo...

Direct observation of individual birds during foraging attempts, recording foraging success and behavior, followed by detailed vegetation structure surveys of the exact foraging microhabitat. Uses sta...

Standard protocol for locating Mountain White-crowned Sparrow nests using behavioral cues and rope-dragging, followed by regular monitoring every 2-5 days throughout the breeding cycle.

Classification of ponds into permanent, semi-permanent, and temporary categories based on historical drying patterns and hydroperiod duration from long-term data records.

Field measurement of the distance at which birds first orientate to an approaching threat, used as a proxy for detection distance across multiple species and geographic regions.

Systematic 10-minute bird observations at pond sites with defined zone-based recording of species identity, behaviors, and time spent. Includes 5-minute settling period and standardized behavior categ...

A systematic collection and presentation of case studies from art-science collaborative projects presented at a scientific conference. The method involves organizing presentation sessions, collecting ...

Continuous measurement of aerosol optical properties and cloud condensation nuclei concentrations using standardized ARM instrumentation across multiple global sites representing diverse atmospheric c...

Deployment of autonomous atmospheric surface flux stations (ASFSs) for continuous measurement of surface energy balance components including meteorology, radiation, and turbulent fluxes in remote high...

Systematic scoring of hair colour patterns on bumblebee specimens using standardized binary characters for body banding and tail coloration to assess polymorphism across species.

Long-term studies that monitor phenotypes and fitness components in natural populations over multiple generations to detect climate-related changes and assess genetic variation underlying climatic ada...

Daily walking surveys along a road transect to detect, identify, tag and remove small mammal roadkill carcasses within hours of detection. Compared detection efficiency against simulated weekly survey...