Protocols

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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Installation of three 10-meter deep monitoring wells along a hillslope transect equipped with suction lysimeters, pressure transducers, and temperature sensors for long-term subsurface monitoring. Wel...

Systematic collection of water samples from ponds across a hydroperiod gradient for analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. Samples collected at multiple time points to capture temporal variati...

Collection of nitrogen samples via syringe filtration and chlorophyll samples via algae collection from submerged rocks, with spectrophotometric analysis normalized by substrate area.

Standardized metal can pitfall traps baited with chicken drumsticks, deployed along elevation gradients to monitor burying beetle abundance and species composition.

Complete census of all individual plants in gridded plots with spatial mapping, tissue sampling, and photosynthetic area measurement for metabolic rate estimation in herbaceous plant communities.

Systematic collection of sediment samples from floodplain sites at regular depth intervals followed by DNA extraction and metagenomic sequencing to characterize microbial communities.

Long-term standardized sampling of aerial insects using a single Malaise trap at a fixed location operated weekly throughout growing seasons. Insects are collected, dried, sorted taxonomically, counte...

Collection of soil inocula from resident (high elevation) and novel (low elevation) sites across elevation gradients in mountain ecosystems, with subsequent sterilization treatments to isolate microbi...

Standardized pellet count method for estimating deer density using systematic transect surveys with random placement. Identifies scat to species level where possible to distinguish herbivore types usi...

Field census method to quantify pollen receipt patterns in populations of gynodioecious plants with varying sex ratios and floral densities. Involves systematic counting of flowers by sex and measurem...

Standard bird capture protocol using Potter's traps baited with seed, followed by individual banding and morphological measurements for population monitoring and identification.

Active nest searching technique using a 12m rope with attached aluminum cans dragged through suitable habitat to flush female birds from concealed ground nests.

Systematic collection of snowpack samples across elevation gradients using snow pits dug at 10 cm increments to obtain SWE-weighted composite isotopic signatures representative of accumulated snowpack...

Modified gastric-lavage technique to obtain stomach contents for prey identification, enumeration, and biomass/caloric calculations using published conversion factors.

Standard live-trapping protocol using Longworth traps in grid arrays for mark-recapture population estimation of small mammals with individual marking and release.

Collection of female halictid bees at nest sites using nets or vacuum devices, with individual storage and cryopreservation for chemical analysis. Includes morphological measurement and ovarian stage ...

Sampling of 3H and 4He environmental tracers from screened groundwater wells to constrain groundwater age distributions and validate numerical model predictions of mixing between modern and pre-modern...

Standardized sampling of large and small benthic invertebrates using D-net sweeps and benthic cores, with zooplankton sampling using mesh nets. Animals identified to species or family level for commun...

Complete excavation of plants followed by separation into above-ground, below-ground, and reproductive components, with subsequent drying and weighing to determine biomass allocation patterns.

Collection and processing of biofilm samples from natural and artificial substrates to quantify biomass, algal content, and nutrient content through AFDM, chlorophyll-a, and phosphorus analysis.

Floral resource availability was quantified by counting flowers while walking in progressively larger circles from a central point until reaching 100 flowers or 100m radius. Density was calculated as ...

Random plot establishment along elevational gradients followed by soil coring and root extraction to quantify coarse and fine root biomass allocation patterns. Ground cover composition is estimated to...

Vegetation composition and diversity are compared between paired 1m² plots with and without Castilleja presence to assess community-level effects of parasitism. Plots are positioned as close as possib...

Standardized searches for fresh pika sign including visual and auditory detection of individuals and fresh food caches (haypiles) to determine current site occupancy. Sites without initial detection r...

Autonomous sampling system using osmotic pumps to continuously collect water samples over extended periods for chemical analysis. Tubing inlets placed at different depths collect time-integrated sampl...

Camera traps deployed along trails in a stratified random design to detect wildlife presence and estimate occupancy while accounting for detection probability. Cameras moved weekly within zones to sam...

Systematic point sampling along transects to quantify vegetation composition and forage quality metrics. Modified from standard methods described in Wilkening et al. 2011.

Mark-release-recapture protocol for tracking individual butterfly movements among meadow patches using unique felt pen markings and systematic site visits.

Opportunistic collection of adult and larval mosquitoes across elevational gradients using standardized collection techniques. Adults collected during blood-feeding attempts, larvae sampled from diver...

Systematic sampling of lichen cover and species composition along fixed 1-meter transects on rock surfaces, with digital photography and image analysis for precise measurement of lichen thallus length...

Three-pass electrofishing to estimate fish densities and species composition in stream reaches for characterizing predator presence and abundance.

Systematic collection and GPS mapping of predator scats along established trail networks to quantify spatial patterns of predator activity relative to human disturbance. Scat density is calculated per...

Standardized filter-based sampling of atmospheric aerosols followed by immersion freezing analysis using the Ice Nucleation Spectrometer to quantify ice nucleating particle concentrations across a ran...

Collection of adult mosquitoes during blood-seeking behavior and other activities to complement larval surveys and confirm species identifications.

Systematic collection of soils and seeds across elevational gradients spanning current and projected future species ranges to capture natural variation in soil microbial communities and plant populati...

Method for collecting fish skin mucus by gentle rubbing in plastic bags followed by freeze-drying and chemical characterization of mucus components including glycosaminoglycans, hexosamine, and uronic...

Moths were attracted using blacklight on white sheet, collected manually, and processed for pollen load analysis using fuchsin jelly swabs examined under microscopy. Network analysis characterized pla...

Uses centimeter-precision GPS to map exact locations of all individuals in study plots, enabling calculation of population density and neighbor relationships. Plot sizes are adjusted to population cha...

Long-term monitoring of plant morphological traits across permanent transects spanning a hybrid zone between two Ipomopsis species along an elevational gradient, with cline fitting to quantify trait g...

Blood collection from trapped wild marmots via femoral vein puncture during routine handling for long-term population studies. Sera separated and frozen for later laboratory analysis.

Exhaustive visual surveys of arthropod abundance on randomly selected male and female plants conducted across multiple years to quantify sex-biased community structure.