Protocols

Integration of gridMET temperature data, MODIS snowmelt timing, and PARFLOW-CLM soil moisture simulations to create multi-temporal environmental predictor datasets with quantified drought metrics.

Use of remote sensing data to determine snowmelt timing and map marmot colony boundaries. Combines satellite imagery analysis with ground-truthed colony locations to quantify seasonal and habitat vari...

Controlled removal of the most abundant Bombus species from plots using targeted aerial netting during 4-hour manipulation periods, compared to 4-hour control periods with no removal. Pollinator exclu...

Experimental advancement of snow melt timing using shade cloth application to test effects on host plant phenology and aphid-plant interactions. Combined with temperature manipulation using open-top w...

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...

Detailed measurement of acoustic parameters from spectrograms to quantify song characteristics and calculate vocal individuality metrics.

Long-term monitoring of subsurface temperatures in pika habitat using buried data loggers to characterize thermal stress and microclimate conditions.

Extraction of iron and manganese from sediments using 0.5 N HCl with hydroxylamine hydrochloride in anaerobic conditions, followed by ICP-AES analysis. This method targets metals associated with reduc...

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...

Comprehensive approach calculating potential evapotranspiration using three established methods (Thornthwaite, Hargreaves, Penman-Monteith) and actual evapotranspiration using the Budyko model. Provid...

Standard measurements of bird morphology including wing chord, tail length, tarsus length, and body condition assessment. Birds banded with color combinations and USGS bands for individual identificat...

Calculation of body condition metrics (mass/SVL³) and derived fitness proxies including condition-weighted reproductive opportunities for males and estimated egg production for females based on body s...

Construction of genealogies from long-term observational data and estimation of coefficients of relatedness using Hamilton's method with assumptions about mating system and paternity.

Calculation of cumulative growing degree days from weather station data using species-specific base temperatures, correlated with biological events through linear regression to assess temperature-depe...

Separation of sediment organic carbon into free light fraction (FLF), occluded light fraction (OLF), and heavy fraction (HF) using sodium polytungstate density separation at 1.65 g/mL with sonication ...

Factorial experiment using wire mesh and chicken wire fencing to exclude mammalian herbivores (ungulates and gophers) from transplanted alpine plants across elevational gradients. Plants monitored for...

Statistical analysis of pollinator diversity using Shannon Diversity Index with ANOVA and post-hoc testing to compare plant visitation diversity between pollinator groups.

Pre-treatment of bittercress plants with jasmonic acid to simulate herbivore-induced plant defenses, followed by controlled bacterial inoculation to test effects on bacterial growth.

PERMANOVA testing of volatile composition differences across species and years, with NMDS visualization of chemical dissimilarity patterns.

Application of fine-mesh bags over flowers to prevent pollinator access while maintaining airflow and light penetration. Uses Del Star polyethylene bags with 0.5mm pores applied to approximately 50% o...

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...

Field playback experiments testing Mule deer responses to predator and control vocalizations. Single observer approached focal deer, conducted pre- and post-stimulus behavioral observations, and broad...

Multiple candidate models incorporating different combinations of climate predictors were fitted and ranked using Akaike Information Criterion to select optimal models for demographic functions.

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...

Acrylic imprints of leaf surfaces are made on glass slides and analyzed under compound microscope to count stomata and measure their diameters.

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

Development and analysis of a seven-dimensional nonlinear differential equation system modeling tiger salamander population dynamics across life stages and morphological forms. The model incorporates ...

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...

Uses array of wireless acoustic sensors with correlation envelope sum (CES) method to precisely locate sources of marmot alarm calls in field settings. Employs cross-correlation analysis and multilate...

Comprehensive ground-based cloud property retrieval using Ka-band radar for cloud boundaries, multifilter radiometry and sun photometry for optical thickness, and thermodynamic profiling for phase det...

A brokering framework that uses OGC standards to integrate heterogeneous environmental datasets from multiple sources into synthesized time-series data accessible through Python and web interfaces.

Sanger sequencing of BCMA3 alleles from natural accessions combined with Nanopore long-read genome assembly to identify structural genetic variants affecting glucosinolate biosynthesis.

Statistical analysis of flower constancy using Bateman's index and modified Cindex with randomization tests to determine whether butterflies exhibit constant foraging behavior.

Analysis of larval fecal pellets to assess digestive efficiency by measuring frass mass relative to provision mass and quantifying undigested pollen grains using microscopy and staining techniques.

Quantification of vocal individuality using principal component analysis followed by ANOVA and Beecher's information statistic calculation to measure inter-individual variation relative to intra-indiv...

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...

Laboratory feeding trials exposing individual bumblebee workers to alkaloid-enriched sucrose solutions followed by behavioral activity scoring to assess direct consumptive effects of nectar alkaloids.

A novel approach that captures the difference in concentration in a river segment over the difference in discharge, accounting for gains, losses or fractional solute turnover between sampling stations...

Conditional Neutrality-Antagonistic Pleiotropy analysis estimates realized selection coefficients and uses permutation tests to identify genome-wide patterns of fitness trade-offs across environments ...

DNA extraction using modified Chelex protocols followed by PCR amplification and sequencing of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene to assess genetic variation within and among mayfly populatio...

Processing of gridded climate data from the CRU TS3.1 dataset with lapse rate adjustment for elevation differences between grid cells and actual study locations, validated against local meteorological...

Root systems around Castilleja plants are excavated, cleaned, and examined microscopically to identify haustorium-host connections for direct detection of parasitic relationships. Host species are ide...

Comprehensive measurement of nest tree characteristics and landscape context including tree size, nest height, cavity orientation, and distances to key habitat features. Multi-scale habitat characteri...

Use of ceramic tiles as standardized substrates for measuring benthic algal biomass via chlorophyll-a extraction and fluorometry. Includes grazed vs ungrazed comparisons to assess herbivory effects.

Wild ant colonies were collected and split into paired fragments, then maintained on controlled diets (carbohydrate vs protein-rich) to test effects of macronutrient balance on behavior. Colony fragme...

Used Community Land Model to simulate evapotranspiration components at high spatiotemporal resolution over a mountainous watershed with detailed soil layering and vegetation parameterization. Model se...

Chromosome-specific BAC contigs of Arabidopsis thaliana were used as painting probes to analyze mitotic and meiotic chromosomes of C. cordifolia. Fluorescent signals were detected and analyzed to dete...

Systematic playback of pre-recorded animal vocalizations from known positions and orientations to validate localization algorithm performance under controlled field conditions.