The purpose of this study was to track year-to-year variation in aphid abundance on the host plant Ligusticum porteri (Apiaceae). We censused arthropod abundance on the flowering stalks of L. porteri weekly in June-August from 2017 to 2020. The censuses took place in ten L. porteri populations near

Bumble bee queens initiate nests solitarily and transition to living socially once they successfully rear their first cohort of offspring. Bumble bees are disproportionately important for early season pollination, and many populations are experiencing dramatic declines. In this system, the onset of

Across different landscapes, plant abundance and richness change. Bee distributions may vary spatially in accordance to these differences in floral diversity. I used a habitat-based approach to investigate this hypothesis across three distinct meadow types: dry meadow, wet meadow-Veratrum and wet me

Mutualisms are commonly dependent on the ecological context in which partners interact. In ant‐aphid interactions, the dietary status of ants has been hypothesized to be one factor that may mediate ant‐aphid interactions. This hypothesis was supported in one laboratory study with one ant species. We

Previous studies by Pyke et al. have shown that bumblebees exhibit behavior that is consistent with optimal foraging theory. In this most recent effort, bumblebees were observed foraging on vertical inflorescences and their behavior was compared to a predicted model that would result in a maximum ne

Nectar robbing can affect both male and female components of plant reproduction. To understand the mechanisms driving those plant-reproductive outcomes, I studied the effects of nectar robbing on pollen deposition and pollinator behavior in the hummingbird-pollinated host plant Ipomopsis aggregata.

Nutrient supply into an ecosystem is an important factor that can influence its productivity. While some nutrients enter the ecosystem from external sources, cycling of nutrients internally can also be an important process in determining nutrient supply. In this study I examined the role of benthic

In this study I tested if there is a correlation between bee size and size parameters of flowers the bees visit for pollen. In the plant community evaluated there are not many characteristics restricting the use of pollen by bees. Most of the plants analysed have open corollas and/or present pollen

The bottom-up effects of plant food quality and quantity can affect the growth, survival, and reproduction of herbivores. The larvae of solitary bee pollinators, consumers of nectar and pollen, are also herbivores. Although pollen quantity and quality are known to be important for larval growth, lit

An allocation framework is developed, which provides a template for conceptualizing the interactions among resource acquisition, allocation and life- history traits, and fosters a mechanistic understanding of life-history patterns, and the beginning of an understanding of the processes underlying th

Bees feed almost exclusively on nectar and pollen from flowers. However, little is known about how food availability limits bee populations. To gain insights into the potential for food limitation within subalpine bumble bee populations, I examined bee foraging distances and the relationship between

Nutrients play fundamental roles in biological systems, affecting plant growth and

Diptera play a critical role in alpine and subalpine ecosytems, though they are little studied in terms of what guides their timing and abundance. In order to reveal what cues dipteran timing this study was conducted for 24 years, using a Malaise trap to capture the insects, dipteran distributions w