Ecological Genetics of Dispersal and Mating Systems in Populations of Yellow-Bellied Marmots (<i>Marmota flaviventris</i>)
Effect of blood parasites on secondary sexual characteristics and morphology in mountain white-crowned sparrows
Blood parasites affect numerous species of birds across the world and can cause serious population declines. Haemosporidian blood parasites in Mountain White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) are known to affect certain behavioral and morphological characteristics of hosts, includin
A global test for phylogenetic signal in shifts in flowering time under climate change
The responses of montane shrubs to spatial and temporal climate variation in
Local adaption in <i>Boechera stricta</i> in the context of climate change
This study examines whether climate change alters patterns of local adaptation in Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae). A common garden experiment was established in sites around the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado. In the fall of 2017, Dr. Jill Anderson and her lab planted seeds from a
The effect of surrounding bloom color on pan trap success in sampling Rocky Mountain bees
On a global scale, bees are important pollinators but face declining populations. In order to monitor the health of bee populations and communities, accurate sampling methods are needed. One common sampling protocol utilizes a combination of pan-trapping and sweep netting. While pan- trapping has it
Are ants botanists?: Ant associative learning of plant volatiles
Ants are important members of most terrestrial ecosystems, and often forage in plant canopies where they occasionally participate in mutualisms with either the plants, or aphids that live on the plants. To participate in these mutualisms, the ants must first find them, and it is not clear how ants d
Warming winters are disrupting the hidden world of fungi – the result can shift mountain grasslands to scrub
Host-parasite ecology of <i>Baetis bicaudatus</i> mayflies and <i>Gasteromermis sp.</i> nematodes in high-altitude streams
Parasite-induced changes to host dispersal potentially influence the distribution of parasites and infection risk for hosts. Gasteromermis is a castrating endoparasitic nematode that infects both males and female mayflies (Baetis bicaudatus) but feminizes male hosts and manipulates them to disperse
Cross-trophic-level dynamics in aquatic ecosystems and their application across ecological contexts
Disintegration of the leaf economic spectrum within and across Quaking aspen (<i>Populus tremuloides</i>) genotypes
1. The leaf economic spectrum (LES) describes consistent and strong correlations among plant functional traits in a multidimensional trait space, which reflects fast or slow rate of return on carbon investment in leaves. These relationships between LES functional traits are strong at global scales a
Carry-over effects of larval food stress on adult energetics and life history in a nectar-feeding butterfly
Marmot mass gain rates relate to their group’s social structure
Investigating the influences of climate on the high elevation snowpack hydrology in the upper Colorado region.
A change in climate in the western United States has already affected and will continue to affect the onset of snow melt in many parts of the country. The effect of climate change on snow water equivalent, snowmelt runoff and total streamflow with respect to their elevation distribution is examined
DEFINING THE ENDMEMBER SYSTEM OF US SOILS AND QUANTIFYING RELATIONSHIPS, AND A HYPERSPECTRAL APPROACH TO THE ALTERATION STRENGTH INDEX
Soils form a complex part of the environment, providing important functions in systems such as food production, groundwater movement, and ecosystem health. There have been numerous studies on soil geochemistry and the origin of elements within soils, but few studies into quantifying the relationship