In subalpine Colorado ecosystems, red-naped sapsuckers feed by excavating sap wells in shrubby willow branches. Many species of insects, birds, and mammals are known to feed from this sap. Previous studies on avian sap robbers suggest these sap wells may have a direct effect on bird communities. Fur

This study analyzed the species richness and abundance of lichens along Copper Creek, Gothic, CO., in relation to boulder size and distance from a source, in an attempt to illustrate the theory of island biogeography. Mine tailings were also sampled to determine the colonization and growth rates of

Condition can influence many traits. I looked at how condition affects time allocation while foraging for yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) by taking two minute focal samples of adults and yearlings and recording their behavior. Each focal was paired with measurements of condition collec

The need for information on invasive species has been growing more and more pressing as they continue to spread and crowd out native plants. Alarm over invasive species is often concerned with the vegetative crowding and homogenized habitats that they create. It has recently been recognized that the

Two of the predominant interests in ecology are patterns in the distributions and abundances of organisms and the interrelationships of organisms with their environment. Many naturally occurring phenomena take on self-similar distributions, appearing the same over different spatial scales. I tested

Altered precipitation patterns are a major prediction of climate change models and a recent reality. Changes in climatic variables may affect the evolution of species by affecting the magnitude and direction of natural selection on various traits. Winter precipitation can affect summer-flowering pla

Pollinator populations are decreasing globally constituting a major conservation concern. A decline in a particular pollinator species may cause plant population declines. Certain Bombus species may be more effective pollinators; i.e. they contribute more to female reproductive success of a flower s

Ecological theory holds that edge effects influence species composition and diversity along both anthropogenic and natural forest edges. These ecotonal zones provide abundant microhabitats and opportunity for increased biodiversity. Abiotic factors such as temperature, soil moisture and soil water-h

Didymosphenia geminata (didymo) is a species of algae that is native to North America, but has been producing unprecedented blooms during the last several decades. Climate change and nitrogen deposition are two hypothesized drivers of this phenomenon. The purpose of this research project is to bette

Climate change is currently shifting the ranges of plant species, and while climate-based variables trigger migration, sessile plants may reach an expansion limit due to variations in the characteristics of local soils. To better understand the effects of soil on plant performance, we paired 13 year

Didymosphenia geminata is a diatom native to the U.S. Rocky Mountains, and is found and considered an invasive species in many parts of the world. It grows in massive mats that carpet large portions of the streams it is found in. I tested the effects of removal on Didymosphenia because past studies

Burying Beetles face both intraspecific and interspecific competition throughout the whole process of rearing a brood. Nicrophorus (burying beetles) are a well-studied genus that provides bi-parental care on the carcass resource that they bury for rearing their brood. Because carcasses are often rar

Alpine ecosystems are disassembling and reassembling due to climate change. The phenology of alpine plants has shifted, but empirical evidence for how spatial clustering patterns could impact this shift is lacking. This study investigated the phenology of spatially clustered versus isolated alpine p

As global climate change responses are increasingly observed, theories in macroecology are being tested in order to up-scale species richness data to estimate extinction rates under habitat loss or degradation due to land use and climate change. Insight into effects that anthropogenic warming can ha

In this study I examined the effects of phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation to light environment in the crucifer Cardamine cordifolia, at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, in Gothic, Colorado. Previous work by Louda and colleagues showed that plants in sun environments were subject to

Dispersal is the permanent relocation of an individual away from its natal burrow. This phenomenon is male biased in many mammal species and potential causes include inbreeding avoidance or resource competition. In this study, the dispersal behavior and exploratory excursion distances were recorded