Golden-mantled ground squirrels (GMGS) at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) spend the majority of the year, from October to May, hibernating in order to save energy during the winter seasons in Gothic, Colorado. Once the winter season is over, the squirrels emerge from their burrows an

The recreational trails in Gunnison County, Colorado near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) are a valuable resource for the community. RMBL is a prominent field station surrounded by a largely intact ecosystem whose diverse native plants and animals are key to its scientific research a

Castilleja miniata is a hemiparasite capable of taking up chemical toxins from its host plant. A unique relationship is C. miniata’s parasitism on Delphinium nuttallianum (which contains alkaloids); alkaloids from D. nuttallianum are taken up into C. miniata’s nectar which could negatively affect C.

Understanding the processing of detritus by different macroinvertebrates in montane ponds is important because either directly or indirectly most energy and nutrients flow through the detrital pathway. Understanding the degree to which macroinvertebrate species vary in detrital processing is central

Climate change is increasing global temperatures, which forces many species to experience environments that they have not been previously exposed to. Ectotherms are particularly sensitive to temperature shifts, and previous research suggests that changes in phenology and habitat use can help species

This research aims to clarify the timing and mechanics behind a sixty kilometer- wide Bull’s Eye of exhumation in Colorado’s Elk and West Elk mountains that took place about 15-8 million years ago (Ma). To do this, I use the apatite (U-Th)/He low temperature thermochronology (AHe) technique to study

The biogeography of soil microbial communities is changing in response to increased anthropogenic disturbance, such as climate change. However, the response patterns of microbes to these rapid and accelerating changes is poorly quantified, especially when compared with our understanding of macroscop

This study investigated the impact of water availability and snowmelt timing on the species ​Ipomopsis aggregata. ​We looked to discover if ​I. aggregata’​ s traits were plastic, and if that plasticity was adaptive. The two questions we aimed to answer were: How does timing of snowmelt and level of

Stage-based population models are an important tool for quantifying the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on populations. Within studies of plant demography and life history, measuring and predicting biomass is an essential tool used to better understand a plant’s health and reproductive succe