996 results — topic: Wildlife Behavior
The influence of recruitment on within-generation population dynamics of a mayfly
The relative contributions of recruitment and post-recruitment processes are pivotal to understanding the mechanisms influencing the population dynamics of organisms. We estimated recruitment by oviposition to populations of the mayfly Baetis bicaudatus in multiple streams of one drainage basin in w
Imputation of contiguous gaps and extremes of subhourly groundwater time series using random forests
Machine learning can provide sustainable solutions to gap-fill groundwater (GW) data needed to adequately constrain watershed models. However, imputing missing extremes is more challenging than other parts of a hydrograph. To impute missing subhourly data, including extremes, within GW time-series d
Dispersal of Erythronium grandiflorum pollen by bumblebees: implications for gene flow and reproductive success
Microbial communities across a hillslope-riparian transect shaped by proximity to the stream, groundwater table, and weathered bedrock
Abstract Watersheds are important suppliers of freshwater for human societies. Within mountainous watersheds, microbial communities impact water chemistry and element fluxes as water from precipitation events discharge through soils and underlying weathered rock, yet there is limited information reg
Effects of larval energetic resources on life history and adult allocation patterns in a caddisfly (Trichoptera: Phryganeidae)
Abstract 1. How populations respond to environmental change depends, in part, on the connection between environmental variance during early life stages and its effect on subsequent life‐history traits. For example, environmental variation during the larval stage can influence the life histories of o
High-Resolution Snow-Covered Area Mapping in Forested Mountain Ecosystems Using PlanetScope Imagery
Improving high-resolution (meter-scale) mapping of snow-covered areas in complex and forested terrains is critical to understanding the responses of species and water systems to climate change. Commercial high-resolution imagery from Planet Labs, Inc. (Planet, San Francisco, CA, USA) can be used in
Comparison of CMIP3 and CMIP5 projected hydrologic conditions over the Upper Colorado River Basin
This work presents updated hydrologic projections for the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) using downscaled (approximately 12 km) General Circulation Model (GCM) output from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project – Phase 5 (CMIP5) with a comparison to CMIP3 GCMs. We use the Soil and Water Assessment
A mutualistic endophyte alters the niche dimensions of its host plant
Mutualisms can play important roles in influencing species coexistence and determining community composition. However, few studies have tested whether such interactions can affect species distributions by altering the niches of partner species. In subalpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains, USA, we ex
Leaf breakdown in a regulated desert river: Colorado River, Arizona, U.S.A.
Dual stable isotope analysis showed that leaf material was not the primary food for invertebrates associated with leaf packs, and processing rates for all leaf types were slow in the regulated Colorado River compared to rates reported in many other systems.
Plant Identity Influences Foliar Fungal Symbionts More Than Elevation in the Colorado Rocky Mountains
Despite colonizing nearly every plant on Earth, foliar fungal symbionts have received little attention in studies on the biogeog- raphy of host-associated microbes. Evidence from regional scale studies suggests that foliar fungal symbiont distributions are influenced both by plant hosts and environm
Planktivore effects on zooplankton epibiont communities: epibiont pigmentation effects
We observed the development of epibiont communities on freshwater crustacean zooplankton from 12 July–31 August 1991 in three ponds: one with planktivorous fish, a second with planktivorous larval salamanders, and a third with planktivorous fish added midway through the sampling period. Prevalence,
Rock glaciers in Central Colorado, U.S.A., as indicators of Holocene climate change
We measured thalli diameters of the lichen Rhizocarpon subgenus Rhizocarpon on 48 individual lobes of 18 rock glaciers and rock glacier complexes in the Elk Mountains and Sawatch Range of central Colorado. Cumulative probability distribution and K-means clustering analyses were used to separate lich
Pollinator flight directionality and the assessment of pollen returns
It is suggested that bumblebees foraging for pollen may not perceive revisitations and their associated costs because they do not assess pollen returns on a per plant basis, and energetic-efficiency arguments predicting the pattern of foraging movements among plants may be inappropriate.
The Gothic earthflow revisited: a chronosequence examination of colonization on a subalpine earthflow
A chronosequence study of permanent plots spanning 45 years on a 70-year-old subalpine earthflow in south-western Colorado suggests that it is the severe microclimate of the earthflow which is limiting further colonization of the site.
Pilot study experiments sourcing quartzite, Gunnison Basin, Colorado
AbstractThis paper reports the results of pilot‐study efforts to develop methods to profile quartzite, a rock type to which geochemical and other sourcing techniques have only rarely been applied. The long‐term goal of the research is to fingerprint sources of quartzite in the Gunnison Basin, southw
Modeling the Impact of Riparian Hollows on River Corridor Nitrogen Exports
Recent studies in snowmelt-dominated catchments have documented changes in nitrogen (N) retention over time, such as declines in watershed exports of N, though there is a limited understanding of the controlling processes driving these trends. Working in the mountainous headwater East River Colorado
Density, size and clutch of two high altitude diaptomid copepods
Population characteristics of two copepod species, Diaptomus shoshone Forbes and Diaptomus coloradensis Marsh, and both interspecific and intraspecific interactions are examined. Both species vary in size among years and among several high altitude ponds in Colorado. Larger individuals with larger c
Evaluating Intensity in the Processing of Guanaco (Lama Guanicoe) at the Lower Basin of the Colorado River (Argentina): Fragmentation Levels and Fracture Patterns Analysis
This article explores the levels of fragmentation and fracture patterns in archaeofaunal assemblages from the lower basin of the Colorado River (Argentina) following Outram's methodology. Remains of ungulates (guanaco) have suffered, in these assemblages, a high degree of fragmentation probably caus
Extensive regional variation in the phenology of insects and their response to temperature across North America
Climate change models often assume similar responses to temperatures across the range of a species, but local adaptation or phenotypic plasticity can lead plants and animals to respond differently to temperature in different parts of their range. To date, there have been few tests of this assumption
Effects of climate change on mast-flowering cues in a clonal montane herb, <i>Veratrum tenuipetalum</i> (Melanthiaceae)
• Premise of the study: Climate change threatens to alter the timing and magnitude of abiotic cues that synchronize mast flowering, such as temperature and precipitation. Climate change may therefore alter the frequency of masting, in turn affecting species in the community that use pulsed resources
