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
Seasonal movement patterns in a subalpine population of the tiger salamander, <i>Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum</i>
Seasonal movements of a subalpine population of metamorphic tiger salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum, were explored from 1990 to 1992. Metamorphic adults bred in permanent and semipermanent habitats during June of each year. After breeding, soma individuals returned to the terrestrial environ
Support early-career field researchers
Pandemic-induced restrictions on research are now ubiquitous. We urge administrators and policy-makers to recognize that field researchers—especially those early in their careers—face unique challenges, even if restrictions last only a month or two. Bans on travel, hiring, and facility use are forci
Environmental learning and the social construction of an exurban landscape in Fremont County, Colorado
Global Warming, Advancing Bloom and Evidence for Pollinator Plasticity from Long-Term Bee Emergence Monitoring
Global warming is extending growing seasons in temperate zones, yielding earlier wildflower blooms. Short-term field experiments with non-social bees showed that adult emergence is responsive to nest substrate temperatures. Nonetheless, some posit that global warming will decouple bee flight and hos
Ecological factors influence balancing selection on leaf chemical profiles of a wildflower
Balancing selection is frequently invoked as a mechanism that maintains variation within and across populations. However, there are few examples of balancing selection operating on loci underpinning complex traits, which frequently display high levels of variation. We investigated mechanisms that ma
Determinants of pika population density vs. occupancy in the Southern Rocky Mountains
Species distributions are responding rapidly to global change. While correlative studies of local extinction have been vital to understanding the ecological impacts of global change, more mechanistic lines of inquiry are needed for enhanced forecasting. The current study assesses whether the predict
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,
From the ground up: Building predictions for how climate change will affect belowground mutualisms, floral traits, and bee behavior
Climate change affects species and their interactions, resulting in novel communities and modified ecosystem processes. Through shifts in phenology and distribution, climatic change can disrupt interactions, including those between mutualists. Mutualisms influence the structure and stability of comm
Human activity affects the perception of risk by mule deer
Abstract Human activity has been shown to influence how animals assess the risk of predation, but we know little about the spatial scale of such impacts. We quantified how vigilance and flight behavior in mule deer Odocoileus hemionus varied with distance from an area of concentrated human activity—
Predicted fitness consequences of threat-sensitive hiding behavior
In studies of refuge use as a form of antipredator behavior, where prey hide in response to a predator's approach, factors such as foraging costs and the perceived risk in a predator's approach have been shown to influence the hiding behavior of prey. Because few studies of waiting games have focuse
Inferring Regional-Scale Species Diversity from Small-Plot Censuses
Estimation of the number of species at spatial scales too large to census directly is a long- standing ecological challenge. A recent comprehensive census of tropical arthropods and trees in Panama provides a unique opportunity to apply an inference procedure for up-scal- ing species richness and th
Elevation alters outcome of competition between resident and range shifting species
Species' geographic range shifts toward higher latitudes and elevations are among the most frequently reported consequences of climate change. However, the role of species interactions in setting range margins remains poorly understood. We used cage experiments in ponds to test competing hypotheses
Individual differences in the behavior of juvenile yellow-bellied marmots
Yellow-bellied marmots express considerable individuality as measured by behavior in a maze, mirror-image stimulation (MIS), and social behavior in the field, suggesting that marmot have individual behavioral phenotypes that are expressed in their social interactions with their conspecifics.
Fitness and hormonal correlates of social and ecological stressors of female yellow-bellied marmots.
The results suggest that elevated baseline FGM levels failed to mediate reproductive suppression in marmots, highlighting the importance of social status, body condition and predator abundance on determining reproductive success in highly seasonal breeders.
Middle Jurassic Todilto Formation of northern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado: Marine or nonmarine?
Resolution of the controversy about the origin of this evaporitic limestone and gypsum unit is possible only if the position that the Todilto is exclusively marine or exclusively nonmarine is abandoned. The Todilto Formation was deposited in a coastal body of saline water (a salina) adjacent to the
From legacy contamination to watershed systems science: a review of scientific insights and technologies developed through DOE-supported research in water and energy security
Abstract Water resources, including groundwater and prominent rivers worldwide, are under duress because of excessive contaminant and nutrient loads. To help mitigate this problem, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) has supported research since the late 1980s to improve our fundamental kno
Shale as a Source of Organic Carbon in Floodplain Sediments of a Mountainous Watershed
Abstract Shales contain high levels of organic carbon (OC) and represent a large fraction of the Earth's reduced carbon stocks. While recent evidence suggests that shale‐derived OC may be actively cycled in riverine systems, this process is poorly understood and not currently considered in global C
Carbon Cycle Uncertainty Increases Climate Change Risks and Mitigation Challenges
Projections of greenhouse gas concentrations over the twenty-first century generally rely on two optimistic, but questionable, assumptions about the carbon cycle: 1) that elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations will enhance terrestrial carbon storage and 2) that plant migration will be fast relative
Oviposition patterns and larval success of a pre-dispersal seed predator attacking two confamilial host plants
Phytophagous insects that deposit eggs directly on hosts confront a plant world of variable quality. Some studies to date provide evidence for positive relationships between the site of oviposition and offspring success, as expected if females choose sites of high quality or if they or their offspri
