Song repertoire size is the range of distinct syllables, phrases, and song types created by an individual or population. Variations within songs create complex repertoires, making them difficult to estimate. There are several methods to estimate repertoire size, however prior studies discovered that

Mutualisms are commonly dependent on the ecological context in which partners interact. In ant‐aphid interactions, the dietary status of ants has been hypothesized to be one factor that may mediate ant‐aphid interactions. This hypothesis was supported in one laboratory study with one ant species. We

Anthropogenic environmental change currently threatens to alter resource availability across the planet, likely driving responses by plant species. In the Colorado Rocky Mountains, climate change is expected to decrease soil moisture availability and increased nitrogen deposition is expected to incr

In flowering plants, environment-mediated hybrid fitness plays a large role in hybrid zone dynamics. The relationship of physiological traits to hybrid fitness, however, has not been described for many plant systems. In this study, we investigated the effects of soil moisture on water-use efficiency

Optimal foraging theory states that there are benefits and costs from foraging. If the animal shows optimal foraging behavior, the benefits minus the costs from foraging should be maximized. One assumption of optimal foraging theory is that animals can recognize food, which for butterflies means det

The conservation of keystone species and their associates is of great importance due to the disproportionately large role they play in community and ecosystem structure. The Red-naped Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis) is considered part of an intricate keystone species complex in the aspen forests of

Plant-pollinator communities contribute to global diversity and are a good indicator of the health of an ecosystem. Climate change is causing phenological changes of flowering plants and pollinators. Changes in plant phenology can lead to a pollinator not being able to find sufficient pollen and nec

Concerns of the decline of pollinators and their services have recently been raised. While several hypothesis have been studied, such has the shift of flowering phenology so it no longer overlaps with pollinators and habitat fragmentation, this study investigated the decline of the nectar robbing bu

The influence of predators on drift and benthic density is important for understanding prey community structure in freshwater streams. Drift activity of stream invertebrates in fishless streams does not differ between day and night, but when visual drift-feeding trout are present, stream invertebrat

In the United States, the 6.2 million kilometers of paved and unpaved public roads and roadsides represent about nineteen percent of the total land area of over nine million Km2 These roadways have major ecological impacts, one of which is dust pollution. When it comes to the effect of dust on plant

Reproductive success in passerines is dependent upon the fitness of the parents. Knowledge of how life history traits affect fitness is required to understand fitness and nest cycle relations. There was no significance between body mass and wing length and morning off bout frequency found. Blood par

Several prey species have demonstrated a response to predator odors by altering their behavior, but few studies have explored the abilities of prey to discriminate between predator odors or to recognize novel predators. The olfactory abilities of yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) were st

Productive habitats can provide subsidies to neighboring habitats in the form of resources and services; however, little is known about whether subsidies operate in pollination systems. I studied wetland and dry meadow habitats in a subalpine system to assess whether wetlands provide neighboring pol