Fe-rich mobile colloids play vital yet poorly understood roles in the biogeochemical cycling of Fe in groundwater by influencing organic matter (OM) preservation and fluxes of Fe, OM, and other essential (micro-)nutrients. Yet, few studies have provided molecular detail on the structures and composi

Abstract Pollination is essential for ecosystem functioning, yet our understanding of the empirical consequences of species loss for plant–pollinator interactions remains limited. It is hypothesized that the loss of abundant and generalized (well‐connected) species from a pollination network will ha

Interspecific hybridization is a recurring aspect of the evolution of many plant and animal groups. The temporal dynamics of hybrid zones and the evolutionary consequences of hybridization should depend on fitness of parental and hybrid individuals expressed in different environments. We measured li

Two new species of harpellid gut fungi, Smittium fecundum and Stachylina robusta, were found living in larvae of Psectrocladius sp. (Diptera: Chironomidae) in a high-altitude kettle pond in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. A third species of Harpellales, Smittium mucronatum, previously known only fr

Polyphenisms (environmentally cued polymorphisms) are ubiquitous, yet the specific proximate mechanisms producing alternative morphs are generally not well known. We tested hypotheses for the role of large heterospecific prey in the cannibalistic polyphenism within larval tiger salamanders, Ambystom

Previous mark‐recapture studies and population size estimates indicated that in the 1980s populations of the endangered Uncompahgre fritillary ( Boloria acrocnema ) declined precipitously, apparently leading to extirpation at its type locality. This locality and a nearby second site, both high in th

The link between reproductive and vegetative ecology of flowering plants is rarely explored, despite its importance for understanding population processes and fitness. This link can be studied by using experimental or natural variation in seed input to the soil to assess how reproductive success aff

Visual-MINTEQ was used to compare observed and model-calculated percentage particulate Cu and Zn as influenced by sorption to both HFO and HMO and aqueous complexation with dissolved organic carbon, and differences between observed and modeled particulate varied significantly between sites and seaso

Fur color that differs from the typical shades of brown and gray occurs in eight species of marmots. Albinism generally is rare whereas melanism is more common. Melanism may persist in some populations at low frequencies averaging 16.1% in M. monax and in M. flaviventris for as long as 80 years. Whi

ABSTRACT A specimen of a juvenile individual of Dinochelys from the Dry Mesa Quarry, Morrison Formation, provides the first record of the skull and neck in this genus. Dinochelys is interpreted as related to Glyptops on the basis of a similar development of sculpture on the vertebral scutes of juven

Habitat patches often differ in environmental conditions, and the degree of environmental heterogeneity among patches is thought to influence population dynamics at the regional (metapopulation) scale. In a previous study, I found evidence of a source– sink dynamic in a metapopulation of the mayfly

Animals respond to alarm calls by increasing their antipredator behavior; however, responses may consistently differ by age or sex. Although several adaptive explanations have been proposed to account for age-dependent antipredator behavior, similar explanations are rarely extended to sex-specific r

Soil denitrification is an ecologically important nitrogen removal mechanism that releases to the atmosphere the greenhouse gas N2O, an intermediate product from the reduction of NO3− to N2. In this study we evaluate the relationship between soil carbon and denitrification potential in watersheds wi

There is a growing understanding of the role that bedrock weathering can play as a source of nitrogen (N) to soils, groundwater and river systems. The significance is particularly apparent in mountainous environments where weathering fluxes can be large. However, our understanding of the relative co

• Premise of study: A difference in chromosome numbers (ploidy variation) between species is usually considered a major barrier to gene flow. Therefore, it is surprising that little is known about whether ploidy variation, both within and among species, influences spatial patterns of interspecific h

Abstract The pollen donor and pollinator attractor hypotheses are non‐exclusive alternative explanations for the functions of the staminate flowers of andromonoecious plants. We tested assumptions and predictions of both hypotheses using the andromonoecious perennial Pseudocymopterus montanus (Apiac

Parasites can both influence and be affected by host population dynamics, and a growing number of case studies support a role for parasites in causing or amplifying host population cycles. In this study, we examined individual and population predictors of gastrointestinal parasitism on wild cyclic m