An earthflow that occurred in Gunnison County, Colorado created a natural laboratory to study plant succession. Plant succession and ants can effect the soil composition of grounds left bare and depleted of organic matter by the landslide. This study was conducted to examine if the described success

A 22 year warming experiment at Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory has elucidated short term (15 year) responses in plant community and soil organic carbon to artificial warming. This summer’s research evaluates long-term (>15 year) changes and, because of recent climate change effects, the releva

A central question in the study of biodiversity is, what mechanisms allow species to coexist? While most attention to this question has focused on antagonistic species interactions, positive species interactions have recently gained attention and may rival antagonisms in their importance. Grasses wi

Animal communication is vital to nearly every species. Serving multiple functions and being conveyed throughout a variety of modes, communication allows animals to make decisions based on information other animals provide. Numerous examples of this can be found across the animal kingdom, with bioflu

In subalpine ecosystems, climate change has contributed to an earlier snowmelt as a result of warmer temperatures in the winter and spring. This shift may act to limit water availability for plant communities by prolonging the period between initial snowmelt and late-season monsoon rains, placing th

Nutrient supply into an ecosystem is an important factor that can influence its productivity. While some nutrients enter the ecosystem from external sources, cycling of nutrients internally can also be an important process in determining nutrient supply. In this study I examined the role of benthic

Biofluorescence, the re-emission of absorbed light at lower energy wavelengths, has been widely documented in marine organisms and recently observed in amphibians. This phenomenon, particularly in amphibians such as frogs, salamanders, and newts, suggests potential roles in ecological interactions,

In this lab I analyzed the species composition of arthropods in bee bowl bycatch. The results of an analysis of these different communities show a significant difference in the compositional Orders of arthropods found in both the bowl colors and among the different sites along an elevational gradien

Amphibians have been hit particularly hard by the recent era of biodiversity loss (Collins 2009). Understanding the factors that influence their growth and development can help us understand their global decline as well as the dynamics of populations in widely different habitats. Growth rates have b

Subalpine ecosystems in Colorado occur between 9,000-11,000ft in elevation and are composed of several species of conifers. The elevation range of each species is slightly different, but they tend to form established communities, such as the Engelmann spruce-subalpine fir community. It has been show

Selection that differs between environments may maintain genetic differences in traits between two closely related species. In a natural hybrid zone, this environment-mediated selection could also prevent hybrids from successfully occupying parental habitats. Environment-mediated selection can act o