Ecosystem engineers modify habitats in ways that facilitate other community members by ameliorating harsh conditions. The strength of such facilitation is predicted to be influenced by both beneficiary traits and abiotic context. One key trait of animals that could control the strength of facilitati

Beavers are an important aspect of the landscape and have been increasing in abundance in montane regions of the western U.S. While beaver impoundments have been shown to affect downstream habitats, their influence is variable and may be attributed in part to variation in the morphology of impoundme

The range of some algae has been increasing in recent years due to either internal (genetic) or external (environmental) factors that have been expanding both the nutrient and pH range at which they can survive. Didymoshenia geminata (didymo) is a species of diatom with a silica casing that can form

Nuisance blooms of the stalked diatom Didymosphenia geminata have become an increasing concern worldwide, yet little is known about their effect on stream food webs. We investigated the effects of D. geminata blooms on stream invertebrates of the East River in the western Rocky Mountains. Areas with

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

Aquatic insect colonization dynamics were studied in an attempt to understand patterns of diversity in sub-alpine wetlands. More specifically, this study investigated three alternate hypotheses: species-level diversity in habitat patches is a function of 1) patch size, 2) patch complexity, or 3) sou

Many studies have looked at intraspecific competition between larva and adults, paedmorphic and metamorphic Ambystoma tigrinum. None, however, none have looked at male vs. female competition. In this experiment, twelve females and twelve male tiger salamanders were observed foraging for caddisfly la

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

•Runoff from liquid waste such as sewage and sludge is destroying the eco-system, killing fish, coral reefs, and impacting tourism •Sewage hookup generally is not available in remote areas •Conventional water treatment is very expensive to build and operate and does not completely remove pollutants