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

Roads are a significant cause of biodiversity loss around the world, impacting wildlife by disrupting natural environment, changing abundance patterns of wildlife, and destroying habitat (Garrah et al. 2015). One of the most direct effects that roads have on animals is mortality from vehicular colli

✦ Bombus insularis With an increase of research into how climate change has ✦ Sphecodes sp. affected bees, only a fraction of that research has been ✦ Kleptoparasite conducted in relation to bees with parasitic life history strategies. Parasitic bees serve important ecological roles in the ✦ Social

Floral rewards are crucial for plant reproductive success and pollinator survival. Although nectar volumes and sugar concentrations have been quantified for many species of flowering plants, many questions remain regarding sources of intraspecific and interspecific variation, including the effects o

Climate change effects the timing of phenology, which can have consequences on plants and their pollinators. A critical reason for this is due to early snowmelt. However, there are other variables that could affect phenology. In heterogenous environments, plants could be buffered by these variables,

Recently, declines among both honeybees and native pollinators have raised concerns about the impacts of habitat loss and climate change on pollinators; likewise, studies have revealed that non-honeybee pollinators, including various Lepidoptera, are more important than previously thought for both a

Anthropogenic actions are rapidly changing ecological systems, and the species specific responses to this change are expected to have great impacts on ecological organization, natural resource abundance, and human health. Scientists urgently need accurate forecasts to help inform social, political,

Alpine climates are seemingly adverse environments for plants. These habitats directly impact plants via pollinator scarcity and abiotic factors like extreme temperatures and precipitation that influence resource allocation. As a result, elevational gradients are natural laboratories that can be use

The physiological effects of road dust on the wildflower rosettes Ipomopsis aggregata, scarlet gilia, are shown to non-significantly reduce their growth rate in two meadows near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. Growth rate was a proxy for the amount of photosynthesis that occurred in the ro

Understanding drivers of species distributions is an important challenge for more accurately projecting ecological change under climate warming. Species distributions have often been modeled using solely environmental factors as predictors. However, there is much recent data supporting the hypothesi

Human recreation can lead to changes in behavior and distribution patterns of wildlife populations. This project aims to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of the Hunt trap, a novel non- invasive technique used to estimate small mammal abundance (2) determine the distance from trails at which we see an

Thermoregulation is an important factor for bee flight which ultimately contributes to an individual’s ability to forage and produce offspring. Rising temperatures could benefit insects by increasing their efficiency in reproduction and provisioning. However, warming could negatively impact floral r

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted by every part of a plant and are believed to work as possible olfactory signals, drawing in pollinators and antagonists. This study was designed to address whether VOCs served as a signal to pollinators, indicating the size of the nectar reward. This par