Climate change is shifting the environmental cues that determine the phenology of interacting species. Plant-pollinator systems may be susceptible to temporal mismatch if bees and flowering plants differ in their phenological responses to warming temperatures. While the cues that trigger flowering a

Climate change has induced pronounced shifts in the reproductive phenology of plants, yet we know little about which environmental factors contribute to interspecific variation in responses and their effects on fitness. We integrate data from a 43-year record of first flowering for six species in su

Harsh abiotic conditions such as low temperatures that lead to spring and summer frost events in high-elevation and high-latitude ecosystems can have strong negative consequences for plant growth, survival, and reproduction. Despite the predicted increase in episodic frost events under continued cli

Anthropogenic climate change has already altered the timing of major life history transitions, such as the initiation of reproduction. Both phenotypic plasticity and adaptive evolution can underlie rapid phenological shifts in response to climate change but their relative contributions are poorly un

Altered precipitation patterns associated with anthropogenic climate change are expected to have many effects on plants and insect pollinators, but it is unknown if effects on pollination are mediated by changes in water availability. We tested the hypothesis that impacts of climate on plant pollina

Data come from fourteen sites in the West Elk Mountains of Colorado, USA. The study aimed to identify the factors regulating phenology of plants and cavity-nesting insects, and to determine the likelihood of asynchrony between flowering and pollinator emergence under climate change. Numbers of flowe

Strategies that enable species to persist in changing environments have historically been divided into ecological (distributional shifts and phenotypic plasticity) and evolutionary (adaptation and gene flow). However, most species will likely need to rely on a combination of approaches to mitigate

Anthropogenic climate change has already altered the timing of major life-history transitions, such as the initiation of reproduction. Both phenotypic plasticity and adaptive evolution can underlie rapid phenological shifts in response to climate change, but their relative contributions are poorly u

The results of a long-term experimental warming study, in a montane meadow in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, have shown that Artemisia tridentata (Common Sagebrush) is likely to increase in abundance under climate change, as perennial forb species decrease in abundance. This change in species comp

As global climate change responses are increasingly observed, theories in macroecology are being tested in order to up-scale species richness data to estimate extinction rates under habitat loss or degradation due to land use and climate change. Insight into effects that anthropogenic warming can ha

Changes in species distributions across elevations can be responses to anthropogenic climate disruption. Movement of species to higher elevations can result in local extirpations and colonization that could escalate and critically endanger native species. Studying systems that have experienced histo

Numerous factors, including climate, resource availability, and habitat diversity, act as determinants of global species diversity. I collected baseline species richness data at three sites along an elevation gradient. Discovery curves indicated that I recorded all species at a site. Interestingly,

1. We revisited bumble bee survey data collected by Pyke in 1974 (Pyke, Ecology , 63 , 555–573, 1982) to evaluate seasonal changes in abundances of bumble bees and their floral resources, diel patterns of bumble bee activity, and elevation effects on plant and bumble bee phenology. 2. Bumble bee abu

Temporal fluctuation in abundance is common in many wildlife populations, but the causes and consequences to population dynamics of these fluctuations remain poorly understood. We used long-term (1990)(1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(20

Many organisms have complex life cycles with distinct life stages that experience different environmental conditions. How does the complexity of life cycles affect the ecological and evolutionary responses of organisms to climate change? We address this question by exploring several recent case stud

One possible effect of climate change is the generation of a mismatch in the seasonal timing of interacting organisms, owing to species-specific shifts in phenology. Despite concerns that plants and pollinators might be at risk of such decoupling, there have been few attempts to test this hypothesis

Alpine species are among those most threatened by climatic shifts due to their physiological and geographic constraints. The American pika (Ochotona princeps), a small mammal found in mountainous, rocky habitats throughout much of western North America, has experienced recent population extirpations