Paleoindian archaeology of the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado Rocky Mountains - Bonnie L. Pitblado (North American Archaeologist, 2016)
The past two decades have seen a fluorescence of work at Paleoindian sites in Colorado’s Upper Gunnison Basin (UGB). This article presents and synthesizes the results of that work in two parts, the first, a landscape-scale analysis of 82 UGB Paleoindian components as reported in Colorado state site files; the second, a higher-resolution analysis of Paleoindian sites excavated in recent years. Conclusions include that starting as early as Folsom time, Paleoindian groups occupied the UGB year-round, and that UGB Paleoindian settlement strategies varied significantly both synchronically and diachronically. Both findings relate in large part to the enormously diverse resource base of the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene Rocky Mountains in general and UGB in particular.

Colorado’s Water Wars Begin, 1920–1940 - Steven C. Schulte (University Press of Colorado eBooks, 2016)

Stare Decisis: Dueling Legal Interpretations of the Douglas County, Colorado Choice Scholarship Program - Robert A. Fox (Journal of School Choice, 2016)
In the absence of incontrovertible performance data in support of, or opposition to, school vouchers, court decisions on their legality become increasingly important. Analysis of legal challenges provides a rich opportunity for scholars and policymakers to follow arguments for or against their positions. We present a chronicle of the litigation history of the Douglas County, Colorado Choice Scholarship Program; a voucher program incorporating religious-based “public school partners” in which voucher recipients may enroll. We take particular notice of the differences in the way identical fact bases are interpreted by successive jurists. At this writing, the Choice Scholarship Program has been permanently enjoined from operating but further appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court would surprise no one.

Temperature response of soil respiration largely unaltered with experimental warming - J. C. Carey; A. M. Panetta; Brian J. Enquist; M. Estiarte; J. Harte; A. N. Henderson; B. R. Johnson (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2016)
Significance One of the greatest challenges in projecting future shifts in the global climate is understanding how soil respiration rates will change with warming. Multiple experimental warming studies have explored this response, but no consensus has been reached. Based on a global synthesis of 27 experimental warming studies spanning nine biomes, we find that although warming increases soil respiration rates, there is limited evidence for a shifting respiration response with experimental warming. We also note a universal decline in the temperature sensitivity of respiration at soil temperatures >25 °C. Together, our data indicate that future respiration rates are likely to follow the current temperature response function, but higher latitudes will be more responsive to warmer temperatures.

PENGARUH EKUITAS MEREK TERHADAP MINAT BELI ULANG PADA KEDAI KOPI BLACK CANYON MALL JAMTOS - S. U. K. M. A. BAKTI (Jurnal Manajemen Terapan dan Keuangan, 2016)
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui Pengaruh Ekuitas Merek Terhadap Minat Beli Ulang Pada Kedai Kopi Black Canyon Mall Jamtos Penelitian ini dilaksanakan di Pada Kedai Kopi Black Canyon Mall Jamtos . Model penelitian yang digunakan yakni dengan metode observasi, wawancara, kuesioner dan studi kepustakaan yang dilakukan secara sistematik berdasarkan tujuan penelitian. Metode analisis yang digunakan adalah dengan metode analisis regresi linear berganda, dengan menggunakan uji hipotesis yaitu uji F dan uji t. Kemudian menggunakan perhitungan korelasi regresi berganda untuk mengetahui seberapa besar pengaruh dan signifikansi Pengaruh Ekuitas Merek Terhadap Minat Beli Ulang Pada Kedai Kopi Black Canyon Mall JamtosDari hasil analisis regresi dapat diketahui persamaan regresi berganda sebagai berikut: Y = 1,327 + 0,433X1 + 0,167X2 + 0,228X3 + e . Berdasarkan uji t, hasil yang diperoleh bahwa semua variabel ekuitas merek yaitu kesadaran merek,citra merek dan persepsi kua

Detection, prevalence and phylogenetic relationships of Demodex spp and further skin prostigmata mites (Acari, Arachnida) in wild and domestic mammals - N. Sastre; O. Francino; J. N. Curti; Tiffany Armenta; D. L. Fraser (PLoS ONE, 2016)
This study was conceived to detect skin mites in social mammals through real-time qPCR, and to estimate taxonomic Demodex and further Prostigmata mite relationships in different host species by comparing sequences from two genes: mitochondrial 16S rRNA and nuclear 18S rRNA. We determined the mite prevalence in the hair follicles of marmots (13%) and bats (17%). The high prevalence found in marmots and bats by sampling only one site on the body may indicate that mites are common inhabitants of their skin. Since we found three different mites (Neuchelacheles sp, Myobia sp and Penthaleus sp) in three bat species (Miotis yumanensis, Miotis californicus and Corynorhinus townsendii) and two different mites (both inferred to be members of the Prostigmata order) in one marmot species (Marmota flaviventris), we tentatively concluded that these skin mites 1) cannot be assigned to the same genus based only on a common host, and 2) seem to evolve according to the specific habitat and/or specific h

Populations of aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) with different evolutionary histories differ in their climate occupancy - B. T. Greer; C. Still; G. T. Howe; Christina Tague; D. A. Roberts (Ecology and Evolution, 2016)
AbstractQuaking aspens (Populus tremuloides Michx.) are found in diverse habitats throughout North America. While the biogeography of aspens' distribution has been documented, the drivers of the phenotypic diversity of aspen are still being explored. In our study, we examined differences in climate between northern and southwestern populations of aspen, finding large‐scale differences between the populations. Our results suggest that northern and southwestern populations live in distinct climates and support the inclusion of genetic and phenotypic data with species distribution modeling for predicting aspens' distribution.

Effects of climate change on phenologies and distributions of bumble bees and the plants they visit - G. H. Pyke; J. D. Thomson; David W. Inouye; T. E. X. Miller (Ecosphere, 2016)
AbstractSurveys of bumble bees and the plants they visit, carried out in 1974 near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Colorado, were repeated in 2007, thus permitting the testing of hypotheses arising from observed climate change over the intervening 33‐yr period. As expected, given an increase in average air temperature with climate warming and a declining temperature with increasing elevation, there have been significant shifts toward higher elevation for queens or workers or both, for most bumble bee species, for bumble bee queens when species are combined, and for two focal plant species, with no significant downward shifts. However, contrary to our hypotheses, we failed to observe significant altitudinal changes for some bumble bee species and most plant species, and observed changes in elevation were often less than the upward shift of 317 m required to maintain average temperature. As expected, community flowering phenology shifted toward earlier in the season throughou

Asteraceae pollen provisions protect Osmia mason bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) from brood parasitism - D. M. Spear; Sarah Silverman; J. R. K. Forrest (American Naturalist, 2016)
Many specialist herbivores eat foods that are apparently low quality. The compensatory benefits of a poor diet may include protection from natural enemies. Several bee lineages specialize on pollen of the plant family Asteraceae, which is known to be a poor-quality food. Here we tested the hypothesis that specialization on Asteraceae pollen protects bees from parasitism. We compared rates of brood parasitism by Sapyga wasps on Asteraceae-specialist, Fabeae-specialist, and other species of Osmia bees in the field over several years and sites and found that Asteraceae-specialist species were parasitized significantly less frequently than other species. We then tested the effect of Asteraceae pollen on parasites by raising Sapyga larvae on three pollen mixtures: Asteraceae, Fabeae, and generalist (a mix of primarily non-Asteraceae pollens). Survival of parasite larvae was significantly reduced on Asteraceae provisions. Our results suggest that specialization on low-quality pollen may evol

A new homolid crab, Zygastrocarcinus tricki sp. nov., from the Pierre Shale (middle Campanian), Baculite Mesa, Pueblo County, Colorado, USA - Torrey Nyborg; Malcolm Bedell; Alessandro Garassino; Neal L. Larson; Gale A. Bishop (Acta Geologica Polonica, 2016)
Abstract A new species of homolid crab, Zygastrocarcinus tricki sp. nov., is reported from the Late Cretaceous (middle Campanian, Baculites scotti Zone) of the Pierre Shale Formation (Baculite Mesa, Pueblo County, Colorado). This nearly complete homolid, hereto described is the sixth species assigned to the genus and extends our knowledge along with the geographical range and geological age of this taxon.

Using geochemical indicators to distinguish high biogeochemical activitiy in floodplain soils and sediments - A. M. Kenwell; A. K. Navarre-Sitchler; R. Prugue; J. R. Spear; A. S. Hering; R. M. Maxwell; R. W. H. Carroll (Sci Total Environ, 2016)
This study develops a methodology to predict potential elevated rates of biogeochemical activity (microbial "hotspots") in subsurface environments by correlating microbial DNA and aspects of the community structure with the spatial distribution of geochemical indicators in subsURface sediments.

Assessing the sensitivity of foraging and vigilance to internal state and environmental variables in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris). - H. E. Chmura; T. W. Wey; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2016)

Quantifying global soil carbon losses in response to warming - T. W. Crowther; K. E. O. Todd-Brown; C. W. Rowe; Aimee T Classen; J. Harte (Nature, 2016)
A comprehensive analysis of warming-induced changes in soil carbon stocks is presented by assembling data from 49 field experiments, finding that the effects of warming are contingent on the size of the initial soil carbon stock, with considerable losses occurring in high-latitude areas.

Frost sensitivity of leaves and flowers of subalpine plants is related to tissue type and phenology. - Paul J. CaraDonna; J. A. Bain (Journal of Ecology, 2016)

The effect of body size and habitat on the evolution of alarm vocalizations in rodents. - V. Garcia-Nava; Daniel T. Blumstein (Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2016)

Seasonal variation in the secondary chemistry of foliar and reproductive tissues of Delphinium nuttallianum. - Daniel Cook; A. Slominski; D. R. Gardner; J. A. Pfister; R. E. Irwin (Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 2016)

Reproductive Ecology of Female Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrels - Caitlin P. Wells (2016)

Altitudinal gradients do not predict plant-symbiont responses to experimental warming. - Melanie R Kazenel (2016)

Reconstruction and spatial analysis of alpine treeline in the Elk Mountains, Colorado, USA - J. Sakulich (Physical Geography, 2016)

Mutualistic Networks Over Time: The Effects of Changing Floral Abundances on Plant- Pollinator Interactions - R. Poulton-Kamakura (2016)
Plant-pollinator networks have been shown to have a general structure that is constant across time and geographic range. However, the identities of the plants and pollinators within these networks and the ways in which they interact are highly variable. We investigated a possible mechanism for this variability: niche breadth changes driven by changing levels of intraspecific competition. If intraspecific competition can partially explain changing network composition, we can use it to predict future ecosystem changes and help maintain ecosystem and species stability in a changing climate. We examined the effects of changing floral abundance on niche breadth throughout one growing season. We predicted that increasing floral abundance, accompanied by greater intraspecific competition, would increase plant species niche breadth above that expected due to increased abundance of inflorescences alone; probabilistically species will interact with the most abundant species the most even if abun

Sixty-five years of change in montane plant communities in Western Colorado, USA - Stephanie Zorio; C. F. Williams; K. A. Aho (Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 2016)
Documenting and predicting patterns of vegetation change over time are challenging due to a lack of sufficiently detailed historical data for comparison. Montane plant communities are expected to respond to anthropogenic disturbance, including climate change, in complex ways dependent on component species' responses to changing abiotic and biotic conditions. To investigate the patterns and possible causes of temporal changes in montane plant communities, we resampled 121 transects surveyed by Jean Langenheim from 1948 to 1952 in the East River Basin near Crested Butte, Colorado, U.S.A. Langenheim quantified the composition of the four predominant community types (sagebrush, spruce-fir, upland-herbaceous, and alpine) at sites ranging from 2600 to 4100 m in elevation. Our resurvey of the same sites 65 years later revealed that all four communities currently have much higher levels of heterogeneity among sites and have experienced significant changes in species composition and dominance.

Abiotic mediation of a mutualism drives herbivore abundance. - K. A. Mooney; J. S. Phillips; C. V. Tillberg; C. Sandrow; A. S. Nelson; K. A. Mooney (Ecology Letters, 2016)

Geographic divergence in upper thermal limits across insect life stages: does behavior matter? - H. J. MacLean; J. K. Higgins; L. B. Buckley; J. G. Kingsolver (Oecologia, 2016)
The findings are inconsistent with the hypothesis that thermoregulatory behavior inhibits the geographic divergence of physiological traits in mobile stages, and suggest that sessile stages may evolve similar heat tolerances in different environments due to microclimatic variability or evolutionary constraints.

Heterospecific pollen deposition in Delphinium barbeyi: linking stigmatic pollen loads to reproductive output in the field - H. M. Briggs; L. Anderson; L. M. Atalla; A. M. Delva; E. K. Dobbs; B. J. Brosi (Annals of Botany, 2016)

Pattern and variation of the time budget of yellow-bellied marmots. - Kenneth B. Armitage; C. M. Salsbury (Ethology, Ecology and Evolution, 2016)

The Colorado River Revisited - Jason Anthony Robison (SSRN Electronic Journal, 2016)

Historical changes in thermoregulatory traits of alpine butterflies reveal complex ecological and evolutionary responses to recent climate change - H. J. MacLean; J. G. Kingsolver; L. B. Buckley (Climate Change Responses, 2016)
Background: Trait evolution and plasticity are expected to interactively influence responses to climate change, but rapid changes in and increased variability of temperature may limit evolutionary responses. We use historical specimens to document changes in the size and thermoregulatory traits of a montane butterfly, Colias meadii, in Colorado, USA over the past 60 years (1953–2012). We quantify forewing wing length, ventral wing melanin that increases solar absorption, and the length of thorax setae that reduces convective heat loss. Results: The mean of all three traits has increased during this time period despite climate warming. Phenological shifts may have extended the active season earlier at low elevations and later at high elevations, increasing exposure to cool temperatures and selecting for increases in thermoregulatory traits. Fitness increases at higher elevations due to warming could also increase thermoregulatory traits. Warmer temperatures during pupal development and

Captive-breeding of captive and wild-reared Gunnison sage-grouse - Anthony D. Apa; Lief A. Wiechman (Zoo Biology, 2016)
Gunnison sage-grouse (Centrocercus minimus) distribution in North America has decreased over historical accounts and has received federal protection under the Endangered Species Act. We investigated captive-breeding of a captive-flock of Gunnison sage-grouse created from individuals reared in captivity from wild-collected eggs we artificially incubated. We also introduced wild-reared individuals into captivity. Our captive-flock successfully bred and produced fertile eggs. We controlled the timing and duration of male-female breeding interactions and facilitated a semi-natural mating regime. Males established a strutting ground in captivity that females attended for mate selection. In 2010, we allowed females to establish eight nests, incubate, and hatch eggs. Females in captivity were more successful incubating nests than raising broods. Although there are many technical, financial, and logistic issues associated with captive-breeding, we recommend that federal biologists and managers

Road Dust, Ipomopsis aggregata Seed Count, and attack by Hylemya Flies—Are they Linked? - V. Ramirez (2016)
At the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), road dust is easily dispersed by vehicle transportation and can travel 200 meters from the road. A previous study found that road dust had an ecological impact on several species of common wildflowers at the RMBL, including scarlet gilia, Ipomopsis aggregata. I studied the effects of road dust on the anthomyiid fly Hylemya sp., a pre-dispersal seed predator of I. aggregata. Experimental application of road dust affected the number of elongated flower buds produced by plants, but not the number of open flowers. Hylemya females laid eggs approximately twice as often on undusted flowers as on dusted flowers. The likelihood of finding Hylemya larvae or larval damage in fruits that came from flowers with eggs did not differ between treatments, nor did the estimated seed counts. The seed count remained relatively similar throughout the season regardless of the treatment. Results in this study suggest that Hylemya females are using cues from

Comparison of CMIP3 and CMIP5 projected hydrologic conditions over the Upper Colorado River Basin - Jessica Ayers; Darren L. Ficklin; Iris T. Stewart; Meredith Strunk (International Journal of Climatology, 2016)
This work presents updated hydrologic projections for the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) using downscaled (approximately 12 km) General Circulation Model (GCM) output from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project – Phase 5 (CMIP5) with a comparison to CMIP3 GCMs. We use the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model to simulate the impacts of end-of-century climate change on the UCRB using 21 CMIP5 and 18 CMIP3 GCMs, collected into one CMIP5 ensemble and one CMIP3 ensemble, respectively. Previous CMIP3 studies have identified a drier climate for the UCRB because of projected increases in temperature and decreases/little change in precipitation. Hydrologic simulations from CMIP5 inputs suggest wetter conditions than simulations based on CMIP3 inputs, yet drier conditions than the historical climate. Both ensembles lead to timing shifts in peak streamflow during the snowmelt season from changes in snowmelt, but the higher CMIP5 projected precipitation leads to, on average, peak streamflows 200

Understanding how leaf endophytes are affected by climate change: Examining fungi in grass species with warming - V. Silva (2016)
Climate change is impacting ecological systems around the globe with much of current research characterizing direct plant and animal responses. However, there is a gap in our knowledge regarding the direct response of fungal symbionts to climate change. Horizontally transmitted leaf endophytes (type II and III) exist within all plant tissue surveyed to date and potentially play a fundamental role in altering plant response to global change in their ability to alter plant physiology and growth in response to stress. Potential benefits observed in endophyte-positive plants include increased resistance to herbivores, increased competitive ability, increased plant vigor, greater drought-tolerance and changes in nutrient cycling and content of plants (Clay & Rudgers 2005, Rudgers et al. 2009, Kivlin et al. 2013). Here, we examined three grass species from controlled (ambient temperature) or warming plots (2°C increase in temperature) from Gothic, Colorado and assessed their fungal endophyte

Temperature and Nestling Development: Temporal Variations in Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha Feeding Frequency - Savannah Troy (2016)
Mountain White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) are unique in that their nestlings, which require parental care for 9 days before fledging, have a 25% higher metabolic rate than other open-nesting passerines. This unusually high energetic demand requires that parents frequently feed their young; however, female sparrows must balance their time between bouts of foraging and incubating to protect vulnerable nestlings from extreme temperatures. I hypothesized that this tradeoff in parental nest attendance behavior varies on colder versus warmer days. In particular, feeding rates are reduced and/or delayed on cold mornings and on hot afternoons. These patterns would accommodate for incubation during early hours and shading from intense sun during afternoon hours. This was tested by monitoring Mountain White-crowned Sparrow nests with data loggers that recorded temperature every two minutes and a nest camera that revealed the frequency of different behaviors. Analysis show

Does Stress Explain Variation in Marmot Parenting Behavior or Pup Survival? - A. Reese (2016)
Raising offspring is one of the most important roles of mothers in many species. We studied maternal care in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) and how it is affected by stress. Stress helps these rodents survive hazardous situations. To study this, we observed the marmots at The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado, USA. We recorded their alarm calling rates, social interaction rates, and vigilant behavior. We measured stress levels by analyzing the fecal glucocorticoid metabolites in feces that were collected from the marmots when they had been trapped. We found significant relationships between stress levels of female reproductive marmots and over-winter pup survival as well as between litter size and over- summer pup survival. Higher glucocorticoid levels, which signify higher stress levels, were indicative of lower over-winter pup survival and lower pup survival into the next year. Larger litter sizes were associated with lower summer survival rates.

Carbon Dioxide Fluxes in Alpine and Subalpine Soils of the East River Watershed - Maeve McCormick (2016)

Solutions for archiving data in long-term studies - a reply to Whitlock et al. - James A. Mills; Céline Teplitsky; B. Arroyo; Anne Charmantier; P. H. Becker; T. R. Birkhead; P. Bize; Daniel T. Blumstein; C. Bonenfant; S. Boutin; A. Bushuev; E. Cam; et al. (Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 2016)
The objective of the recent paper was to define practices to simultaneously maximize the benefits and minimize the potential unwanted consequences of PDA.

Colorado's Water: A Problem Rooted in Geography and History - Steven C. Schulte (University Press of Colorado eBooks, 2016)

The future of plant-fungal symbioses along elevational gradients - A. Freed (2016)
Plant-fungal symbioses affect the growth and fitness of most plants on earth. Moreover, they can structure plant community composition and feedback to affect ecosystem-level properties such as carbon storage. As climate change drives species distribution shifts in plants, the fungi may or may not co-disperse along with their symbiotic plant species. Thus, the future of these relationships could look very different, and owing to the potential community and ecosystem-level ramifications, it is important to understand the consequences of these potential plant-symbiont mismatches. We simulated the species distribution shift of Festuca thurberi and Festuca saximontana expected under climate warming in the next century and manipulated the fungal communities of plants at high and low elevation. We found that broadly distributed Festuca saximontana will perform poorly if associated with fungi from low elevation, regardless of which elevation it is grown in. Festuca thurberi on the other hand,

Correlation of leaf and community traits and various spectra in meadows along an elevation gradient - R. Craig (2016)
The capabilities of remote sensing technology are advancing rapidly, and with it, the applications of those technologies are also advancing. Indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) have long been used to determine vegetative health, but no direct measurements have been made to quantify communities until recently. Studies into the spectral properties of plants and ways in which to expand the quantifiable measurements done with hyperspectral imaging and increasing with the sophistication of imaging technology and modeling techniques. Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) is a technique that can pair spectral wavelengths with measured traits. With these relationships, we can measure traits directly from the spectral signature without the need of pervasive and destructive sampling techniques. The PLSR developed with this methodology is built using data from montane and subalpine meadows in the area of Gothic, Colorado, but can be tested on other vegetative communiti

Effects of Plant Diversity on Selection for Insect Resistance Traits in Boechera stricta - A. Simha (2016)
Evolution by natural selection is influenced by an organism’s environment. Biodiversity, an aspect of the biotic environment, is rapidly changing due to anthropogenic activity, so its impacts on selection must be better understood. In this study, the effects of diversity on selection for an insect resistance gene and trait were studied in Boechera stricta. In naturally-occurring B. stricta, abundances of morphospecies in 1x1-meter plots containing the focal species were recorded. Damage and fitness data were also collected. Fitness was shown to decrease significantly across damage, confirming the theoretical basis of the study and allowing damage to proxy fitness, though this was not the case in a model that considered phenological stage as a covariate. Richness was shown to predict damage with marginal significance (p =0.0614), but a Shannon-Weaver Index and Simpson Index analysis yielded no meaningful results. A principal components analysis (PCA) allowed researchers to identify spec

Effects of Elevation on Trap Behavior in Mountain White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) - Richard G. Baker (2016)
The Mountain White-crowned Sparrow(Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) is a migratory songbird that nests in alpine and sub-alpine meadows in the Rocky Mountains. They return to their natal elevation to breed, and nest from 2,438m to 3,657m above sea level in the spring to late summer. Because they nest at such high elevations, these birds have adapted to endure increased solar heating, low nocturnal temperatures, sudden intense storms, large interannual variations in residual snowpack, a shorter growing season, lower plant productivity, and seasonal delays in insect and fruit emergence (Körner 2003). As the elevation increases each of these effects of elevation increase or intensifies as well; hence, habitat at low elevation would be considered higher quality and we would predict to see more competitive and aggressive individuals establish territories in these areas. The ideal despotic distribution theory states that competitive individuals occupy the preferred elevations and habitats, w

The Douglas County Model in Western Colorado - Judith Thomas; Mark Noble (Journal of Library Administration, 2016)
In 2012 the Marmot Library Network implemented the Douglas County Library Model of ebook collection and circulation. By 2014 Marmot had loaded 838 ebooks purchased direct from publishers and independent authors to an Adobe Content Server, and made them available in an open source discovery layer based on VuFind. In late 2015, after 3 years of disappointing circulation and tedious acquisition processes, Marmot decided to move some of this collection to OverDrive and abandon the local ACS. This article reports lessons learned from that experiment.Column Editor’s Note This column focuses on formal collaboration and networking among libraries through consortia. It offers in-depth examinations of issues facing modern library consortia including (but not limited to) e-resource licensing, ebooks, next generation integrated library systems, shared print programs, shared digital repositories, governance, cooperative services and other relevant topics. Contributions are accepted for this column

Fitness and hormonal correlates of social and ecological stressors of female yellow-bellied marmots. - Daniel T. Blumstein; K. N. Keeley; J. E. Smith (Animal Behaviour, 2016)
The results suggest that elevated baseline FGM levels failed to mediate reproductive suppression in marmots, highlighting the importance of social status, body condition and predator abundance on determining reproductive success in highly seasonal breeders.

Analysis of Ice Detector Observations at Mount Crested Butte, Colorado during the 2014-2015 Winter Season - Don A. Griffith; Shauna M. Ward; David P. Yorty (The Journal of Weather Modification, 2016)
See paper, could not copy and paste absract.

The Visual Ecology of Speyeria mormonia - N. Sanchez Gonzalez (2016)
Variations in environmental factors such as temperature, precipitation, and day

Population and community consequences of ecological differences between the sexes. - William K. Petry (2016)

Do bees show response diversity to environmental variables in a montane ecosystem? - S. Cook (2016)
With climate change threatening a wide variety of organisms and ecosystems, expanding our knowledge of how they will respond is vital for making predictions and conservation decisions. One important group of organisms impacted by climate change is the wild bees, which provide an essential ecosystem service through their role as plant pollinators. Therefore, in an effort to understand better how bees are responding to changing weather patterns, we examined how the abundances of different species changed with response to environmental variables. Additionally, we looked at the relationship between response diversity and environmental variables and bee traits. We sampled bees at three groups of sites at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab in Gothic, CO, using pan traps and netting, and collected environmental data on yearly wind, precipitation, and temperature from nearby weather stations. Using generalized linear models we found that different species exhibited significant responses to diff

Multi-decadal and multi-centennial variability in Colorado River streamflow - Sajad Ahmad Hamidi; Reza Namdar Ghanbari (International Journal of River Basin Management, 2016)
A 1240-year-long record of reconstructed annual flows of the Colorado River at Lees Ferry is analysed using singular spectrum analysis and multi-taper method of spectral analysis. Spectral analysis of the 100-year-long recent record of annual flows of Colorado River in the measured and reconstructed forms shows similar oscillations in high- and low-frequency bands. Therefore, the oscillatory components and trends extracted from the reconstructed data are a good representative of inter-annual, multi-decadal, and multi-centennial variability of natural flow in the river. In Colorado River the length of flow data is 1240 years and multi-centennial and multi-decadal oscillatory components can be extracted at a high confidence level. In this research we attempt to find whether the changes in streamflow in the twentieth century are due to an external cause such as climate change or whether they are part of the natural variability of flow observed in the past. The results suggest that there i

Nesting aggregation as a determinant of brood parasitism in mason bees (Osmia spp.) - A. Groulx (2016)
Identifying forces that affect population dynamics can allow us to better understand the

Effects of Insect Damage to Helianthella quinquenervis (Asteraceae) Inflorescences on Pollinator Visitation - K. Spells (2016)
Plant reproductive success is often influenced by not only direct effects of flower-eating herbivores (florivores) consuming floral tissues, but also the indirect effects of pollinator visitation. Previous literature suggests that florivore damage can negatively influence pollinator visitation, consequently having both direct and indirect effects on plant reproductive fitness. Studies have also shown that conspecific and heterospecific floral density can increase or decrease pollinator visitation. Here I determine the effects of inflorescence damage on pollinator visitation rate of a common perennial native to the Rocky Mountains, the aspen sunflower (Helianthella quinquenervis, Asteraceae). Damage on both the ray florets and disk florets of the sunflowers were found to decrease visitation of their two most common pollinators, bumble bees (Bombus spp.) and Muscid flies (Muscidae). Visitation rate was also observed for co-flowering heterospecifics of Helianthella within 1x1 meter observ

Do Social Interactions Decrease Basal Stress Levels In Breeding Female Yellow-Bellied Marmots? - X. Ortiz Ross (2016)
In order for sociality to exist, the benefits must outweigh the costs. Benefits include better territorial defense, co-operative foraging, and predator avoidance. Costs include increased disease transmission, intraspecific competition for resources or mates, and reproductive suppression. One way to examine the costs and benefits of group living is to assess the impact of social stressors on basal glucocorticoid (GC) levels. In certain species, social interactions such as grooming have been shown to decrease basal GC levels. Since elevated levels of GC have been shown to increase mortality and decrease reproductive rates, decreased stress levels could be a benefit of social living. We investigated whether social interactions decreased stress levels in breeding female yellow-bellied marmots. We found that relationship strength, not the number of relationships, decreased stress levels in females both before and soon after their litter emergence, supporting our hypothesis that decreased ba

Use of Low Quality Pollen by Asteraceae-Specialist Osmia Mason Bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) - S. Killingsworth (2016)

The Role of Alpine Wetlands as Hot Spots of Dissolved Organic Carbon in the East River, Colorado - G. Rainaldi (2016)
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a critical chemical attribute of freshwater systems, affecting nutrient availability, toxicity and solubility of metals, and biological activity via the absorption of light and microbial consumption of O2 during DOC mineralization. Although DOC contributions to streams are distributed across the landscape in the shallow subsurface, many studies have demonstrated area-outsized contributions from riparian zones with high biological productivity and low subsurface O2 concentrations. In the East River, CO, a high-elevation watershed located in the central Rocky Mountains, initial observations show that DOC concentrations of two tributaries, Rock Creek and Gothic Creek, are elevated by 2.5-8.9 times compared to concentrations in the main East River and its other tributaries. These elevated concentrations are qualitatively linked to the unique presence of large wetlands in the headwaters of Rock and Gothic creeks, which due to potential anoxic conditions, ex

Mysteries of road dust: Does road dust influence flower lifespan in scarlet gilia? - D. Lopez (2016)
This study aims to explore the exciting mysteries of road dust. In the beautiful Rocky Mountains, at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in western Colorado, there is an amazing diversity of plants, but one in particular near unpaved roads is Ipomopsis aggregata, Scarlet gilia, a perennial flowering plant. In this paper I unveil the effects that road dust has on the stigma closure rates on Ipomopsis aggregata. To find out this mystery, armed with a hand lens and a duster, I keep track of 216 individual flowers to see the influence of road dust. Interestingly, road dust decreases floral lifespan, and female longevity. The stigma position in these flowers also plays a role in the floral lifespan of this plant, with weather having surprising effect. With all these factors, the evidence suggests that road dust influences stigma closure rates, and therefore influence the pollen loads.

Behavioral strategies of golden-mantled ground squirrels, Callospermophilus lateralis - Francis, James (2016)
Observational studies of behavior provide insight into the fitness consequences of varying behavioral strategies in mammals. The behavior of golden-mantled ground squirrels (Callospermophilus lateralis, GMGS), an asocial hibernating species, is constrained by the energetic demands of reproduction, predator avoidance, and a short active season. This study used activity budgets, compiled through daily observations of the GMGS population in Gothic, Colorado throughout the active seasons of 2015 and 2016, to quantify responses to variations in demands for survival across ages and sexes. The percentages of time spent alert and foraging were examined in four groups: adult males, adult females, all adults, and juveniles. The activity budgets of reproductive females were also compared to those of non-reproductive females. Juveniles were found to spend a significantly greater portion of their time foraging than adults (P < 0.01). This effect may be due to the time-constrained pressure to store

Comparing clines in floral and vegetative traits along an elevation gradient in an Ipomopsis hybrid zone - A. Faidiga (2016)
Gene flow in hybrid zones acts as a barrier to speciation, yet we still see cases in which separate hybridizing species are maintained. Selection for different floral traits at each end of a hybrid zone by pollinators and for different vegetative traits by environmental gradients are two possible sources of selection that could maintain different allele frequencies at different locations within a hybrid zone. In this study we measured five floral traits and three vegetative traits along an elevational gradient in an Ipomopsis hybrid zone and calculated their resultant clines to test predictions about selective forces that drive speciation and maintain species differences between I. aggregata populations at lower elevations and I. tenuituba populations at higher elevations within the hybrid zone. Corolla length increased with elevation, while corolla width, nectar production, relative redness and specific leaf area (SLA) decreased. The narrowest cline was in corolla length (w=0.12 km),

Bill Morphology and Niche Partitioning in Selasphorus platycercus - I. Chen (2016)
It has often been stated that the bill shape of hummingbirds is an example of ecological adaptation, as the morphology of their bills are strongly associated with flower nectar resources (Bleiweiss 1999). ​ Broadtailed hummingbirds (​Selasphorus platycercus) are considered the most characteristic hummingbird of the Rocky Mountain region (Grant & Grant 1968). At the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Gothic, Colorado, the ecology and behavior of Broadtailed hummingbirds have been studied, but the reason behind why Broadtailed hummingbirds visit specific flowers has yet to be thoroughly examined. To explore this question, we caught a total of 198 Broadtailed hummingbirds in the summer of 2016 and measured their bill length, width, and curvature. We found that females have significantly longer, wider, and curvier bills. In addition, we examined the association between sex and flower visitation using pollen swabs as a proxy for flower visitation. A total of 13 species of po

Analyzing the effect of climate change on Boechera stricta seed germination and fitness along an elevational gradient - J. Adachi (2016)
Climate change alters many biotic and abiotic factors in environments around the world. At higher elevations in particular, climate change brings warmer mean temperatures, reduced snowpack, earlier snowmelt, and more extreme drought. In this study, we analyzed the effect of early snow removal on Boechera stricta seed germination and establishment along an elevational gradient. We predicted that climate change would alter long-standing patterns of local adaptation by favoring seeds from hot and dry low elevation populations (whose current climate reflects the future climate in higher elevation locations). In 2014, the Anderson lab planted B. stricta seeds with 200 distinct genotypes into five common gardens at differing elevations (2530m to 3340m) in Gothic Valley in Colorado and subjected half of the seeds to an early snow removal treatment. We found the lowest germination and establishment success at the most stressful site (2530m) where hot and dry conditions severely restricted seed

Niche partitioning due to adaptive foraging reverses effects of nestedness and connectance on pollination network stability - F. S. Valdovinos; B. J. Brosi; H. M. Briggs; P. Moisset de Espanes; R. Ramos-Jiliberto; N. D. Martinez (Ecology Letters, 2016)
AbstractMuch research debates whether properties of ecological networks such as nestedness and connectance stabilise biological communities while ignoring key behavioural aspects of organisms within these networks. Here, we computationally assess how adaptive foraging (AF) behaviour interacts with network architecture to determine the stability of plant–pollinator networks. We find thatAFreverses negative effects of nestedness and positive effects of connectance on the stability of the networks by partitioning the niches among species within guilds. This behaviour enables generalist pollinators to preferentially forage on the most specialised of their plant partners which increases the pollination services to specialist plants and cedes the resources of generalist plants to specialist pollinators. We corroborate these behavioural preferences with intensive field observations of bee foraging. Our results show that incorporating key organismal behaviours with well‐known biological mechan

Pinedale glacial history of the upper Arkansas River valley - Avriel D. Schweinsberg; Jason P. Briner; Ralph R. Shroba; Joseph M. Licciardi; Eric M. Leonard; Keith A. Brugger; Charles M. Russell (Geological Society of America eBooks, 2016)
This field trip guidebook chapter outlines the glacial history of the upper Arkansas River valley, Colorado, and builds on a previous GSA field trip to the same area in 2010. The following will be presented: (1) new cosmogenic 10Be exposure ages of moraine boulders from the Pinedale and Bull Lake glaciations (Marine Isotope Stages 2 and 6, respectively) located adjacent to the Twin Lakes Reservoir, (2) numerical modeling of glaciers during the Pinedale glaciation in major tributaries draining into the upper Arkansas River, (3) discharge estimates for glacial-lake outburst floods in the upper Arkansas River valley, and (4) 10Be ages on flood boulders deposited downvalley from the moraine sequences. This research was stimulated by a new geologic map of the Granite 7.5’ quadrangle, in which the mapping of surficial deposits was revised based in part on the interpretation of newly acquired LiDAR data and field investigations. The new 10Be ages of the Pinedale terminal moraine at Twin Lakes

Discriminating Quartzite Sources Petrographically in the Upper Gunnison Basin, Colorado: Implications for Paleoamerican Lithic-Procurement Studies - Cody L. Dalpra; Bonnie L. Pitblado (PaleoAmerica, 2016)
Archaeologists lack a protocol for systematically attributing quartzite artifacts to particular geologic sources of the material. This paper, in an effort to begin to remedy that situation, reports the preliminary results of a petrographic study of quartzite samples from the Upper Gunnison Basin (UGB), Colorado. In that region, the overwhelming predominance of quartzite (often > 90 per cent) at most archaeological sites has hampered efforts to ascertain with any certainty the mobility strategies of Paleoamerican (and later) residents. In this study, qualitative and quantitative characterization of texture and grain composition of 50 UGB quartzite specimens led to the identification of six statistically distinct groups of samples. The groups are not arbitrary divisions of the data set; rather, they are meaningful from geologic, geospatial, chronological, and human-behavioral perspectives.

Declining recruitment of Gunnison Sage-Grouse highlights the need to monitor juvenile survival - Amy J. Davis; Michael L. Phillips; Paul F. Doherty (The Condor, 2016)
Recruitment of juveniles is an important vital rate that influences population growth and is fundamental to understanding trends in population size. Estimates of recruitment are often focused on the period just after hatching (prefledgling stage), which is typically the lowest survival period and often the most variable. Few studies examine true recruitment—survival from hatching to entering the breeding population—although this information is more relevant to understanding population trends. We studied the recruitment of Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus), a federally threatened species in the U.S., to examine the relative importance of chick and juvenile survival to recruitment patterns. We evaluated recruitment from 2005 to 2010 by combining separate estimates of chick survival (hatching to 30 days of age) and juvenile survival (31 days of age to the start of the first breeding season). To explain variation in these survival rates, we examined the effects of population, ind

Running of the buffalo: investigations of the Roberts Ranch Buffalo Jump (5LR100), northern Colorado - Christopher M. Johnston; LaBelle, Jason M.; Pante, Michael C.; Knight, Richard L. (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2016)
Since the Roberts Ranch Buffalo Jump (5LR100) was first reported on in 1971, there has been a great deal of research on bison kills and faunal analysis, as well as advancements in analytic techniques, that can now be applied to the collection from the site. Much of the collection was reported in a thesis by Max Witkind in 1971; however, some of these data are being presented here for the first time. The site is dated to approximately between A.D. 1660-1750 and consists of the remains of at minimum 19 bison adult and sub-adult bison, as well as at minimum eight fetal bison. This thesis examines the collection from three different perspectives. It starts by analyzing the non-bone artifact assemblage, which includes different styles of arrow points, at least two different ceramic traditions, and a modified bone assemblage. These data show that much of the past site activities focused on butchery and processing of bison, but other activities were also carried out at the site. The next sect

First report of a giant neosuchian (Crocodyliformes) in the Williams Fork Formation (Upper Cretaceous: Campanian) of Colorado - John R. Foster; ReBecca K. Hunt-Foster (Cretaceous Research, 2015)

Lacustrine lithofacies, depositional processes, and diagenesis of the Uteland Butte Member, Green River Formation, eastern Uinta Basin, Utah and Colorado - S. Katherine Logan (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)

Mineralogical controls on the weathering characteristics of arid continental deposits of the Colorado Plateau - Ragnhild Johanne Tunheim (Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA) (University of Bergen), 2015)
The Permian to Jurassic stratigraphy of the Colorado Plateau includes a number of units that were deposited under arid depositional conditions. These units each show distinctive weathering characteristics which cannot solely be attributed to variation in depositional environment or burial history. The stratigraphic units are the Permian Cutler Formation, the Triassic Chinle Formation, the Jurassic Wingate Sandstone, the Kayenta Formation, the Navajo Sandstone, the Slickrock Member and the Moab Member. The objective of this study is to document and explain the differences in weathering pattern observed in these units. Typical slope angles were recorded to quantify weathering profiles. The Moab Member, the Kayenta Formation and the Wingate Sandstone have steep weathering slopes ranging from 70-90°. The main weathering processes are physical weathering leading to the formation of vertical joints and eventually splitting of the rocks. The Slickrock Member, the Navajo Sandstone and the Cutl

Does locomotor ability influence flight initiation distance in yellow-bellied marmots? - Daniel T. Blumstein; G. Flores; N. E. Munoz (Ethology, 2015)
Flight initiation distance (FID) is the distance between a potential threat and the point at which a potential prey flees. Animals may modify their FID to compensate for increased risk generated by external/extrinsic factors such as habitat type, visibility, group size, time of year, predator-approach velocity, and distance to burrow, as well as internal/intrinsic factors such as physical condition, body temperature, crypsis, and morphological antipredator defenses. The intrinsic speed at which an animal can escape a predator is a factor that should influence FID. We studied the relationship between an individual's intrinsic escape speed and FID in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) to determine whether marmots compensated for slower escape speeds by fleeing at greater distances. We found no evidence of risk compensation. Rather, we found that slower marmots tolerated closer approaches. This behavioral syndrome may be explained by a coevolution of FID and escape speed in det

Stress hormone metabolites predict overwinter survival in yellow-bellied marmots - T. W. Wey; L. Lin; M. L. Patton; Daniel T. Blumstein (Acta Ethologica, 2015)

Impacts of climate change on the formation and stability of late Quaternary sand sheets and falling dunes, Black Mesa region, southern Colorado Plateau, USA - Amy L. Ellwein; Shannon A. Mahan; Leslie D. McFadden (Quaternary International, 2015)

Multi‐decadal Stochastic Streamflow Projections and Application to Water Resources Decision Making in the Colorado River Basin - Solomon Tassew Erkyihun (CU Scholar (University of Colorado Boulder), 2015)
Effective water resources planning and management requires skillful decisions on multiyear or decadal timeframes. In basins such as the Colorado River Basin (CRB), streamflow is not stationary but exhibits variability that reflects teleconnections with large scale climate indices such as Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). This research addresses this problem with four main contributions: It develops a stochastic streamflow simulation model and decadal scale streamflow projections based on these climate indices, compares this with other models recently developed, identifies and quantifies periods of unpredictability, and demonstrates the value of adding decadal scale projections to existing decision criteria in the CRB Supply and Demand Study (Basin Study). The novel WKNN model identifies and reconstructs dominant signals in the AMO and PDO using wavelet analysis, simulates each using block K-nearest neighbor (K-NN) bootstrap, then simulates

Direct and Indirect Consequences of Climate Change on Net Ecosystem Exchange. - P. Meidl (2015)

Effects of experimental warming on herbivory and pathogen loads on subalpine grass species Festuca thurberi, Poa pratensis, and Achnatherum lettermanii - Nisreen Abo-Sido (2015)
Rising global temperatures are predicted to alter community dynamics by shifting species ranges and altering biotic interactions. Herbivory is expected to increase with prolonged growing seasons and heightened metabolic rates; pathogen damage may increase as well. We predict that damage by herbivores and pathogens on subalpine grass species Festuca thurberi, Poa pratensis, and Achnatherum lettermanii will increase with warming. Comparisons of estimated percent herbivory on these species in a meadow containing plots subject to experimental warming by infrared heaters and alternating ambient control plots revealed some evidence of increasing herbivory with warming and, thus, increased vulnerability of plants to the indirect effect of global warming of rising herbivore activity.

Habitat Selection in Nicrophoryus investigator and defodiens. - K. Menzel (2015)
We investigated habitat selection in Nicrophorus investigator, an obligate carrion breeder. The source-sink hypothesis states that some environments will be resource rich and produce a high amount of offspring while other environments will be resource low and produce a low amount of offspring. Carcasses were put out in pairs with one carcass in the meadow and one in the aspen. N. investigator and N. defodiens prefer the meadow to the aspen, the size of the Nicrophorus beetles was larger in the meadow than the aspen, competition was higher in the aspen than in the meadow, and the only successful broods were in the meadow. All of these support that the meadow and aspen are source and sink environments respectively.

How does relative refuge angle influence escape behavior: an empirical test with yellow-bellied marmot. - K. Wrenford (2015)
Flight initiation distance, or FID, is the distance between a predator and its prey at which the prey decides to flee. FID is influenced by several internal and external factors, which influence the potential costs and benefits of escape. For refuging prey, their path to a refuge may force them to get closer to the prey or permit them to flee the approaching predator. If the prey assesses the risk of fleeing towards a predator to be greater than when fleeing away from a predator, FID when fleeing towards a predator to a refuge would be expected to be larger. The relative position between predator, prey, and a refuge creates an angle called the relative refuge angle, or RRA. A recent model uses these variables to predict FID. Using yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris), we evaluated the efficacy of this model in predicting FID, and then asked how much variation in FID was explained by RRA. We found, that although the model successfully predicted FID in our data, RRA had almost n

Effects of Bombus Pollinator Removal on Fly Foraging Behavior. - Z. Pouncey (2015)
Native Bombus species are in decline in the United States. Since pollinators are such integral species in a system, the extinction of a single Bombus species could potentially have far reaching consequences on crop production and plant reproduction necessary for species diversity ad agriculture. However, there are studies to suggest that other pollinators would fill the niche of the most abundant Bombus in a system should that Bombus become extinct (Memmott et al. 2004). This study examines how Diptera fly pollinators in a system react to the removal of a single Bombus species. I hypothesized that Diperta pollinators will expand their foraging range in the absence of the most abundant Bombus species. By comparing fly behavior in controlled and manipulated (experimental species removal) states, I observed a change in fly foraging that was supported by the data analysis. This study confirmed my hypothesis showing a correlation between fly foraging and the removal of the most abundant Bom

Environmental Correlates and Fitness Consequences of a Flower Color Polymorphism in Boechera stricta. - Ansley McDurmon (2015)

Investigating Herbivore Relationships to Boechera stricta in a Climate Change Context. - L. Schumm (2015)
Boechera stricta is a mustard that grows naturally throughout a wide range of altitudes in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. B. stricta has a variety of natural herbivores, which makes it an interesting system in which to study how plant-herbivore relationships vary over an elevational gradient. Through this study we begin to characterize the relationships between Boechera stricta and its surrounding insect herbivore community. We sampled the insect community surrounding B. stricta in a collection of quadrats, and analyzed how the diversity and abundance of these insects varied across an elevational gradient. We analyzed the insect community as a whole, and conducted with more pointed analyses focusing on insects in taxonomical groupings known to herbivorize plants. Other variables affecting insect diversity were also taken into account such as the density of plant cover at each site. We found that insect diversity decreases as elevation increases, and that insect diversity increases as pl

Pigmentation as stress response in A. septentrionalis. - A. Linder (2015)

Does Bumble Bee Diet Breadth vary with the Floral Abundance in a Meadow? - G. Hennage (2015)
Years of early snowmelt tend to have a decrease in floral abundance throughout the year. This causes flowers to be more susceptible to frost and drought stress. Based on which flowers are successful this can affect bumble bee diet breadth due to the direct correlation between bumble bee proboscis length and flower corolla length. It was found that there is no relation between Bombus appositus diet breadth and floral abundance. Other factors such as floral richness, and overall bumble bee abundance also proved to not have an influence on diet breadth. The relationship between Delphinium barbeyi abundance and the proportion of flowers visited also did not have any significance.

Paleoecology of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah: Human impacts on landscape and implications for resource management on the southern Colorado Plateau - Robert M. D'Andrea; R. B. Anderson; Kenneth L. Cole; Matthew K. Zweifel (Quaternary International, 2015)

How an environment's moisture heterogeneity affects a community's traits - Lake Crawford (2015)
A plant’s functional traits, which aid with survival, growth, and reproduction, are shaped by different abiotic and evolutionary elements. Some communities have a larger degree of variation in their functional traits, and this study aimed to see if this variation is directly linked to the level of environmental heterogeneity. This was accomplished by looking at differing traits of plant communities at 5 different sites. The analyzed traits were SLA, LDMC, and plant height. These traits were plotted against the environmental variation (as determined by soil moisture or microclimate) to determine if there was a correlation between the two. The data indicate that there is a positive correlation between the log(sd of LDMC) and the mean sd of soil moisture, but there is no correlation between the log(sd of height) or log(sd of SLA) and the mean sd of soil moisture. This demonstrates that, in some cases, a wider range of functional diversity can be driven by greater environmental heterogenei

Adaptation to climate and climate change in Rocky Mountain butterflies: Morphology, physiology, and behavior - H. J. MacLean (2015)
Heidi Joan MacLean: ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN BUTTERFLIES: MORPHOLOGY, PHYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR (Under the direction of Joel G. Kingsolver and Lauren B. Buckley)

Relating Pollinator Foraging Behavior to Potential for Self-fertilization in Delphenium barbeyi Different Floral Display Sizes. - C. Whiting (2015)

The effect of the foresummer drought on carbon exchange in subalpine meadows - L. L. Sloat; A. N. Henderson; C. A. Lamanna; Brian J. Enquist (Ecosystems, 2015)
Climate in subalpine meadows of the Rocky growing season drought conditions. Manipulating Mountains can be characterized by an early (fore- the strength of the foresummer drought by watering summer) drought that occurs after snowmelt (May) revealed that the timing of growing season pre- and lasts until the start of the summer monsoon cipitation is more important than the total amount season (July). Climate change models predict an for determining cumulative NEP. The strength of the increase in the length and severity of this dry period foresummer drought did not significantly impact due to earlier snowmelt dates, rising air tem- ecosystem respiration rates, but plants that experi- peratures, and shifts in the start and/or intensity of enced a strong foresummer drought exhibited more the North American monsoon. However, it is un- water stress, and lower instantaneous rates of NEP, known how changes in the severity of this early even during the rainy season. Our results highlight season

Plant selection of mycorrhizal symbionts in response to abiotic stress. - M. Garrett (2015)

Scale collapse and the emergence of the power law species–area relationship - M. Wilber; J. Kitzes; J. Harte (Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2015)
AbstractAimThe recently proposed maximum entropy theory of ecology predicts that all nested species–area relationships (SARs) will collapse to a single, universal curve that exhibits a decreasing log–log slope with increasing scale, suggesting that the power law form of the SAR is invalid at any scale. In this analysis we test the generality of this scale collapse behaviour and determine the scale at which approximate power law behaviour of the SAR is predicted to occur.LocationGlobal.MethodsWe use common SAR models to recursively upscale SARs to (1) look for scale collapse of SARs built from different community assumptions and (2) identify the scale at which approximate power law SARs are recovered. We explore four SAR models in which species abundance distributions and the spatial aggregation of species vary within and across scales according to observed patterns.ResultsWe show that scale collapse is a property of nested SARs, not of maximum entropy theory, and that many types of SAR

Lack of sex-specific differences in mycorrhizal associations and response to herbivory in the gynodioecious herb, Polemonium foliosissimum - J. B. Gonzalez; G. Clarke; Alison K. Brody (Plant Ecology, 2015)

Nectar yeasts in Delphinium nuttallianum (Ranunculaceae) and their effects on nectar quality - R. N. Schaeffer; R. L. Vannette; R. E. Irwin (Fungal Ecology, 2015)

Evolution of herbivory in Drosophilidae linked to loss of behaviors, antennal responses, odorant receptors and ancestral diet - R. J. Mitchell; R. L. Lapoint; C. P. Faucher; J. G. Hildebrand; Noah K Whiteman (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 2015)
SignificanceThe evolution of herbivory in animals is rare but has resulted in major adaptive radiations. Its rarity suggests that there are barriers to colonization of plants. Behavioral adaptations, involving host plant finding, are likely the first to evolve during the transition to herbivory. A recently evolved herbivorous fly species was derived from yeast-feeding ancestors. This herbivorous fly, unlike its yeast-feeding relatives, lost attraction to yeast volatiles, the ability to detect yeast volatiles, and three genes that encode olfactory receptors critical for detecting yeast volatiles inDrosophila melanogaster. Loss-of-function mutations may play a role in the transition to herbivory in insects, which account for nearly 25% of all species of life.

Do yellow-bellied marmots perceive enhanced predation risk when they are farther from safety?: an experimental study - R. Monclus; A. M. Anderson; Daniel T. Blumstein (Ethology, 2015)

Studies of minerals from Hall's Valley, Park County, Colorado – Chemistry of cupropavonites (5,5) ( 5,5P) and (4,6) ( 4,6P): crystal structure of natural pavonite and crystal structure of orthorhombic berryite - William G. Mumme; Robert W. Gable; Nick Wilson (Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie - Abhandlungen, 2015)

Causes and consequences of plant responses to environmental change over physiological, ecological, and evolutionary time. - L. L. Sloat (2015)

The ecology of co-infection in the phyllosphere: unraveling the interactions between microbes, insect herbivores, and the host plants they share. - Parris T Humphrey (2015)

Group size affects social relationships in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) - Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro; L. Hubbard; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology, 2015)

Context-dependent reproductive isolation mediated by floral scent and color - Mascha Bischoff; Robert A. Raguso; A. Jurgens; Diane R. Campbell (Evolution, 2015)

Are social attributes associated with alarm calling propensity? - H. Fuong; Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro; Daniel T. Blumstein (Behavioral Ecology, 2015)
Emitting alarm calls may directly benefit individuals if callers have an increased chance of surviving, if calling increases the caller’s status, or if calling functions through reciprocity. Although previous studies have examined the costs and benefits of alarm calling, few have examined how an individual’s social position can influence the propensity to emit calls. An individual’s position in its social network may vary and individuals differ in the strength and degree to which they are connected to others. We hypothesized that this variation could influence the rate at which individuals emit calls. We examined how various social attributes (degree centrality, closeness centrality, eigenvector centrality, strength, and embeddedness) were related to the likelihood that yellow-bellied marmots ( Marmota flaviventris ) emitted calls. To do so, we first defined 2 principle components—“popularity” and “relationship strength”—and used generalized linear mixed effects models to explain both

The evolutionary ecology of ultraviolet floral pigmentation - M. H. Koski (2015)

A restraining device to aid identification of bees by digital photography - J. D. Thompson; J. L. Zung (Journal of Pollination Ecology, 2015)

Propagating climate and vegetation change through the hydrologic cycle in a mountain headwaters catchment. - C. E. Pribulick (2015)
Prediction of hydrologic response to global climate change is paramount for regions that rely upon snowpack for their dominant water supply. Temperature increases are anticipated to be greater at higher elevations perturbing headwaters systems that provide water to millions of downstream users. In this study, the relationships between climatic change and associated vegetation succession with the corresponding response in hydrologic processes of mountainous terrain are studied in the East River headwaters catchment near Crested Butte, CO. This catchment is emblematic of other headwater systems within the upper Colorado River basin. Therefore, perturbations seen at this study site are likely to occur across the region, altering the water quantity and quality of the Colorado River. Here, we study the effect of climate-induced changes on the hydrologic response of three different characteristic components of the catchment: a steep high-energy mountain system, a medium-grade lower-energy sy

Genes Suggest Ancestral Colour Polymorphisms Are Shared across Morphologically Cryptic Species in Arctic Bumblebees - S. T. Williams; A. M. Byvaltsev; B. Cederberg; M. V. Berezin; F. Odegaard; C. Rasmussen; L. L. Richardson; J. Huang; C. S. Sheffield; S. T. Williams (PLoS One, 2015)
Our grasp of biodiversity is fine-tuned through the process of revisionary taxonomy. If species do exist in nature and can be discovered with available techniques, then we expect these revisions to converge on broadly shared interpretations of species. But for the primarily arctic bumblebees of the subgenus Alpinobombus of the genus Bombus, revisions by some of the most experienced specialists are unusual for bumblebees in that they have all reached different conclusions on the number of species present. Recent revisions based on skeletal morphology have concluded that there are from four to six species, while variation in colour pattern of the hair raised questions as to whether at least seven species might be present. Even more species are supported if we accept the recent move away from viewing species as morphotypes to viewing them instead as evolutionarily independent lineages (EILs) using data from genes. EILs are recognised here in practice from the gene coalescents that provide

Altered Fire Regimes and the Persistence of Quaking Aspen in the Rocky Mountains: A Literature Review - Aaron Rosenblum (Open Journal of Forestry, 2015)
The persistence of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) is of significant importance to land managers in the Rocky Mountain region. Fire suppression in the past century has been im- plicated as a mechanism influencing aspen population dynamics, as aspen are generally consi- dered an early seral disturbance adapted species. The heterogeneity of aspen community assem- blages and fire regimes makes it difficult to discern what the result of fire suppression has been at large spatial and temporal scales. Decision makers should investigate the questions at hand at the stand level in their study location to best determine the mechanisms at play, as well as consider future potential changes to the system.

Population-level consequences of phenotypic plasticity in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris). - Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro (2015)

Skill Assessment of Water Supply Outlooks in the Colorado River Basin - Brent Harrison; Roger Bales (Hydrology, 2015)
Water-supply outlooks that predict the April through July (snowmelt) runoff and assist in estimating the total water-year runoff, are very important to users that rely on the major contributing watersheds of the Colorado River. This study reviewed the skill level of April through July forecasts at 28 forecast points within the Colorado River basin. All the forecasts were made after 1950, with considerable variation in time period covered. Evaluations of the forecasts were made using summary measures, correlation measures and categorical measures. The summary measure, a skill score for mean absolute error, indicated a steady increase in forecast skill through the forecast season of January to May. The width of the distribution for each monthly forecast over the 28 locations remained similar through the forecast season. The Nash-Sutcliffe score, a correlation measure, showed similar results, with the Nash-Sutcliffe median showing an increase from 0.4 to 0.8 during the forecast season. Th

Timing is everything: Phenological change and the implications for plants, pollinators and their interactions. - Z. J. Gezon (2015)

Quantifying within-season floral trait distributions of flowers in Colorado Rocky Mountain sub-alpine dry meadows. - K. Wyatt (2015)

Effects of increased flight on the energetics and life history of the butterfly Speyeria mormonia - K. Niitepold; C. L. Boggs (PLoS One, 2015)
Movement uses resources that may otherwise be allocated to somatic maintenance or reproduction. How does increased energy expenditure affect resource allocation? Using the butterfly Speyeria mormonia, we tested whether experimentally increased flight affects fecundity, lifespan or flight capacity. We measured body mass (storage), resting metabolic rate and lifespan (repair and maintenance), flight metabolic rate (flight capacity), egg number and composition (reproduction), and food intake across the adult lifespan. The flight treatment did not affect body mass or lifespan. Food intake increased sufficiently to offset the increased energy expenditure. Total egg number did not change, but flown females had higher early-life fecundity and higher egg dry mass than control females. Egg dry mass decreased with age in both treatments. Egg protein, triglyceride or glycogen content did not change with flight or age, but some components tracked egg dry mass. Flight elevated resting metabolic rat

Effects of Alpine Shrub Cover on Territorial Male White-Crown Sparrows Densities. - E. Nault (2015)
Avian populations at high elevation are well-adapted to extreme and variable abiotic conditions. Species have adapted efficient foraging strategies, as well as well-timed nest incubation patterns. These behavioral traits are essential in order for parents to meet their metabolic needs while simultaneously having a successful reproductive season. Alpine vegetation structure can be seen as a determinant for a species’ success, or overall abundance due to gap structure and efficient foraging opportunities. Alpine environments consist largely of fragmented vegetation due to steep elevation gradients. Yet, alpine bird populations historically have preferred dense and protective vegetative structures. This study investigates the relationship at singing male white-crowned sparrow densities and percent willow (Salix spp.) cover between three alpine sites located across the Elk Mountain Range, Colorado. Post-migratory sparrow males pair with a female, breed, and establish delineated territory b

Competition for pollination and the evolution of flowering time - Nickolas M. Waser; Nickolas M. Waser (American Naturalist, 2015)
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Caddisfly Larval growth and Development as Functions of Temperature Fluctuations During Pond Drying. - M. E. Smith (2015)

Scaling from traits to ecosystems: Developing a general trait driver theory via integrating trait-based and metabolic scaling theories - Brian J. Enquist; J. Norberg; S. P. Bonser; C. Violle; Campbell O. Webb; A. N. Henderson; L. L. Sloat; V. M. Savage (Advances in Ecological Research, 2015)

A mutualistic endophyte alters the niche dimensions of its host plant - Melanie R Kazenel; C. L. Debban; L. B. Ranelli; W. Hendricks; Y. Y. Chung; T. Pendergast; N. D. Charlton; C. Young; Jennifer A. Rudgers (AoB Plants, 2015)
Mutualisms can play important roles in influencing species coexistence and determining community composition. However, few studies have tested whether such interactions can affect species distributions by altering the niches of partner species. In subalpine meadows of the Rocky Mountains, USA, we explored whether the presence of a fungal endophyte (genus Epichloë) may shift the niche of its partner plant, marsh bluegrass (Poa leptocoma) relative to a closely related but endophyte-free grass species, nodding bluegrass (Poa reflexa). Using observations and a 3-year field experiment, we tested two questions: (i) Do P. leptocoma and P. reflexa occupy different ecological niches? and (ii) Does endophyte presence affect the relative fitness of P. leptocoma versus P. reflexa in the putative niches of these grass species? The two species were less likely to co-occur than expected by chance. Specifically, P. leptocoma grew closer to water sources and in wetter soils than P. reflexa, and also ha

Reservoir and Source Potential of Eocene Microbialites, Green River Formation, USA - Nick Cestari (KU ScholarWorks (The University of Kansas), 2015)
In recent years, large petroleum discoveries within the lacustrine microbialite facies of pre-salt systems of offshore Brazil, Angola, and Gabon have increased interest in the potential of microbial carbonates as reservoir rocks. Whereas a multitude of studies have been conducted on microbialites and the associated lacustrine facies separately, there is still little known regarding whether there are definitive dissimilarities between the geochemical footprints of microbialites and associated lithofacies within a system. To explore this unknown, organic geochemistry was evaluated with the aim of comparing the microbialite facies (stromatolites and thrombolites) with the associated lacustrine carbonates (dolomitic marlstone, ooid grainstone, peloidal packstone and wackestone) to test if there are dissimilarities in regard to reservoir and source potential. Specifically, the goal is to understand the petroleum significance of lacustrine microbialites deposited in various lake conditions.

2: Ute Rock Art of Western Colorado - Carol Patterson (2015)
Chants have no words. They are spiritually uplifting in a motion.-Clifford DuncanThe rock art of the Uncompahgre Plateau in western Colorado includes the Uncompahgre and Gunnison River drainage system on the eastern side, and the Dolores River drainage on the western side. According to Clifford, this territory was his father's ancestral land. The selection of petroglyphs sites included here was chosen for its clear images, distinct style, and age estimations. The rock art included outlines the broad array of petroglyphs found on the Uncompahgre Plateau, with examples from each era, depicting various categories of images.METHODOLOGY AND INTERPRETATIONThe age estimations of the petroglyphs of the Uncompahgre Plateau are based on engraving style, weathering, and direct dating if possible, with relative dates determined from soils and archaeological material associated with the panels. Chronology of styles is based on a large database of sites composed of images found throughout the platea

Empowering collaborative forest restoration with locally relevant ecological research - Megan Matonis; Binkley, Daniel; Schultz, Courtney A.; Reid, Robin S.; Schultz, Courtney A. (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Collaborative forest restoration can reduce conflicts over natural resource management and improve ecosystem function after decades of degradation. Scientific evidence helps collaborative groups avoid undesirable outcomes as they define goals, assess current conditions, design restoration treatments, and monitor change over time. Ecological research cannot settle value disputes inherent to collaborative dialogue, but discussions are enriched by locally relevant information on pressing natural resource issues. I worked closely with the Uncompahgre Partnership, a collaborative group of managers, stakeholders, and researchers in southwestern Colorado, to develop research questions, gather data, and interpret findings in the context of forest restoration. Specifically, my dissertation (1) explored ways to better align collaborative goals with ecological realities of dynamic and unpredictable ecosystems; (2) defined undesirable conditions for fire behavior based on modeling output, publishe

A CASE STUDY OF DATA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF WATER RESOURCES IN THE GUNNISON RIVER BASIN, COLORADO - Rhianna L. Williams (2015)
In the American Southwest, a growing population combined with climate change induced weather pattern changes are creating growing conflict for uses of the over appropriated Colorado River System. Water managers use a variety of tools and data to make decisions at the local and regional level which will impact access for future users. The purpose of this study is to understand how water managers use data and knowledge to manage current and future access to water resources in a water scarce region. A case study of the Gunnison River Basin located within the larger Colorado River Basin was conducted over 14 months. Information was collected in the form of regional documentation, participant observation, and interviews of nine regional water professionals. Gathered data was analyzed throughout the collection process using the theory building and testing methods of grounded theory. Rather than directly informing management, findings indicate that the use of data is mediated by the social in

Archiving primary data: solutions for long-term studies. - James A. Mills; Céline Teplitsky; Daniel T. Blumstein (Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 2015)
The recent trend for journals to require open access to primary data included in publications has been embraced by many biologists, but has caused apprehension amongst researchers engaged in long-term ecological and evolutionary studies. A worldwide survey of 73 principal investigators (Pls) with long-term studies revealed positive attitudes towards sharing data with the agreement or involvement of the PI, and 93% of PIs have historically shared data. Only 8% were in favor of uncontrolled, open access to primary data while 63% expressed serious concern. We present here their viewpoint on an issue that can have non-trivial scientific consequences. We discuss potential costs of public data archiving and provide possible solutions to meet the needs of journals and researchers.

Pattern and variation of the time budget of yellow-bellied marmots - Kenneth B. Armitage; C. M. Salsbury (Ethology, Ecology and Evolution, 2015)
We measured the time budgets of yellow-bellied marmots to determine what constraints limited energy acquisition and whether trade-offs occurred among the behaviors. Therefore, we focus on which behaviors form a consistent pattern among marmot populations, the degree of phenotypic plasticity in the time allocated to the behaviors, and the biotic and abiotic factors associated with variations in time allocations. Time budgets for 14 behaviors were recorded at six sites in the Upper East River Valley in western Colorado over two active seasons. Data were analyzed for cohort, day-period and season-period, and for interactions among the main effects. Sitting and vigilance, accounting for 63% of aboveground activity, are strongly associated with wariness, the need for marmots to monitor the presence of conspecific and predatory intruders. Foraging accounts for 15% of daily activity. These three activities are the major contributors to time budgets at all sites. Radiation, acting as a thermal

Floral pigmentation patterns provide an example of Gloger’s rule in plants - M. H. Koski; T. L. Ashman (Nature Plants, 2015)
It is shown that Gloger's rule explains patterns of variation in UV-absorbing floral pigmentation in a widespread plant, Argentina anserina (Rosaceae), and UV as an agent of selection and bullseye size as a target increases with proximity to the Equator in both hemispheres.

Using geochemical indicators to distinguish high biogeochemical activity in the subsurface. - A. M. Kenwell (2015)

Interspecific competition between a non-native metal-hyperaccumulating plant (Noccaea caerulescens, Brassicaceae) and a native congener across a soil-metal gradient - J. P. Che-Castaldo; David W. Inouye (Australian Journal of Botany, 2015)
Adaptive traits are hypothesised to incur fitness trade-offs, and a classical example is metal-tolerant plants that exhibit reduced competitive ability when grown on low-metal substrates. In the present study, we examined whether metal-hyperaccumulating plants exhibit a similar trade-off, by assessing competition across a soil-metal gradient in the context of phytoremediation. We studied the cadmium- and zinc-hyperaccumulator Noccaea caerulescens (J. Presl & C. Presl) F.K. Mey., which has been introduced to potential remediation sites contaminated with those metals, and the nickel- and zinc-hyperaccumulator Noccaea fendleri subsp. glauca (A. Nelson) Al-Shehbaz & M. Koch, which is native to our study sites. We performed a greenhouse experiment with a response-surface design to quantify their competitive interactions on higher- and lower-metal substrates from each of three mine sites. Overall competitive effects between the species were weak, but we did find evidence of competiti

Response to Bergey and Spaulding - B. W. Taylor; M. L. Bothwell (BioScience, 2015)

Wise flies: a pre-dispersal seed predator prefers hermaphrodites over females in the gynodioecious Polemonium foliosissimum - G. Clarke; Alison K. Brody (Ecological Entomology, 2015)

An altitudinal cline in UV floral pattern corresponds with a behavioral change of a generalist pollinator assemblage - M. H. Koski; T. L. Ashman (Ecology, 2015)
Spatial variation in pollinator communities or behaviors can underlie floral diversification. Floral traits in the UV spectrum are common and mediate plant–pollinator interactions, but the role of pollinators in driving or maintaining their geographic variation has not been fully explored. We identify an altitudinal cline of increasing relative size of the UV bullseye pattern inArgentina anserina(Rosaceae) flowers, and assess whether pollination context contributes to clinal variation. At four sites that varied in altitude, we document the pollinator assemblage, and pollinator preference and visitation behavior. We then determine how pollinator visits affected pollen receipt and export. Finally, we describe how the functional relationship between UV floral phenotype and pollen receipt changed with altitude. Floral UV bullseye size increased with altitude, which corresponded with a change from a hymenopteran‐ to a dipteran‐dominated pollinator assemblage. While dipteran and hymenopteran

Identifying PCR primers to facilitate molecular phylogenetics in Caddisflies (Trichoptera) - B. S. McCullagh; S. A. Wissinger; J. M. Marcus (Zoological Systematics, 2015)

Captive‐rearing of Gunnison sage‐grouse from egg collection to adulthood to foster proactive conservation and recovery of a conservation‐reliant species - Anthony D. Apa; Lief A. Wiechman (Zoo Biology, 2015)
Gunnison sage‐grouse (Centrocercus minimus) are distributed across southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah, United States. Their distribution has decreased over the past century and the species has been listed as threatened by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Reduced genetic diversity, small population size, and isolation may affect Gunnison sage‐grouse population persistence. Population augmentation can be used to counteract or mitigate these issues, but traditional translocation efforts have yielded mixed, and mostly unsuccessful, results. Captive‐rearing is a viable, although much debated, conservation approach to bolster wild conservation‐reliant species. Although there have been captive‐rearing efforts with greater sage‐grouse (C. urophasianus), to date, no information exists about captive‐rearing methods for Gunnison sage‐grouse. Therefore, we investigated techniques for egg collection, artificial incubation, hatch, and captive‐rearing of chicks, juveniles, subadults, and

Multimodal Integration in Uncertain Environments: A Quantitative Model and Field Experiments with Yellow-bellied Marmots (Marmota flaviventris). - N. E. Munoz (2015)

Effects of Gunnison Sage-Grouse habitat treatment efforts on associated avifauna and vegetation structure - Paul M. Lukacs; Amy Seglund; Steve Boyle (Avian Conservation and Ecology, 2015)
Lukacs, P. M., A. Seglund, and S. Boyle. 2015. Effects of Gunnison Sage-Grouse habitat treatment efforts on associated avifauna and vegetation structure. Avian Conservation and Ecology 10(2):7.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00799-100207

Consuming ideals: an archaeological investigation of the Social Hygiene Movement in Colorado - Kristy Kay Griffin; Van Buren, Mary; Kwiatkowski, Lynn; Payne, Sarah (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Historical investigations of the Social Hygiene Movement (1890s-1930s) tend to focus on the urban origins of the concerns that sparked much of the resulting reform efforts. Furthermore, archaeological investigations that address artifacts associated with the Social Hygiene Movement often focus on either an urban or a rural setting, and usually only examine a single aspect of the movement rather than considering the impact of the totality of the movement’s ideology on American consumer behaviors. As a result, little is known about the materialization of the Social Hygiene Movement in the archaeological record and the differential appearance of associated artifacts at urban relative to rural sites. This project seeks to define Social Hygiene Movement-associated artifact types and undertake a comparative analysis of the occurrence of these artifacts at two urban and four rural sites in the state of Colorado in an effort to better understand the early material expressions of the movement i

Improving our chemistry: Challenges and opportunities in the interdisciplinary study of floral volatiles - Robert A. Raguso; J. D. Thompson; Diane R. Campbell (Natural Products Reports, 2015)
Here we review next-generation questions in the study of plant–pollinator interactions mediated by floral volatiles, and the potential for renewed collaboration between biologists and chemists in answering such questions.

Barriers to Gene Flow across a Light Gradient in Cardamine cordifolia. - S. Faries (2015)
Ecotypic variation can be driven by a disproportionate balance between selective pressures and gene flow. If the strength of selection is weak relative to the level of gene flow, genetic variation will likely be homogenized among populations. However, in the absence or severe limitation of gene flow, divergent selection pressures are more likely to result in adaptive evolution to local environmental conditions. Both biotic and abiotic factors can limit gene flow, and these barriers can highly influence the exhibited traits in plants along a habitat gradient. At the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, a native mustard Cardamine cordifolia has exhibited habitat specific differentiation across a light quality gradient. Flowering phenology was examined in Cardamine cordifolia in open sun, intermediate shade and deep shade habitats to determine if a separation of first, peak and last flowering time within the different environments was a mechanism for pre-zygotic isolation. I hypothesized

Uncompahgre fault geometry: A seismic, field, and gravity study near Nucla, Colorado, Paradox Basin, USA - Carter B. Timbel (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Seismic, well, field and gravity data are used to further understand the Uncompahgre fault near Nucla, Colorado, Paradox Basin, USA. The data help explain the complex sedimen- tary and structural history associated with faulting and salt flowage along the eastern margin of the Paradox Basin. Near Nucla, Colorado, 2D seismic lines document several episodes of thrust tectonics, sedimentation, and salt flowage associated with the late Paleozoic-age Uncompahgre Thrust. Prominent unconformities and disconformities within the Permian Cutler Group are vis- ible in the study area. Faults and unconformities seen on seismic data give an indication for the timing of salt flow caused by episodic sedimentation triggered by Uncompahgre fault movement. In addition, along-strike variability of Uncompahgre fault is evident in the seismic data. Along- strike Uncompahgre fault structural variation has been a subject of scientific debate, and the data collection near Nucla, Colorado reveal two end member

Survival of Gunnison sage‐grouse Centrocercus minimus in Colorado, USA - Amy J. Davis; Michael L. Phillips; Paul F. Doherty (Journal of Avian Biology, 2015)
Gunnison sage‐grouse Centrocercus minimus has declined from their historic range and recent monitoring has provided evidence that some populations are continuing to decline. The evaluation of long‐term, population‐specific survival rates is important to assess population stability, and is necessary for conservation of this species of concern. We evaluated adult and yearling survival in two dynamically different populations of Gunnison sage‐grouse (a relatively large, more stable population and a small, declining population). Our goal was to examine the relationship between annual survival and population, and test hypotheses with regards to temporal effects (across years and within year) and individual effects (sex and age). We also evaluated the effects of snow depth on sage‐grouse survival. We tracked 214 radiomarked birds in the large population from 2005–2010 and 25 birds in the small population from 2007–2010. We found no evidence for a diffe

Nest Success of Gunnison Sage-Grouse in Colorado, USA - Amy J. Davis; Michael L. Phillips; Paul F. Doherty (PLOS ONE, 2015)
Gunnison Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus minimus) is a species of concern for which little demographic information exists. To help fill this information gap, we investigated factors affecting nest success in two populations of Gunnison Sage-Grouse. We assessed the relative effects of (1) vegetation characteristics (e.g., shrub height, shrub cover, grass cover, and grass height), (2) temporal factors (e.g., year, timing of incubation initiation, and nest age), (3) precipitation, and (4) age of the nesting female (yearling or adult) on nest success rates. We found 177 nests in the Gunnison Basin population (that contains 85-90% of the species) from 2005-2010 and 20 nests in the San Miguel population (that contains < 10% of the species) from 2007-2010. Temporal factors had the greatest impact on nest success compared to vegetation characteristics, precipitation, and female age. Nest success varied considerably among years ranging from 4.0%-60.2% in Gunnison Basin and from 12.9%- 51.9% in San Mi

An ephemeral meandering river system: Sediment dispersal processes in the Río Colorado, Southern Altiplano Plateau, Bolivia - Jiaguang Li; Stefan M. Luthi; Marinus E. Donselaar; Gert Jan Weltje; Maarten A. Prins; Menno R. Bloemsma (Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, 2015)
© 2014 Gebr. Borntraeger Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart, Germany. The Río Colorado meandering river system feeds the Salar de Uyuni, the World's largest salt pan in the southern Altiplano plateau (Bolivia). It is characterized by ephemerality due to the high aridity of the region, and a downstream decrease of river bankfull width and depth in the river terminus. Dryland meandering river systems in high-Altitude regions have rarely been reported. We investigated the active processes in this system from the alluvial fan to the lower coastal plain. On-site surveys combined with high-precision GPS and high-resolution satellite imagery show that Río Colorado area is typified by generally fine sediment and a low gradient in the coastal plain. In the alluvial fan, where channel meandering is weak but still recognizable, the deposits are characterized by fining-upward sequences with gravelprone sediments at the bottom, paleosols in the middle and clay-dominated sediments at the top. In the coa

Solutions to Burnout and Retention as Perceived by County Extension Agents of the Colorado State University Extension System - Matt Benge; Amy Harder; Jeff Goodwin (Journal of Human Sciences and Extension, 2015)
This study explored solutions to the issue of burnout and retention of Extension agents. Extension agents experience burnout for reasons such as long hours, stress, and organizational factors. As Extension administration addresses job satisfaction and performance of Extension employees, burnout and retention issues identified in this study can facilitate efforts to enhance the effectiveness of a statewide Extension program. Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory was the theoretical framework for this study. Researchers used the constant-comparative method of analysis to identify recurring themes from the open-ended items of an online-administered survey. Twelve primary themes emerged, including (a) compensation, (b) hiring practices, (c) promotion and advancement within Extension, (d) organizational support regarding agent development, (e) organizational support regarding administration, (f) organizational support regarding colleagues, (g) reporting, (h) recognition, (i) resources, (j) p

Fungal Phytopathogens Decrease Plant-Insect Interactions. - A. Niedweicki (2015)
Rusts are pathogens of rapidly growing plant tissue and are of particular concern in agricultural settings due to their reduction of plant fitness. These phytopathogens depend heavily on abiotic features such as humidity, temperature, and UV strength, and with a changing climate, the rust ranges may be altered in future years and new hosts can be infected. Since this organism is a obligate pathogen changes in host ranges could introduce rusts into new communities and lead to novel interactions. Not much research has been conducted to understand the natural communities of which rusts are a part. Previous research has indicated mixed effects of fungal presence on arthropods associated with plants. Decreases in herbivory have been noted as well as increase in pollinator attraction. This study aims to elucidate natural patterns of insect herbivory and pollination, and the effects on plant fitness utilizing infected Helianthella quinquenervis. Results indicate significant decreases in herbi

Bears benefit plants via a cascade with both antagonistic and mutualistic interactions - J. B. Grinath; B. D. Inouye; N. Underwood (Ecology Letters, 2015)

Growth, developmental and stress responses of larvae of the clouded sulphur butterfly Colias eriphyle to repeated exposure to high, sub-lethal temperatures - J. K. Higgins; H. J. MacLean; L. B. Buckley; J. G. Kingsolver (Physiological Entomology, 2015)

Population dynamics and competitive outcome derive from resource allocation statistics: the governing influence of the distinguishability of individuals - Y. Zhang; J. Harte (Theoretical Population Biology, 2015)
The theory clarifies the condition for the energetic equivalence rule (EER) to hold, and provides a statistical explanation for the importance of species functional variation in determining population dynamics and coexistence patterns.

Bee- to bird-pollination shifts in Penstemon: effects of floral-lip removal and corolla constriction on bumble bee preference - J. L. Zung; J. R. K. Forrest; J. D. Thomson; M. C. Castellanos (Evolutionary Ecology, 2015)

Utilization of naturalized mustard Thlaspi arvense by insect enemies. - C. Cerilla (2015)

How does dust affect pollination in Ipomopsis aggregata? - M. Diaz (2015)

The effect of repeated, lethal sampling on wild bee abundance and diversity - Z. J. Gezon; Eli S. Wyman; John S. Ascher; David W. Inouye; R. E. Irwin (Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2015)
Summary Bee pollinators provide a critical ecosystem service to wild and agricultural plants but are reported to be declining world‐wide due to anthropogenic change. Long‐term data on bee abundance and diversity are scarce, and the need for additional quantitative sampling using repeatable methods has been emphasized. Recently, monitoring programmes have begun using a standardized method that employs a combination of pan traps and sweep netting, resulting in lethal sampling of bees. This standardized method can remove a large number of bees from sites during each sampling day, raising concern that the sampling itself could have a negative effect on bee populations. We conducted an experiment to assess whether lethal sampling for bees using pan traps and netting affected bee abundance and diversity when done every two weeks throughout a season and over multiple years. We compared bee abundance, richness, evenness and functional group composition between sites that had been sampled ev

Effects of Weather on Mountain White-Crowned Sparrow Reproductive Success - E. Putnam (2015)

Roles of Stridulation in Nicophorus investigator. - V. Ortiz (2015)
Stridulation is a key behavior to determining survival in Nicrophorus investigator. In this paper, the roles it plays in competition over a carcass, burying process, and larval development have been studied. Their ability to stridulate was manipulated through clipping part of their plectra and they were given simulations that required some form of communication. Stridulation is vital to effectively communicate certain dominate behaviors. The experiments suggests that it is necessary to decrease the time it takes to winning a carcass in order to complete the beginning stages of the Nicrophorine life cycle.

Assessing community phenotype of Populus tremuloides: the effect of ploidy level on associated arthropod communities. - Matthew J. Hecking (2015)

Exploring the behavioral rules influencing sociality in a facultatively social species, yellow-bellied marmots - J. Yang (2015)

Analysis of temporal change in high-elevation plant community composition, East River Basin, Colorado, USA. - Stephanie Zorio (2015)

Petroglyphs of Western Colorado and the Northern Ute Indian Reservation as Interpreted by Clifford Duncan - Carol Patterson (2015)
Clifford Duncan, a Northern Ute elder, believed in educating the public to know and understand the meaning of Ute petroglyphs. By doing this, he believed it would help to preserve and protect them. Over the course of eight years, Clifford and the author visited and revisited all of these sites, discussing what they might represent. Clifford’s father was an Uncompahgre Ute and wanted Clifford to know the traditional homelands of the Uncompahgres in western Colorado. Clifford made special trips all through the Uncompahgre Plateau, seeking out any Ute petroglyphs and cultural sites. Later, he and the author visited many of the petroglyphs on the Uintah-Ouray Reservation, which were authored by the Uncompahgre and White River Utes. The interpretations of the petroglyphs are supplemented with cultural and political history, and ethnographic information from scholars provides a deep appreciation as to what makes Ute petroglyphs so unique and fascinating. Full-color illus.

Microgeographic patterns of genetic divergence and adaptation across environmental gradients in Boechera stricta(Brassicaceae) - J. T. Anderson; Nadeesha Perera; Bashira Chowdhury; T. Mitchell-Olds (The American Naturalist, 2015)

Plasticity in functional traits in the context of climate change: A case study of the subalpine forb Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae) - J. T. Anderson; Z. J. Gezon (Global Change Biology, 2015)
Environmental variation often induces shifts in functional traits, yet we know little about whether plasticity will reduce extinction risks under climate change. As climate change proceeds, phenotypic plasticity could enable species with limited dispersal capacity to persist in situ, and migrating populations of other species to establish in new sites at higher elevations or latitudes. Alternatively, climate change could induce maladaptive plasticity, reducing fitness, and potentially stalling adaptation and migration. Here, we quantified plasticity in life history, foliar morphology, and ecophysiology in Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae), a perennial forb native to the Rocky Mountains. In this region, warming winters are reducing snowpack and warming springs are advancing the timing of snow melt. We hypothe- sized that traits that were historically advantageous in hot and dry, low-elevation locations will be favored at higher elevation sites due to climate change. To test this hypothesi

Does snowmelt timing affect bumble bee colony abundance? - R. Billingsley (2015)
Average temperatures are increasing globally and causing shifts in the timing of weather events such as spring snowmelt, which may have profound consequences on the phenology of many organisms. Working at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab in central Colorado, we examined the relationship between spring snowmelt timing and patterns of bumble bee abundance throughout the foraging season. To do this, we conducted net sampling at each site every two weeks throughout the summer for 7 consecutive years (2009-2015) and recorded each bumble bee caught on a flower. We looked at the effects of year, date, snowmelt timing, annual precipitation, and temperature on bumble bee abundance using generalized linear mixed models in R. We found that the abundance of Bombus bifarius was significantly affected by the date of sampling, the date of first snowmelt, and temperature, while the abundance of Bombus appositus and Bombus flavifrons were significantly affected by date and precipitation. We conclude t

Effects of proximity to riparian zones on avian species richness and abundance in montane aspen woodlands. - J. R. Glass; C. H. Floyd (Journal of Field Ornithology, 2015)
Riparian zones often provide more food or nesting resources than surrounding ecosystems and thus support more species or a greater abundance of birds. However, the extent to which the positive effects of riparian zones extend into adjoining habitats has rarely been investigated. We examined bird species richness and abundance in aspen (Populus tremuloides) woodlands of the upper East River Valley in Colorado, a region with extensive stands of aspen located upslope from riparian zones dominated by willows (Salix spp.). Our objective was to determine how species richness and abundance in aspen stands located closer to riparian zones compared to that of aspen stands farther away. To control for elevation effects, we conducted point counts for birds and examined the effects of riparian proximity on avian species richness and abundance in three elevation belts (low, 2840–2875 m; middle, 2940–2960 m; and high, 3040–3060 m). We determined riparian proximity by measuring distances from each ce

Environmentally induced phenotypic variation in wild yellow-bellied marmots - Adriana A. Maldonado-Chaparro; J. G. A. Martin; Kenneth B. Armitage; M. K. Oli; Daniel T. Blumstein (Journal of Mammalogy, 2015)
Phenotypic plasticity, the ability of an individual to modify its phenotype according to the conditions it experiences, is a source of between-individual variation and a mechanism by which individuals can cope with environmental change. Plasticity is expected to evolve in response to environmental heterogeneity, such as seasonality and year-toyear variation. We aimed to characterize patterns of phenotypic change in morphological (body mass), life-history (reproductive success and litter size), and social (embeddedness) traits of female yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) in response to climatic and social variation. We used data collected over 36 years on a population of yellow-bellied marmots studied in Colorado. We used mixed effect models to explore phenotypically plastic responses and tested for individual variation in mean trait values (i.e., intercept) and in plasticity (i.e., slope). All examined traits were plastic, and the population's average plastic response often

Rare-Earth Element mineralization and formation of the Iron Hill carbonatite complex, Gunnison County, Colorado, USA - J.G. Erickson (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)

Social and ecological aspects of conservation development as a strategy for biodiversity conservation on private lands - Cooper M. Farr; Pejchar, Liba; Reed, Sarah E.; Bailey, Larissa L.; Seidl, Andrew F. (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Private lands harbor a large proportion of the world’s biodiversity, and they are also facing widespread threats from extractive land uses, anthropogenic disturbances, and land conversion for residential and commercial development. With decreased funding and support for public land acquisition and management, developing effective and economically viable tools for conservation on private lands is increasingly important. One method is conservation development (CD), an alternative to residential sprawl designed to decrease negative environmental impacts by clustering houses in a small portion of a property while preserving the remaining land as protected open space. Although CD makes up approximately one-fourth of all of the private lands conserved in the U.S., little research has assessed where and why this tool is implemented, long-term management of CD open space, or specific positive or negative effects on wildlife communities. I conducted a thorough investigation of CD as a private l

Assessment of resource changes in backcountry campsites from 1989-1996 in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado - Victoria Grace Steele (Montana State University ScholarWorks (Montana State University), 2015)
One of the major contributing factors affecting wilderness resources is camping.The objectives of this study were to describe the resource changes that occur in backcountry campsites in Rocky Mountain National Park as measured by campsite area and campsite score from the Backcountry Campsite Impact Assessment and Monitoring System (BCIAMS).Six categories, with several sub-categories each, were tested for change in area and total BCIAMS score.Categories were relative aspect, campfire, campsite type, distance from the trailhead, elevation and use.Each sub-category was analyzed independently and for each test, missing area measurements, or total scores of zero were dropped from that analysis.This produced different numbers of campsites in each test.Most sites increased in area over time, but most sites decreased in total score over time.Sites that increased significantly in area over time were: northeast, southeast, northwest, no fire, campfire, individual, any distance from the trailhead

Effects of Light Environment on Recovery from Harvest and Antibacterial Properties of OshÃ¡ Ligusticum porteri (Apiaceae) - E. H. Mooney; Martin A. A.; R. P. Blessin (Economic Botany, 2015)
The ability to inhibit Bacillus cereus decreased in extracts from plants harvested from high light environments, which follows plant defense theory, and harvest sustainability in L. porteri is equivocal among the light environments examined in this study, although some medicinal properties vary.

Environmental drivers of plant community composition in subalpine and alpine fens of the San Juan Mountains, Colorado, USA - Betsy L. H. Bultema; Cooper, David J.; Steingraeber, David A.; Steingraeber, David A. (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Fens are a widely distributed type of wetland worldwide and offer vital habitat for plant and animal species in the Rocky Mountains. Fens support a high biodiversity of flora and fauna given the proportionally small space they occupy on the landscape, often serving as refugia for disjunct plant species at the extremes of their ranges. While some literature exists on subalpine fens in the southern Rocky Mountains of the United States, alpine fens in this region remain understudied. Alpine fens are relatively rare in the southern Rocky Mountains and are concentrated within the San Juan Mountains where topography and climate favor peat development in the alpine. While studies of montane and boreal peatlands have identified water chemistry as a main driver of plant community composition, it is unclear whether the same drivers of plant community composition are important in alpine fens in the San Juan Mountains. The goal of this study was to 1.) Describe and classify the vegetation of subal

The effects of primary and secondary nectar robbing of Ipomopsis aggregata on hummingbird visitation. - C. J. Nelson (2015)
Nectar robbers feed on the nectar obtained through holes that have been chewed into the flower. This behavior often leads to a reduction in effective pollination because nectar robbers avoid floral reproductive structures (Inouye 1980). Primary nectar robbers puncture the flower, creating an opening in the petal from which to remove nectar, while secondary nectar robbers use the holes created by primary robbers. Studies have shown that nectar robbing can negatively affect plant reproduction by deterring legitimate pollinators (Irwin et al. 2010). Furthermore, data have shown that secondary nectar robbing can result in increased reproduction costs beyond that caused by primary robbing alone (Richman et al. in prep). One reason this might be is that legitimate pollinators are further deterred as plants incur more nectar robbing. I have tested this hypothesis by collecting 30 Ipomopsis aggregata plants and subjecting them to varying levels of nectar robbing: none, primary robbing only, an

Why doesn't nectar robbing decrease seed set in some bee-pollinated plants? - Janice Y. Park (2015)
Herbal impact on nectar robbing is species specific by pollinator species (Maloof and Inouye 2014). Unlike hummingbird pollinated plants, some bee-pollinated species does not suffer reproductive loss by nectar robbing (Maloof 2001, Mayer et al. 2014, Maloof and Inouye 2014). This observational study is investigating the probability that Bombus.sp forage either Mertensia ciliata or Corydalis caseana legitimately at least once before the flower is robbed. I also measured population-label robbing rate. I bagged the flower two days before, and on the days of experiment I waited in front of the uncovered flowers in order to voice- record Bumble bees’ visit type (legitimate vs. robbing). Furthermore, I conducted transects on the flower patch, and every time I saw the bee I recorded their visit type. Bombus sp. (B.flavifrons, B. mixtus. B. bifarius, B.appositus) was very likely visit legitimately first before it robbed (94.12 %, n=32), than robbing first (5.88%, n=2). Populational robbing rat

Fine-Grained Distribution of a Non-Native Resource Can Alter the Population Dynamics of a Native Consumer - Mifuyu Nakajima; C. L. Boggs (PloS one, 2015)
New interactions with non-native species can alter selection pressures on native species. Here, we examined the effect of the spatial distribution of a non-native species, a factor that determines ecological and evolutionary outcomes but that is poorly understood, particularly on a fine scale. Specifically, we explored a native butterfly population and a non-native plant on which the butterfly oviposits despite the plant's toxicity to larvae. We developed an individual-based model to describe movement and oviposition behaviors of each butterfly, which were determined by plant distribution and the butterfly's host preference genotype. We estimated the parameter values of the model from rich field data. We simulated various patterns of plant distributions and compared the rates of butterfly population growth and changes in the allele frequency of oviposition preference. Neither the number nor mean area of patches of non-native species affected the butterfly population, whereas plant abun

Male bumble bees are important pollinators of a late-blooming plant - Jane E. Ogilvie; J. D. Thomson (Arthropod-Plant Interactions, 2015)
Overall, male bumble bees are common and capable pollinators of G. parryi and in some years and sites could be more important than workers, and animal sexes may differ in their pollinator performance in other systems.

Phenological responses to climate change do not exhibit phylogenetic signal in a subalpine plant community - Paul J. CaraDonna; David W. Inouye (Ecology, 2015)
Phylogenetic relationships may underlie species‐specific phenological sensitivities to abiotic variation and may help to predict these responses to climate change. Although shared evolutionary history may mediate both phenology and phenological sensitivity to abiotic variation, few studies have explicitly investigated whether this is the case. We explore phylogenetic signal in flowering phenology and in phenological sensitivity to temperature and snowmelt using a 39‐year record of flowering from the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA that includes dates of first, peak, and last flowering, and flowering duration for 60 plant species in a subalpine plant community. Consistent with other studies, we found evidence in support of phylogenetic signal in first flowering date. However, the strength and significance of that signal were inconsistent across other measures of flowering in this plant community: peak flowering date exhibited the strongest phylogenetic signal, followed by first flowering

Geographic variation in flowering phenology in Boechera stricta: testing for adaptive response to climate across the species range - R. Walker (2015)
As climate continues to shift, species existing over broad and variable ranges must exhibit the ability to adapt functional traits to novel environmental conditions. In this study, I used a large-scale common garden experiment to examine the variation in flowering time of 137 Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae) genotypes, representing populations from across the species range. The experiment found variance in date of first open flower among genotypes, with those originating at northern and high-elevation (i.e. shorter growing season) sites flowering sooner than those from southern and low-elevation sites. These results suggested that adaptation of flowering phenology has occurred on a fine scale and is driven by local environmental conditions historically experienced at each genotype’s site of origin. Broader-scale phenological adaptation was investigated by partitioning the genotypes into six population groups based on genetic divergence over approximately 2,000 generations; however, evid

Elevational and temporal variation in Ipomopsis floral and vegetative traits. - G. Trujillo (2015)
Exploring the geographical and temporal movement of hybrid zones provides practical evidence for conservation biologists investigating the dynamics of species invasions (Buggs 2007). Genetically based clines in floral traits can also help us to understand potential adaptation in responses to climate change. We re-measured floral traits in Ipomopsis in 12 populations along an elevational gradient in Poverty Gulch, Gunnison County that was first measured in 1991 and 1992. Corolla length increased by 4.4 mm on average and corolla width by 0.11mm on average between 1992 and 2015. In a common garden experiment, we also found a genetic and environmental basis for variation in corolla length and anther position. Since there is a genetic component to the variation, the change in corolla length over 23 years could represent an evolutionary change rather than just a response to environment. Unlike corolla length, corolla width did not change systematically over time when supplementary data from

Alfalfa reference crop evapotranspiration in Colorado and its use for irrigation scheduling - Abdulkariem Mukhtar Aljrbi; Davis, Jessica G.; Andales, Allan A.; Qian, Yaling; Hansen, Neil (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
The goal of irrigation scheduling is efficient use of water such that water is applied to the field for optimal crop production. Previous studies have optimized irrigation scheduling using different models to manage sprinkler irrigation. This research evaluated approaches for obtaining alfalfa reference evapotranspiration (ETr) and its use in a new irrigation scheduling model for a furrow irrigation system. The objectives of this research were to: 1) Compare seasonal trends of daily ETr from the American Society of Civil Engineers Standardized Penman-Monteith (ASCE-SPM) equation and the Penman-Kimberly (PK) equation along a climatic gradient in Colorado, 2) Verify the agreement between calculated ETr from the ASCE-SPM equation and measured ETr from a lysimeter during the 2010 season for the Arkansas Valley of Colorado and correct the lysimeter ETr for alfalfa overgrowth, and 3) Test the ASCE-SPM ETr along with a locally adapted Kcr curve for corn in an irrigation scheduling spreadsheet

Causes and consequences of dominant and subdominant plant species effects on ecosystem function: using above-and belowground traits in an alpine meadow system - H. Thayer (2015)
While there has been extensive studies done on how dominant affect community dynamics and ecosystem function, fewer studies address the relative influence of dominant vs. subdominant species to affect systems. Further, not enough studies have been done addressing the role of dominant vs. subdominant species effects on above- and belowground functional traits that influence ecosystem function (Mariotte 2014). Our study addressed how functional traits of dominant and subdominant species mediated ecosystem processes such as the input and output of carbon. In an alpine meadow system, we conducted removals of dominant and subdominant species to see how above- and belowground functional traits—specific leaf area (SLA) and specific root length (SRL) respectively—and ecosystem functions (leaf area index (LAI) and soil respiration) were affected by the loss of either species. We established a randomized plot design plant removal experiment and measured carbon input (via LAI) and carbon output (

Disturbance legacies and nutrient limitation influence interactions between grazers and algae in high elevation streams - B. L. Peckarsky; A. R. McIntosh; M. Alvarez; Jennifer M. Moslemi (Ecosphere, 2015)
Debate about control of interaction strength among species is fueled by variation in environmental contexts affecting food webs. We used extensive surveys and two field experiments to test the individual and interactive influences of variation in the assemblages and associated traits of grazers as shaped by the legacy of disturbance, nutrient limitation and the presence of top predators on the accrual of basal resources. We quantified hydrologic variation and streambed movement to describe the legacy of disturbance and sampled biota of 20 streams over five years in a high‐elevation catchment in Colorado, USA. Grazer assemblages switched from caddisfly‐dominated to mayfly‐dominated as disturbance increased. We manipulated the composition of grazer assemblages and the availability of nutrients (N and P) within flow‐through mesocosms assembled adjacent to 10 streams, and also deployed larger in‐stream channels manipulating the presence of top predators (brook trout) in five streams varyin

Evaluating genetic mechanisms and performance characteristics of alternative oilseed crops for on-farm biofuel production in Colorado - Brian Campbell; Byrne, Patrick; Johnson, Jerry; Seshadri, Arathi; McKay, John (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2015)
Dryland winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) cropping systems dominate most of the agricultural landscape in Colorado’s semi-arid eastern plains. Since this area’s climate is characterized by frequent heat and drought, it is important to maximize water use efficiency to make agricultural lands as productive as possible. Adding a spring crop in rotation with winter wheat intensifies the rotation, increasing water use efficiency by up to 37%. Recent research has explored further intensifying this rotation by adding an oilseed crop into a wheat – spring crop – fallow rotation during the fallow period. Ideally, the oilseed crop acts as a cover crop for part of the season and leaves enough time at the end of the season to regenerate water in the soil profile before planting wheat in the fall. The oil from this crop can be used to produce on-farm biofuels, offsetting petroleum diesel costs without displacing high-value food crops. Additionally, the meal from this crop acts as a value-added bypro

FOSSIL PLANTS AND PALYNOMORPHS FROM THE LATE PALEOZOIC CUTLER FORMATION, EASTERN PARADOX BASIN - Kendall R. Grazul (2015)
The late Paleozoic Cutler Formation, where exposed near the modern-day town of Gateway, Colorado, has traditionally been interpreted as the product of alluvial fan deposition within the easternmost portion of the Paradox Basin. The Paradox Basin formed between the western margin of the Uncompahgre Uplift segment of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains and the western paleoshoreline of the North American portion of Pangea. The Paradox Basin region is commonly thought to have experienced semi-arid to arid conditions and warm temperatures during the Pennsylvanian and Permian. Evidence described in this paper support prior interpretations regarding paleoclimate conditions and the inferred depositional environment for the Cutler Formation near Gateway, Colorado. Plant fossils collected from the late Paleozoic Cutler Formation in The Palisade Wilderness Study Area (managed by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management) of western Colorado include Calamites, Walchia, Pecopteris,

The conservation biology of the Uncompahgre fritillary and the related northern dingy fritillary - Hugh B. Britten (Montana State University ScholarWorks (Montana State University), 2015)

Turnover and reliability of flower communities in extreme environments: Insights from long-term phenology data sets - K. Wright; K. L. Vanderbilt; David W. Inouye; C. David Bertelsen; T. M. Crimmins (Journal of Arid Environments, 2015)
Looking at the entire flower community as a resource for foraging pollinators, it is found that flowers are an unreliable resource, especially in unpredictable environments.

Quantifying direct vs. indirect effects of nectar robbers on male and female components of plant fitness - R. E. Irwin; P. E. Howell; Candace Galen (Journal of Ecology, 2015)
SummaryPlants interact simultaneously with both mutualists and antagonists. While webs of plant–animal interactions in natural systems can be highly complex, most interactions can be simplified into those that are either direct (mediated through pairwise interactions) or indirect (mediated through third‐party species). Mechanistic studies of the direct and indirect pathways by which foliar herbivores affect plants have been well explored; however, mechanistic explorations of how floral herbivores, such as nectar robbers, affect total plant fitness via direct vs. indirect pathways have received less attention.The goal of this study was to assess the importance of direct vs. pollinator‐mediated indirect effects of a floral antagonist on female and male components of plant fitness. We focused on the hummingbird‐pollinated plant scarlet gilia,Ipomopsis aggregata, which is nectar‐robbed by the bumblebeeBombus occidentalis. Prior studies have found evidence for pollinator‐mediated indirect e

Using the literature to test pollination syndromes - some methodological cautions - J. Ollerton; A. R. Rech; Nickolas M. Waser; Mary V. Price (Journal of Pollination Ecology, 2015)
“Pollination syndromes” are specific combinations of floral traits that are proposed to evolve convergently across angiosperm lineages in response to different types of animal pollinators. In spite of their long history, pollination syndromes have not been tested adequately–they rarely have been examined critically to determine how well they describe floral trait diversity or predict pollinators. In a recent meta-analysis of data from the literature, Rosas-Guerrero et al. (2014) provide a welcome test that draws on insights from past studies. At the same time, their study illustrates several difficulties of meta-analysis approaches in general, and for pollination biology in particular. Here we discuss those difficulties and propose some solutions. We first consider how to gather studies from the literature without introducing unintended bias, such as the old-fashioned method of working backward from cited literature. We next consider how to deal with difficulties that invariably arise

To what extent does road dust affect sexual reproduction in different plant species? - G. Casco (2015)

The next century of ecology - David W. Inouye (Science, 2015)
The science of ecology is about relationships—among organisms and habitats, on all scales—and how they provide information that helps us better understand our world. In the past 100 years, the field has moved from observations to experiments to forecasting. Next week, the Ecological Society of America (ESA), the world's largest ecological society, celebrates its centennial in Baltimore, an opportunity to reflect on the field's past and future. The gathering of international scientists, policy-makers, and students will not only explore the knowledge in hand, but consider what else is needed to chart a course over the next century in which humanity sustains and even improves the relationships that underpin life on Earth.

How do distributions of belowground grass-fungal symbioses change over altitudinal gradients in the Colorado Rocky Mountains? - K. Clausen (2015)
Fungal symbionts are pervasive and crucial components of terrestrial ecosystems. They can often reduce the effects of stressors such as drought and heat and can increase nutrient and water uptake for plants. Because of these roles, fungal symbionts may be important in mitigating the stressors of climate change. Because plants will likely move up in elevation in search of more favorable environments as climate change occurs, altitudinal gradients can be used to model the effects of climate change. We aimed to gain an understanding of the distribution of fungal symbionts over altitudinal gradients in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. We collected roots from 14 different grass species over 6 altitudinal gradients and quantified colonization by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, fine arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, dark septate endophytes, and saprotrophs. The distribution of fungal symbionts over altitudinal gradients is not well understood and many studies focus on only one host species, one fungal

Effects of early snowmelt and frost on plant-pollinator interactions. - L. Howe-Kerr (2015)
As a result of climate change, plants are experiencing shifts in flowering phenology due to early snowmelt, and thus becoming more susceptible to damage from spring frost events. These direct effects of snowmelt and frost on plants can indirectly impact plant- pollinator interactions, yet few studies have examined these indirect effects. At the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, we conducted a series of experiments to answer the following questions: 1) Does variation in the phenology of flowering plants affect pollinator visitation rate? and 2) How do species and community level plant-pollinator responses to early snowmelt and frost damage compare? At our study site, we had 40 2m2 plots assigned to one of four treatment types: 1) early snowmelt and frost, 2) early snowmelt no frost, 3) natural snowmelt and frost, and 4) natural snowmelt and no frost, Pollinator observations were conducted over 8 weeks and visitation rates were compared among treatment type. We found that early snow

Convergent ecosystem responses to 23-year ambient and manipulated warming link advancing snowmelt and shrub encroachment to transient and long-term climate–soil carbon feedback - J. Harte; S. R. Saleska; C. Levy (Global Change Biology, 2015)
Ecosystem responses to climate change can exert positive or negative feedbacks on climate, mediated in part by slow- moving factors such as shifts in vegetation community composition. Long-term experimental manipulations can be used to examine such ecosystem responses, but they also present another opportunity: inferring the extent to which contemporary climate change is responsible for slow changes in ecosystems under ambient conditions. Here, using 23 years of data, we document a shift from nonwoody to woody vegetation and a loss of soil carbon in ambient plots and show that these changes track previously shown similar but faster changes under experimental warming. This allows us to infer that climate change is the cause of the observed shifts in ambient vegetation and soil carbon and that the vegetation responses mediate the observed changes in soil carbon. Our findings demonstrate the realism of an experimental manipulation, allow attribution of a climate cause to observed ambient

Integrating macroecological metrics and community taxonomic structure - J. Harte; A. Rominger; Y. Zhang (Ecology Letters, 2015)
John Harte,1* Andrew Rominger2 We extend macroecological theory based on the maximum entropy principle from species level to and Wenyu Zhang3 higher taxonomic categories, thereby predicting distributions of species richness across genera or families and the dependence of abundance and metabolic rate distributions on taxonomic tree structure. Predictions agree with qualitative trends reported in studies on hyper-dominance in tropical tree species, mammalian body size distributions and patterns of rarity in worldwide plant communities. Predicted distributions of species richness over genera or families for birds, arthro- pods, plants and microorganisms are in excellent agreement with data. Data from an intertidal invertebrate community, but not from a dispersal-limited forest, are in excellent agreement with a predicted new relationship between body size and abundance. Successful predictions of the origi- nal species level theory are unmodified in the extended theory. By integrating macr

Inferring Regional-Scale Species Diversity from Small-Plot Censuses - J. Harte; J. Kitzes (PLOS ONE, 2015)
Estimation of the number of species at spatial scales too large to census directly is a long- standing ecological challenge. A recent comprehensive census of tropical arthropods and trees in Panama provides a unique opportunity to apply an inference procedure for up-scal- ing species richness and thereby make progress toward that goal. Confidence in the under- lying theory is first established by showing that the method accurately predicts the species abundance distribution for trees and arthropods, and in particular accurately captures the rare tail of the observed distributions. The rare tail is emphasized because the shape of the species-area relationship is especially influenced by the numbers of rare species. The infer- OPEN ACCESS ence procedure is then applied to estimate the total number of arthropod and tree species at Citation: Harte J, Kitzes J (2015) Inferring Regional- spatial scales ranging from a 6000 ha forest reserve to all of Panama, with input data only Scale Species

Gender inequality in predispersal seed predation contributes to female seed set advantage in a gynodioecious species - G. Clarke; Alison K. Brody (Ecology, 2015)
Most flowering plants are hermaphrodites. However, in gynodioecious species, some members of the population are male‐sterile and reproduce only by setting seed, while others gain fitness through both male and female function. How females compensate for the loss of male function remains unresolved for most gynodioecious species. Here, as with many plants, fitness differences may be influenced by interactions with multiple species. However, whether multiple species interactions result in gender‐specific fitness differences remains unknown. Using observational data from 2009–2010, we quantified seed set of the two sex morphs of Polemonium foliosissimum and asked how it is affected by pollination, and seed predation from a dipteran predispersal seed predator (Anthomyiidae: Hylemya sp.). We assessed seed production and losses to predation in 27 populations for one year and in six populations for a second year. Females set significantly more seed than did hermaphrodites in both years. Of the

Flies and Flowers III: Ecology of Foraging and Pollination - David W. Inouye; B. M. H. Larson; P. G. Kevan (Journal of Pollination Ecology, 2015)
Diptera are important flower visitors and pollinators for many plant species and in a variety of habitats. Although Diptera are not as well studied as other groups of pollinators, there is a growing literature that we review here about the ecology of their foraging behaviour and their effectiveness as pollinators. We consider (1) how their foraging is constrained by the interaction among body size, colour, and environmental factors such as temperature, humidity, wind, and light; (2) what is known about their foraging at scales ranging from their movements between flowers on a plant, between individuals in a population, and among species in a community (i.e., constancy); and (3) the evidence for effects of intra- and interspecific competition on foraging. We conclude with a discussion of the effectiveness of Diptera as pollinators. The available data suggest that Diptera exhibit many of the same foraging behaviours as other flower visitors and that they are effective pollinators in both

Do birds differentiate white noise and deterministic chaos? A playback experiment. - J. Kennen (2015)
Evocative sounds are known to elicit heightened responses from receivers across animal taxa. Many species of caregivers specifically have been shown to have increased arousal from infant baboon screams providing a unique conspecific identification for baboon mothers to discriminate their young from nearby infants (Rendall et al. 2009) to women decreasing their parasympathetic drive after exposure to infants crying, impelling them to react and care for the infants (Tkaczyszyn et al. 2012) to infant giant pandas (Ailuropoda melaneuca). Despite them being relatively common, the function of these nonlinearities is less well-understood. One hypothesis suggests that non-linearities function to increase fear and arousal in receivers (Blumstein and Recapet 2009; Slaughter et al., 2013). Playback experiments have been very useful in evaluation of this nonlinearity and fear hypothesis. In them, investigators have used white noise as a substitute for deterministic chaos. Determinstic chaos contai

Floral herbivory: a possible mechanism maintaining a flower color polymorphism in a selfing species, Boechera stricta. - Michaela Keefe (2015)
Many studies have shown that pollinators are largely responsible for changing and maintaining flower color morph frequencies in nature. However, the preferences of pollinators do not always reflect observed frequencies in nature, especially in self-pollinating species. Thus, non-pollinator forces could be acting to change color morph frequencies. To test this hypothesis I used two species of Lepidopteran larvae and exposed them to floral and foliar tissue from white and purple Boechera stricta plants using choice and no-choice tests. I also observed natural populations for damage to leaves and reproductive structures. In the choice and no-choice tests, I found that both generalist larvae and specialist on Brassicaceae larvae preferred tissue from white over purple color morphs. In nature there was no difference in damage to plants of either color across all sites. Observed natural damage did not depend on the frequency of the purple morph, nor did frequencies differ between sites. Ther

Climate variability slows evolutionary responses of Colias butterflies to recent climate change - J. G. Kingsolver; L. B. Buckley (Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 2015)
How does recent climate warming and climate variability alter fitness, phenotypic selection and evolution in natural populations? We combine biophysical, demographic and evolutionary models with recent climate data to address this question for the subalpine and alpine butterfly, Colias meadii , in the southern Rocky Mountains. We focus on predicting patterns of selection and evolution for a key thermoregulatory trait, melanin (solar absorptivity) on the posterior ventral hindwings, which affects patterns of body temperature, flight activity, adult and egg survival, and reproductive success in Colias . Both mean annual summer temperatures and thermal variability within summers have increased during the past 60 years at subalpine and alpine sites. At the subalpine site, predicted directional selection on wing absorptivity has shifted from generally positive (favouring increased wing melanin) to generally negative during the past 60 years, b

Neidiopsis hamiltonii sp. nov., N. weilandii sp. nov., N. levanderi and N. wulffii from western North America - L. Bahls (Diatom Research, 2014)

Quantitative mineralogy and distributions of minerals of the Green River Formation, Piceance Creek Basin, western Colorado - Sheven Poole (Digital Collections of Colorado (Colorado State University), 2014)
Over thirty-five minerals have been identified in the Green River formation of the Piceance Creek Basin, using quantitative X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) bulk analysis.Fifteen major phases occur at over 5 wt% average in 117 samples spanning the thickness of the formation.Integrated data from cores, outcrops, and the USGS represent two lacustrine depositional environments: basin margin shallow-water and basin center deep-water.Results are presented in a stratigraphic framework of six lake stages.Mineral distributions support a permanently stratified saline lake model characterized by a chemocline that separates a less saline upper water layer from a more saline, alkaline, and reducing lower water layer.Lateral and vertical variations in salinity, alkalinity, redox conditions, silica and CO 2 activities, and depths of the water column and chemocline are proposed to have permitted localized differences in precipitation, preservation, alteration, and formation of authigenic phases across the mer

Modernism on Trial: An Analysis of Historic Preservation Debates in Chicago - Stephen M. Mitchell (2014)
This thesis explores preservation issues regarding modernist architecture in Chicago. As urban and public history research, the project examines the new questions brought to the forefront by recent controversies over the preservation of modernist architecture. Modernism, and an "all concrete" variant known as "Brutalism," popular in the mid-twentieth century, aimed to remove ornament and historical references common in neoclassical, neo-Gothic, Beaux Arts, and Art Deco architecture and replace them with minimal, clean, glass-and-steel buildings. Modernists who, on principle, did not believe in preservation of past forms are now in the unlikely position of making such an argument for their own buildings. Never widely embraced in the first place, Brutalism's concrete faÃ§ades seemed less and less to reflect aesthetic tastes as architects turned back toward historicist styles by the 1980s. As such buildings have grown older, they have become a part of debates within cities across the Unit

The dead zone : Stephen King's - David Cronenberg; Stephen King; Christopher Walken (キングレコード (発売・販売) eBooks, 2014)
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The causes and maintenance of personality in yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris) - M. B. Petelle (2014)
Describing and quantifying animal personality is now an integral part of behavioral studies because individually distinctive traits may have ecological and evolutionary consequences. Yet, to fully understand how personality traits may respond to selection, one must understand the underlying heritability and genetic correlations between traits. Most studies that have investigated the additive genetic variance of personality traits typically find a moderate amount of heritable variation, but few studies have been conducted on wild populations. Estimating heritability in the wild is important because environmental conditions reveal the often reduced, additive genetic variance found in nature. In addition, to understand how a population may respond to selection, one must identify possible constraints caused by genetic correlations. We estimated the additive genetic variance of docility, exploration, and activity in a wild population of yellow- bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris), and th

Field validation of a distribution model for the yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris). - E. Voss (2014)
Species distribution modeling is a powerful ecological tool that combines remotely sensed data with known presence locations to yield habitat suitability predictions that can be applied to a variety of hypotheses and conservation planning efforts, and can also be used on a smaller scale to examine individual species’ habitat preferences. Here, species distribution modeling techniques are applied to the yellow-bellied marmot, Marmota flaviventris, a semi- fossorial, facultatively social rodent that is found across high elevations in much of western North America. M. flaviventris is known to prefer microhabitat patches with characteristics related to predator detection and avoidance; good visibility and the number of large rocks are the best predictors of marmot presence and persistence. To examine the habitat preferences of M. flaviventris, Maximum Entropy was used with environmental variables including slope, visibility, elevation, local geology, and vegetation, as well as 75 presence

Temporal variation in pollen limitation in Hydrophyllum fendleri (Boraginaceae) Individuals. - R. Tsong (2014)
Plant reproduction is highly dependent upon phenology, or biological timing, of flowering. However, little is known about how individuals vary in their flowering schedules relative to the population as a whole or how this variation could lead to differences in reproductive success of individuals. Here, it was shown that individuals of Hydrophyllum fendleri (Boraginaceae) were aggregated in time and that individuals that flowered later had a higher reproductive success than those that flowered earlier in the season. I tested the hypothesis that pollen limitation was responsible for the temporal variation in reproduction observed. Although it was shown that plants were indeed limited in fruit and seed production by pollen receipt, pollen limitation was consistent across the growing season, suggesting that other factors caused the variation in reproduction.

Effects of early snowmelt and climate warming on Valeriana edulis and the insects that depend on it. - A. Theibault (2014)
Global climate change can disrupt ecosystems by impacting the interactions between organisms. I investigated the impact of early snowmelt and warming on the dioecious perennial herb Valeriana edulis, as well as their indirect effects on the aphid species Aphis valerianae and the ants that tend the aphids. The study was conducted in a field that had been partially buried by an avalanche, with the avalanche standing as a proxy for a later snowmelt scenario, and open-top chambers were placed around the bases of half the plants in the experiment to simulate climate warming. Aphids were then placed on the plants and their colonies and interactions with ants were observed over the course of several weeks. I also collected data on the plants’ growth the first, second, and last week of the experiment. I found was that snowmelt had the biggest impact on the plants’ growth and their ability to maintain aphid colonies and attract ants. Sex of the plants also impacted interactions in the system, i

An Endophyte alters biological characteristics of the grass, Festuca thurberi. - I. Spellman (2014)
Plant-‐fungal symbioses are found in ecosystems worldwide, but relatively little is known about how these two organisms affect each other. This study sought to shed light on this topic. The first experiment tested to see if the presence of an endophyte (genus Epichloë) effected the decomposition rates of its host grass (Festuca thurberi) and on fungal composition in litter, and whether or not the effect is different along elevation gradients. The second experiment tested for survival, growth and biomass differences between plants naturally associated with an endophyte, plants naturally endophyte-‐free, and plants which have had their endophyte removed using the fungicide Benomyl. Results thus far have shown that the presence of an endophyte has had a negative effect on plant biomass and survival over the course of the four years since the experiment was began, which agrees with findings of past studies. Endophyte status does not appear to play a significant role in determining free-

Asteraceae pollen specialization affects vulnerability to brood parasitism in mason bees (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae). - D. M. Spear (2014)
Dietary specialization on “toxic” or unfavorable pollens has multiple evolutionary origins in many bee families, despite such pollen being unsuitable for most generalist bee species. Pollen specialization on unsuitable pollen types must confer other evolutionary benefits; an anti-‐parasitism function may be one. Bees of the family Megachilidae that specialize on composite pollen (of the family Asteraceae) are seldom, if ever, parasitized by sapygid wasps (genus Sapyga), a common brood parasite. In this study, we test the effect of composite pollen diets on sapygid larval development and survival. We raised wasp larvae on three pollen types: composite (Asteraceae), legume (Fabaceae) and generalist (a mix of primarily non-‐composite pollens). Wasp larvae survival was significantly shorter for wasps raised on composite pollen, and larvae failed to reach cocoon-‐spinning stage. However, for the few composite-‐reared wasps that reached second-‐instar, development time to that stage was

Correlating road dust with reproduction of Ipomopsis aggregate. - J. Solverson (2014)
Roads potentially impact nearly one-fifth of the continental United States. Runoff, traffic disturbance, and maintenance associated with roads can affect both the abiotic and biotic features of roadside ecosystems. Species along unpaved roads are particularly susceptible to road dust effects. Plant physiology, such as gas exchange and overall productivity, is found to deteriorate in increased dust conditions. However, few studies have examined how dust influences plant reproduction. In this study, I examined how road dust impacts pollen delivery, pollen adhesion, and the translation of pollen to seed in Rocky Mountain populations of Ipomopsis aggregata. However, no stage of reproduction in I. aggregata was correlated with different dusting treatments, perhaps because visitation rates and pollen loads were high from high levels of pollinator activity. This study highlights the importance of temporal variation in future studies of road dust effects on plant reproduction.

Effects of water availability on the relationship between seed set and pollen received in Ipomopsis aggregate. - F. Pino (2014)
Plants systems rely on a variety of resources to survive and reproduce. The amount and quality of pollen a flower receives can determine not only the number of seeds that are produced, but also whether they will be viable or not. The purpose of the study looked at the relationship between the amount of pollen received by a flower and the number of seeds produced under varying watering conditions (wet and dry conditions) at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory. The study consisted of 26 Ipomopsis aggregata to look at the relationship between water availability and the changes in the seed to pollen relationship. Our results suggested that water conditions was not a factor in the amount of seeds made per flower, which instead depended more on the amount of pollen received on the stigma.

Effects of road proximity on pollinator visitation and reproductive success of Ipomopsis aggregate. - A. Morales (2014)
Increasing urbanization has led to the expansion of human infrastructure, including road networks. Current research has shown that roads have important ecological effects, ranging from habitat fragmentation to contamination of water runoff. This study examined the potential effects of roads on the reproductive success of subalpine wildflower populations in two meadows at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, CO. Based on studies conducted in previous years, we predicted that distance from a road would result in differences in pollinator visitation, pollen loads, and seed sets of Ipomopsis aggregata. Additionally, this study evaluated the road environment in terms of human traffic disturbance. In our characterization, we highlight road noise as a possible interpretation of observed differences near and far from the road. We found trends suggesting visitation rates were generally higher for plants near the road versus farther away. However, we did find that events of visita

Reproductive Success and Parental Care of Nicrophorus investigator. - S. Lamb (2014)
For years the standard of care in burying beetles has been a male and female, bi- parental care, but is it really? The intent of this experiment was to measure the success of burying beetle larvae produced under four different parental conditions after carcass preparation; 50 pairs of Nicrophorus investigator were collected from the wild and randomly assigned treatments of both parents, solo female, solo male, and neither parent, imposed the day that larvae hatched. The time it took for each stage of development was recorded. Once the larvae reached the last instar and consumed the carcass they were counted and weighed. The traditional pair of male and female parents was predicted to lead to the best larval growth (total brood mass, average larval mass, and larval number. The larvae without parents were not predicted to survive, and the uniparental (male or female parent only) were predicted to fall in between. The results found that broods with parents (at least one) did better than b