Protocols

Systematic observation of plant-pollinator interactions along fixed transects with timed observations and selective insect capture for identification. Plants receiving sufficient visits are analyzed f...

Measurement of plant species-specific cover, identification of focal species, and collection of plant biomass and functional traits including specific leaf area and leaf dry matter content.

Tagged individual plants are monitored twice weekly throughout the growing season to record bloom start dates, bloom end dates, and total flower production. This provides individual-level phenological...

Comprehensive measurement of floral traits (corolla dimensions, anther insertion, petal color, nectar production) and vegetative traits (specific leaf area, trichome density, water-use efficiency) on ...

Plastic pan traps with soapy water deployed along stream transects to capture terrestrial invertebrates falling into or near the river. Traps are pooled by transect and processed for taxonomic identif...

Experimental addition of outcross pollen to flowers to test whether natural pollination limits plant reproductive success, comparing reproductive output between hand-pollinated and naturally pollinate...

A large-scale reciprocal transplant experiment across five elevational gardens with factorial snow and temperature manipulations to test local adaptation and evolutionary rescue potential under climat...

Twice weekly censuses recording plant vital status, reproductive phenology, and fitness components including flower and fruit production. Weekly assessments of herbivore damage quantify leaf area remo...

Controlled experiment manipulating predator presence by establishing artificial aphid colonies, protecting them from natural predators, then adding lygus bugs to treatment plants. Includes ant bridge ...

2x2 factorial design manipulating temperature and conductivity to test environmental drying cues on caddisfly development and survival. Uses shade manipulation and salt additions to simulate pond dryi...

Standardized 2-hour baiting experiments using 5 different resource types arranged in pentagonal plots to sample ant communities and assess dominance patterns. Records ant abundance and identity at reg...

Comprehensive evaluation of seed production including total fruit counts, viable seed counts per fruit, individual seed mass measurements, and visual/physical viability assessment. Combines quantitati...

Continuous measurement of soil CO2 concentrations at multiple depths using automated sensors to calculate soil CO2 fluxes via gradient approach. Includes soil temperature and moisture monitoring for e...

Comprehensive measurement of vegetative traits including specific leaf area, trichome density, water use efficiency, and percent water content from field-collected leaves using scanning, drying, weigh...

Beetles were captured using speed nets, marked with tungsten needle dot codes on elytra, and released for recapture monitoring to estimate population sizes and dispersal patterns. Elytral condition wa...

Annual capture-recapture surveys over 24 years to track individual survival, growth, reproduction and developmental pathways in a polyphenic salamander population. Combines individual marking with det...

Systematic monitoring of plant disease dynamics across elevation gradient to capture environmental variation effects. Involves establishment of standardized transects with complete plant population ma...

Shade cloths suspended 3m above treatment plots accelerate snowmelt by 5-7 days when snowpack reaches ~1m depth, simulating earlier spring snowmelt conditions. Cloths removed after complete treatment ...

Multi-temporal soil moisture measurements using TDR probe combined with soil coring and laboratory processing to determine moisture content, bulk density, and texture characteristics across environmen...

Field experiment comparing reproductive success of burying beetle species across habitat types using breeding pairs, mouse carcasses, and environmental monitoring. Measures burial success, development...

Controlled experimental system using circular plastic tanks to test mayfly larval responses to chemical cues by measuring foraging behavior on substrate surfaces before and after treatment application...

A 2×2 factorial experiment combining passive warming using open-top chambers with dominant plant species removal across elevational gradients at multiple global mountain sites to test interactive effe...

Choice feeding trials where individual grasshoppers are offered leaves from different plant treatments to measure relative herbivory rates. Herbivory is quantified by measuring leaf area consumed usin...

A factorial field experiment manipulating snowmelt timing using black shade cloth and summer precipitation using rainout shelters in a split-plot design to simulate climate change effects.

Controlled choice experiments measuring butterfly oviposition preference between plant species using matched plant materials in screen cages. Preference quantified as proportion of eggs laid on test p...

Weekly monitoring of alpine plant flowering phenology coupled with snowmelt date recording to assess environmental effects on plant reproductive timing. Focuses on species-specific responses to fine-s...

Infrared heaters suspended above experimental plots to simulate warming effects on montane vegetation communities across moisture gradients. Heating power adjusted over time to maintain consistent war...

Statistical analysis using mixed effects models to evaluate relationships between plant clumping treatment and temperature responses while accounting for random effects of individual plants and sampli...

Multi-site common garden experiment using controlled crosses to partition genetic and environmental variance in vegetative and floral traits across a hybrid zone. Seeds from multiple genetic families ...

Continuous automated monitoring of soil temperature, moisture, and gas concentrations at multiple depths using sensor arrays. Provides high-resolution temporal data on soil microenvironmental conditio...

Continuous collection of local weather data at 5-minute intervals throughout growing seasons to capture fine-scale environmental variation affecting disease dynamics.

Systematic point count surveys conducted along an elevational gradient to assess current species distributions. Each site has four sampling points with standardized observation periods, replicated acr...

Experimental manipulation using physical barriers to exclude ants from aphid colonies while maintaining control colonies with ant access. Uses paired treatment design on same plants to test effects of...

29-year experimental warming using overhead infrared radiators to increase soil temperature by 2°C in subalpine grassland plots. Heat flux of 22 W/m² applied continuously from 1991-2019.

Time-lapse camera monitoring of aquatic insect landing and oviposition behavior on paired emergent rocks with different embedding characteristics. Combines behavioral observation with egg mass countin...

Systematic collection of water samples from ponds across a hydroperiod gradient for analysis of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds. Samples collected at multiple time points to capture temporal variati...

Wood samples are sectioned into sub-annual increments and cellulose is extracted for oxygen and carbon isotope analysis to assess seasonal water sources and water use efficiency in trees.

Factorial experiment crossing nitrogen addition treatments with dominant species removal treatments in replicated plots to test community responses to multiple global change drivers. Includes both sel...

Weekly monitoring of fly oviposition on flowers and assessment of fruit damage by predispersal seed predators including fly larvae and caterpillars to quantify reproductive success and seed predation ...

Volatile organic compounds were sampled from single flowers using dynamic headspace sampling, then analyzed with thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify and quantify floral...

Standardized metal can pitfall traps baited with chicken drumsticks, deployed along elevation gradients to monitor burying beetle abundance and species composition.

Experimental manipulation of summer precipitation levels (doubled, halved, ambient) to assess effects on plant physiological and fitness traits in a common garden setting over multiple years.

A controlled field experiment testing the effects of nitrogen addition and reduction on plant community composition over 8 years. Annual percent cover monitoring tracked responses of invasive and nati...

Long-term systematic collection of first sighting and median activity dates for plants, insects, mammals, amphibians and birds in a high-elevation montane ecosystem. Standardized protocols track flowe...

Standardized measurements of wing length and dried body mass components under stereomicroscope to quantify adult fitness proxies and assess elevation effects on body size.

Standardized measurement of floral reflectance spectra using fiber optic probe positioned at fixed distance and angle from flower surface. Spectra collected across 300-700 nm range for input into visu...

Measurement of water-use efficiency differences between plant sexes using leaf carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) to understand mechanistic basis of sex-specific climate responses.

A novel approach to measure light response curves for entire plant communities rather than individual plants using tent-based gas exchange measurements across multiple light levels. This method contro...

Calculation of multiple phylogenetic diversity metrics for plant communities using established phylogenetic trees and null model approaches to test for phylogenetic clustering or overdispersion.

Complete census of all individual plants in gridded plots with spatial mapping, tissue sampling, and photosynthetic area measurement for metabolic rate estimation in herbaceous plant communities.