Climate driven shifts in stream hydrology from early, rapid snowmelt may have implications for algae growing within high altitude montane streams. Peak flow scours the benthic layer and clears senesced algal growth and sediment, effectively priming the substrate for new algal growth following peak f

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

Road dust has potential impacts on plant metabolism and reproduction even in small amounts. Dust is everywhere and is increasing due to human influence, this has the potential to reduce overall plant pollination worldwide. Since dust is roughly the size of a grain of pollen, it might possibly clog t

Within the next century, ecosystems are projected to experience climate warming, with strong effects in mountain systems. Warming can alter species distributions, with documented upward migrations along elevation gradients. Species interactions may be important factors that promote species establish

Premise of research. Road dust affects the quantity of pollen received by Ipomopsis aggregata flowers, with dusty flowers receiving less pollen than undusty flowers. One possibility is that hummingbird pollinators visit dusty flowers less and deliver less pollen. This could happen if dusty flowers p

Osmia is a genus of solitary, cavity-nesting bees which will readily nest in artificial nest- blocks. Nest-blocks (or “trap-nests”) have long been used to study cavity-nesting bees and have recently been popularized for conserving bees in urban and agricultural systems. What attributes of the nest-b

Natural areas and the animal communities within them are inevitably affected by human disturbance. Human disturbance can occur through tourism, ecotourism, and simply human presence. The effect of a human on an animal can be detrimental, and has even been shown to cause increases of stress response,

The geographic distribution of many freshwater insects is restricted in part by timing of snowmelt and the temperature of the water. Because of this, climate change is having a significant effect on the distribution of aquatic species around Gothic, Colorado. Scientists have documented that species

Alpine zones are characterized by climatic conditions that can vary over short vertical distances. Therefore, elevational gradients have been used to study how changes in climate can influence plant form, function, and diversity. In my study, I examined floral traits in native communities along an e

Climate change is occurring, and the effects will be visible all over the planet. In a subalpine ecosystem, earlier snowmelt and changes in summer precipitation are predicted to occur due to an increase in air temperature. During the summertime, this variation may lead to changes in traits, a proces

Human disturbance in the form of ecotourism alters behavior many species and may impact fitness but few studies take an integrative approach to quantify impact in various ways to test for variation in physiological, behavioral, and consequential life history and demographic traits. We extended a pre

Burying beetles require carrion in order to successfully reproduce and they compete with vertebrate scavengers, other burying beetles, ants, flies, fungi, and microbes for this ephemeral resource. Burying beetles have mechanisms to combat competition from fly eggs, fungi, and microbes, but interacti

Anthropogenic climate change is affecting many ecosystems. Changes in the melting of snowpack have altered flowering phenology in subalpine meadows. The subalpine meadows at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory in Gothic, Colorado are experiencing shifts in co-flowering patterns. Two flowers, Li

Ecologists are always interested in studying populations of a certain area. There are many reasons for this, but two reasons include to see the change in distribution over time and because it can help tell about interactions between species. A traditional way of studying small mammal populations tha

Maintaining high levels of self-fertilization within a population increases homozygosity, exposes deleterious alleles, and may cause inbreeding depression. Yet, many species of flowering plants have evolved to self-fertilize a majority of the time. Often, self-fertilization is favored over outcrossi

Anthropogenic influence over biodiversity has altered ecosystem functions. One important ecosystem function related to diversity is productivity. Plant richness has long been considered for determining productivity. Despite the importance of the relationships between diversity and productivity, thei

Innovation has transformed ecology and evolution, and understanding behaviors that lead to innovation success can have profound implications and applications in animal populations and human society. In past research, persistence, behavioral selectivity, and neophobia have influenced an individual’s