The headwater basins of Colorado are heavily relied upon for freshwater resources on an annual basis. However, knowledge concerning generation of such resources, and implications of climate change on their availability in the future, is not well understood. Thus, this research has been undertaken to

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 spec

A luxury shift has occurred and been reflected in the way consumers now define luxury.

This study examines a sample of artifacts recovered from the Vanoli Site (5OR30) encompassing a privy and trash midden located directly behind an historic Chinese laundry. Previous research in Overseas Chinese archaeology has focused on historically large Chinese communities and processes of accultu

Snow provides fresh meltwater to over a billion people worldwide. Snow dominated watersheds drive western US water supply and are increasingly important as demand depletes reservoir and groundwater recharge capabilities. This motivates our inter- and intra-annual investigation of snow distribution p

The ecological impacts of selenium have been studied for decades and regulatory standards established in an effort to mitigate them. Agricultural activities in regions with high levels of alluvial selenium can lead to in-stream levels that far exceed regulatory limits. Agricultural best management p

Strong circumstantial evidence from laboratory and theoretical studies suggests that sublethal parasite burdens can influence host population dynamics whether acting alone or in conjunction with reduced food availability. The significance of these effects has rarely been examined in natural environm

The first objective for this problem in lieu of thesis project was to gather, identify to the lowest practical taxonomic level and organize all available aquatic insects collected from high altitude Colorado aquatic systems during the summers of 1994, 1996, 1998, and 2002 for the University of North

Paleozoic sediments in the Calumet Mining District were metamorphosed by emplacement of the Whltehorn Granodiorite and related sills during Late Cretaceous time producing metamorphic zonations. Carbonates in the Manitou Dolostone were metamorphosed to dolomite, tremolite and calcite assemblages. The

Five species of stoneflies (Zapada haysi, Plumiperla diversa, Taenionema pacificum, Isoperla petersoni, Arcynopteryx compacta) from the North Slope and Interior of Alaska were examined for seasonal patterns of emergence of adults and growth of nymphs. Generally growth was retarded during the winter

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 Nu

Phylogenetic diversity is an axis of biodiversity that captures the variation in evolutionary relationships present in a community, and is associated with important ecosystem functions. Interestingly, recent work has shown that phylogenetic diversity is often decoupled from other biodiversity metric

The Boys & Girls Clubs of South Park (BGCSP) is a youth service 501(c)3 serving Park County, Colorado. With over 60% of Park County?s workforce commuting to another county for employment the need for affordable out-of-school youth care is apparent, but the need for BGCSP goes further. These rural co

Climate change is altering both above-ground plant communities and below-ground microbial assemblages, yet their simultaneous responses to altered climate remain poorly understood. To address this, we conducted a whole-community transplant experiment across a 400-meter elevation gradient in the Colo

The Green River Formation in Piceance Creek basin is estimated to have the largest oil shale deposits in the world today, and it also provides a classic model for lacustrine source rock deposition.Based on study of facies associations, depositional trends, and basin-scale correlations, a sequence st

The Pennsylvanian-Permian Paradox Basin is an asymmetrical basin on the Colorado Plateau (Figure 1.1) that has been studied for decades due to its unique geologic history and economic quantities of potash, petroleum, and minerals such as uranium, vanadium, radium, and copper. The basin has a complex

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 an

Jessica Keppel Higgins: RAPID EVOLUTION AND POPULATION DIVERGENCE IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN COLIAS BUTTERLIES (Under the direction of Joel Kingsolver)

Gynodioecy is a mode of sex expression where male sterlie (hereafter female) plants and hermaphroditic plants coexist within a population. In order for the females to be maintained by natural selection, they must have experienced an increased fitness. Fitness is defined as the ability of genotype or