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 g

Our study examined the frost sensitivities of subalpine flowering plants near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, in Gothic, CO. Most studies on the impacts of climate change have focused on the effects of temperature warming and how it affects species. Our study examined the frost sensitiviti

Changes in elevation have strong influences on the taxonomic richness and population densities of terrestrial ecosystems (Hawkins et. al, 2013, McCain and Grytnes 2010, Rahbek 1995). These gradients are caused by changes in precipitation, temperature, and several other key environmental factors asso

Climate change may affect individuals within a species differently dependent on sex, leading to skewed sex ratios. This paper considers the effect of mating environment on seed production in the dioecious plant species, Valeriana edulis. The study was conducted in female dominated populations where

Alarm calling is a behavior that typically benefits individuals through an increase in indirect fitness, an increase in social status, or in relation to reciprocity. Despite the risk of potentially higher detection by predators, callers emit these vocalizations in response to a threat. While previou

Nicrophorus investigator is a carrion beetle species commonly found near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory that typically involves biparental care when raising a brood. I observed to see if relative size of the parents influenced the behavior and duration of their stay with their brood. There

Studying the relationships between plants and insects is important in natural and agricultural communities. It has been shown that plant community composition has an effect on insect pollinators and herbivores. However, these relationships have only been researched independently and no study has com

Understanding the processes and mechanisms that underlie patterns of species diversity and distribution is a fundamental goal of community ecology. Elevational gradients enable ecologists to tease apart ecological drivers and mechanisms as reflected by distribution patterns. In spite of the consider

It is known that sub-alpine meadows experience significant community level changes throughout the spring/summer season due to phenology. In this study we sought to interpret the within- season community-level changes in the sub-alpine meadows of Gothic, CO, USA through the construction of weekly pla

As environments change, natural selection will increasingly favor plasticity, a mechanism by which organisms express variable phenotypes based on their abiotic or biotic environment. While these trends occur in sweeping macroenvironmental or coarse-grain patterns, this variation can also exist on an

Genetic variation and environmental influences are important drivers of variation in individual traits. Environment is an important selective force in shifting genetic variation as individuals respond to climate change. Climate change has a very strong effect on precipitation which affect many organ

Animals that experience fear or stress may produce alarm calls, fear screams and mobbing calls and by doing so communicate their current state to conspecifics. These sounds are created by often easily identified because they contain nonlinear acoustic attributes that are somewhat acoustically unpred

Competition and habitat selection have been great topics for ecologists for decades and play a vital role in the study of ecology. In order to avoid competition, organisms partition their niches. Burying beetles (genus: Nicrophorus) occupy the small carrion niche and use carcasses as their primary r

Pollinators are extremely important in the global ecosystem. Flowers have evolved attractive traits in order to draw these pollinators. Traits like colorful petals draw in pollinators to metabolic rewards such as nectar and pollen, and in return, pollinators transfer pollen between plants. Plants wi

Plants have been migrating into higher elevations in order to cope with the stresses of the changing climate. However, not all plants are capable of migrating as far or as fast as others. This study examines leaf traits of Boechera stricta, a plant with limited migratory capabilities, at different e

Though many prey species use camouflage to escape predation, the role of non-visual camouflage in ecological systems remains understudied, potentially overlooking important mechanisms mediating interactions between species. For instance, some insect prey species use chemical camouflage to pacify pre

This study examined interspecific competition between mountain white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha) and Lincoln’s sparrows (Melospiza lincolnii) through a playback experiment. Interspecific competitive interactions influence avian fitness by affecting the distribution of species

Noisy, unpredictable sounds are often present in the vocalizations of fearful and stressed juvenile animals across many taxa. A variety of structural characteristics, called nonlinear acoustic phenomena, which include subharmonics, rapid frequency modulations, and deterministic chaos are responsible