Mammal mounds have been found to have diverse effects on vegetation. The area around yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris) burrows was examined for different morphospecies and plant cover to find if diversity decreased near a burrow. Morphospecies were identified to family to look for trends

An earthflow that occurred in Gunnison County, Colorado created a natural laboratory to study plant succession. Plant succession and ants can effect the soil composition of grounds left bare and depleted of organic matter by the landslide. This study was conducted to examine if the described success

Temperature is one of the limiting factors of life, and it influences an organism’s growth, sexual reproduction, sexual determination, distribution, and metabolism. the interaction between temperature and organisms therefore an essential component of their ecology. Temperature impacts organisms in d

Climate change is altering water availability in subalpine ecosystems. Shifts in snowmelt timing and summer monsoonal precipitation, which alter soil moisture, have the capacity to elicit plastic responses in plants. Plasticity in floral traits such as nectar production and flower color can impact p

Range shifts occur when all individuals of a species or population move from a previously- habitable area to a newly-habitable area in response to changing environmental conditions. Climate- induced range shifts are well-documented for certain regions, biomes, and taxa, but large knowledge gaps exis

The impacts of growing deer populations upon biodiversity have caused concern for ecologists since it is speculated that certain species of herbs are targeted and over abundantly browsed. This study investigated deer abundance as well as intensity of deer browsing of herbaceous plants inside and out

Black bears in the Colorado Rocky Mountains forage for western thatching ants as a food source. However, there is little knowledge about the nutritional benefit of ants for black bears, particularly with regard to changes in nutritional value during the ant life cycle. From late spring to mid-summer

Populus tremuloides is a keystone species found throughout North America. P. tremuloides aids the regeneration of eco systems, however as climate changes, the health of P. tremuloides is changing. P. tremuloides populations are on the decline in the American southwest, and with time it could affect

Forest ecology research is being revolutionized with the advent of remote sensing. Remote sensing is more accurate and reliable than previous methods for assessing forest dynamics, so it is important to generate workflows for assessing them. The forests of the Gothic townsite are an underutilized su

Climate change is a current issue that impacts ecosystems and the natural processes within them. Through the variance of factors such as, temperature, precipitation and hydrology due to climate change key processes such as nutrient cycling are affected. This study focused on the movement of nitrogen

The distance at which animals move away from threats, flight initiation distance (FID), is often used to study antipredator behavior and risk assessment. Variation in FID is explained by a variety of internal and external biotic and physical factors, including anthropogenic activities. Most prior st