• Premise of the study: Fitness of plant hybrids often depends upon the environment, but physiological mechanisms underlying the differential responses to habitat are poorly understood. We examined physiological responses of Ipomopsis species and hybrids, including reciprocal F1s and F2s, to variati

1. The North American beaver has been studied as a model ecosystem engineer for many decades. Previous studies have documented physical, chemical and biological impacts attributed to beaver engineering in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. This study focused on the effects of ecosystem engin

The U.S. Department of Energy's Watershed Function Scientific Focus Area (SFA), centered in the East River, Colorado, generates diverse datasets including hydrological, geological, geochemical, geophysical, ecological, microbiological and remote sensing data. The project has deployed extensive field

Abstract High-elevation mountain regions, central to global freshwater supply, are experiencing more rapid warming than low-elevation locations. High-elevation streams are therefore potentially critical indicators for earth system and water chemistry response to warming. Here we present concerted hy

Abstract Kin discrimination should be a tactic in the fitness strategy of individuals. Two postulates derived from inclusive fitness theory that fitness benefits toward kin are correlated with degree of relatedness and that social behavior of members of a kin group is always cooperative are refuted

Abstract Drosophila montana, a species of the Drosophila virilis group, has distributed around the northern hemisphere. Phylogeographic analyses of two North American and one Eurasian population of this species offer a good background for the studies on the extent of variation in phenotypic traits b

Annual reproductive success and senescence patterns vary substantially among individuals in the wild. However, it is still seldom considered that senescence may not only affect an individual but also affect age-specific reproductive success in its offspring, generating transgenerational reproductive

Understanding the interaction between reward-seeking flower feeding animals and plants requires consideration of the dynamic nature of nectar secretion. Studies on several plants suggest that nectar secretion may increase in response to its removal, but it is not clear whether the phenomenon is wide

Standard metabolic rates (SMR) of boreas and halophilus show pronounced regions of thermal independence but all other standard and active metabolic rates of groups acclimated to other thermal regimes are thermally sensitive.

AbstractOrganisms use environmental cues to align their phenology—the timing of life events—with sets of abiotic and biotic conditions that favor the successful completion of their life cycle. Climate change has altered the environmental cues organisms use to track climate, leading to shifts in phen

AbstractThis study aims to investigate the microtopographic controls that dictate the heterogeneity of plant communities in a mountainous floodplain‐hillslope system, using remote sensing and surface geophysical techniques. Working within a lower montane floodplain‐hillslope study site (750 m × 750

In a study of the bee community of short-grass prairie Tepedino and Stanton (1981) attempted to verify several predictions of competition theory by comparing abundances of bees and flowers. Their results were inconclusive suggesting, they said, that bees do not continuously compete for floral resour

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down undergraduate research programs across the United States. A group of 23 colleges, universities, and research institutes hosted remote under- graduate research programs in the life sciences during Summer 2020. Given the unprec- edented offering of remote programs, we c

Abstract Long-term plot-scale studies have found water limitation to be a key factor driving ecosystem productivity in the Rocky Mountains. Specifically, the intensity of early summer (the ‘foresummer’ period from May to June) drought conditions appears to impose critical controls on peak ecosystem

In a 7—year study on Black Mesa, Colorado, elevation 10,000 ft 2,4—D herbicide treatment initially reduced forb abundance and northern pocket gopher (Thomomys talpoides) populations 80% to 90%. Both forbs and pocket gophers remained at low levels on one area but returned to pretreatment levels on th

The purpose of this study was to determine experimentally the potential mechanism(s) favoring specialized foraging behavior of stream—dwelling predatory stonefly larvae (Megarcys signata), and whether this specialized behavior was fixed or flexible. We measured stonefly growth rates after 10 d of co

River to floodplain hydrologic connectivity is strongly enhanced by beaver- (Castor canadensis) engineered channel water diversions. The hydroecological impacts are wide ranging and generally positive, however, the hydrogeochemical characteristics of beaver-induced flowpaths have not been thoroughly