Context The ability to identify priority habitat is critical for species of conservation concern. The designation of critical habitat under the US Endangered Species Act 1973 identifies areas occupied by the species that are important for conservation and may need special management or protection. H

ABSTRACT: The Gunnison River in the Gunnison Gorge is a canyon river where upstream dams regulate mainstem discharge but do not affect debris‐flow sediment supply from tributaries entering below the reservoirs. Regulation since 1966 has altered flood frequency, streambed mobility, and fluvial geomor

Mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. vaseyana) covers large areas in arid regions of western North America. Climate-change models predict a decrease in the range of sagebrush, but few studies have examined details of predicted changes on sagebrush growth and the potential impacts

It is found that, after over 100 years, these disturbed plant communities remained distinct from similar surrounding undisturbed areas, suggesting that biotic factors structure vegetation communities even hundreds of years following disturbance.

AbstractGenetic variation at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is vitally important for wildlife populations to respond to pathogen threats. As natural populations can fluctuate greatly in size, a key issue concerns how population cycles and bottlenecks that could reduce genetic diversity w

Blooms of the river benthic diatom Didymosphenia geminata are an enigma because they occur under phosphorus-poor conditions. A recent proposal that ferric–ferrous iron redox shifts sequester the additional phosphorus needed to stimulate and sustain D. geminata blooms does not agree with published ex

Although reciprocity of affiliative exchanges within cohorts increased as individuals matured, competition among genetic relatives emerged early in ontogeny and persisted into adulthood, suggesting that close affiliates are each other's closest competitors.

How improved communication with zoology can enrich plant ecology is illustrated by some individual and collective actions that plant ecologists can take.

Journal Article Winter Survival of Culex Tarsalis (Diptera: Culicidae) Hibernating in Mine Tunnels in Boulder County, Colorado, USA Get access Carl J. Mitchell Carl J. Mitchell 1Vector-Borne Diseases Division, Bureau of Laboratories, Center for Disease Control, Public Health Service, U.S. Department

The gut microbiome has a well-documented relationship with host fitness. Greater microbial diversity and abundance of specific microbes have been associated with improved fitness outcomes. Intestinal microbes also may be associated with patterns of social behaviour. However, these associations have

Abstract Corydalis caseana ssp. brandegei (Fumariaceae) is a perennial plant that grows in moist, subalpine regions of south central Colorado, USA. Prior to this study, nothing was known of its reproductive biology. The most numerous visitors (59%), and the only known pollinators, were long‐tongued

A growing body of research documents the importance of plant genetic effects on arthropod community structure. However, the mechanisms underlying these effects are often unclear. Additionally, plant genetic effects have largely been quantified in common gardens, thus inflating the estimates of their

Hybridization and polyploidization are exceedingly important processes because both influence the ecological envelope and evolutionary trajectory of land plants. These processes are frequently invoked for Castilleja (Indian paintbrushes) as contributors to morphological and genetic novelty and as co

Comparisons among young of ground-dwelling squirrel species with different adult sociality indicate patterns of interaction during development that may influence the evolution of complex sociality. Social behavior and spatial overlap of weaned young with their mothers, littermates, non-littermate yo

It is concluded that ant-tending provides an ecological context that favors maternal care in this treehopper species and the primary benefit of maternal care is to attract ants while nymphs are small and few in number.

Abstract Climate change and other disturbances significantly impact hydrogeochemical exports from mountainous headwater catchments such as the Upper Colorado River Basin. Developing a mechanistic understanding of how the physical and chemical processes interact in time and space in an integrated man

Manganese (Mn) plays a critical role in river-water quality because Mn-oxides serve as sorption sites for contaminant metals. The aim of this study is to understand the seasonal cycling of Mn in an alpine streambed that experiences large spring snowmelt events and the potential responses to changes

Despite the strong influence of pollination ecology on the evolution of selfing, we have little information on how distinct groups of insect pollinators influence outcrossing rate. However, differences in behavior between pollinator groups could easily influence how each group affects outcrossing ra

It is found that the frequency of multiple paternity in golden-mantled ground squirrels varied considerably from year to year, that density of female kin interacted with male density to influence multiple paternity, and that older and heavier females tended to be less likely to produce multiply-sire