The range of some algae has been increasing in recent years due to either internal (genetic) or external (environmental) factors that have been expanding both the nutrient and pH range at which they can survive. Didymoshenia geminata (didymo) is a species of diatom with a silica casing that can form

Castilleja miniata is a hemiparasite capable of taking up chemical toxins from its host plant. A unique relationship is C. miniata’s parasitism on Delphinium nuttallianum (which contains alkaloids); alkaloids from D. nuttallianum are taken up into C. miniata’s nectar which could negatively affect C.

Roads are a significant cause of biodiversity loss around the world, impacting wildlife by disrupting natural environment, changing abundance patterns of wildlife, and destroying habitat (Garrah et al. 2015). One of the most direct effects that roads have on animals is mortality from vehicular colli

Understanding the processing of detritus by different macroinvertebrates in montane ponds is important because either directly or indirectly most energy and nutrients flow through the detrital pathway. Understanding the degree to which macroinvertebrate species vary in detrital processing is central

✦ Bombus insularis With an increase of research into how climate change has ✦ Sphecodes sp. affected bees, only a fraction of that research has been ✦ Kleptoparasite conducted in relation to bees with parasitic life history strategies. Parasitic bees serve important ecological roles in the ✦ Social

Climate change is increasing global temperatures, which forces many species to experience environments that they have not been previously exposed to. Ectotherms are particularly sensitive to temperature shifts, and previous research suggests that changes in phenology and habitat use can help species

Floral rewards are crucial for plant reproductive success and pollinator survival. Although nectar volumes and sugar concentrations have been quantified for many species of flowering plants, many questions remain regarding sources of intraspecific and interspecific variation, including the effects o

This research aims to clarify the timing and mechanics behind a sixty kilometer- wide Bull’s Eye of exhumation in Colorado’s Elk and West Elk mountains that took place about 15-8 million years ago (Ma). To do this, I use the apatite (U-Th)/He low temperature thermochronology (AHe) technique to study

The biogeography of soil microbial communities is changing in response to increased anthropogenic disturbance, such as climate change. However, the response patterns of microbes to these rapid and accelerating changes is poorly quantified, especially when compared with our understanding of macroscop

Climate change effects the timing of phenology, which can have consequences on plants and their pollinators. A critical reason for this is due to early snowmelt. However, there are other variables that could affect phenology. In heterogenous environments, plants could be buffered by these variables,

This study investigated the impact of water availability and snowmelt timing on the species ​Ipomopsis aggregata. ​We looked to discover if ​I. aggregata’​ s traits were plastic, and if that plasticity was adaptive. The two questions we aimed to answer were: How does timing of snowmelt and level of

Stage-based population models are an important tool for quantifying the influence of biotic and abiotic factors on populations. Within studies of plant demography and life history, measuring and predicting biomass is an essential tool used to better understand a plant’s health and reproductive succe

Belowground systems are crucial for sustaining ecosystem function, but often remain unseen. Not very much is known about these systems and improving knowledge of them can aid understanding of ecosystems. Elevational gradients can be good places to test how above- and belowground systems respond to c

Recently, declines among both honeybees and native pollinators have raised concerns about the impacts of habitat loss and climate change on pollinators; likewise, studies have revealed that non-honeybee pollinators, including various Lepidoptera, are more important than previously thought for both a