While it is generally accepted that social isolation has detrimental effects on social species, little is known about the importance of social interactions in less social species-particularly for wild reproductive females. We studied socially-flexible yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventer) and

Many species are habitat specialists along environmental gradients as a result of contrasting selection pressures, but others maintain broad distributions along such gradients. Phenotypic plasticity explains the persistence of some generalists, but not the broad distributions of species with fixed t

Conditions necessary for intraspecific competition for pollinator service, but not intraspecific competition itself, have previously been reported for a population of Polemonium foliossisimum Gray. As in most recent work of this sort, this conclusion was based, in part, on seed set differentials amo

In a variety of taxa, individuals behave in consistently different ways. However, there are relatively few studies that empirically test the potential mechanisms underlying the causes and maintenance of these personality differences. Several hypotheses for the causes and maintenance of risky persona

Animals foraging from flowers must assess their environment and make critical decisions about which patches, plants, and flowers to exploit to obtain limiting resources. The cognitive ecology of plant-pollinator interactions explores not only the complex nature of pollinator foraging behavior and de

This study explored solutions to the issue of burnout and retention of Extension agents. Extension agents experience burnout for reasons such as long hours, stress, and organizational factors. As Extension administration addresses job satisfaction and performance of Extension employees, burnout and

Comparisons were made between some characteristics of soils and vegetation for sites supporting Thomomys talpoides and for adjacent sites not occupied by these pocket gophers in alpine, subalpine and shrub-grassland habitats in the Cochetopa Creek drainage, Colorado. Different species of bluegrasses

It is found that compensatory growth plays an important role in decreasing the probability of extinction under both less favorable colder and random climate scenarios and the importance of trade-offs in population dynamics.

Linkage has now been established between Gpi-1 and the Hbe globin locus in Peromyscus, suggesting that perhaps a chromosomal inversion has occurred during the evolutionary divergence of the two rodent families.

Abstract. Climate change is reshaping vulnerable ecosystems, leading to uncertain effects on ecosystem dynamics, including evapotranspiration (ET) and ecosystem respiration (Reco). However, accurate estimation of ET and Reco still remains challenging at sparsely monitored watersheds, where data and

Abstract An accurate characterization of the water content of snowpack, or snow water equivalent (SWE), is necessary to quantify water availability and constrain hydrologic and land surface models. Recently, airborne observations (e.g., lidar) have emerged as a promising method to accurately quantif

For social animals, group social structure has important consequences for disease and information spread. While prior studies showed individual connectedness within a group has fitness consequences, less is known about the fitness consequences of group social structure for the individuals who compri

This study presents 11 years of nesting success and phenology data for Black Swifts (Cypseloides niger) at Box Canyon in Ouray, Colorado. Nest data were recorded on a near-daily basis for 160 nest attempts. Nesting success was 72% and mean and extreme dates of nesting events, including arrival, egg-

Abstract Mutualists that provide redundant services to the same organism have been shown both to coexist and compete for access to the partner. Aphids, for example, are known to receive protection against natural enemies from both heritable bacterial symbionts as well as ants, which tend aphids in e

Yellow-bellied marmots are studied to suggest a new way that social relationships can be beneficial: they increase perceptions of security and this ultimately may facilitate foraging and illustrate an effect of social relationships on predation risk assessment.

Hyporheic zones act as critical ecological links between terrestrial and aquatic systems where redox-sensitive metals of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) significantly impact nutrient cycling and water quality. However, the geochemical controls on the release and speciation of Fe(II) and Mn(II) in these

AbstractWe investigate herein the hypothesis that there is a significant relationship between bed particle mobility and benthic invertebrate abundance in the gravel‐bed channel of the upper Colorado River in Rocky Mountain National Park. A large diversion channel called the Grand Ditch normally dive