AbstractMapping geographic mosaics of genetic variation and their consequences via genotype x environment interactions at large extents and high resolution has been limited by the scalability of DNA sequencing. Here, we address this challenge for cytotype (chromosome copy number) variation in quakin

The red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) indigenous to the mountains of the western United States are high-elevation specialists that could face range reduction due to climatic warming, as well as potential encroachment, loss of adaptive alleles, and displacement by introduced nonnative red foxes. We investiga

Polyphenisms-alternative morphs produced through plasticity-can reveal the evolutionary and ecological processes that initiate and maintain diversity within populations. We examined lifetime fitness consequences of two morphs in a polyphenic population of Arizona tiger salamanders using a 27-year da

Whether an animal lives alone or in a group may have fitness consequences. Among yellow-bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris), fitness is thought to be lower for noncolonial than for colonial females because juvenile survival, as indicated by trapping, is lower. Trapping, however, may not be an acc

Burrowing mammals can be ecosystem engineers by increasing soil aeration and erosion and altering the structure of plant communities. Studies that characterize the constraints on the distributions of fossorial mammal disturbances to soil can help predict changes in ecosystem engineering under future

It is found that plant traits had little effect on damage and pollination, but damage andpollination affected plant traits in both the treatment year and the subsequent year, and evidence of indirect effects between leaf herbivores and pollinators in both directions has not been previously demonstra

Climate-driven species range shifts and expansions are changing community composition, yet the functional consequences in natural systems are mostly unknown. By combining a 30-year survey of subalpine pond larval caddisfly assemblages with species-specific functional traits (nitrogen and phosphorus

Animals adapt to changing environments by behaving flexibly when solving problems. Traits, such as sex and age, and spe- cifically behavioral traits like persistence–the amount of time spent attempting to solve a problem, are positively associated with successful problem-solving. However, individual

AbstractReproduction is thought to be costly for female mammals due to high energetic costs associated with pregnancy and lactation. Such costs of reproduction can be particularly high for younger females, who are less experienced and smaller than fully grown adults, and can manifest themselves with

Climate change is likely to alter both flowering phenology and water availability for plants. Either of these changes alone can affect pollinator visitation and plant reproductive success. The relative impacts of phenology and water, and whether they interact in their impacts on plant reproductive s

For the past decade, the high-quality, relatively low-cost health care delivered in Grand Junction, Colorado, has led that community to outperform most others in the United States. Medicare patients in Grand Junction have fewer hospitalizations, shorter hospitalizations, and lower mortality rates af

Identifying, protecting, and restoring habitats for declining wildlife populations is foundational to conservation and recovery planning for any species at risk of decline. Resource selection analysis is a key tool to assess habitat and prescribe management actions. Yet, it can be challenging to map

Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that, in these pollen-rewarding species, pollen secondary chemistry may reflect the need to attract and reward pollinators more than the need to defend pollen from herbivory.

W. B. Watt, C. Kremen, P. Carter, Testing the `Mimicry' Explanation for the Colias `alba' Polymorphism: Patterns of Co-Occurrence of Colias and Pierine Butterflies, Functional Ecology, Vol. 3, No. 2 (1989), pp. 193-199

Nutrients used in reproduction may come from adult feeding or reserves stored from the juvenile stage. The dynamics of allocation from these sources are predicted to differ among nutrient types, depending on the relative availability of each nutrient type from adult and juvenile feeding. Using radio

Climate change is affecting interactions among species, including host-parasite interactions. The effects of warming are of particular interest for interactions in which parasite and host physiology are intertwined, such as those between parasitic plants and their hosts. However, little is known abo

The fact that residual nectar exists is consistent with predictions of optimal foraging theory but more detailed work is necessary before it can be concluded that the volumes left behind in A. columbianum flowers are optimal.

An endosymbiotic association has been demonstrated between Euglena and nymphs of three species of damselfly. The hindgut of the nymphs is inhabited by the euglenoid only during the winter. Symbiotic associations involving green euglenoids and insects are virtually unknown.