RMBL > RMBL Data Catalog > Research Plans table
All RMBL Research Plans
Records shown: 1 - 30 of 511

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11...18  Next >> 

Year Last Name First Name Abstract Research Plan Title More Info  
2011 Arford Martin Analysis of sediment pollen provides a method for resonstructing climate change, vegetation change, and land use change for the time represented by the lake sediment accumulation. Dendrochronology, tree-ring science, also provides an effective way to reconstruct changes in tree growth which can be attributed to clime and weather events, insect oubreaks, and other types of environmental change. I propose to use both methods to reconstruct a history of land use, vegetation change, climate change, and drought in the area of Gothic. Paleoecological Studies of Sediment Pollen and Tree Rings from the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Gunnison County, CO. details
2011 Baas Bethany The golden-mantled ground squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis) and the least chipmunk (Tamias minimus) in the Rocky Mountains have very similar habitats and diets. Yet, they do not exclude each other but can coexist. Rosemary Smith found that in meadows with area less than or equal to 18 m from cover, T. minimus was predominant. It meadows exceeding 20 m, both species were observed. These species slightly differ in habits likely because of differences in sensitivities to predation risk (Smith 1991). I will be observing similar meadows with various distances from cover to determine whether this trend is still true twenty years later. Presence of Spermophilus lateralis and Tamias minimus in montane meadows with various distances from cover surrounding the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory details
2011 Batzel Rebecca Butterflies and Climate along an Elevation Gradient details
2011 Berman Callie Vegetation distribution patterns on a macro-scale across watersheds surrounding the Gothic townsite have yet to be analyzed in depth. Through observational analysis, we have assessed a reoccurring trend of aspen (Populus tremuloides), wet meadow species characterized by willow (Salix) and skunk cabbage(Symplocarpus foetidus), sage brush (Artemisia tridentata), as well as dry meadows that are predominately mixed forbes and grasses (Poaceae) along the southwest-facing hill slopes of the Upper East River and West Brush Creek watersheds. Prior to formal soil tests, our observations allowed us to detect the Mancos Shale as the soil type for lower elevations of the Upper East River’s southwest-facing slope while the dominant soil type of West Brush Creek from the Maroon Formation. Aspen stands were predominantly distributed across slopes of a particular gradient in both watersheds whereas wet and dry meadow and sage brush species were limited in their abundance on the West Brush Creek southwest-facing hill slope. To explain this observation, we hypothesize that aspen species occurrence is more dependent upon slope gradient rather than soil type whereas the primary species of wet and dry meadows as well as sage brush (Artemisia tridentata) has higher dependency upon soil type than slope gradient. Using ArcMap10 on a portable field laptop, we will create a vegetation distribution map of both watersheds and then overlay the image with soil survey maps of the area to assess whether our hypothesis of species dependency upon soil type or slope gradient is indeed verifiable. Vegetation Pattern Dependency upon Slope and Soil Type Along Southwest-Facing Hillslopes of the Upper East River and West Brush Creek Watersheds details
2011 Blonder Benjamin Climatic variation is key to understanding the global carbon cycle and the evolution of species. However, our knowledge of past climates decreases rapidly with increasing geologic time. Fortunately detailed climate records may be preserved in fossilized leaves. I am developing a model that simultaneously predicts atmospheric CO2, humidity, and temperature based on measurements of leaf vein networks and stomata. Using the unique environments near RMBL, I will test this model on aspen leaves spanning a wide range of environmental conditions and elevations. Confirmation of model predictions on modern leaves will enable fossil leaf vein networks to become useful climate records. Leaf venation networks: proxies for climate variation, past and present? details
2011 Briggs Heather Global climate change (GCC) is projected to cause dramatic shifts in many ecological processes, disrupting ecosystem services and directly threatening pollination interactions. GCC is likely to disrupt the overlap in seasonal timing (i.e., phenology) of flowering production and of pollinator emergence/foraging activity, leading to potentially mismatched interactions between both plants and animals. Recent work based on pollination networks suggests that pollination interactions will be highly resilient to ongoing environmental change because pollination networks are dominated by generalist interactions. I hypothesize that networks are much less resilient to perturbations. These predictions are based on assumptions that all interactions in the network are positive; meaning every visit from a pollinator to a plant is beneficial, an assumption known to be false. My dissertation research, based in both empirical and modeling techniques, will help evaluate whether existing pollinator network analyses that are based just on visitation rates, provide robust models for evaluating impacts of global climate change on pollinator services, or whether incorporating additional information on the importance of pollinator fidelity and plant reproductive success provide different predictions. Pollinator losses and plant function: An assessment of pollination network resilience in the face of climate change. details
2011 Brokaw Julia The current trend of declining bumblebee species leads to changes in the foraging behavior of the other pollinators. These behavior changes result in decreased plant reproductive success and biodiversity. This study examines the behavioral changes in the diptera pollinators in order to provide insight to understanding the consequences of losses of pollinator species and further knowledge of pollination model systems. Diptera Behavioral Response to Targeted Bombus Removal details
2011 Brosi Berry Pollinator species losses are ongoing and are likely to accelerate in the future. What will be the functional consequences of these species losses for plant reproduction? We hypothesize that competition between pollinator species--which is lowered when species are lost--is important in shaping pollinator specialization. Without this specialization, pollinators transfer the wrong kinds of pollen to plants, reducing their efficiency as pollinators while lowering plant reproduction. To test this hypothesis, we will temporarily and non-destructively reduce bee and plant diversity and abundance in several meadow sites, and compare manipulated to non-manipulated sites. We will measure short-term specialization of pollinators through 1) monitoring foraging behavior; 2) analyzing pollen loads carried by bees; and 3) analyzing pollen loads on flowers. Pollinator Diversity and Foraging Specialization details
2011 Carbone Mariah My proposed research seeks to mechanistically understand soil respiration in the dominant forest communities around the RMBL by individually quantifying the contributions from its two sources, plants and microbes. To do this, I will combine automated measurements of soil CO2 concentrations and soil respiration with isotope (radiocarbon, 14C) source partitioning methods in two vegetation communities (spruce/fir and aspen forests) located in the RMBL research meadow. This novel approach will provide information on how environmental and biological factors control plant and microbial respiration sources of CO2 to the atmosphere, and assess potential climate change impacts on ecosystems in the East River valley. Quantifying environmental and biological controls on soil CO2 fluxes in East River valley forests details
2011 Carrasco Malle Animals can sometimes make sounds, such as alarm calls, that allow others of its own kind to recognize an incoming threat, be it a predator, intruder, etc. Other animals can sometimes eavesdrop on the conversation and use this information for their own kind. This is important for scientists, behavioral ecologists especially, to study because it can change the way that the other animal or group searches for food, the amount of time it spends looking for predators, its group characteristics, habitat choice, and also gives information about its cognitive abilities. Previous researchers have noted that mule deer, which frequent the Gothic townsite and the valley in general, do respond to marmot alarm calls, cat sized rodents related to squirrels. These are usually elicited due to the deer’s presence, however marmots do share a predator that deer and fawn must be wary about: the coyote. This study seeks gather data on the response of mule deer to the marmots alarm calls versus the white crowned sparrow song, in order to quantify a true behavioral response across this population. Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) Response to Yellow-Bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris) Alarm Calls. details
2011 Clarke Gretel My research investigates the extent to which herbivores, seed predators, and pollinators influence gynodioecy- a breeding system characterized by separate female and hermaphroditic sex morphs- and population growth generally, in Polemonium foliosissimum. Sex morphs may face different selective pressures from ecological players and may have different life-history strategies as a result. My research uses experimental manipulations and demographic modeling to explicitly account for these life-history differences. Demographic vital rate data (e.g. probability of survival, seedling-juvenille transition, and reproductive output) is obtained by tracking marked plants for multiple years. By also collecting demographic data on experimental plants (e.g. those inside herbivore exclosures, with seed predators removed, and/or with supplemental pollen added), I can build alternative vital rate transition matrices to model population dynamics expected under different ecological conditions (e.g. with vertebrate herbivores removed, increased pollinator service etc.). Demographic modeling will allow me to assess which vital rates are most important to population growth rates, how ecological players differently affect the vital rates of sex morphs, and ultimately how these effects translate into ultimate long-term fitness differences among sex morphs in a sexually dimorphic species. Because this modeling will permit me to assess the importance of herbivores, pollinators, and seed predators to 1) relative fitness differences in sex morphs and 2) population growth rates more generally, my research has both ecological and evolutionary implications. Assessing the individual and interactive effects of ecological players on sex morphs and population growth of the gynodioecious Polemonium foliosissimum details
2011 Cook Daniel The genus Delphinium is toxic to herbivores on rangelands. The bio-active norditerpene alkaloids responsible for the toxic potential of Delphinium are well characterized chemically. Our general research interests relate to the chemical ecology of these bioactive compounds. The proposed research will survey the nectar and pollen of select species within this genus for the presence of these alkaloids. If the pollen and/or nectar are found to contain these compounds, follow-up studies will be pursued in the future to determine if there is any adaptive advantage to having these alkaloids in the pollen and/or nectar. In addition, we plan to determine if plant phenology or experimental manipulations of temperature result in changes to the qualitative and/or quantitative composition of the toxic alkaloids in Delphinium nuttallianum. The chemical ecolgoy of Delphinium details
2011 Datta Amber The goal of this study is to investigate the impact of manipulated phenology on the reproductive success of Delphinium nuttallianum via its interactions with pollinators, nectar robbers and herbivores. I will be changing the phenology of D. nuttallianum by manipulating snowpack.I have 20 plots which are divided into four groups: snow addition, snow removal, disturbance control and true control. I have selected 6 plants within each plot, although my unit of replication will be the plot itself and thus the mean of the surviving plants in each plot. I will be monitoring the effects of this changed snow melt time on the interactions between D. nuttallianum and its pollinators, nectar-robbers, and herbivores. I will also collect fruit from the plant in order to count the number of seeds it produces and thereby measure the reproductive success of each plant. The effects of phenology on the reproductive success of Delphinium nuttallianum. details
2011 De Jesus Carrie We plan to study how breeding bird density will influence individuality in bird song. We will record Wilson Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Green Tailed Towhees, Red Winged Blackbirds and House Wrens. We will then analyze their songs to determine if individuals of the same species differ in their songs. We hypothesis that birds in greater densities will have more individuality in their songs. Can breeding bird density influence vocal individuality in bird song details
2011 Debban Catherine Symbiosis has long been considered an important factor in why populations diverge. Lately, positive interaction, in which at least one of the interacting species benefits, has been gaining attention as a mechanism allowing multiple species to coexist and as a process that can lead to genetic divergence. In this study, we will use grasses with fungal endophytes living in them to explore how positive interactions can affect the ecology and evolution of organisms. We will perform crosses of grasses of the same species with and without endophytes to observe these symbionts’ effects on mating preference. In addition, we will compare the niches of grasses with and without endophytes through observations and through experiments in which we manipulate the environment of the plants. Fungal endophytes and the evolutionary and ecological divergence of host grasses details
2011 DeSantiago Daniel I will be doing research in understanding how food quality and quantity affects predation and trophic cascades, due to human pollutants altering the Nutrient:Carbon ratio. Predation is an important factor determining the strength of lower trophic levels. I will also test how the strength of the two common generalist predators differ, Crab spider and Seven spotted lady bug Questions: 1. How does food quality and quantity affect the strength of predation on ant-tended aphids? 2. How does the identity of two common generalist predators affect the strenght of predators on aphids? Hypothesis: 1. Greater quality and quantity of food causes stronger predation. 2. Spiders will reduce aphid abundance. Causes of predation intensity in an ant/aphid mutualist system details
2011 Dryburgh John The Effect of Ant Tending on the Fitness of Aphid During and After Colony Establishment details
2011 Edwards Robyn This plan describes RMBL Facilities projects planned for 2011. Facilities Projects 2011 details
2011 Ellwein Amy Soils are an important interface between geology and biology; however, very little is known about the soils around RMBL. Soil development is a function of climatic conditions, biological activity, local relief, aspect, parent material, and the amount of time sediments are exposed at or near the surface. Combined with an understanding of surficial processes, soil stratigraphy aids in the subdivision of the local succession of deposits and correlation of unconsolidated sediments. The distribution and properties of soil stratigraphic units can be used to evaluate landform evolution and age, landform stability, surface processes and even past climates. Potential research questions include: What are the dominant relationships between soil and sediment properties with elevation, slope, aspect, rock type, or the relative age of surficial deposits? Is there a correlation between soil properties and dominant vegetation patterns? What is the late Quaternary history of landscape change in this environment? Soil geomorphology and landscape evolution of the Upper East River Valley details
2011 Embick Robin Biologists have long been interested in understanding the maintenance of phenotypic variation within populations because heritable phenotypic variation is the basis of evolution by natural selection. Polymorphisms can be maintained by selection if all the morphs are beneficial (either frequency- dependent selection or balancing selection). Alternatively, polymorphisms can be neutral and retained, for example, as a phylogenetic artifact. In general, we lack a fundamental understanding of the evolutionary processes that influence and maintain phenotypic variation. Flower color is an excellent example of a trait that can vary within populations, and it can influence adaptive evolution in plant, pollinator and herbivore communities. Furthermore, Boechera stricta is a great species for studying adaptive flower color polymorphism. Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae) is a primarily self-pollinating, genetically well-defined perennial species that is closely related to the model organism Arabidposis thaliana. Most B. stricta flowers have white petals, however some populations maintain a low frequency of a purple flower morph. Very little is known about the nature of the purple morph or its genetic underpinnings, and the vibrancy of the purple petals can range from deep purple to pale purple-pink. Because B. stricta is predominantly self-pollinating and does not rely on pollinators for pollen dispersal, the reasons for maintaining a rare flower color morph remain unclear. It may be in response to the local abiotic and biotic environmental conditions, and thus the purple morph could be a plastic response to the environment. The objectives of this observational study are two faceted: first, we will determine the frequency of the purple morph in the Boechera stricta population near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL); second, we will collect environmental and phenotypic data that will allow us to determine if there are environmental factors that correlate with flower color. A secondary aspect of this study will be to investigate and quantify the pollinator community of B. stricta, determine whether pollinator species visit both color morphs, or show preference for the common white flower morph, and assess the extent of pollen movement between flower color morphs. Ecological causes and consequences of flower color polymorphism in Boechera stricta. details
2011 Feng Christina Pollination dynamics represent an essential component of species interaction webs. In order to understand the development and potential future directions of these interactions, It is important to study the ecological and evolutionary impacts of signal traits. However, studies on the relationships between floral characteristics and pollinators have a decided bias towards measurements of visual characteristics like flower color and shape. As a result, the genetics and ecology of these parameters are relatively well studied. The advent of better, more cost-effective technology has allowed an expansion in this field of research to include the effects of floral fragrance. The assemblage of floral volatiles (chemical scents) of two related species from the Polemoniaceae (Phlox) family, Ipomopsis aggregata and Polemonium foliosissimum, have recently been analyzed. However, no information is available on the effects of the dominant chemical – pinene – on the behavior of insect visitors to the flowers of these plants. In addition to potential pollinators, Hylemya flies frequent both I. aggregata and P. foliosissimum as host plants for their eggs. This project attempts to measure the effect of augmented pinene treatments on the behavior of both of these insect groups. The results will aid in understanding the role of pinene as a floral fragrance volatile. The effect of floral scent manipulations of Ipomopsis aggregata and Polemonium foliosissimum on the behavior of insect visitors and seed predators details
2011 Floyd Chris A keystone species is an organism whose effect on the environment is disproportionately strong relative to its mass or abundance, so much so that the speciesďż˝ removal would cause dramatic changes in the surrounding community. Conserving a keystone species requires an adequate understanding of its habitat requirements. One of the most important keystone species is the Red-naped Sapsucker, a woodpecker that nests in aspen woodlands of western North America. Sapsuckers excavate a new nest cavity every year, providing future nest chambers for several species of birds, mammals, and insects. Sapsuckers also create sap wells in trees and shrubs, thereby incidentally supplying food for other sap feeders. Therefore, local extinction of sapsuckers could trigger a decline in local species diversity; this is a conservation concern because sapsucker habitat has undergone widespread degradation. The primary objective of my research is to determine the criteria used by sapsuckers in their choice of sap well sites in trees and willow. The study area will be sapsucker habitat (aspen-dominated forests and willow) throughout the upper East River Valley near RMBL, Washington Gulch, and West Brush Creek. Selection of sap-well sites by an ecosystem engineer and keystone species: the red-naped sapsucker (Sphyrapicus nuchalis) details
2011 Frazier Joseph I will be testing to see if the plant Cardamine cordifolia has been driven to locations of shade from sun because of the insects that feed on them. Plants in the sun have a higher defense mechanism than plants in the shade because of higher the abundance of insects that feed on them. This change in location might be due to the fact that there is a trade off between higher defenses and better reproduction. I will test this by using multiple sun and shade common gardens. I\'ll put fly larvae into both to see in which (sun or shade) plant it does better. If it does better in the shade then I will know that plant defenses in the shade from flies who attack them have been lowered. This may be a type of survival method for the plant. This is important to study because it will provide data as to why plants change habitat for survival needs. Local adaptation to habitat-specific herbivory levels in Cardamine cordifolia details
2011 Gezon Zak Phenology is an important life history trait that can dramatically affect fitness, survival and species interactions. In high altitude meadows, snowmelt is the principle environmental cue triggering spring flowering. Climate change, among other factors, is thought to be responsible for recent trends in early snowmelt dates, which in turn is altering flowering phenology. Loss in flowering plant fitness due to altered phenology is suspected but requires further investigation, and the factors affecting changes in plant fitness have not been thoroughly investigated. The goal of this study is to investigate how flowering plant fitness is affected by phenology, and the role that biotic and abiotic factors play in affecting flowering plant fitness, given altered phenology. Additionally, I will investigate whether the phenologies of ground nesting bees are affected by the same environmental cues as flowering plants in order to assess the likelihood of phenological matches vs. mismatches. The effect of flowering phenology on pollen limitation and plant fitness. details
2011 Gloss Andrew Plants and the insects that feed on them make up a tremendous portion of the diversity found in nature, and the outcomes of interactions between plant hosts and their insect herbivores play an important part in shaping ecological communities. Evolutionary biologists often speak of these interactions in terms of an “arms race,” in which plants benefit from developing more effective weapons – ranging from toxic chemicals to spikes and thorns – to combat the insects feeding on them, and insects benefit from increasing their ability to evade plant defenses. The intensity of the battle between plants and insects can vary, however, from one place to another. A perfect example of a plant exposed to different numbers of insect pests depending on where it grows is heart leaf bittercress, a perennial mustard with beautiful white flowers that is widely distributed along streams around the RMBL. The insects that feed on it tend to be found in the sun, and one insect – a fly called Scaptomyza nigrita, which eats tunnels through the leaves during its larval stage and tears open holes to drink leaf juices as an adult fly – can damage almost every leaf of every plant in some very sunny sites. On the other hand, plants growing in deeply shaded areas often have no obvious visible damage at all. Because every plant has its own genotype – a unique combination of DNA – some plants will resist insects better than others. If this allows these plants to stay healthier and produce more seeds, we would expect these more resistant plants to have more offspring and increase in frequency at sites where high numbers of insect attackers pose a bigger cost to less resistant plants. As a result, bittercress populations that have long been engaged in battles with insects might be better at resisting them, while populations that have spent generation after generation in the safety of the shade may have weaker defenses (because insect feeding pressure hasn’t built them up yet). The same story could happen with variation in elevation instead of sun and shade, but this time, think of climate differences between a valley and a mountaintop as the pressure that differs between plants living in different areas, instead of insect abundance. In fact, a few studies have shown that plants from different locations, despite being the same species, differ in their ability to defend themselves from insect attack. However, we’re still not sure if the forces insects exert on plants are strong enough to cause plant populations under consistent insect attack to differ from other groups of plants that are very close by – say, in the same valley or hillside. To test this, I will collect plants from sun and shade, valleys and mountaintops from around the RMBL, and plant them all together in a set of “common gardens,” where they all experience the same conditions. If plants perform best in the habitat they came from – for example, if plants from populations that are always attacked by lots of insects actually do resist insects better than plants from the shade – there’s evidence for “local adaptation.” We know there can be quantifiable differences between plants growing far away from each other, even when they’re both the same species; this experiment will help us determine whether a plant’s environment might lead one population of plants to differ even from its neighbors. In addition to moving looking for performance differences between bittercress plants, I’ll also be collecting leaf tissue from bittercress and the fly that specializes on it. By extracting DNA, sequencing it using powerful new technology, and comparing sequence data from the entire genome across individuals from different locations – such as the next valley or the next state over – we can infer relationships between populations, and get a good idea of how they’ve moved across the landscape and colonized new areas in their distant past. It’s one way scientists have traced the path of early humans as they expanded across the globe, with more resolution than ancient bones or tools can give us. I’ll use a similar method to see how glaciers and climate changes have influenced how bittercress has moved across the Rockies – and whether that pesky fly has been following it around the whole way. Investigating population genetic structure, local adaptation, and the importance of plant defenses in the interactions between a specialist leafmining fly (Scaptomyza nigrita) and its host plant, heart leaf bittercress (Cardamine cordifolia) details
2011 Gonzalez Jonathan In this observation and experiment, I will be evaluating the relationship between a plant species, Polemonium foliosissimum, and it\'s mycorrhizal symbionts. Mycorrhizae are soil fungi that inhabit the roots of plants and extract nutrients from the soil to exchange with the plants for photosynthetic products. Evaluating the mycorrhizal associations of Polemonium foliosissimum, and observing for differing responses to herbivory details
2011 Greer Burke In my work I will research how drought affect male and female Aspen clones. Do the clonal characteristics of aspen (Populus tremuloides) increase or reduce its resilience to drought? details
2011 Grinath Josh Food webs describe feeding relationships among species and measure the magnitudes of species� effects on one another as �interaction strengths.� Most of these interactions are weak, but the few interactions that are strong are most important for determining community stability. Though there is great need to understand when strong interactions will occur, interaction strengths in food webs are often criticized as phenomenological and thus unpredictable. Yet, some believe the metabolic theory of ecology has the potential to link an organism�s bodily needs to their effects in food webs. Of central importance to this theory, body mass, population biomass, and stoichiometry (elemental composition) are species characteristics that have promise for indicating the strengths of species interactions. In the proposed study, I will evaluate the usefulness of these traits for predicting interaction strengths in a mountain meadow food web. This web is special in that it includes positive types of interactions (mutualisms) in addition to the negative effects (predation, herbivory) usually studied in food webs. By focusing on positive interactions between ants and honeydew-producing insects and negative interactions between the honeydew-producers and the plants they consume, I will also evaluate whether different kinds of ecological relationships are predicted by body mass, population biomass, and stoichiometry. Predicting interspecific interaction strength in a mutualistic/antagonistic food web: are body mass, population biomass or stoichiometry simple proxies? details
2011 Harte John A 20 year climate manipulation experiment will be continued. It is providing science and decision makers with critical information about how ecosystems respond to climate change and how those responses generate feedbacks to the climate that tend to exacerbate the warming. Continuing Studies of Ecosystem-Climate Interactions at the RMBL Warming Meadow details
2011 Hernandez Stephanie Organisms within Ecosystems must deal with trade-off costs daily. Trade-off costs are universally found in predator prey systems. Prey must graze to obtain food which exposes them to predators. Prey must decide how long to graze, where to graze, and when to graze. Prey must also decide what body size will maximize both their fitness and chance of survival. Baetis bicaudatus is a mayfly species found in both fish and fishless streams which must deal with trade-off costs. Baetis drift from rock to rock in order to find food. This presents a risky situation as brook trout are visual feeders which eat drifting Baetis. Baetis react to this threat by changing life history strategies. In streams containing fish, Baetis forage for food at night and mature at a smaller size. However, it is not known whether food availability or predator presence plays a larger role on Baetis behavior. The overall objective of the study is to manipulate the environment of these mayflies using treatments with or without chemical cues from brook trout and different levels of periphyton in order to determine whether an interaction exists between food availability and predator avoidance behavior. Trade-offs Associated with Food Availability and Predator Avoidance Behavior details

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11...18  Next >>