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RMBL MENTORS 2016 (last updated 2.13.16)
Below is a list of RMBL mentors and a description of their research. Please do not contact
researchers directly, as we receive well over 200 applications for 40 spots. When you are
accepted, we will match you with an appropriate mentor.
Student applicants writing essays for the RMBL Education Application are welcome (but not
required) to discuss in their essays some broad topics in biology: climate change, plant ecology,
entomology, pollination, mutualisms, evolution etc. that interest them. If students choose to list
mentors’ whose research interests them, we recommend listing a number of mentors, rather than
1 or 2, since students with broad interests are easier to match.
Jill Anderson, University of Georgia
Benjamin Blonder, University of Oxford (UK)
Dan Blumstein, UCLA
Carol Boggs and Rachel Steward, University of South Carolina
Alison Brody, University of Vermont
Berry Brosi, Emory University
Diane Campbell, UC Irvine
Ross Conover, Paul Smith’s College
Charlotte deKeyzer, University of Toronto
Amy Ellwein, RMBL
Brian Enquist, University of Arizona
Jessica Forrest, University of Ottawa
Kate Gallagher, UC Irvine
John Harte, UC Berkeley
Jeremiah Henning, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Amy Iler, Aarhus University, Denmark and University of Maryland, USA.
Rebecca Irwin, North Carolina State University
Tom Mitchell-Olds, Lauren Carley, Duke University and Robin Bingham, WSCU
Emily Mooney, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Kailen Mooney, UC Irvine
Jane Ogilvie, RMBL
Kate Maher, Stanford
Anne Marie Panetta, University of California Davis
Mary Price and Nick Waser, University of Arizona
Jennifer Reithel, RMBL
Jenn Rudgers, University of New Mexico
Rosemary Smith, Idaho State
Brad Taylor, North Carolina State University
Dirk Van Vuren and Jaclyn Aliperti, University of California, Davis
Noah Whiteman, UC Berkeley
Ken Whitney, University of New Mexico
Ken Williams, LBNL
Rick Williams, Idaho State
Scott Wissinger, Allegheny College
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Jill Anderson, University of Georgia
Student Research Projects 2016
Our lab seeks to understand the evolutionary and ecological responses of natural plant
populations to climate change. At the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, we study on a
native species of mustard, Drummond’s rockcress (Boechera stricta, Brassicaceae), which spans
an impressive elevational gradient. We test key eco-evolutionary hypotheses using a large-scale
field experiment in 5 common gardens at different elevations around the RMBL (N >30,000
juvenile plants and seeds from ~200 local genotypes). In early spring, we expose half of these
experimental transplants to contemporary climates and half to early snow removal to simulate
changing climatic conditions. We also manipulate growing season temperatures via open top
chambers. This experiment examines local adaptation and natural selection in the context of
climate change.
There are many opportunities for students to develop independent projects associated with our
overall objectives, including studies on: 1) population divergence in ecologically-relevant traits,
especially drought and UV tolerance and herbivore resistance; 2) phenotypic plasticity at
multiple spatial scales; 3) population density and species composition of the herbivore
community that attacks Drummond’s rockcress; 4) phenotypic variation in foliar, phenological or
ecophysiological traits along elevation gradients; and 5) flower color polymorphism.
In summer 2016, my field crew will consist of a postdoctoral associate, and undergraduate and
graduate researchers (5-6 people total). One or two students will work directly with me to
develop a research project. My students conduct research projects mostly in the field, though
some lab work is involved. My fieldwork will focus on quantifying fitness and phenotypes in
our large experiment. Students who take on a project related to that experiment will work
closely with me and my team in the field. I am also happy to mentor students who are interested
in other questions related to plant ecology and evolutionary biology, but those students will do
most of their fieldwork independently. I meet with students at least weekly, but more frequently
during project development in June.
Benjamin Blonder, Environmental Change Institute and University of Oxford (UK)
Student research projects for summer 2016 I am exploring the idea that communities’ functional composition and climate niches cannot
change rapidly enough to track ongoing climate change and disturbance, creating ecological
disequilibrium and lagged dynamics that are not captured by current global-change ecosystem
models. I do this not only by building and testing disequilibrium models, but also by pushing the
limits of equilibrium ecophysiology models.
Fieldwork has primarily focused on long-term demography and microclimate and trait
measurements within a set of intensively studied alpine plant communities. Working with me is a
chance to learn about demography, functional traits, ecophysiology, and biophysics, while
spending days outdoors on beautiful mountaintops.
This summer I have opportunities to work on a range of questions. Some project areas that are
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suitable for a summer field season include (but are not limited to):
- the relationship between plant demography / fitness components and functional traits
- the role of microclimate (temperature) variation in structuring plant performance and fitness
- tests of whole-plant functional integration across different growth strategies
I am also interested in supporting independent projects on related themes in other locations.
Regardless, I look forward to working with creative and independent students who enjoy being
on mountaintops as much as I do.
More information about my scientific work can be found at
http://www.benjaminblonder.org/ or at my photo-blog at
http://bblonder.wordpress.com. Posts related to RMBL work can be found in the June, July, or
August archives of any year.
Mentor style and logistics: My lab group is small, typically comprised of myself, a research
technician, and one or two undergraduates conducting independent research. In addition, I
collaborate with Dr. Brian Enquist and Dr. John Harte and their research groups.
Students work closely and directly with me to develop a research project. My students conduct
research projects primarily in the field, with more limited lab work. I meet with students at least
weekly and usually more often during project development. Once studies are in place, students
may do most of their field work by themselves or with me, depending on the details of their
independent project. Because my primary field site is in the alpine, students working with me
should be comfortable hiking several miles daily.
My field season tends to run from late June to late August, though I tend to arrive in early
June. My students may arrive and stay later than the regular program dates, e.g. arriving in late
June and leaving in late August.
I am half Chinese, from a second-generation immigrant family on my mother's side, and feel
strongly that ecology should be open to everyone. I believe in providing a safe and welcoming
community for all my students. I encourage anyone with enthusiasm and curiosity, regardless of
past experience, to develop their interest in the mountains.
Dan Blumstein, UCLA
Possible Student Research Projects for 2016
1) Who do white-crowned sparrows listen to? Animals live in a rich acoustic community.
Many species ‘eavesdrop’ on the warning vocalizations of other species. The student will
capitalize on a well-studied and abundant population of white-crowned sparrows to begin to map
out the set of heterospecifics that they respond to. Experiments may include both social and
alarm vocalizations from a variety of birds and mammals.
2) Marmot Research: Many animals are lateralized in the way that they interact with their
environment (humans, for instance, are handed). Theory predicts that animals should respond
with different eyes if they need to acquire information about social factors versus predator-
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related factors. We will design experiments and make observations to study laterality in the well-
studied yellow-bellied marmot.
3) Marmot Research: Many animals respond to the sounds of conspecific screams but how
generally evocative are these screams. Screams from different species sound quite similar, thus,
we will design a playback experiment to determine whether marmots generally respond to
screams from a variety of different species.
4) Deer habituation: We have been engaged in a number of studies looking at how animals
respond to muliti-modal predator stimuli. A key question that has emerged is whether habituate
more quickly to unimodal stimuli. To address this question, we will present deer with predator
smells and sounds (that have previously been shown to elicit responses) and look at the time it
takes for them to forage at a feed block.
Logistics and Mentor Style Several mentored students will need to arrive in late May or early June.
My labgroup is large, typically 8-9 people work out of my lab at one time. All students will
work directly with me to develop a research project. Because animal care protocols are approved
well in advance of summer, the summer’s experiments are already determined. My students
conduct research projects almost entirely in the field. Statistical analyses require significant
computer time during the second half of the summer. I or my graduate students meet with
students at least weekly, and usually much more frequently. Students working on bird or deer
projects tend to do most of their field work by themselves. Students working with marmots will
spend time working with the larger labgroup, comprised of myself, graduate students, and RAs.
Carol Boggs and Rachel Steward, University of South Carolina
Independent Research Projects for Undergraduates, Summer 2016 The Boggs lab studies the ecology and evolutionary biology of butterflies. We use Rocky
Mountain butterfly species to answer broader questions about resource allocation, population
dynamics, life history evolution, and constraints on local adaptation in changing habitats.
Pieris macdunnoughii is a native butterfly stuck in an evolutionary trap. Evolutionary traps arise
when specialized recognition systems (sets of behavioral responses to environmental cues) are
compromised by rapid environmental change, causing previously reliable cues to produce costly
or maladaptive behaviors. P. macdunnoughii females identify suitable food plants for their
caterpillars using chemical cues found in the leaves. Invasive Thlaspi arvense produces
chemicals similar to those found in the native plants, but, when females lay their eggs on this
mustard, all of the caterpillars die. The fitness costs associated with this trap should select for
increased avoidance by females or improved survival of caterpillars. However, in over a century
since T. arvense was introduced to the area, no adaptive response has occurred. There are many
possibilities for independent research projects within this system. Current graduate research is
focused on resolving the issues of heritability, movement and cue similarity as evolutionary
constraints. One potential direction is to explore the role of motivation and learning in making
this type of egg-laying mistake. We are also interested in resolving the novel plant defenses
causing caterpillars to die, through comparative feeding studies. Additionally, there are several
other invasive mustards becoming more abundant in the Gunnison Basin, and assessing egg-
laying behavior and caterpillar performance in relation to these plants could reveal additional
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evolutionary traps with consequences for the long term stability of P. macdunnoughii
populations.
Although our preference is for a student to work on the system described above, we also study
two other species, Euphydryas gillettii and Speyeria mormonia, with opportunities for
independent research projects in both systems. The lab consists of Dr. Carol Boggs, Rachel
Steward (PhD student) and several undergraduate students. We work closely with students to
develop a research question and experimental design, with meetings at least weekly but usually
more frequently throughout the summer. Our group works collaboratively to tackle several
research projects concurrently, in both the field and the lab, and undergraduate students are
rarely working alone.
Alison Brody, University of Vermont
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016 I am broadly interested in the suite of interactions among plants, their mutualist pollinators and
antagonists such as herbivores and seed predators. The interactions among these multiple species
affect both the ecology, i.e., abundance and distribution, of plants as well as the evolution of
floral traits. Most recently, I’ve been investigating how the interactions among plants and their
pollinators, pre-dispersal seed predators and pollen thieves, affect the stability of plant sex-ratios.
In some species, e.g., sticky Polemonium, plants produce hermaphroditic or perfect flowers, as
well as flowers that function only as females and produce little or no pollen. One might imagine
that the two sex morphs interact differently with pollinators looking for floral rewards in nectar
and pollen, and seed predators looking for food (i.e., seeds) for their offspring. The relative
strength of these interactions will provide selective feed-backs affecting sex-ratios within and
among populations.
Students working with me could embark on a variety of projects including, but not limited to: 1)
a study of the importance of pollen thieves to plant fitness, 2) examining pollinator and seed
predator choices and visitation patterns to hermaphrodite and female flowers, 3) examining how
pre-dispersal seed predators manipulate their host plants.
My labgroup is small, typically 1 or 2 students work directly with me to develop a research
project. In some cases, a pair of students may work together on complementary projects. My
students conduct research projects entirely in the field; little lab work is involved. I meet with
students at least weekly, though they tend to do most of their field work by themselves. My
research can accommodate students during the regular program dates, as well as those who arrive
later in June and leave later in August.
Berry Brosi, Emory University
Student Research Projects 2015 (Projects will be similar in 2016) My research explores the impact of native bee declines on alpine plant communities. Projects are
most suited for students interested in pollination biology, insect taxonomy, plant ecology or
community ecology.
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Pollinator Diversity and Foraging Specialization: My research group is exploring competition
between pollinator species and the importance it plays in shaping pollinator specialization as
well as what changes occur when certain pollinator species are lost. To test this hypothesis, we
temporarily and non-destructively reduce bee and plant diversity and abundance in meadow
sites, and compare manipulated to non-manipulated sites. We measure short-term specialization
of pollinators through 1) monitoring foraging behavior; 2) analyzing pollen loads carried by
bees; 3) analyzing pollen loads on flowers and 4) measuring seed set resulting from pollen loads
deposited on flowers. Students interested in working on this project would have the opportunity
to learn about pollination biology, plant taxonomy and insect behavior.
My labgroup is typically 2-5 people in total. One or 2 students will work directly with me and/or
a graduate student to develop a research project. My students conduct research projects mostly
in the field; though some microscope work may be involved. I or my graduate student meet with
students at least weekly, more frequently during project development in June. Depending upon
student interests and details of project design, students may do most of their field work by
themselves or they may spend most days working with the labgroup, which can include several
research assistants and sometimes a graduate student.
Diane Campbell, UC Irvine
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016 My lab examines mechanisms of evolution in natural populations, and how these processes are
likely to respond to global change. Our current research is focused on two areas: plant hybrid
zones, and responses of animals such as pollinators to combinations of flower traits. Two
potential projects are described below. Students will also be encouraged to participate in all
ongoing lab projects including visits to a variety of field sites.
1) Plant hybrid zones. We are using field experiments to test mechanisms that explain where
and why we see hybrids between related plant species. Understanding these mechanisms helps to
elucidate factors that lead to new species or cause breakdown of reproductive isolation. Our
study system is two species of plants in the genus Ipomopsis that grow across an elevational
gradient from 2900 m to 3200 m. It requires substantial hiking in a beautiful area to visit these
sites. For several years, we have been examining vegetative traits (e.g., specific leaf area,
photosynthetic rate, water-use efficiency), flower traits (e.g., shape, color), and how they
influence fitness in terms of seeds set. A potential student product could compare elevational
clines in some of these traits. A sharper change of the trait with elevation would indicate stronger
natural selection. Since we have more than 20 years of data on this system, the student could
examine whether the hybrid zone has evolved over time, by comparing how traits change with
elevation now versus in the early 1990s. We also have three experimental common gardens,
including both species and their hybrids, set up at different elevations, which would allow
determining the extent to which differences in each of those traits are genetic.
2) Pollinators and seed predators. Most plants interact with a wide variety of other organisms.
These multiple interactions can shape flower traits through natural selection in a way that is not
predictable from examining each single interaction. For example, the flower traits that lead to
high seed production because they attract pollinators set the stage for selection by seed predators
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that feed on those seeds. This project would examine natural selection on pairs of flower traits in
Ipomopsis aggregata and how that selection is altered by removing eggs of a fly that eats
maturing seeds and by removing the influence of hummingbird pollinators by hand-pollinating
all flowers. Some of the traits that could be examined are: flower width, sepal width, nectar
production and emission of terpene scent compounds. This project would take place in the field
within easy walking distance of RMBL.
Mentor Style
My research can accommodate students during the regular program dates, as well as students
arriving later in June and leaving later in August.
My lab group will be comprised of myself, one postdoc, two graduate students and one to three
undergraduates. Students work directly with me to develop a research project. My students
conduct research projects either in the field or using potted plants in a small greenhouse, with
some follow-up analysis done in the laboratory. I meet with students at least twice a week and
often go in the field with them. Students often do most of their field work together with one or
more members of the lab team.
Ross Conover, Paul Smith’s College
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016 My research is part of a continuing, long-term investigation into the life histories of mountain
white-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys oriantha). This project aims to elucidate
relationships between parasite load as well as their reproductive ecology along an elevational
gradient. Students interested in this project must be willing to rise before dawn and hike long
distances in rugged topography. My research lab typically consists of myself and 2-3
undergraduates, so all students will work directly with me to develop a research
project. Because animal care protocols are approved well in advance of summer research,
projects will be largely determined by then. Students on this project can expect to spend nearly
all of their mornings in the field, must be willing to trap and handle live, wild birds and walk
long distances through tall vegetation while nest searching. Field work is a collaborative effort
and training will be conducted on-site such that students are skilled enough to collect data
independently. Research with white-crowned sparrows happens intensively in the early part of
the summer; students will need to arrive the last week of May or first week of June.
Charlotte deKeyzer, University of Toronto
Student Research, Summer 2016 Are plants getting enough pollination? This is a question asked at the start of many pollination
studies and is important when we assess how plants are coping with climate change and altered
species interactions. The typical pollination limitation experiment involves comparing hand-
pollinated plants to control, open pollinated plants. Unfortunately, the simplicity of this
experiment likely results in deviations from reality and may overestimate pollination limitation.
For example, the quality of pollen is not held constant for hand pollination and control
treatments. I’m interested in studying this problem by comparing seed set from a controlled
number of visits by pollinators to hand pollinations. This experiment will involve catching lots of
bumble bees and watching them visit marked plants in pollinator exclusion cages.
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Mentorship style: Students will be co-mentored by myself and my supervisor, James Thomson.
I will be the primary mentor and on-site at Gothic. The project will involve a lot of field work
and will require a fairly independent student. After setting up the experiment, the student can
expect to be in the field most days, as long as the weather is good for bees. I will meet with the
student to check in at least once a week.
Amy Ellwein, RMBL
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: 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?
What will you do? Work with me to define a manageable project, dig soil pits, describe soils, and
map surficial deposits in a GIS using a state-of-the-art field-hardened laptop loaded with aerial
photos, digital elevation models and satellite imagery. This project will be conducted almost
entirely in the field and will require hiking in steep terrain with a 20-40 pound load. Learn to
read the abiotic component of this montane landscape, reconstruct late Quaternary landscape
evolution around RMBL, and help launch a new research program!
My labgroup is small, typically 1 or 2 students work directly with me to develop a research
project. I meet with students at least weekly, though they tend to do most of their field work by
themselves.
Brian Enquist, University of Arizona
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016 We use physiological, experimental, theoretical, and observational methods to try to understand
what regulates diversity (phylogenetic and functional) and dynamics of subalpine communities
and ecosystems at different scales. In particular, we are interested in understanding how diversity
influences ecosystem functioning. We are interested in the relative importance of abiotic
(namely, climate) and biotic (species interactions, community assembly, and competition) factors
in controlling plant community and ecosystem response to climate change. At the largest scales,
we study the flux of carbon dioxide from subalpine meadows along an elevational gradient and
its relationship to temperature, water availability, plant functional traits and species identity. At
the smallest scale, we are studying the mechanisms of community assembly of subalpine
meadows.
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Our research program can accommodate students during the regular program dates, as well as
students arriving earlier and leaving earlier than the regular program dates.
My labgroup is comprised of myself, one or more graduate students, and a research technician,
in addition to 1-2 undergraduates conducting independent research and possible lab
visitors. Students work directly with me to develop a research question. Students conduct
research projects mostly in the field, though occasional lab work may be required. My lab group
is onsite throughout the summer and I am onsite during June and I meet with students at least
weekly, and usually more often during project development. During the second half of the
summer, my onsite lab team will assist as needed and I am in regular email and Skype
contact. Field work is often a collaborative effort with the lab team. However, once studies are
in place, students may develop independent field projects.
Jessica Forrest, University of Ottawa
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016 I study the effects of environmental change (mainly climate change) on bees and the plants they
visit. I’m also interested in bee ecology and pollination biology in general. At RMBL, my work
focuses on (a) the factors regulating bee populations (including floral resources, parasites, and
temperature), (b) the phenology and life-history of bees, and (c) the functional ecology of
flowers. My primary study organisms are solitary bees in the family Megachilidae, which,
conveniently, are willing to occupy artificial nest blocks; this allows their nesting and emergence
phenology, floral host use, and parasitism rates to be observed. Some of these species show
intriguing variation in life-cycle duration, the causes of which I am trying to understand
(developmental temperatures and larval diet are two likely possibilities). I would especially like
to work with a student who is interested in one of the following areas:
1. Understanding the role of temperature in controlling the life cycles of bees and their parasites,
using field observations and/or incubator experiments. This work is important for understanding
how bee populations will be affected by climate change.
2. Differences in pollen quality among plant species, and how these affect development of bees
and their parasites.
3. The role of pollinators in maintaining reproductive isolation between closely related, co-
occurring plant species.
My lab group is small, typically including me, 2 graduate students, and 1-3 undergraduates
conducting independent research or working as research assistants. Students work directly with
me to develop a research project, which can be field-based, lab-based, or both. I meet with
students at least weekly and usually more often; regular email contact is important. Once studies
are in place, students may work on their own, with me, or with other students in my lab,
depending on the nature of the project and the student’s level of confidence.
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Kate Gallagher, UC Irvine
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016 Recent changes in climate are altering ecosystems worldwide. These environmental changes may disrupt
ecological relationships, including those between plants and pollinators. Plant-pollinator mutualisms are
vital to maintaining ecosystems and supporting global crop production. In the Rocky Mountains, warmer
springs are changing the timing of plant reproduction and pollinator emergence (i.e. phenology), while
earlier snowpack melting is likely altering soil water availability during the growing season. The aim of
my dissertation research is to investigate the mechanisms driving plant-pollinator responses to
changes in water availability and phenology associated with warmer springs and early snowmelt.
Through a combination of observational studies and manipulative experiments, over the last four
summers, I have examined the extent which floral traits, pollination, and seed set of the tall-fringed
bluebell, Mertensia ciliata (Boraginaceae), respond to changes in soil moisture and flowering phenology.
In 2015, I will be manipulating both of these variables in a multi-factorial experiment, in order to test the
extent to which changes in plant and floral characters resulting from reduced water availability interact in
their effects on pollination with those caused by differences in flowering phenology. In this experiment,
potted plants will be induced to flower at different times. Within each flowering group there will be three
water availability treatments (addition, reduction, & control). Flowering plants of all three water
treatments will be placed in the field (a beautiful mountain meadow) in experimental arrays. We will
measure floral and vegetative traits, conduct pollinator observations, and monitor seed set throughout the
summer.
There are many opportunities for students to develop independent projects associated with my overall
objectives, including studies on: 1) assessing variation in pollinator effectiveness throughout the season in
order to determine effects of changes in pollinator species or caste and 2) measuring pollen limitation and
pollen saturation of M. ciliata at various times during the summer.
Mentorship style & Logistics: My research can accommodate students during the regular program dates,
as well as students arriving later in June and leaving later in August. I am a graduate student in the
Campbell lab, so students working with me will also be encouraged to participate in all ongoing Campbell
lab projects including visits to a variety of field sites. Students will work directly with me to develop a
research project. Research projects are almost entirely conducted in the field with some follow-up
analysis done in the laboratory; although we may do some work with potted plants in a small greenhouse.
Typically, we work together in the field as much as appropriate, especially while developing project
ideas. I meet with students at least once a week, but likely more often. Students generally do most of their
field work together with one or more members of the lab team.
Gallagher Personal Website: http://sites.uci.edu/mkgallagher/
Campbell Lab Website: http://campbell-lab.bio.uci.edu
John Harte, UC Berkeley
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016 Student research will be supervised in two interrelated areas: 1. The macroecology of disturbed
sites. 2. The ecological effects of climate change on subalpine/alpine ecosystems.
1) Macroecology is the study of patterns in the abundance and distribution of species across
multiple spatial scales. It is an essential component of the science of biodiversity. Among the
patterns that macroecologists study are species-area relationships, abundance distributions, and
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relationships between adult body size and abundance across species. Most prior macroecological
studies, both empirical and theoretical, have been designed for relatively undisturbed
ecosystems. Areas of disturbance, such as heavily eroded sites, avalanche slopes, post fire sites,
and habitats that are experiencing rapid climate change, have been neglected. We have recently
begun a study of “disturbance macroecology”, trying to answer the question of whether field data
in disturbed sites in the vicinity of RMBL reveal macroecological patterns that are similar to the
patterns that are both observed, and are explained by recent theory, in undisturbed sites.
2) We are conducting a long term (it is now in its 26th-year) meadow warming experiment at
RMBL. Many changes have been documented in the heated plots relative to the controls,
including loss of soil carbon and a shift in plant species composition from forb dominance to
shrub dominance, but many questions remain. Are shrubs doing better because competing forbs
are doing worse, or are forbs doing worse because competing shrubs are doing better, or is
neither of hypotheses correct? Biogeochemical theory suggests that the soil carbon decline
should reverse in the coming years, with the soil carbon levels recovering back to pre-heated
values: is that theory descriptive of our experimental plots?
Students working on these projects should have strong quantitative skills and be willing to work
independently. I meet with students at least weekly, but students do most field work on their
own.
Jeremiah Henning, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016
My research is focused broadly on the community ecology of symbiosis. Specifically, I’m
interested in understanding how climate change will impact plant and root associated symbionts
(mycorrhizal fungi and endophytic bacterial communities). We know climate change is pushing
plants to new ranges and phenologies, but their associated belowground symbionts have received
little attention. My research is highly collaborative with fellow RMBL researchers Quentin Read,
Aimée Classen, Nate Sanders, and Lara Souza. The collaborative nature of our research group
gives students a wide array of expertise and opportunities to combine aboveground processes,
belowground processes, with ecosystem functioning.
My RMBL work is focused in 3 broad questions:
1) What are the biotic and abiotic factors that structure mycorrhizal communities?
The argument of biotic versus abiotic factors has been a long-fought debate in ecology for
several decades, but does the either/or debate really matter? It seems commonplace that some
balance between abiotic and biotic factors ultimately control community structure. To investigate
the balance of abiotic and biotic factors that are structure mycorrhizal fungal communities, I'm
correlating mycorrhizal fungal community structure with several climatic, edaphic, and biotic
factors along an elevational gradient. I’m interested in understanding if the balance of abiotic
versus biotic factors shifts as you move along an elevational gradient?
2) How will long-term warming and dominant plant species removal alter the structure and
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function of mycorrhizal communities?
In collaboration with Quentin Read, we have installed a long-term warming × dominant species
removal experiment along an elevational gradient. This allows us to manipulate abiotic
environment and plant community structure simultaneously to understand response of
mycorrhizal community structure. Additionally, we can test if changes in mycorrhizal structure
correspond to changes in mycorrhizal community function.
3) How do changes in mycorrhizal community structure cascade to affect ecosystem function?
Mycorrhizal fungi play a key role in carbon sequestration in soils. There is evidence that
mycorrhizal fungal species differ in their ability to store carbon belowground. One of the big
concerns and unknowns with ongoing global change is whether mycorrhizal fungi will serve as
organisms that can sequester excess atmospheric carbon or whether mycorrhizal fungi will
contribute to atmospheric carbon gain. Within our warming plots, we have begun monitoring
carbon pools and fluxes between atmosphere, plants, fungi, and soils.
Advising style: My labgroup is small, typically comprised of myself, another graduate student
co-mentor and 1-2 undergraduates conducting independent research. However, I work in close
collaboration with Drs. Nate Sanders and Aimee Classen and their students. My students work
directly with me to develop a research project and typically projects contain a 50:50 mix of field
and lab work, but it can change depending on student interest.
I have had invaluable mentors in my life that have worked in the field with me, have helped with
lab work, and were always willing to sit down and talk through data, so this is the advising style
that I prefer to take. I prefer to have frequent meetings with students to chat about project,
methods, data collection, data analysis, or simply to read and discuss research papers. Although
the student will undoubtedly drive the research progress, I will be available to assist the student
as much as I can. Please feel free to email me with questions or to discuss specific summer
research project ideas.
Amy Iler, Aarhus University, Denmark and University of Maryland, USA.
Co-mentor: Heidi Steltzer, Fort Lewis College
Student Research 2016: Phenology, flower albedo, & soil moisture: a positive feedback
between vegetation and climate change?
Earlier biological events are a hallmark of climate change across the globe. Indeed, many plant
species are flowering earlier in the Rocky Mountains as the climate changes. At the RMBL, early
dates of spring snowmelt coincide with earlier flowering of most plant species. Some plant
species counter-intuitively suffer increased frost damage when spring comes early; this happens
because nighttime low temperatures can still dip below freezing in late spring when flower buds
are developing, even if the snow melts early.
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We are studying whether or not this loss of sunflowers (Helianthella quinquenervis) alters the
amount of sunlight that is reflected back from the Earth's surface (albedo). Feedbacks between
vegetation and climate mediated by phenology are poorly understood, and the role of flower
albedo in these feedbacks is unknown. Specifically, green leaves reflect less light than yellow
flowers, which could result in even warmer and drier soils in years when snowmelt is early. To
test this hypothesis, we conducted a flower removal experiment during summer 2015 and
measured soil moisture, soil temperature, greenness index (NDVI), and water stress in sunflower
plants. Overall, our results suggest that floral albedo may play an important role in feedbacks
between vegetation and climate. Future work will repeat this experiment across summers with
different abiotic conditions and will specifically measure albedo in the plots. If you are interested
in effects of climate change on plants, including phenology and physiology, this would be a great
project for you.
Rebecca Irwin, North Carolina State University
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016
We study the ecology and evolution of plant-pollinator and plant-herbivore interactions. Students
interested in plant ecology, insect ecology, insect taxonomy, and/or invasive species would be
most suited to the proposed projects.
Flowers, solitary bees, and climate change in subalpine Colorado. Solitary bees are important
and diverse pollinators worldwide, but the factors that affect the distribution and abundance of
solitary bees are not well explored, and it is not well known how solitary bees will respond to
climate change. The goal of this study is to test whether there is a relationship between flowering
phenology and abundance and solitary bee phenology and abundance, and how those
relationships will change as the environment changes. The study will use pan traps, nesting
blocks, and netting to assess the phenology and abundance of solitary bees. Students interested in
this project will have the opportunity to add to a growing database of bee phenology and
abundance and to examine changes in patterns over time.
Invasive species. Invasive species are a leading component of environmental change. However,
controlling the spread of invasive species has been challenging both from an ecological and a
socio-economic perspective. The goal of this project is to understand how to control invasive
plants, what the ecological costs and benefits of doing so are, and how socio-economic factors
interact to affect the success of invasive species control. Students interested in this project will
have the opportunity to develop a project related to the ecology or socio-economics of invasive
species.
Behavioral ecology of secondary nectar robbing. Some pollinators (also called legitimate
foragers) will change foraging strategies and begin to secondary nectar rob - remove nectar
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through a hole previously made in the flower by other individuals (primary nectar robbers). The
goal of this project is to determine how primary robbing facilitates secondary robbing using wild
bees for behavioral tests in a foraging arena. Students will assist in observations and experiments
and will have the opportunity to develop an independent component of the study.
Pollen foraging bees. Some plants do not make nectar but instead offer pollen as a reward to
pollinators. The goal of this project is to understand the evolutionary ecology of nectarless plants
within the context of the behavior of pollen-foraging bees.
My labgroup is comprised of myself, one or more graduate students, and a research technician
and/or post-doc, in addition to multiple undergraduates conducting independent research or
working as research assistants. Students work directly with me to develop a research question
and sometimes with co-mentorship from graduate student or technician. Most projects are
primarily in the field. The bee survey research is about half time in the field, collecting and
surveying bees and plants, and about half time in the lab, pinning and identifying bees. The bee
survey research is best suited to a detail-oriented student. I meet with students weekly, and
usually more often during project development. My graduate students are in the lab often and
are an added resource for my students. Some students may conduct field work alone in the field,
while others may work more closely with a graduate student or technician, depending on the
nature of their individual projects.
Tom Mitchell-Olds, Lauren Carley (Duke University) & Robin Bingham (Western State
Colorado University)
Overview: Since plants cannot move around to escape unfavorable conditions, they have evolved
a variety of complex traits that help them adapt to their biotic and abiotic environments. In the
Mitchell-Olds lab, we study how these adaptations have arisen and are maintained in natural
populations of plants. Using the model system Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae), we seek to
understand the historical, ecological, and evolutionary forces that explain the wide variety of
plant traits that we observe in nature, and to illuminate functional links to the genetic
mechanisms that underlie them. The key questions we will address in 2016 are described below.
1. How does natural selection by herbivores vary among natural montane environments?
We are testing the hypothesis that variability in biotic interactions creates balancing selection
on plant defense traits, allowing diversity in these traits to be maintained over space and
time. To do so, we will measure natural selection on defensive chemistry in 10-12 distinct
montane environments, spanning a range of habitat types that B. stricta naturally inhabits, in
attempt to identify the ecological factors that favor different defensive phenotypes.
Specifically, we are interested in selection by herbivory, which may vary with the abundance,
diversity, and feeding behaviors of several key insect species.
2. What are the impacts of evolutionary change on ecological interactions? The evolution
of defensive traits may reciprocally modify the selective environment that plants experience,
altering future evolutionary trajectories. To test this, we are creating experimental arrays of
B. stricta genotypes that vary in a gene controlling defensive chemistry, and will monitor the
responses of the biotic environment (and resultant selective pressures) to this change. As in
the above question, the focus of this experiment will be insect herbivores—the putative
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ecological agents of selection on plant defense traits—and how their patterns vary depending
on the genotypes and phenotypes of the individual plants in a population.
3. What genes underlie ecologically important plant traits, and how and why do they vary
in nature? Utilizing state-of-the-art genomic techniques, we are executing a large-scale
study to discover the genes that control a wide range of traits contributing to plant adaptation,
including insect resistance, drought tolerance, and phenology. Combining genomic analysis
with studies of phenotypic expression and natural selection in field environments allows us to
more deeply understand the mechanistic links between natural genetic variation, adaptive
evolution, and the ecological interactions that connect them.
Mentorship style: We are excited to work with students whose research interests complement
our own, but will work with you to develop personalized, independent questions and methods to
accommodate your interests and goals. Our field crew of graduate students, research assistants,
professors, and undergraduates (usually ~2 of each) works very collaboratively with each other
and with other lab groups studying related plants at RMBL. Undergraduates rarely, if ever,
perform fieldwork alone. Projects are primarily field-based, but it is possible to conduct
complementary lab work as well, if desired/necessary. We meet with our students regularly
(several times per week, as needed), have group meetings at least once per week, and are
invested in creating a supportive, dynamic, and stimulating research environment for our
undergrads, regardless of prior experience level. If you are excited about how the interactions of
ecology, evolution, and genetics play out in natural ecosystems, we hope you will apply to work
with us!
Emily Mooney, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Student Research Projects
Plants are targeted by a variety of consumers--from insect herbivores to human harvesters. I use
techniques from population genetics, chemical ecology and conservation biology to examine
patterns of harvest and herbivory. My research at RMBL focuses on the plant Ligusticum porteri
(Porter’s lovage). Field surveys consistently find habitat-dependent herbivory in L. porteri:
plants in meadows are colonized by aphids to a much greater extent than plants in the aspen
understory. Past student projects revealed that mutualism with ants is the key factor that
determines this pattern. In addition to aphids, L. porteri is sought after by human harvesters as a
cold and flu remedy. There is concern that populations are vulnerable to overharvest, so part of
my research examines harvest sustainability.
There are opportunities for undergraduate researchers to develop a variety of projects in this
system. Project design will be a collaborative process so that students can follow their own
curiosity. For students interested in community ecology, experiments can explore the
mechanisms underlying the ant-aphid mutualism. For students interested in conservation biology,
projects can focus on harvest sustainability of L. porteri, and this could include using GIS to
determine the distribution and abundance of L. porteri.
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My lab group is small, but students are welcome to work with other larger groups while at
RMBL. My students conduct research projects mostly in the field, but lab work can complement
these projects. I meet with students several times a week, but I encourage students to work on
their own once projects are underway.
Kailen Mooney, UC Irvine
Student Research Projects for 2016 Herbivory by insects is the most common ecological interaction among macroscopic organisms.
Every plant species is fed upon by multiple species of herbivore, and herbivory plays a central
role in plant evolution and ecology. At the same time, all herbivores are preyed upon by
predators and parasites (“natural enemies”). We study the networks of interactions among plants,
herbivores, natural enemies, and the mutualists of herbivores that provide protection from natural
enemies. Using this food-web approach, we seek to determine the relative importance of plant
resistance, natural enemies and mutualists for herbivore performance, and the consequences of
these factors for plant growth and fitness.
Our work involves several plant systems and their associated insect communities. In most cases,
one component of the food webs we study are the ant-aphid and ant-plant protection mutualisms.
In these interactions, ants protect plants or aphids from their natural enemies (herbivores and
predators respectively) in exchange for food in the form of sugary exudates. Because ants can
provide protection from natural enemies, ant-aphid and ant-plant interactions can be an important
determinant of plant and aphid fitness.
The Mooney Lab group includes, Dr. Kailen Mooney, graduate students, and usually one or
more collaborators and their students for a combined group of 6-8 people in
total. Undergraduate students typically conduct research projects entirely in the field and work
independently with progress meetings one or more times per week (as needed).
Jane Ogilvie, RMBL
Student Research Project for Summer 2016
I am interested in how bumble bees might respond to changes in the wildflower community that
are driven by climate change. The wildflower community around the RMBL has changed in the
last few decades: the season is extending and flowers are declining mid-season, while some key
plant species have fewer flowers in years with early snowmelt. It is important to understand how
bumble bees respond to this trend toward fewer floral resources, because colonies need to forage
on a series of flowers throughout the growing season to grow and reproduce. If bumble bees are
flexible in their flower choices when resources are scarce, this may bode well for their
population persistence under continued climate change. However, we do not have a good
understanding of how flexible bumble bees are in their flower use when flower abundance
varies. There are few ways that we can study this, involving a lot of observation of flowers and
bees in the field. I am also interested in mentoring students who are interested in their own
questions about plant-pollinator interactions and plant reproductive ecology in general.
Mentor Style My labgroup is fairly small, typically comprised of myself, one or two research assistants, and an
undergraduate conducting independent research. In addition, I collaborate with Dr. David Inouye
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who has a number of long-term studies of wildflowers at the RMBL. Students work directly with
me to develop a research project. My students conduct research projects mostly in the field, with
only a little labwork. I meet with students at least weekly and usually more often during project
development. Once studies are in place, students may do most of their fieldwork by themselves
or with me or my technician, depending on the details of their independent project. Because my
field season runs from early summer to late summer, I can usually accommodate students either
arriving early or staying later than the regular program dates.
Kate Maher, Stanford University
Matthew Winnick, Stanford University
Rosemary Carroll, Desert Research Institute
Student Research Projects for 2016
Soils, floodplains, and shallow aquifers are the least understood components of the global carbon
cycle, yet they represent the largest reservoir of terrestrial carbon and are highly sensitive to
shifts in climate, vegetation, and the resulting water balance. Small changes in the storage and
cycling of carbon in the subsurface therefore may have very large impacts on the Earth’s climate
system. Our research at RMBL is aimed at addressing this critical knowledge gap by describing
the interactions between water and carbon in the subsurface to better understand their sensitivity
to future change. We use research techniques across a range of disciplines including stable
isotope biogeochemistry, hydrology, microbial ecology, and GIS, and combine fieldwork with
laboratory analyses and quantitative models.
Undergraduate researchers will have the opportunity to develop a range of projects to contribute
to our ongoing research. Potential projects include (1) measurement of soil gas fluxes (CO2, CH4,
H2O, N2O) across a range of scales within the East River watershed; (2) high spatial/temporal
resolution stream chemistry measurements to characterize processes such as the effects of
summer storm events on solute fluxes and topography on stream CO2 degassing; (3) soil
description surveys across ecosystems, topography, aspect to characterize soil carbon stocks and
guide hydrologic subsurface flow models. Projects will all involve a strong field component with
ample opportunity to explore laboratory work and quantitative hydrologic and geochemical
models depending on students’ interests. We will work closely with students throughout the
summer to design and implement research goals, and there will be many opportunities to
collaborate with related research groups at the USGS, Colorado School of Mines, and Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratories.
Anne Marie Panetta, University of California Davis
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016 Research Interests I am broadly interested in species’ population-level responses to climate
change. More specifically, I study a mountain wildflower, Rock Jasmine (A. septentrionalis), and
its response to both experimental and human-caused climate change. Working in the world’s
longest-running climate manipulation experiment (the Warming Meadow) and along a broad
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elevation/climate gradient, I use a combination of field observations and transplant experiments
to investigate the potential the roles of evolution, phenotypic plasticity, and assisted migration in
rescuing Rock Jasmine populations from climate-change induced extinction.
Mentoring Philosophy I encourage independent, creative thinking. I am looking for enthusiastic,
self-motivated students who are excited to design an ecological research project inspired by field
observations.
Mary Price and Nick Waser, University of Arizona
Student Projects 2015 (2016 projects will likely be pollination, possibly dust effects) Effects of road dust on pollination and reproduction of native wildflowers.
Roadways have profound ecological effects. They can serve as corridors for introduction of
invasive species, and can alter the movement of individuals and genes across the landscape. Dust
also has profound ecological effects. It may move locally or around the Globe, and it influences
many things ranging from ecosystem productivity to climate.
We are combining an interest in roads and an interest in dust, brought about because the unpaved
road through RMBL is dusty. We wonder how road dust influences organisms near the road—in
this case the animals that pollinate wildflowers, and the plants themselves. With several
undergraduate interns we have studied dust, pollination, and seed set in two native wildflowers
over four summers. The results are intriguing—strong negative effects of dust in some years for
one or the other of the two plant species, but no effects, or positive effects, in other years.
This is a detective story, just as all good science is. We would like to have good students join us
as detectives, and by good we mean people who are willing to work hard and think carefully and
are not afraid of exploring the unknown and of tasks that can be tedious.
We hope that this research will lead to something useful. Unpaved roads are the norm in most of
the world, and virtually nothing is known about how dust from them affects, or does not affect,
whole organisms—let alone pollination of flowers.
This research can accommodate students during the regular program dates, as well as students
arriving earlier and leaving earlier than the regular program dates.
Our group is small—it’s usually the two of us and 1-2 undergrad interns doing their research
projects. Students work directly with us to develop a research project. They sometimes work as
a team, perhaps including one or both of us, and sometimes on their own. This work involves
substantial time in the field and in front of a microscope, and will introduce you to topics such as
floral biology and bee behavior.
Jennifer Reithel, RMBL
Student Research Project for Summer 2016
I am interested in invasive plant management and restoration. My students and I conduct
research projects aimed at managing the nonnative invasive plant, Linaria vulgaris. I have some
on-going research investigating how manipulating soil nutrients affects the restoration of plant
communities and the growth of Linaria vulgaris in disturbed areas. I also have an on-going
experiment testing the effect of a cover crop on native plant restoration and growth of Linaria
vulgaris. Finally, I am testing which of 7 native species have the greatest growth and survival
when planted in restored areas. Students working with me can design projects related to existing
research or may develop their own questions and experiments. I work closely with students to
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develop research projects. Once projects are up and running, students do the field work on their
own. I am flexible about start and end dates.
Jennifer Rudgers, University of New Mexico
Co-mentors: Stephanie Kivlin, Joshua Lynn, University of New Mexico
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016
Our research program uses plants, microbes, and arthropods to explore how species interactions
affect population dynamics, community structure, and the evolution of species traits. Mutualistic
microbes, in particular, contribute an important, but often overlooked, layer of diversity in
ecosystems, and their inclusion in ecological research can increase the realism of both
experiments and theory.
Fungal endophytes grow in the leaves of all plants studied to date. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
and (the mysterious) dark septate endophytes colonize the roots of most plant species. However,
we are just beginning to understand the ecological consequences of these dynamic fungal
symbioses in natural ecosystems.
We develop questions and projects individually with students, based on their interests. But, here
are some possible projects:
1) How does climate change alter the frequency of symbiosis? Global climate change may
lead to increases in summer droughts, and symbioses could be critical to allowing plants to
overcome this additional stress. Given that endophytes are known to improve drought resistance
in agronomic grasses, we expect increases in the frequency of symbiotic plants under increased
drought stress. This project would involve planting small mesocosms consisting of 50:50
mixtures of endophyte-symbiotic and endophyte-free seeds. We will manipulate water
availability and track changes in the frequency of symbiotic plants (due to differential
germination, survival, and growth) through one growing season.
2) Does climate change create mismatches between plants and their symbionts? There is
strong evidence that plants are migrating to higher elevations as climate warms. The long-term
warming experiment at RMBL has shown that grasses are quite sensitive to warming. If plants
respond differently to climate (e.g., in dispersal, mortality) than do their symbionts, climate
change could create novel communities and associations, with unknown consequences for both
plant and microbial partners. We have been surveying plant and fungal symbiont distributions
along altitudinal gradients in the Rocky Mountains. Continued surveys combined with
manipulative experiments (creating new combinations of plant and soil microbial communities)
can help improve understanding of this consequence of climate change.
3) Do low elevation plant communities competitively exclude high elevation plant
species? In the summer of 2015, we set up a competition experiment to test if low elevation
plant communities can exclude high elevation plants species via competition when they move
upslope with climate change. Further monitoring and a pilot experiment involving plant traits to
explain competitive ability differences will take place during the summer of 2016.
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4) Warming-induced shifts in plant and fungal symbiont gene expression. The long-term
warming experiment at RMBL has shown that both grasses and fungi are sensitive to warming.
However, we lack a mechanistic molecular framework for these responses. We will survey the
transcriptome (RNA expression) of fungal pathogens and symbionts and plant hosts to elucidate
the environmental influence of warming on plant immunity, fungal pathogen physiology, and
fungal symbiont-host interactions. Ours will be the largest survey of these processes to take place
in the field. This work can potentially be translated into managed systems to improve crop and
forage yields under future climates.
5) Does climate warming alter the relationship between plants and their insect herbivores
and fungal pathogens? Many experiments that involve manipulating climate only look at the
direct effects of climate on plant communities. This ignores the indirect effects of climate change
on plant-enemy interactions (herbivores and fungal pathogens). We utilize the warming
experiments at RMBL and multiple years of data to observe how the amount of damage by plant
enemies changes in an altered climate over time.
6) How do above-ground symbionts affect decomposition? Do such effects vary along
environmental gradients, such as altitude? Plants host symbionts in both leaves and roots.
However, interactions between these above- and below-ground microbial communities are not
well understood. We will use manipulative experiments that alter symbiont presence in leaves to
evaluate effects on decomposition along replicated altitudinal gradients.
Mentoring Research can accommodate students during the regular program dates, as well as students
arriving later and/or leaving later than the regular program dates.
Our labgroup is 3-5 people, typically including a graduate student, a post-doc, and 1-3 students
working on independent projects. Students work directly with us to develop a research project.
Students conduct research projects mostly in the field; though some lab work, such as preparing
slides, culturing fungi on Petri plates, and viewing fungi with a microscope, is involved. Projects
may be observational or experimental, but we tend toward more experimental approaches. We
meet with students at least weekly. Experiments can be a collaborative effort with the lab team,
and students can work together on a single (larger) project when that makes the most sense. We
typically have several research projects running concurrently and everyone helps out on all
projects during critical periods. There are many opportunities to learn a variety of tools in both
the field and lab. Once projects are set up, students tend to do most of their field work either by
themselves or in pairs, depending on the nature of their projects.
Rosemary Smith, Idaho State
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016
My research focuses on behavioral ecology. Projects generally focus on habitat selection, anti-
predator behaviors, competition, and reproductive strategies. My main research project is with
burying beetles, but I am willing to work with students who want to pursue studies of small
mammals. The burying beetle project focuses on the behavior and ecology of a very interesting,
large, colorful, and stinky beetle. The burying beetle (Coleoptera: Silphidae: Nicrophorus; 3
species near RMBL) belongs to a family of beetles that breed on carrion. In the case of
Nicrophorus, the carrion consists primarily of small mammals (voles, deer mice, jumping mice).
Once the beetles locate a carcass they fight, the largest M-F pair usually wins, and they begin the
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process of carcass preparation: burial, fur removal, and shaping into a ball. When the brood
chamber is complete, the larvae hatch and are fed and tended by both parents, although only one
(or none?) is required. The larvae consume the entire carcass in about 14 days, then stay in the
soil until they pupate. The parents leave and may breed again. Possible student projects include
ecological studies: competition among beetles or interspecific competitors or mutualists (mites,
ants, flies, other beetles), population density, habitat selection, or activity periods. Behavioral
projects include competition and intruders at carcasses, parental care, larval competition,
alternative mating strategies, and communication. Experiments can include both a field and a
captive/lab component. Students must be willing to work with live animals in an ethical manner,
pay attention to details, work independently once the project is established, and collaborate with
others in the same lab.
My labgroup is comprised of me, 2 research technicians, and 1-2 undergraduates conducting
independent research, usually about 5 people in total. Students often read suggested papers and
think of possible projects before arriving at RMBL, and may have 1-2 weeks at the lab before I
arrive. This means that students must put an effort into the project at the start, participating in
the RMBL coursework and/or workshops on GPS/GIS, statistics, ethics, and experimental
design. Once I arrive at the lab, students work directly with me to complete their research
proposals. Students conduct research projects in the field and in the lab or Insectarium,
depending on the nature of their research question. I meet with students nearly every day to help
with the experiments or analyses. Typically there are several research projects happening
concurrently and everyone is expected to help each other during critical and labor intensive
stages of experiments.
My research program can accommodate students during the regular program dates, as well as
students leaving later in August. The adult beetles do not emerge until late June (even early July
if it is a late snowmelt year) so most experiments must be carried out in July and
August. Research projects on small mammal behavior and ecology can normally start and end
earlier.
Brad Taylor, North Carolina State University
Student Research Projects 2016
How do pathogens affect nutrient cycling by stream invertebrates?
Mentors: Brad Taylor and Andrew Sanders
Invertebrates are important to nutrient cycling in streams. Indirectly they can alter the biomass of
primary producers that take up dissolved inorganic nutrients. Directly they excrete inorganic
nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, back into the water making them available for uptake
by primary producers. Individual, species, and community traits influence the degree to which
stream invertebrates affect nutrient cycling. Interestingly, many stream invertebrates are infected
with pathogens and there is evidence that pathogen infection alters the rate at which invertebrates
recycle nutrients. The aim of this project is to test how pathogens affect the amount of nitrogen
and phosphorus excreted by stream invertebrates by comparing excretion of parasitized and
unparasitized invertebrates. These results will be used to predict how pathogen prevalence
influences consumer-driven nutrient recycling and, thus the availability of nutrients for primary
producers. This project will involve measurements in both the field and lab, and will combine
biology, ecology and chemistry skills.
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Dirk Van Vuren and Jaclyn Aliperti, University of California, Davis
Student Research Projects 2016
We study the ecology and behavior of ground squirrels. We use a combination of trapping and
behavioral observations to study topics such as sociality, mating systems, spatial ecology and
population dynamics, in the context of climate change in a high-alpine environment. This
summer, our focus will be on combining spatial data on individual locality and home range with
behavioral interactions between those individuals and other squirrels on site. We will monitor
mother-pup interactions and pup play behavior, from shortly after birth until dispersal away from
the natal area. We are interested in mentoring students who want to use observations of and/or
experiments with marked squirrels to investigate questions about behavior.
Mentor style and Logistics: Students will work directly with me to develop a research project.
Research projects will likely be entirely conducted in the field. Typically, we work together in
the field while students are being trained to observe and possibly handle animals. Once training
is complete, students will do observations largely on their own. I meet with students at least
once a week, but likely more often. My lab group is small; I will work with one student and my
graduate advisor, Dirk Van Vuren will visit once during the summer. Students working with me
on ground squirrels will need to be prepared to work early morning and late afternoon hours. My
research can accommodate students during the regular program dates, as well as students arriving
earlier in June and leaving earlier in August.
Noah Whiteman, UC Berkeley
Student Research 2016. Hummingbird evolution.
Charles Darwin hypothesized that the “beaks of humming-birds are specially adapted to the
various kinds of flowers they visit.” However, the evolutionary link between bill and floral
morphologies remains a tenuous and controversial hypothesis, particularly if co-adaptation
drives variation in bird and plant traits. Temeles (1995) found that for hummingbirds at artificial
flowers, longer and shorter billed birds had particular advantages when exposed to flowers of
varying morphologies. On the one hand, he found that longer-billed birds had greater maximum
extraction depths and shorter handling times when the corolla diameters were greater than the
width of the bill. On the other hand, he found that shorter-billed birds fed more successfully at
narrow flowers (shorter billed birds made fewer insertion errors at narrow flowers). This
suggests that natural selection may maintain functionally important variation in bill length within
a hummingbird species. Given the broad use of plant species of the broad-tailed hummingbird at
RMBL, we may expect a similar pattern to emerge: alternative hummingbird genotypes may be
segregating and maintained through a combination of spatially varying and frequency dependent
selection, perhaps in concert with similar selection in the wintering grounds. Broad-tailed
hummingbirds are facultative trapliners, territorial and exhibit a high degree of philopatry. They
are also migratory, and identifying where natural selection acts on bill length, if at all, is a
difficult task that is tabled for now.
We propose to: (1) quantify variation in bill length in 500 male and female broad-tailed
hummingbirds in Gunnison County and (2) use population genomics (pool-GWAS) to identify
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regions of the broad-tailed hummingbird genome that are associated with culmen length
variation from a subset of the 500 birds sampled above and (3) examine these genomic regions
for signatures of balancing selection driven by floral trait variation using population genomics.
The laboratory of Noah Whiteman is currently using the pool-GWAS method on a variety of
species.
Undergraduate students will learn how to help capture and handle hummingbirds, measure bill
length and help process blood samples, when trained and with appropriate permission from
institutional, local, state and federal authorities. Students will develop a small project in the
context of this larger project.
Ken Whitney, University of New Mexico
Student Research Projects for Summer 2016 My research focuses on evolutionary ecology of plants, with current research projects on the
effects of hybridization in plants, on effects of genetic diversity in plants, and on interactions
between plants and seed dispersers, pollinators, and herbivores. I will work closely with students
to develop projects in these areas. Possible projects include, but aren’t limited to:
1) Herbivory and phylogeny. Preliminary data from RMBL indicate that the amount of leaf
damage (folivory) a plant gets is predicted by how closely it is related to the rest of the species in
the flora, with distantly-related species getting less damage. This may be because chemical
defenses become more divergent as species share less evolutionary history. Does this pattern
hold up for other types of damage (e.g. damage to seeds or flowers)? Does it explain why some
invasive species perform so well?
2) Natural selection on floral color. Can we detect natural selection on floral color within a
species, i.e. is flower color correlated with pollen and/or seed production? Is floral color an
"honest signal" to pollinators within a species (do individual plants with more extreme coloration
provide more nectar)? These questions have rarely been asked using careful experimentation.
My research can accommodate students during the regular program dates, as well as students
arriving later and/or leaving later than the regular program dates. My labgroup at RMBL is
comprised of 1-2 students working on independent projects, in addition to myself. Students
work directly with me to develop a research project; projects are mostly in the field, with
occasional lab work. I meet with students at least weekly (more often during project
development and during data analysis). Once projects are set up, students tend to do most of
their field work on their own.
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Ken Williams, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL)
Research statement
Elucidating Hydrogeochemical Processes in the Upper East River Catchment
The upper East River catchment is located just northeast of the town of Crested Butte, CO (USA)
covering an area of 250km2 at an average elevation of 3266m. Over the catchment’s 1420m of
topographic relief, pronounced gradients exist in hydrology, fluvial dynamics, and biome type
(montane, subalpine, alpine). The catchment receives ca. 600mm of precipitation per year, a
majority of which falls as snow, and is representative of many other headwaters systems within
the upper Colorado River Basin. The East River is one of two major tributaries that form the
Gunnison River, which in turn accounts for just under half of the Colorado River’s discharge at
the Colorado/Utah border. The upper catchment is the site of the Rocky Mountain Biological
Laboratory (RMBL)......
This research seeks to continue and expand the sampling and characterization activities ...
required to (a) constrain the hydrogeological transport model for the upper East River and (b)
implement a reactive component to the model describing biologically mediated pathways
impacting the form and concentration of key elements within the watershed. This will continue
to involved quantification of stream discharge at all major tributary locations in the upper
catchment along with the main stem East River at multiple locations. Surface water sampling at
all gaging stations will continue and be expanded to include groundwater sampling following
installation of monitoring wells at multiple locations within the modeling domain; hyporheic
sampling will continue at multiple locations along the East River corridor, with the primary
emphasis on the low gradient, meandering reach downstream of Gothic, CO. Lateral transport of
fluids along one or more hillslope transects will be assessed through deployment of soil water
samplers and direct measure of soil moisture content using a combination of techniques (soil
moisture sensors and minimally-invasive geophysical techniques). Variations in vertical profiles
of biologically critical elements (C, S, N, P, etc.) within soils and sediments will be assessed
through a combination of soil pits and well drilling activities. Insight into the full complement of
inferred microbial metabolic pathways present within the catchment will accompany
metagenomic sequencing of soils and sediments recovered through soil pit and monitoring well
installations. The combination of geochemical and microbial datasets will be used to expand the
aforementioned transport model to include reactive pathways that influence nutrient cycling
within and export from the upper East River catchment. The development of a genome-enabled
watershed simulation capability (GEWaSC) represents the “grand deliverable” of LBNL’s
planned multi-year effort at RMBL and within the upper East River hydrological system, which
is designed to quantify the impact of climate-induced changes in hydrology and vegetation on
subsurface biogeochemical cycling at the scale of the watershed. Successful development and
testing of GEWaSC at RMBL/East River is expected to have broad value to climate modelers
and a diversity of downstream water users given its ability to make predictions regarding both
water quality and quantity in the face of predicted changes in climate within the upper Colorado
River Basin.
Rick Williams, Idaho State
Student Research Project for Summer 2015 (2016 projects will be similar)
My research projects at RMBL investigate the effects of plant design on pollinator behavior and
plant mating success. In particular, I examine how plant floral display (size and number of
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flowers) influences pollinator attraction and movement, the amount of self vs. outcross
fertilization, and plant fitness in two species of larkspurs (Delphinium). I also investigate how
different sexual forms of flowers (females vs. hermaphrodites) are maintained in populations of
Geranium by examining the reproductive advantages and disadvantages of each sexual morph. A
third area of research uses historical and contemporary data on plant distribution and abundance
to examine historical shifts in plant communities and their causes. I am currently conducting
plant surveys of several sites, such as North Pole Basin and a number of mountain summits in the
vicinity of RMBL. This latter project includes plant identification and collection of specimens
for the RMBL herbarium and the development of online resources for distribution mapping and
plant identification. Besides mentoring students working on independent research, I can mentor
a research intern who is interested in learning plant curation and identification at the RMBL
Herbarium and the use and development of digital collections resources.
My small lab group usually includes myself and 1-2 undergraduates conducting independent
research. Students work directly with me to develop a research question. Students conduct
research projects mostly in the field, with significant time spent in the herbarium for the plant
distribution studies. I meet with students at least weekly and often more frequently depending on
the nature of the project. Students are expected to work independently and often on their own
rather than as a part of a larger field team.
Scott Wissinger, Allegheny College
Research Projects for Summer 2015 (2016 projects will be similar) We study aquatic ecosystems, and in particular the population and community ecology of lakes,
ponds, and wetlands in the vicinity of RMBL. Much of our work is focused on the 60+ subalpine
(elev. 3400 m) aquatic habitats at the Mexican Cut Nature Reserve, which is owned by The
Nature Conservancy and managed for research by RMBL. Long-term ( 20 yrs) data collected
with Dr. Howard Whitman reveal dramatic fluctuations in the density of salamanders, the top
predators in the ponds. We are interested in understanding how those fluctuations affect prey
communities and pond ecosystem function. Our research is in these areas:
1) Primary sources of energy in alpine ponds. The low levels of nutrients (N & P) in the ponds
suggest there should be low levels of primary production. To better understand the trophic basis
of animal production, we need to compare live-plant sources of energy and nutrients to those of
detritus (dead plant material from the edges of the ponds). The next questions we need to ask
include a) what are the standing-crop biomasses of phytoplankton and benthic algae, and how do
they vary seasonally and spatially among habitats, and b) How much detritus enters these ponds,
and what is the fate of that detritus?
2) Detritus processing by caddisfly larvae. We know that caddisflies are the dominant macro-
detritivores in our ponds, and that salamander-driven fluctuations in their densities should
modulate the re-entry of detrital nutrients and energy into consumer food webs. The next
questions we need to address are a) do caddisflies benefit twice from processing detritus; first
when they eat the detritus, and second when they graze algae growth stimulated by the nutrients
the caddisflies excrete. b) to what extent are the results of our previous experiments on caddisfly
detritus processing relevant at the whole pond level. c) Do temporary-habitat caddisflies have
similar impacts on detritus processing as those we have measured for permanent-pond
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caddisflies.
My labgroup includes myself and 1-2 undergraduates conducting independent research. In
addition, we interact with one or more collaborators and their students. My students conduct
research projects in the field and/or in weatherports. I meet with students at least weekly and
typically much more frequently, though they tend to do most of their field work by themselves.