Gothic Corporation

MODERNIZATION OF RESEARCH LABORATORY SPACE AT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

REU SITE: RESEARCH TRAINING IN PLACE-BASED FIELD RESEARCH

UNDERSTANDING AND PREDICTING ECOLOGICAL CHANGE INMOUNTAIN ECOSYSTEMS

LTREB: PHENOLOGICAL RESPONSIVENESS OF PLANTS AND BEES: CONSEQUENCES FOR SPECIES, INTERACTIONS, COMMUNITY COMPOSITION AND BIOMASS

LTREB RENEWAL: PHENOLOGICAL RESPONSIVENESS OF PLANTS AND BEES: CONSEQUENCES FOR SPECIES, INTERACTIONS, COMMUNITY COMPOSITION AND BIOMASS -THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN PLANTS AND ANIMALS ARE ACTIVE CAN AFFECT THEIR ABILITY TO SURVIVE AND REPRODUCE. IT IS WELL KNOWN THAT ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS SUCH AS TEMPERATURE, RAIN OR SNOW, CAN CHANGE THE TIMING (OR ?PHENOLOGY?) OF THESE IMPORTANT EVENTS, BUT SPECIES DON?T ALWAYS CHANGE THEIR TIMING IN THE SAME WAY. LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT HOW THESE DIFFERENCES IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS WILL INFLUENCE SPECIES SUCCESS. ADDITIONALLY, IT?S UNKNOWN IF PHENOLOGICAL CHANGES IN BEES AND PLANTS MAY AFFECT THEIR TIMING OF INTERACTION AND SEASONAL OVERLAP. ANSWERS TO THESE KINDS OF QUESTIONS ARE IMPORTANT FOR PREDICTING HOW PLANTS AND ANIMALS WILL CHANGE IN THE FUTURE, AND FOR MANAGING THE CROP PLANTS AND POLLINATORS THAT WE DEPEND ON FOR FOOD. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY PHENOLOGY PROJECT MAINTAINS THE WORLD?S LONGEST DETAILED RECORD OF THE TIMING OF PLANT AND INSECT ACTIVITY. THESE RECORDS, TOGETHER WITH MEASUREMENTS OF PLANT BIOMASS, WILL BE USED TO UNDERSTAND HOW CHANGES IN THE TIMING OF FLOWERING AND BEE ACTIVITY AFFECT PLANT AND BEE SUCCESS. THE PROJECT ALSO TEACHES ELEMENTARY AND HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHERS AND COLLEGE STUDENTS ABOUT SCIENCE, ADVISES LAND MANAGERS, AND PROVIDES SCIENCE TALKS FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS. THE PROJECT HAS DETAILED MEASUREMENTS OF ABIOTIC CONDITIONS (DAILY) AND THE TIMING OF FLOWERING (THREE TIMES PER WEEK) FOR ALL PLANT SPECIES IN 36 PERMANENT PLOTS IN HIGH MOUNTAIN MEADOWS IN COLORADO FOR UP TO 51 YEARS, AS WELL AS THE ABUNDANCE OF ALL BEE SPECIES (EVERY OTHER WEEK) IN NEARBY MEADOWS FOR 16 YEARS. GOING FORWARD, THIS PROJECT WILL CONTINUE THOSE MEASUREMENTS AND MEASURE THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF ALL PLANT SPECIES AND PRODUCTIVITY OF THE PLANT COMMUNITY. WITH THESE DATA, THE PROJECT IS ADDRESSING THREE IMPORTANT QUESTIONS: (1) DOES THE PHENOLOGICAL RESPONSIVENESS OF PLANT OR BEE SPECIES EXPLAIN DIFFERENCES IN SPECIES' ABUNDANCES, ANNUAL VARIATION IN ABUNDANCE, OR RESILIENCE AFTER EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS? (2) HOW DOES THE PHENOLOGICAL RESPONSIVENESS OF THE PLANTS USED BY EACH BEE GUILD INFLUENCE BEE COMMUNITIES? (3) ARE THE TRAITS OF PLANTS IN A LOCAL COMMUNITY RELATED TO COMMUNITY-LEVEL RESPONSES TO CLIMATE SUCH AS CHANGES IN SPECIES RICHNESS, OR ECOSYSTEM RESPONSES SUCH AS PRODUCTIVITY? THE PROJECT WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE ITS LONG-TERM DATASETS (ALREADY USED BY RESEARCH GROUPS ACROSS THE US AND ABROAD) TO THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

REU SITE: FIELD RESEARCH IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY AT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

CREATING A STEM-CAPABLE WORKFORCE BY SUPPORTING REU STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES

REU SITE: FIELD RESEARCH IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY AT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

LTREB RENEWAL: DRIVERS AND CONSEQUENCES OF PHENOLOGICAL CHANGE AT HIGH ALTITUDES

FSML: INTEGRATED YEAR-ROUND LABORATORY AND HOUSING SPACE

MRI: ACQUISITION OF A DISTRIBUTED ENVIRONMENTAL SENSOR NETWORK BY THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

REU SITE: LIFE IN THE MOUNTAINS: FIELD RESEARCH IN GOTHIC, COLORADO -THIS REU SITE AWARD TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY (RMBL), LOCATED IN GOTHIC, CO, WILL SUPPORT THE TRAINING OF 10 STUDENTS FOR 10 WEEKS DURING THE SUMMERS OF 2024-2026. IT IS ANTICIPATED THAT A TOTAL OF 30 STUDENTS, PRIMARILY FROM SCHOOLS WITH LIMITED RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING THOUGH NOT LIMITED TO, STUDENTS FROM LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY COLLEGES, AND ALSO FROM UNDER-REPRESENTED GROUPS, WILL BE TRAINED IN THE PROGRAM. PARTICIPANTS WILL ENGAGE IN PLACE-BASED FIELD RESEARCH CENTERED ON LIFE IN THE MOUNTAINS, LEVERAGING ONE OF THE MOST STUDIED ECOSYSTEMS, INCLUDING NATURAL HISTORY AND LONG-TERM RESEARCH TO PURSUE QUESTIONS INVOLVING THE FUNDAMENTAL BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES THAT SUPPORT BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES CRITICAL TO HUMANS, INCLUDING HUMAN HEALTH, FOOD PRODUCTION, AND NUTRIENT FLOWS. STUDENTS WILL LEARN HOW RESEARCH IS CONDUCTED, AND MANY WILL PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THEIR WORK AT SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES. ASSESSMENT OF THIS PROGRAM WILL BE DONE THROUGH AN ONLINE TOOL. STUDENTS SHOULD APPLY TO THE REU SITE USING NSF ETAP (EDUCATION AND TRAINING APPLICATION: HTTPS://ETAP.NSF.GOV). MOST PROJECTS WILL CENTER ON ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO INVESTIGATE INTERDISCIPLINARY BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES, FROM GENES TO ECOSYSTEMS. EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS INCLUDE EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF ENVIRONMENTAL VARIATION ON LIFE HISTORIES, BEHAVIOR, AND POPULATION DYNAMICS, USING BUTTERFLIES, USING MACHINE LEARNING ALGORITHMS TO TRAIN DRONE IMAGERY TO DETECT LARGE SCALE PATTERNS LINKING FLORAL RESOURCES AND POLLINATORS, EXPLORING THE CHANGE IN THE RELATIVE ABUNDANCE OF ALPINE PLANTS IN RELATION TO REGIONAL AND LOCAL TEMPERATURE CHANGE, AND HOW A NEW RANGE-SHIFTING CADDISFLY ALTERS FOOD-WEB CONNECTIONS INVOLVING SALAMANDERS AND BIRDS. WITH RMBL HOSTING SCIENTISTS FROM 100+ COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITITIES, MENTORS WILL BE CHOSEN FROM BIOLOGY AND RELATED DEPARTMENTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. SELECTED BY RMBL?S EDUCATION TEAM BASED UPON APPLICATION MATERIALS, STUDENTS WILL START WITH ONSITE ORIENTATION AND PARTICIPATE IN INDEPENDENT, MENTORED RESEARCH. THEY WILL ALSO PARTICIPATE IN RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH (RCR) ETHICS AND SKILLS WORKSHOPS, AS WELL AS SEMINARS, HIKES, BIRDING, AND MOTHING, SUPPORTED BY MENTORS, RMBL?S EDUCATION TEAM, AND LARGE RESEARCH COMMUNITY. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE BY VISITING RMBL.ORG/EDUCATION, OR BY CONTACTING THE PI IAN BILLICK OR THE CO-PI ROSEMARY SMITH AT RMBLREU@RMBL.ORG. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

SUPPORTING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCHERS -A CAPABLE STEM (SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENGINEER AND MATH) WORKFORCE IS CRITICAL TO THE NATION?S ABILITY TO SUSTAIN THE INNOVATIONS THAT FUEL ECONOMIC GROWTH AND ALLOW THE COUNTRY TO MAINTAIN A HIGH QUALITY OF LIFE. CONSEQUENTLY, CREATING A DIVERSE STEM-CAPABLE WORKFORCE IS A STRATEGIC PRIORITY FOR NSF. MOST STUDENTS WHO START COLLEGE WITH PLANS TO OBTAIN A STEM DEGREE FAIL TO FINISH, WITH STUDENTS FROM DISADVANTAGED BACKGROUNDS HAVING PARTICULARLY HIGH ATTRITION RATES. PARTICIPATION IN UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH, IN PART BY IMPROVING THE SELF-EFFICACY OF STUDENTS AND LEADING TO SELF-IDENTIFICATION OF STUDENTS AS SCIENTISTS, HAS BEEN SHOWN TO INCREASE RETENTION OF STUDENTS. WHEN STUDENTS OF ALL BACKGROUNDS ARE REACHED, THIS HAS IMPROVED DIVERSITY IN STEM CAREERS. TO FURTHER PROMOTE RETENTION OF DIVERSE STUDENTS IN STEM CAREERS THIS PROGRAM WILL OFFER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING SUPPORT FOR COHORTS OF STUDENTS TO PRESENT RESULTS OF THEIR RESEARCH AT PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCES. THE PROPOSED PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES FOR BIOLOGY, COMPUTER SCIENCE, OCEAN SCIENCES AND GEOLOGY STUDENTS CONDUCTING UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH, TARGETING STUDENTS OF DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS INCLUDING FROM MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTIONS AND PARTICIPANTS IN NSF?S RESEARCH EXPERIENCE FOR UNDERGRADUATES PROGRAM. STUDENTS WHO HAVE IDENTIFIED A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY (E.G., PRESENTING RESULTS AT A CONFERENCE) WILL SUBMIT ONLINE APPLICATIONS WHICH WILL BE VETTED TO ENSURE STUDENTS MEET BASIC QUALIFICATIONS (E.G., HAVE CONDUCTED HIGH QUALITY UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH, ARE COORDINATING THEIR RESEARCH MENTORS) AND TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE EXPERIENCE WILL HAVE A MEANINGFUL IMPACT ON THEIR CAREER DEVELOPMENT, INCLUDING EVALUATING THE EXTENT TO WHICH STUDENTS HAVE HAD LIMITED ACCESS TO OTHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES. STUDENTS WILL PROVIDE BASIC TRACKING DATA TO ALLOW ASSESSMENT OF THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE PROGRAM REACHES DIVERSE PARTICIPANTS AND TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF MAKING PRESENTATIONS AT PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES. THIS AWARD IS SUPPORTED BY THE DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (DBI) IN THE DIRECTORATE FOR BIOSCIENCES, THE DIVISION OF COMPUTER AND NETWORK SYSTEMS (CNS) IN THE DIRECTORATE FOR COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING, AND THE DIVISIONS OF OCEAN SCIENCES (OCE) AND EARTH SCIENCES (EAR) WITHIN THE DIRECTORATE FOR GEOSCIENCES. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

TRANSFORMING RMBL'S YEAR-ROUND HOUSING

CONSTRUCTION OF A WASTE WATER SYSTEM AT THE RMBL

TRANSFORMING CHEMICAL ECOLOGY BY ENABLING MEASUREMENT OF VOLATILE COMPOUNDS IN THE FIELD

UNDERSTANDING GENETIC MECHANISMS WITHIN THE NATURAL WORLD

CCLI: BRINGING A FIELD STATION INTO THE CLASSROOM

UPGRADING THE INTERNET SYSTEM AT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: EXPLORING THE GEOGRAPHY OF SODIUM AS A CATALYST IN TERRESTRIAL COMMUNITIES AND ECOSYSTEMS

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: SG: EFFECTS OF ALTERED POLLINATION ENVIRONMENTS ON PLANT POPULATION DYNAMICS IN A STOCHASTIC WORLD -A MAJOR CHALLENGE IN BIOLOGY IS UNDERSTANDING HOW RANDOM FLUCTUATIONS IN THE ENVIRONMENT AFFECT POPULATIONS AND THEIR ABILITY TO PERSIST. FOR PLANTS, THIS IS COMPOUNDED BY DECLINES IN POLLINATORS, WHICH HAVE BEEN DOCUMENTED ACROSS THE WORLD. THERE IS CONCERN THAT MANY FLOWERING PLANT SPECIES WILL DECLINE ALONGSIDE THEIR POLLINATORS BECAUSE ALMOST 90% OF FLOWERING PLANTS RELY ON ANIMAL POLLINATION TO MAKE SEEDS, GROW NEW PLANTS, AND PREVENT EXTINCTION. SHORT-TERM, YEAR-TO-YEAR FLUCTUATIONS IN POLLINATORS AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS (LIKE PRECIPITATION) DURING A LONGER-TERM DECLINE MAKE THE CHALLENGE OF IDENTIFYING A TRUE PLANT DECLINE EVEN HARDER. DESPITE THE STRONG DEPENDENCE OF PLANTS ON POLLINATORS, POLLINATOR DECLINES MAY NOT IMMEDIATELY CAUSE PLANT DECLINES, AND THIS CAN PREVENT US FROM DETECTING THE WARNING SIGNS OF PLANT EXTINCTION. FOR EXAMPLE, PLANTS MAY APPEAR TO DO BETTER IMMEDIATELY AFTER A POLLINATOR DECLINE BY REINVESTING ENERGY THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN USED TO MAKE SEEDS INTO IMPROVING THEIR SURVIVAL. THIS PROJECT WILL AMPLIFY NATURAL VARIATION IN POLLINATION FOR THOUSANDS OF PLANTS, FOLLOW THEIR FATES, AND USE MATHEMATICAL MODELS TO UNDERSTAND HOW PLANTS PERSIST DESPITE YEAR-TO-YEAR CHANGES IN POLLINATION AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS. THIS PROJECT WILL HELP SCIENTISTS TO UNDERSTAND WHY SOME PLANT SPECIES ARE MORE AT RISK FROM POLLINATOR DECLINES THAN OTHER SPECIES. THE PROJECT WILL LEVERAGE 9?11 YEARS OF FIELD-BASED DATA ON PLANT DEMOGRAPHY AND POLLINATOR ABUNDANCE TO MEASURE AND EXPERIMENTALLY IMPOSE STOCHASTIC FLUCTUATIONS IN POLLINATOR ABUNDANCE. INDIVIDUAL-BASED POPULATION MODELS (INTEGRAL PROJECTION MODELS) WILL BE PARAMETERIZED WITH DATA FROM A LONG-TERM, ONGOING FIELD EXPERIMENT IN WHICH TWO SPECIES OF PERENNIAL PLANTS RECEIVE DIFFERENT POLLINATION TREATMENTS: (I) INCREASED POLLINATION, (II) REDUCED POLLINATION, AND (III) AN UNMANIPULATED CONTROL. ALL PLANTS ARE TAGGED WITH A UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER AND THEIR DEMOGRAPHIC STATUS ASSESSED ANNUALLY. PROJECTIONS OF THE POPULATION MODELS WILL DEMONSTRATE THE CONSEQUENCES OF STOCHASTICITY IN POLLINATION SERVICES FOR PLANT POPULATION DYNAMICS. FURTHER ANALYSES BASED ON MODEL-BASED POPULATION PROJECTIONS WILL REVEAL WHICH DEMOGRAPHIC VITAL RATES (SURVIVAL, GROWTH, REPRODUCTION) ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR CHANGES IN POPULATION DYNAMICS WHEN POLLINATOR ABUNDANCES FLUCTUATE, IN ADDITION TO HOW VARIOUS COMPONENTS OF STOCHASTICITY ? THE MEAN, VARIANCE, AND AUTOCORRELATION OF POLLINATOR ABUNDANCES ? AFFECT PLANT POPULATION DYNAMICS. THIS PROJECT WILL SHED NEW LIGHT ON HOW SPECIES INTERACTIONS SHAPE POPULATION DYNAMICS IN A STOCHASTIC WORLD. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

WORKSHOP: POSITIONING FIELD STATIONS AND MARINE LABORATORIES FOR EMERGING INITIATIVES IN SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND TRAINING TO BE HELD OCT. 5-7TH, 2011

LTREB: PHENOLOGICAL RESPONSIVENESS OF PLANTS AND BEES: CONSEQUENCES FOR SPECIES, INTERACTIONS, COMMUNITY COMPOSITION AND PRODUCTIVITY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: INTEGRATED PLANT-APHID DYNAMICS MEDIATED BY ABOVE-AND BELOW GROUND MUTUALISMS IN A RAPIDLY WARMING COMMUNITY -INSECT HERBIVORES SUCH AS APHIDS PLAY OUTSIZED ROLES IN BOTH NATURAL AND AGRICULTURAL ECOSYSTEMS. CONSEQUENTLY, UNDERSTANDING FACTORS THAT CONTROL APHID ABUNDANCE IS CRITICAL FOR MANAGING MANY ECOSYSTEMS IN THE FUTURE. RISING TEMPERATURES CAN DIRECTLY IMPACT APHID DEVELOPMENT, GROWTH, AND SURVIVAL AND SHIFT HOW THESE INSECT HERBIVORES INTERACT WITH PLANTS AND OTHER ORGANISMS IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT. BIOTIC INTERACTIONS SUCH AS THOSE THAT INFLUENCE FOOD RESOURCES OR VULNERABILITY TO PREDATORS MAY BE ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT IN DETERMINING WHETHER APHIDS AND OTHER INSECT HERBIVORES ARE ABLE TO PERSIST AND ADAPT TO RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE. THIS PROJECT WILL STUDY THE EFFECTS OF WARMING AND BIOTIC INTERACTIONS ON APHIDS TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING OF FACTORS THAT AFFECT HERBIVORE ABUNDANCE UNDER CURRENT AND FUTURE CLIMATE SCENARIOS. APHIDS ARE SENSITIVE TO THE DIRECT EFFECTS OF WARMING TEMPERATURES, BUT THEIR ABUNDANCE ALSO DEPENDS ON COMPLEX INTERACTIONS WITH MICROBES, PLANTS, AND OTHER INSECTS AS WELL AS GENETIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN APHID POPULATIONS. THROUGH A SERIES OF FIELD EXPERIMENTS IN A WELL-STUDIED ROCKY MOUNTAIN ECOSYSTEM, THIS PROJECT WILL TEST HOW INTERACTIONS AMONG THESE FACTORS CAN LEAD TO UNEXPECTED PATTERNS IN APHID ABUNDANCE. FINDINGS FROM THIS WORK WILL BE USED TO CREATE MODELS THAT PREDICT HOW APHID POPULATIONS ARE LIKELY TO RESPOND TO RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE, WHICH CAN INFORM INSECT MONITORING, CONSERVATION, AND MANAGEMENT. RESULTS FROM THIS WORK WILL ALSO BE INCORPORATED INTO EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS FOR K-12 STUDENTS WITH THE GOAL OF ADVANCING QUANTITATIVE SKILLS IN CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION. INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SPECIES WITHIN MULTI-TROPHIC NETWORKS CAN FACILITATE OR CONSTRAIN HOW ORGANISMS RESPOND TO RAPID CLIMATE CHANGE. HOWEVER, BIOTIC INTERACTIONS CAN SHIFT WITH RISING TEMPERATURES, ALTERING ECO-EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS AND NETWORK STABILITY IN WAYS THAT ARE CHALLENGING TO PREDICT. CHARACTERIZING PHYSIOLOGICAL AND ECO-EVOLUTIONARY MECHANISMS THAT DRIVE THE POPULATION DYNAMICS OF KEYSTONE SPECIES WITHIN INTERACTION NETWORKS IS CRITICAL FOR PREDICTING HOW THESE SYSTEMS WILL RESPOND OR ADAPT TO NOVEL ENVIRONMENTS. INSECT HERBIVORES ARE KEYSTONE SPECIES IN MANY ECOSYSTEMS, AND ECOLOGISTS HAVE LONG SOUGHT TO UNDERSTAND BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC FACTORS THAT GOVERN INSECT HERBIVORE DYNAMICS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL INTEGRATE LONG-TERM FIELD OBSERVATIONS AND MANIPULATIVE EXPERIMENTS WITH AGENT-BASED MODELS TO DEVELOP A MECHANISTIC UNDERSTANDING OF TEMPERATURE RESPONSES IN A WELL-STUDIED SUBALPINE PLANT-APHID SYSTEM. THIS WORK WILL PROVIDE A ROBUST UNDERSTANDING OF TEMPERATURE EFFECTS ON APHID POPULATION DYNAMICS BY (1) INTEGRATING THE DIRECT EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE ON APHID DEVELOPMENT WITH INDIRECT EFFECTS DRIVEN BY SHIFTS IN ABOVE- AND BELOWGROUND INTERACTIONS, (2) ASSESSING LOCAL ADAPTATION WITHIN PLANT-APHID INTERACTIONS ACROSS A TEMPERATURE GRADIENT; AND (3) USING THESE MECHANISTIC RELATIONSHIPS IN A HIERARCHICAL MODELING FRAMEWORK TO FORECAST APHID DYNAMICS UNDER VARIABLE CLIMATE SCENARIOS. THE PIS WILL ALSO RECRUIT SCHOLARS FROM UNDERREPRESENTED AND UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES TO WORK ON THIS PROJECT AND FOSTER THEIR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THROUGH INTERDISCIPLINARY, TEAM-BASED SCIENCE. DATA FROM THIS WORK WILL BE INTEGRATED IN A GRAPHICAL MODELING INTERFACE AND EDUCATIONAL MODULES TO SUPPORT DISSEMINATION OF PROJECT RESULTS TO INTERESTED STAKEHOLDERS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

REU SITE: PATHWAYS TO INCLUSIVE SCIENCE: EMERGING FIELD TECHNIQUES -THIS REU SITE AWARD TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY, LOCATED IN GOTHIC, COLORADO, WILL SUPPORT THE TRAINING OF 10 STUDENTS FOR 10 WEEKS DURING THE SUMMER OF 2023. THE PROGRAM RECRUITS STUDENTS NATIONALLY, BUILDING ON ESTABLISHED COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY COLLEGES. STUDENTS APPLY ONLINE, AND SUBMIT ESSAYS AND LETTERS OF REFERENCE. STUDENTS FOR WHOM THE PROGRAM WILL HAVE A LARGE IMPACT, INCLUDING STUDENTS WHO WOULD BE UNABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN SUMMER RESEARCH WITHOUT FINANCIAL SUPPORT, ARE ENCOURAGED TO APPLY. TEN STUDENTS, PRIMARILY FROM SCHOOLS WITH LIMITED RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES, WILL BE TRAINED IN THE PROGRAM IN 2023. THE GOAL IS THAT AT LEAST 80% OF THE PARTICIPANTS WILL BE MINORITY STUDENTS AND AT LEAST 40% OF THE STUDENTS WILL HAVE A COMMUNITY COLLEGE BACKGROUND. STUDENTS WILL LEARN HOW RESEARCH IS CONDUCTED, MANY WILL PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THEIR WORK AT SCIENTIFIC CONFERENCES. APPROXIMATELY ONE-THIRD OF THE STUDENTS WILL PUBLISH RESULTS IN SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS. ASSESSMENT OF THE PROGRAM WILL BE DONE THROUGH THE ONLINE SALG URSSA TOOL. THE NSF ETAP SYSTEM WILL BE USED TO REGISTER PARTICIPANTS. STUDENTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO REGISTER IN THE NSF ETAP SYSTEM (ETAP.NSF.GOV) AND TRACKED AFTER THE PROGRAM TO DETERMINE THEIR CAREER PATHS. THE THEME OF THE PROGRAM IS PATHWAYS TO INCLUSIVE SCIENCE: EMERGING FIELD TECHNIQUES. WE WILL PROVIDE TRAINING AND RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES FOR PARTICIPANTS TO INTEGRATE EMERGING TECHNIQUES IN REMOTE SENSING AND DATA ANALYTICS INTO THE FIELD SCIENCES. STUDENTS DESIGN AND IMPLEMENT A FIELD RESEARCH PROGRAM AND PRESENT RESULTS ORALLY AND IN WRITING AT THE END OF THE SUMMER. STUDENTS ALSO PARTICIPATE IN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES, INCLUDING SESSIONS ON RESPONSIBLE CONDUCT OF RESEARCH, TRAINING IN FIELD SAFETY AND TITLE IX, AND GRADUATE AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES. MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE BY VISITING HTTP://RMBL.ORG , OR BY CONTACTING THE PI (DR. IAN BILLICK AT IBILLICK@RMBL.ORG) OR THE CO-PI (DR. IAN BRECKHEIMER AT IKB@RMBL.ORG). THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.

CONNECTING RMBL TO THE LARGER WORLD

LTREB: COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: WHOLE-COMMUNITY PLANT DEMOGRAPHY IN A VARIABLE ENVIRONMENT: ASSEMBLY MECHANISMS AND OUTCOMES IN THE COLORADO ALPINE -PREDICTING THE RESPONSES OF ECOLOGICAL COMMUNITIES TO RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT. MAKING GOOD PREDICTIONS IS CHALLENGING BECAUSE OF THE POTENTIAL COMPLEXITY OF INTERACTIONS AMONG LARGE NUMBERS OF SPECIES. ADDITIONALLY, DEVELOPING ROBUST THEORY REQUIRES WELL-STUDIED TEST CASES (DATASETS). WHILE SUCH TEST CASES EXIST IN SEVERAL LONG-TERM FOREST STUDY SYSTEMS, THERE IS MUCH LESS KNOWLEDGE AVAILABLE FOR OTHER BIOMES, E.G. THE ALPINE. THE ALPINE BIOME IS ONE OF THE MOST VULNERABLE TO ONGOING CLIMATE CHANGES. THIS PROJECT WILL CONDUCT LONG-TERM MONITORING OF PLANT COMMUNITY DYNAMICS IN THE COLORADO ALPINE BIOME, ASSEMBLING A UNIQUE LONG-TERM RECORD OF POPULATION AND COMMUNITY CHANGE DURING A PERIOD OF RAPID ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE. THE DATA WILL BE USABLE TO ADVANCE ECOLOGICAL THEORY IN GENERAL. THE PROJECT WILL SUPPORT FIVE UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH STUDENTS, AS WELL AS A POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCHER AND A GRADUATE STUDENT. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO HOST TWO TRAINING WORKSHOPS ON THESE THEMES FOR THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY. DATA WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO FORECASTING CHALLENGES HOSTED BY THE ECOLOGICAL FORECASTING INITIATIVE. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO ENGAGE >1000 PEOPLE/YEAR THROUGH THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY?S VISITOR CENTER AND TOUR PROGRAM. SPECIFICALLY, THE PROJECT WILL FOCUS ON INTEGRATING SPECIES-SCALE DEMOGRAPHIC MODELS WITH COMMUNITY-SCALE MODELS. THE PROJECT WILL TEST HYPOTHESES RELATED TO THREE CORE QUESTIONS: 1. WHAT ARE THE ROLES OF SPATIAL NEIGHBORHOODS, METACOMMUNITY/DISPERSAL PROCESSES, AND ONTOGENETIC/SIZE STRUCTURE IN COMMUNITY ASSEMBLY? 2. HOW DO THESE PROCESSES INFLUENCE COMMUNITY DYNAMICS IN A VARIABLE ENVIRONMENT? 3. CAN COMMUNITY STATES IN THE FUTURE BE FORECASTED, AND WITH WHAT UNCERTAINTY? THE PROJECT USES A LONG-TERM ALPINE TUNDRA STUDY SYSTEM (AT 3500 M ELEVATION IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS). TWO DATASETS WILL BE COLLECTED ACROSS 100 VEGETATION PLOTS: (A) ANNUAL WHOLE-COMMUNITY DEMOGRAPHY (SURVIVAL, SIZE CHANGE (GROWTH), FECUNDITY, RECRUITMENT) FOR ALL INDIVIDUALS INCLUDING SEEDLINGS OF ALL 20 CO-OCCURRING SPECIES, INCLUDING GEOREFERENCING; AND (B) ANNUAL REMOTELY SENSED MULTISPECTRAL IMAGERY OF ALL PLOTS, OBTAINED DURING PEAK FLOWERING, THAT CAN BE USED TO INCREASE DATASET SIZE VIA MACHINE LEARNING. TO ADDRESS (Q1), THE PROJECT WILL CARRY OUT ADDITIONAL SEED BANK AND SEED RAIN STUDIES, THEN USE THESE DATA AND THE CORE DATA TO TEST HYPOTHESES ABOUT SPECIES INTERACTIONS. TO ADDRESS (Q2), THE PROJECT WILL BUILD INTEGRAL PROJECTION MODELS AND INDIVIDUAL BASED MODELS FOR ALL SPECIES TAKING INTO ACCOUNT DENSITY DEPENDENCE, SPECIES INTERACTIONS, AND TEMPORALLY VARIABLE BIOTIC AND ABIOTIC CONTEXT. TO ADDRESS (Q3), THE PROJECT WILL THEN PROVIDE FALSIFIABLE FORECASTS WITH UNCERTAINTIES FOR COMMUNITY DYNAMICS UNDER MULTIPLE CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.- SUBAWARDS ARE NOT PLANNED FOR THIS AWARD.

2019 REU SITE WORKSHOP: LONGITUDINAL TRACKING AND ASSESSMENT; APRIL 4-6, 2019, ARLINGTON, VA

VARIATION IN THE STRENGTH OF CASCADING TROPHIC INTERACTIONS ACROSS A RIVERSCAPE

LTREB: ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGE AT HIGH ALTITUDES AND ITS ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES

DIGITIZING THE BEE COLLECTION OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: RAPID: DOES A RANGE SHIFTING SPECIES ALTER ECOSYSTEM FUNCTION?

PLANNING FOR THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY

WEA CO-SW-13-008 RIPARIAN ENHANCEMENT

2021 REU SITE WORKSHOP: LOOKING FORWARD