LTREB Renewal: Drivers and consequences of phenological change at high altitudes

Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Crested Butte CO

Investigators

Abstract

This project builds upon 40 years of existing data to investigate how climate change is affecting the timing (phenology) and extent of flowering by 120 species of wildflowers in high alpine areas in the Rocky Mountains. The investigators will combine insights from historical data with new observations and experiments over the next five years to learn how environmental variables such as water availability and temperature affect timing and abundance of flowering. In addition they will record the phenology and abundance of species dependent upon those flowers, such as pollinators like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and insect seed predators and their parasitoids. They will collaborate with other researchers to develop a unique dataset showing the phenological relationships among species and trophic levels and how these relationships are shifting in a changing climate. The research fosters new collaborations among senior and junior personnel, supports and trains postdoctoral researchers as well as several undergraduate and graduate students, and provides training opportunities for K-12 teachers. It will continue one of the longest, continuous-running sets of phenological observations in North America, thereby increasing our understanding of the long-term ecological and evolutionary responses of populations and communities to climate change. The project contributes to long-term records of snowfall and avalanche activity in the Rocky Mountains.