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What questions drive your research?

Broadly I’m interested in how bioacoustics can be used to study wildlife. More specifically, I collect vocalization data from pikas living on Niwot Ridge and in the Indian Peaks Wilderness to answer questions such as:

1. Can we identify individual pikas based on their calls?
2. Can acoustic data inform yearly survival rates, and with what certainty?
3. How do acoustic metrics vary within and between populations?
4. Are differences in calls driven by genetic drift (distance) or adaptation (habitat/soundscape)?
5. Do call characteristics correlate with elevation, vegetation, water presence, or other ecological variables?

How do you make use of the MRS as a researcher?

I use the MRS extensively in my research; the talus on the ridge is a great habitat for pikas. This year, we tagged pikas at several sites to build a dataset of calls from known (tagged) individuals; this will support our efforts to determine whether or not an individual pika is identifiable based on its calls. To collect these data, I rely heavily on binoculars and cameras, in addition to microphones and autonomous recording units (ARUs). One Ìýexample of an ARU is a SolarBAR (BioAcoustic Recorder), which has a solar panel that collects audio data year-round, enabling us to record pika calls during even the harsh winter season. I also collect scat to study pika genetics. Most of my fieldwork happens from mid-summer through autumn, when pikas are most active and conditions facilitate getting to their habitat easily. I collaborate closely with my advisor, Dr. Chris Ray, and my co-advisor Dr. Brett Melbourne

How did you first get involved at the MRS?

I did field work with my advisor Chris Ray during a rotation as part of the IQ Biology program in Fall 2022 - these were my first field work experiences ever and I loved them. I helped out with a pilot study on West Knoll to test out potential hypotheses as to why pikas collect and store marmot scat in their haypiles. We also installed SolarBARs at C1 and D1 that season. It was a lot of fun, and ÌýI had no idea then that I would be using the data collected by the SolarBARs in my research.

What is your favorite thing about spending time at the MRS?

The people, How cozy the Marr Lab is, Goldie, The changing of the seasons - the aspens in fall, the flowers in summer, the first snowfall of the year, Seeing the mountain peaks - the beautiful scenery, The wildlife - some of my favorites are coyotes, moose, elk, stellar's jays, robber jays, and of course pikas!

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What questions drive your research?

For a long time, I have been interested in the contrasts between temperate and tropical (alpine) mountains. In this current project, we have studied the effect of seasonal (Colorado) versus aseasonal (Ecuador) climates on the ecology of alpine plants and their interactions with pollinators. During this summer at Niwot, we monitored the flowering phenology of plants, quantified the production of flowers of the plants, collected flower traits data, examined the efficiency of pollination, plant reproductive systems and their seed production, monitored the phenology of pollinating insects (pan traps, netting). We did all that in Ecuador during the previous two years. Now we have started analysing the data for the comparison.

How do you make use of the MRS as a researcher?

We used the shuttle to reach the field site, and we relied on the MRS lab facilities—analytical scale, ovens, herbarium—to process our samples. And, of course, we stayed in the cabins for the entire summer. Our collaborators are Julian Resasco (EBIO, plant–pollinator interactions, pollinator networks) and Sisimac Duchicela (INSTAAR, alpine plant ecology).

How did you first get involved at the MRS?

In 2014, I was a Fullbright fellow with Bill Bowman, the former director of the MRS and professor in plant ecology. It was my first visit to Boulder and the MRS and I did research on the thermal biology of alpine plants, again comparing the temperate alpine and tropical alpine species.

What is your favorite thing about spending time at the MRS?

Moose encounters…. No more seriously, the MRS is truly a great place to do research in alpine habitats, including the support from the Niwot Ridge LTER, INSTAAR, and EBIO faculty as well as the station personnel, the facilities are (not brand new, indeed) but just what a researcher needs for the work. I am a mountain person, and so staying at the MRS, surrounded by forests, wildlife, mountains etc. is simply fine. By the way, where else can one see a bobcat from the window of the cabin (indeed, we were lucky to see one).

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What questions drive your research?

My lab is interested in understanding how insects, especially moths, evolved, how different groups are related to each other, describing new species, and exploring the roles that they play in the environment, particularly in relation to the plants they eat and pollinate.

How do you make use of the MRS as a researcher?

This past summer I collected moths at the MRS. At higher elevations like at the MRS, moths fly mostly in the summer months, which was when I spent some nights collecting. I was out there from sunset to roughly 1AM. For this first field season, which was exploratory, my lab was working at the MRS primarily independently, but in the future, we hope to develop a number of collaborative efforts.

How did you first get involved at the MRS?

My first experience with the MRS was as a GREEBs attendee as a new faculty member at CU. During that first visit in September 2024, I immediately realized the potential for the MRS to support up to three species of my focal moth group. Sure enough in summer 2025 I spent a couple of nights collecting at the MRS when I expected those three species to be active, and fortunately was able to collect all three! At the same time, I collected moths for a student in my lab that is interested in moth pollination interactions, and successfully collected many individual moth species covered in pollen. This means in future field seasons, students in my lab will be regular visitors to the MRS.

What is your favorite thing about spending time at the MRS?

I really like the proximity of several different habitats, which for an entomologist, is ideal since it also ensures a wide variety of insects can be found. Having on-site facilities for dining and spending the night is also an incredible resource.

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What questions drive your research?

I am interested in the biogeochemical cycling of key nutrients (such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur) in alpine lakes and streams and how those cycles are impacted by different hydrologic features like glaciers. I’m also interested in what types of algae and bacteria live in these aquatic alpine environments and how they influence nutrient cycling in the alpine. Ultimately, I want to understand how water inputs from different sources can influence the biology and chemistry of alpine lakes and streams! My lab also works on a project in Green Lakes Valley that asks broader questions about how changing ice cover and ice duration influences the algal communities and water chemistry in lakes.

How do you make use of the MRS as a researcher?

For my project this summer, I collected samples throughout Green Lakes Valley every 2 to 4 weeks between July and October. MRS became my home base for meeting up with my collaborators in the Environmental Biogeochemistry Group and others heading into the watershed. Through my lab’s changing ice phenology project, I am lucky enough to see Green Lakes Valley year round. The weather up there can be pretty brutal in the winter so I don’t always feel lucky, but I love being able to see MRS and Green Lakes Valley in every season.

How did you first get involved at the MRS?

I first got involved with MRS because my lab, the Mountain Limnology Lab, Ìýdoes monthly fieldwork at Green Lake 4.

What is your favorite thing about spending time at the MRS?

My favorite part of MRS is how much easier it makes doing alpine fieldwork. It’s so nice having access to MRS resources and history when designing and carrying out experiments. If I’m worried about my field sites freezing before my last field day, I can send an email to Jen or Bryan asking for their expert opinions. If I wonder whether my data are within the range of historic values, I can consult the long term record built over time by the Niwot Ridge LTER. Best of all, I can hike up to Green Lake 4 without carrying my own boat because there is already a stash of sampling equipment at the lake! Those types of resources are incredibly valuable and are one of the many reasons why I love working with the MRS.

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