By Richard B. Primack
“Only that traveling is good which reveals to me value of home and enables me to enjoy it better.” Henry David Thoreau in his Journal.
Researchers at the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in western Colorado conduct climate change and phenology research projects that are similar to our work in Concord, MA. To gain insights into their research and share with them about ours, I visited RMBL from July 25-28, where I met with many researchers and presented a talk.
The location was exceptionally beautiful, with mixtures of meadow and forest in the valley and snow-capped mountains above. At this high elevation of 9500 feet, the sunshine was brilliant and the air was dry. There were around 200 people living and working at the lab, which was more than I expected.
Among the researchers were:
 |
| Photo 1: David Inouye has studied plant phenology in fixed plots for 52 years. |
 |
| Photo 2: Amy Iler investigates how seasonal snow melts affect plant demography, and Paul CaraDonna looks at bee population dynamics. |
 |
| Photo 3: Dan Blumstein studies marmot behavior. Phil Cafaro, an environmental philosopher, traveled with me to RMBL. |
 |
| Photo 4: Ian Breckheimer (left) uses drones to monitor vegetation. |
 |
| Photo 5: Brad Taylor examines how the timing of snowmelt affects the hydrology of mountain streams. |
 |
| Photo 6: Olivia Vought studies how climate change is affecting the timing of ecosystem services. |
 |
| Photo 7: Arturo Aguilar (center), myself (left), and others looking at pollinators. |
For more information about the RMBL site visit: LINK
No comments:
Post a Comment