Alpine wildflowers bloom on the tundra of Niwot Ridge. Photo by William Bowman.

$7.65 million grant to extend study of how climate change shapes life at 10,000 feet (CU Boulder Today)

Feb. 3, 2023

For more than 40 years, scientists from the Niwot Ridge Long-Term Ecological Research program have worked to better understand high-alpine ecosystems in a warming world. Thanks to a new $7.65 million, six-year grant from the National Science Foundation, that work will continue, making Niwot Ridge LTER the longest-running NSF-funded program at CU Boulder.

Lead author Erik Funk with a rosy-finch.

Rosy-finches are baby直播app鈥檚 high-alpine specialists, and researchers want to know why (CU Boulder Today)

Jan. 20, 2023

Birds that can live at 14,000 feet and also breed at sea level might have evolved more quickly than previously thought, finds research led by Scott Taylor. The findings add to scientists鈥 understanding of biodiversity and may also help inform conservation decisions in the face of human-caused climate change.

Scott Taylor

Research & Innovation Office names newest Faculty Fellow cohort (RIO)

Nov. 15, 2022

Scott Taylor (INSTAAR & EBIO) is one 17 CU Boulder baby直播app members selected by the Research and Innovation Office as their 2023 RIO Faculty Fellows cohort. The program supports baby直播app in achieving their research/innovation goals and promotes collaboration, all through tailored training, experiential learning and leadership development opportunities. Taylor and his cohort kick off 2023 with an intensive three-day retreat in January, followed by several more focused retreats and a variety of informal networking activities.

A black-capped chickadee perches on a snowy tree branch. Photo by Amanda Frank via Unsplash.

The chickadee you see sitting on a tree? It might be a hybrid (CU Boulder Today)

Nov. 1, 2022

Hybrids of two common North American songbirds, the black-capped and mountain chickadee, are more likely to be found in places where humans have altered the landscape, finds new research by a team including INSTAAR Scott Taylor. The study is the first to positively correlate hybridization in any species with human-caused landscape changes. It also contradicts a long-standing assumption that these two birds rarely hybridize.

1909 black and white image of Dr. Francis Ramaley and Dr. Caldwell (right) with a class in the forest near the Mountain Research Station

The Mountain Research Station turns 100 years old

June 14, 2022

Twenty-six miles west of Boulder, scientists and students at the Mountain Research Station have gathered since 1920 to conduct some of the world鈥檚 most unique studies on high-altitude ecology and, more recently, how climate change is altering it. As it celebrates its 100th anniversary this month, its director is already planning for the next 100.

a common redpoll on a tree branch in winter, Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

Why redpolls look different, despite being the same species (earth.com)

Dec. 9, 2021

Redpolls, an Arctic-dwelling finch that flies south only sporadically, all share a characteristic red marking on their heads. But some redpolls are white with small bills, while others are larger and have whiter bills. Due to these differences, scientists initially thought that there were three different species of redpoll. However, new genetic research led by CU Boulder and including INSTAAR Scott Taylor has found that these apparently different species are in fact the same, but have a 鈥渟upergene鈥 that controls differences in morphology and plumage color.

Redpoll Finch on a tree branch against a dark background

Common arctic finches are all the same species (baby直播app Arts & Sciences Magazine)

Dec. 8, 2021

New research from CU Boulder confirms that there are not, in fact, multiple species of Redpoll Finches, as previously thought. Instead, the three recognized species are all just one with a 鈥渟upergene鈥 that controls differences in plumage color and morphology, making them look different.

Chickadee on a branch

New grant to study life-and-death trait of chickadees (baby直播app Arts and Sciences Magazine)

Aug. 24, 2021

CU Boulder and University of Nevada Reno professors win $2.7 million grant from the NSF to study spatial cognition in chickadees. The new grant will allow the researchers to study natural selection on a complex behavioral trait, a difficult task that could potentially expand the ways natural selection is studied broadly, while also shedding light on how it relates to a changing climate.

A nest observed during the Boulder Chickadee Study, led by Scott Taylor.

Evolutionary biologist awarded prestigious naturalist medal (baby直播app Arts & Sciences)

May 24, 2021

The Linnean Society of London has recognized Scott Taylor with its Bicentenary Medal for his 鈥渆xemplary鈥 work both within the sciences and the broader community, the society announced in a virtual awards ceremony. The award is given to one scientist under the age of 40 each year.

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