Autumn is when the quaking aspen trees begin to show off their mysterious side. Questions fall into place, but answers are hard to come by. At lower elevations in the Rockies, aspen (Populus tremuloides [Salicaceae]) is everywhere. Its clones dominate the landscape, creating a sea of white trunks and dark green leaves that rustle softly…

Field season in the Rockies is over, which means no more long days carrying heavy equipment up and down mountains in stormy weather. There is some pleasure in sitting at a desk working through data and manuscripts, but I mostly miss the work – challenges and dangers and all. Most involved ladders – and lightning.…

Do too much fieldwork and a scientific debate can build up without you noticing. I’m wrapping up a summer in the Rockies and have begun to notice the growing interest and controversy over hypervolumes concepts in ecology. The debate has involved my own work, and it is exciting to trace the threads of its origin…

Summer in Gothic has been hot and dry, paralleling warming trends seen globally. Strong winds have been blowing dust onto every surface, and the biting flies remain. For two weeks we had no rain at all. Until a few days ago, when the monsoon returned, bringing moisture from the Pacific Ocean, and clouds to the…