Document Type

Honors Thesis

Major

Biology

Advisor(s)

Hamish Greig

Committee Members

Amanda Klemmer, Melissa Ladenheim, Don Beith, Karen Pelletreau

Graduation Year

May 2024

Publication Date

Spring 5-2024

Abstract

As temperatures warm, the climate crisis is having a significant influence on species across the world and altering their distributions. Colorado's high elevation ponds have recently observed a species range shift, traveling to higher altitudes than they have previously inhabited. The Mexican Cut Nature Preserve near the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL) in Gothic, CO, is home to a prominent caddisfly Limnephilus externus, but recently a new range-shifting species, Nemotaulius hostilis, has appeared. Caddisflies play an essential role in nutrient cycling and putting energy back into the food web. The range-shifting species is known to excrete high rates of phosphorus (P) and could potentially facilitate the growth of a nutrient dense food source for the resident species. However, the range-shifting species and the resident species have differing life histories and emergence patterns that may increase interspecific competition between the two caddisfly populations. Nemotaulius hostilis are broadly distributed across North America and are also prominent in Maine. In addition, this study explores nutrient cycling and biogeochemical interactions, and therefore increases our understanding of whether changing assemblages of invertebrates play a role in mitigating increased nutrient loads in aquatic ecosystems. To further understand the ecological implications of species range shifts, a philosophical lens is used, working to apply both science and ethics to changing communities. This study aims to understand the ecological and ethical impacts that range-shifting species are having on their newly inhabited ecosystems.

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