Colorado

Ants in Colorado are on the move due to climate change

Published

3 weeks ago

April 10, 2024

Ants in Colorado are on the move due to climate change

Ants in Gregory Canyon in Boulder, Colorado. Credit: Anna Paraskevopoulos/CU Boulder

Over the past 60 years, climate change has forced certain ant species, unable to tolerate higher temperatures, out of their original habitats in Gregory Canyon near Boulder, Colorado, according to a new research published April 9 in the journal Ecology.

The resulting biodiversity change could potentially alter local ecosystems, according to first author Anna Paraskevopoulos, a Ph.D. student in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Like all insects, ants are ectothermic, meaning their body temperature, metabolism and other bodily functions depend on the environment’s temperature. As a result, ants are sensitive to temperature fluctuations, making them a good marker to study the impact climate change has on ecosystems.

More than six decades ago, CU Boulder entomologist Robert Gregg and his student John Browne surveyed the ant populations in Gregory Canyon. After reading their study, Paraskevopoulos and her team set off to investigate whether the ant community had changed since. The researchers sampled the same survey sites on roughly the same dates between 2021 and 2022 as Browne and Gregg did in 1957 and 1958. The team collected hundreds of ant samples from different parts of Gregory Canyon, each with its own unique environment. For example, the canyon’s north-facing slope is a forest with cool temperatures, dominated by pine and fir trees. The south-facing slope is primarily shrubland, while streams and ditches shape the canyon bottom area.

While the city of Boulder has expanded greatly since the original study, Gregory Canyon has remained a natural environment and largely unaffected by land-use change.

“This gave us an opportunity to study the isolated impacts of climate change. In many other studies, the effect of land use and climate change are often entangled,” Paraskevopoulos said.

While she and her team discovered some ant species that were not recorded previously in the canyon, several other ant species had expanded their habitats and dominated the sites.

The team found while the total number of ant species in Gregory Canyon had increased from what was recorded in the earlier paper, several species had expanded their habitats to a broader region and now dominated the sites. At the same time, some other ants Browne and Gregg observed had become less widespread or were even undetected.

“Across the different environments and habitats in the canyon, we’re seeing the composition of ant species becoming more similar,” said Julian Resasco, the paper’s senior author and an assistant professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

The team said 12 ant species have become hard to find compared with six decades ago. Ant species that foraged across a broader range of temperatures are now more widespread, while species that foraged across a narrower range of temperatures have become rare, potentially because they are more sensitive to temperature changes, or are facing increased competition from other ant species that managed to expand their habitats.

An ‘insect apocalypse’

Despite their tiny size, ants are essential ecosystem engineers. They supply soil with air through making tunnels and chambers underground, and accelerate the decomposition of dead plants and animals. Different ant species may play unique roles in the ecosystem, such as dispersing certain types of seeds or preying on specific bugs.

“If the ecosystem has only a single type of ant, it could mean that the animal is only contributing to ecosystem functioning in one way, potentially reducing ecosystem stability,” Paraskevopoulos said.

It remains unclear how changes in ant populations in Gregory Canyon have affected the local ecosystem. But when a species disappears, it affects other organisms that rely on them for food, pollination or pest control, Paraskevopoulos said.

The finding illustrates that changes in ant biodiversity could be happening all around the world in both urban and wild spaces as a result of climate change. Globally, insect populations and diversity are rapidly declining, and the study adds another piece of evidence to what many scientists call an ongoing “insect apocalypse.”

An analysis across 16 studies shows that insect populations have declined by 45% in the last four decades. In North America, the monarch butterfly population has fallen by 90% in the last 20 years. In Colorado, one in five native bumblebees is at risk.

“In response to climate change, species are changing the ranges where they’re occurring. Some of them are spreading and becoming winners, while others are crashing and becoming losers. This work helps us understand how those communities reshuffle, which could have implications on how ecosystems function,” Resasco said.

More information:
Anna W. Paraskevopoulos et al, Temperature‐driven homogenization of an ant community over 60 years in a montane ecosystem, Ecology (2024). DOI: 10.1002/ecy.4302

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Colorado

Colorado men’s basketball transfer portal tracker ahead of 2024-25 season

Published

5 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Press Room

Colorado men’s basketball transfer portal tracker ahead of 2024-25 season

Colorado basketball and coach Tad Boyle have had to re-tool the Buffs roster after one of the most successful seasons in program history.

Each of Colorado’s top six rotation players from the 2023-24 campaign have transferred or entered the NBA draft. Boyle’s Buffs won a program-record 26 games last season (and back-to-back NCAA Tournament wins for the first time since 1955) and a pair of transfers were crucial to that.

As Colorado transitions into the Big 12, the portal will have to be utilized once again with so much production on its way out of Boulder.

With that in mind, here’s a look at the players leaving the Colorado men’s basketball program and those who will join via transfer.

This list will be updated through the offseason as players leave and join the Buffaloes.

Colorado players entering transfer portal or NBA draft

EDDIE LAMPKIN JR.

Position: Center

Notable: The 6-foot-11, 265-pound big man was an emotional leader for Colorado in his first season with the Buffaloes. Lampkin Jr. played in all 37 games, averaging 10.6 points and seven rebounds per game. The former TCU center is headed to Syracuse to play for the Orange.

J’VONNE HADLEY

Position: Forward

Notable: The 6-foot-6, 205-pound senior improved mightily in his second season at Colorado, setting career highs in points (11.6), rebounds (six), assists (2.4), field goal percentage (53.8%) and 3-point percentage (41.7%). Hadley, a former junior college standout, will also spend the 2024-25 campaign in the ACC after committing to Louisville.

LUKE O’BRIEN

Position: Forward

Notable: The 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior spent the last four years at Colorado and set career highs in both points (6.7) and field goal percentage (45.6%) last season. O’Brien, a Littleton native, will finish his college basketball career at Georgia Tech.

TRISTAN DA SILVA

Position: Forward

Notable: The 6-foot-9, 220-pound senior spent the entirety of his college career at Colorado and was a three-year starter. da Silva, who averaged 16 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season, is headed to the NBA draft as a projected first-round pick.

KJ SIMPSON

Position: Guard

Notable: The 6-foot-2, 190-pound junior was a first-team All-Pac selection last season as he led Colorado in points (19.7 per game), assists (4.9), steals (1.6) and 3-point percentage (43.4%). Simpson declared for the 2024 NBA draft earlier this month and is projected to be a fringe first-round pick.

CODY WILLIAMS

Position: Forward

Notable: The 6-foot-8, 190-pound freshman flashed enough of his high upside as a true freshman to be a potential lottery pick. Williams missed 13 games last season with various injuries (wrist, face, ankle) but still managed to average 11.9 points on 55.2% shooting from the field on 41.5% shooting from deep. The former McDonald’s All-American should hear his name called early on during the 2024 NBA draft.

Players transferring to Colorado

TREVOR BASKIN

Position: Forward

Notable: The 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward was Colorado’s first addition from the transfer portal this offseason. Baskin averaged 18.5 points (39% from deep), 8.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game last season for Division II Colorado Mesa. After choosing the Buffs over Colorado State, Baskin projects to be a starter for Boyle in 2024.

“The first thing you look at when you see (Trevor) play is his diverse skill set,” Boyle said Monday in a news release. “For a guy that’s 6-foot-9 with a long wingspan, he can really shoot the ball, put it on the floor and he can pass and rebound. He can do a little bit of everything.

“When you lose a Tristan da Silva, who’s 6-foot-9, with a great diverse skill set, and you’re able to pick up a guy like Trevor, it makes you feel better about Tristan’s loss. Trevor’s going to be able to impact the game in a lot of different ways, and the thing I like about him is he can play multiple positions offensively and guard multiple positions defensively. Anyone who has followed Colorado basketball knows it’s something that we value.”

ANDREJ JAKIMOVSKI

Position: Forward

Notable: The 6-foot-8, 220-pound senior from Macedonia started all 35 games he played in last season for Washington State (33.7 minutes per game) and averaged 9.7 points to go along with 5.6 rebounds. Jakimovski dropped a team-high 19 points on the Buffs in Boulder on Dec. 31, has 80 career starts under his belt and should slot right into Colorado’s starting lineup for 2024-25 alongside Baskin.

More: Colorado basketball picks up Washington State transfer Andrej Jakimovski from portal

“I think our five-out system is really going to help Andrej expand his game offensively and show some other things he’s capable of doing, that he didn’t have a chance to at Washington State based on their personnel (primarily playing with two bigs),” Boyle said Monday in a news release. “They had a heck of a team, finished second in the league, one spot ahead of the Buffaloes. I’ve got great respect for Andrej, and what he’s done in his career at Washington State and I think he can build on that as he comes to Colorado for a year.

“We lost the majority of our 3-point shooting this year, and so to be able to sign a guy that is a proven 3-point shooter at the highest level of college basketball is something we needed to replace. The thing I love about Andrej is his toughness and his ability to rebound both offensively and defensively.”

ELIJAH MALONE

Position: Center

Notable: The 6-foot-10 big man was the NAIA Player of the Year last season as he averaged 17.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks last season at Grace College. Malone was one of the hottest names in the transfer portal, choosing Colorado over Boise State, Indiana, Notre Dame and others. The 2024 Bevo Francis Award winner, given to the best player among all of small college basketball (NCAA Div. II, Div. III, NAIA, junior colleges), gives the Buffs a formidable paint presence.

“Elijah could have left Grace College after his sophomore or junior years and very easily gone to the Division I level,” Boyle said Monday in a news release. “But the fact that he showed loyalty to his teammates and coaching staff that he signed with coming out of high school, that tells you everything you need to know about his character and kind of person he is. His value system and our value system are aligned very well.

“He wants to be able to prove himself at the highest level of college basketball and playing in the Big 12 is going to allow him the opportunity to do that. The way we play our style and the way he played at Grace College are very similar. So I feel really good about him in terms of what we lost and what we need for next year’s team. He fits the bill perfectly.”

Follow Colorado Buffaloes sports reporter Scott Procter on X.

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Colorado

Man allegedly becomes combative with police during arrest attempt in Colorado Springs

Published

12 hours ago

April 29, 2024

Press Room

Man allegedly becomes combative with police during arrest attempt in Colorado Springs

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Springs police say they had to use force after a suspect became aggressive while being taken into custody.

Officers had been called to the area of North Union and Lelaray late Sunday morning on reports of that suspect trespassing at a business.

“[He] had previously verbally assaulted employees of the business,” a CSPD lieutenant said.

The police department has not named the business, only that it was in the 1700 block of North Union.

The man was still in the area when police got on scene, but when officers tried contacting him, they say things quickly went south.

“He became argumentative, physically aggressive, and non-compliant with officers,” the lieutenant said. “Physical force was ultimately utilized to detain the subject.”

Police say neither the suspect or the officer trying to arrest him were hurt. The suspect is facing several suspects and remains in the El Paso County Jail Monday morning. He’s been identified by police as Adam Borges.

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