John W. Marr Grant Recipients
2023 John Marr Grant Recipients
Sabrine Dritz, Ph.D. student at UC-Davis, “The functional response of bumblebee pollination in diverse floral landscapes”: $1000
Kyla Knauf, Ph. D. student at Northwestern University and the Chicago Botanic Garden, “It’s not just flower power: the importance of seed phenology in conjunction with flowering phenology to assess climate change effects on Rocky Mountain wildflowers”: $1000
Carson Bay, Undergraduate at United States Air Force Academy, “Physiological response of Ponderosa Pine to parasitic infection and its implications for surviving climate change”: $1000
2022 John Marr Grant Recipients
In 2022 CoNPS awarded four John Marr Grants
Kathryn Dawdy, Master’s student at Chicago Botanic Garden and Northwestern University; “The effects of advanced plant phenology on herbivory and plant demography.” $1000
Audrey Spencer, PhD student at University of Colorado Denver; “Clarifying the systematics and taxonomy of Physocarpus (Rosaceae): Implications for the origins of the flora of the Southern Rocky Mountains in Colorado.” $1000
Brendan Connolly, Master’s student at Chicago Botanic Garden and Northwestern University; “Not all pollinators are created equal: Evaluating differences in pollination efficiency using a Colorado montane pollination system.” $775
Elsa Godtfredsen, Ph.D. student at Chicago Botanic Garden and Northwestern University; “Earlier Snowmelt, Earlier Flowering, and Increased Drought: New Realities
of Subalpine Plant Reproduction under Climate Change.” $775
2021 John Marr Grant Award Winners
Marr Grant Recipients:
Valerie Martin, $1000 for “Microbial Facilitation of Floral Exploitation in a Subalpine Pollination Mutualism,”
Justin Yow, $1000 for “Understanding how climate variability within the Colorado Rocky Mountains affects fuel load dynamics in ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests”
Blyss Bieber, $800 for “How does the response of bee communities to fire affect Colorado fitness of an important native plant?”
Alyssa Iverson, $750 for “Soil seed bank composition of an urban canal undergoing hydrologic change.”
2020 John Marr Grant Awards
The CoNPS Research Grants Committee has Chosen
the Recipients for the 2020 John Marr Research Grants
Courtenay Ray $850 for: “Demographic response to climate change in the Rocky Mountain alpine”
Emily Mooney $850 for: “How native host plant variation shapes a facultative ant-butterfly mutualism”
Laurel Brigham $850 for: “Do microclimates and biotic interactions change the nature of range expansions?”
Mason Taylor $850 for: “Variation in effect of insect herbivory on Platte thistle (Cirsium canescens) between biogeographic range center and edge”
2019 John Marr Grant Awards
The John Marr Funded Grants to Four Researchers in 2019
Justin Bain – $800
“Understanding how the floral nutrient landscape influences bee foraging, pollination, and the structure of plant-pollinator interaction networks”
Emily Lockard – $800
“Use of native plants in a production orchard to enhance ecological systems”
Isabel Schroeter – $800
“‘The role of plant physiological thresholds and resource use strategies in riparian ecosystem recovery in Rocky Mountain National Park”
Emily Schumacher – $800
“Where in the world is Eriogonum umbellatum?: Using ecological niche modeling and genetic analysis to determine support for varietal separation”
Congratulations to All ! We look forward to reading about the results of your research in future issues of Aquilegia !
2018 John Marr Research Grants Awarded
Anna Freundlich, Master’s Student at University of Northern Colorado “Lichen and Vascular Plant Response to Bark Beetle Disturbance in the Roosevelt National Forest, Northwestern Colorado”. $1000
Rachel Kreb, Master’s student at Regis University was given $500 to study “Restoration and Cushion Plant Facilitation on Alpine Trails”.
Laurel Sindewald, Ph.D. student at University of Colorado Denver was given $960 to stucy “A survey of limber pine abundance and microhabitat at the alpine treeline ecotone of Rainbow Curve Overlook, Rocky Mountain National Park, USA”.
Maria Mullins, Master’s student, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs was given $500 to study “Aphids on Osha: the effect of host-plant phenology aphid populations”.
Rachael Sitz, Postdoctoral researcher Colorado State University was given $500 to study “Documenting the insect and microbial communities that utilize Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii Nutt.) to inform conservation management”.
Liam Cullinane, Master’s student at Denver Botanic Garden and the University of Colorado Denver was given $500 to study “Floristic and Ecological Inventory and Bee Faunal Survey of the High Line Canal in Denver, CO”.
And Katherine Fu, a Ph.D. student University of Colorado Denver was given $500 to study “Implications of Local Adaptation on Seed Sourcing for Restoration Under Climate Change”.
2017 John Marr Grant Awarded
Marr Grants Awarded:
- Austin Lynn $900 “Investigating Evolutionary Relationships among native and exotic Taraxacum in the Colorado Rocky Mountains”
- Mike Kintgen $900 “Does Aridity Drive Species Richness in Colorado’s Alpine Tundra?”
- Erin Bissell $500 “Bird Diversity in Chatfield State Park Riparian Cottonwood Communities”
2016 Grants Awarded for Marr Fund
Kath Kleier announced the following winners of the 2016 Marr Grants:
Jennifer Ackerfield – Colorado State University, working with Mark Simmons:
A Prickly Puzzle: Phylogeny and Evolution of the Genus Cirsium in North America, $1000
Alyssa Albertson – Colorado State University, working with Kenneth Kassenbrock:
A Survey of Fungal Endophytes in Bristlecone Pine: Do Endophyte Communities Vary in Trees Susceptible Versus Those With Some Resistance to White Pine Blister Rust?, $1000
McCormick – Margaret Mitter McCormick – University of Colorado, working with Jeffry Mitton:
A Vertical Mile of Stonecrop: Physiological Implications of Genetic Variation, $750
John Marr Grants Announced for 2015
2011 Marr Grant: Genetic differentiation between alpine and montane populations of Viola adunca (Violaceae) in the San Juan Mountains.
Ross McCauley, PhD. (Assistant Professor of Biology, Herbarium Curator. Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO). Genetic differentiation between alpine and montane populations of Viola adunca (Violaceae) in the San Juan Mountains. $982
Given the evidence suggesting that the taxon previously known as Viola bellidifolia is distinct from the more widespread Viola adunca, I am investigating the extent of its segregation from the more typical form of V. adunca initially focusing on the region of the San Juan Mountains from where it was first described and is very distinct. I am working to determine if V. bellidifolia and V. adunca maintain a continuous gene pool between the two taxa or if they are isolated either through habitat differences, phenological differences, and/or chromosome compatibility. This work is being undertaken with students from Fort Lewis College in Durango and serving as a means to teach methods of systematic evaluation of species differentiation. It is hoped that this work will serve to increase our knowledge of these plants in the high alpine zone of Colorado, provide a clear explanation for their evolutionary origin, and allow for the application of a name at the appropriate level of the taxonomic hierarchy.