Alpine plant species are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Temperature fluctuations are projected to be most severe at high elevations. Even small shifts in temperature have major consequences on phenology, reproduction, and community composition. Early life stages are arguably the most important processes in the fitness of an individual plant and the dynamics and persistence of plant populations. These initial developmental stages are expected to be more vulnerable to changes in climate than adult life stages. To understand how early life stages of alpine plant species will respond to warming temperatures, seeds and seedlings of two species were exposed to three different temperature regimes. Temperatures were based on current and projected conditions under low and high emission scenarios. Two rare alpine species performed better under warmer temperatures at both the germination and seedling stages. The results show that early life stages of alpine plants may not be at high risk from warming temperatures; however, there are many other shifting climatic factors to consider, resulting from climate change beyond temperature alone.

Archaeologists keep a limited arsenal of methods for dating stone features at alpine sites. Radiocarbon (14C) dating is rarely possible, and it is common that dates do not accurately represent the activity of interest (stone feature construction). In this paper I review a legacy set of 89 14C dates for stone driveline sites built by hunter-gatherers in Colorado’s Southern Rocky Mountains. I amend the sample of dates using chronometric hygiene and focus on dates with direct association to hunting features. I then present a newly calibrated set of 29 lichenometric dates for rock features at these sites and use hygiene protocols to remove inaccurate dates. Size-frequency lichenometry, though poorly known in archaeology, provides a way to date stone features indirectly by measuring the growth of long-lived lichens that colonize rock surfaces after construction events. Bayesian modeling of the combined set of dates suggests that the tradition of alpine game driving spans over 6000 years BP, with abundant use over the last 2000 years. Archaeologists must use multiple methods for dating stone features in alpine environments. This Bayesian analysis is a formal effort to combine lichenometry and 14C dating for archaeological interpretation.

A sediment core spanning ∼ 7000 cal yr BP recovered from Stella Lake, a small sub-alpine lake located in Great Basin National Park, Nevada, was analyzed for subfossil chironomids (non-biting midges), diatoms, and organic content (estimated by loss-on-ignition (LOI)). Subfossil chironomid analysis indicates that Stella Lake was characterized by a warm, middle Holocene, followed by a cool “Neoglacial” period, with the last two millennia characterized by a return to warmer conditions. Throughout the majority of the core the Stella Lake diatom-community composition is dominated by small, periphytic taxa which are suggestive of shallow, cool, alkaline, oligotrophic waters with extensive seasonal ice cover. A reconstruction of mean July air temperature (MJAT) was developed by applying a midge-based inference model for MJAT (two-component WA-PLS) consisting of 79 lakes and 54 midge taxa (rjack2 = 0.55, RMSEP = 0.9°C). Comparison of the chironomid-inferred temperature record to existing regional paleoclimate reconstructions suggests that the midge-inferred temperatures correspond well to regional patterns. This multi-proxy record provides valuable insight into regional Holocene climate and environmental conditions by providing a quantitative reconstruction of peak Holocene warmth and aquatic ecosystem response to these changes in the Great Basin, a region projected to experience increased aridity and higher temperatures.

Alpine areas are extreme habitats that require special adaptations and involve major trade-offs in terms of life history. Amphibians have the ability to adapt both their life history and developmental traits to alpine environments. Temperate amphibians depend on the quality and availability of aquatic habitats for reproduction. We explored the aquatic habitat used by amphibians in the alpine area of Retezat Mountains, Southern Carpathians, Romania. We surveyed 40 aquatic habitats in a 380 ha area delimited by mountain crests and drained by a steep valley. Each aquatic habitat was characterized using 10 environmental variables. Only three amphibian species occur at elevations above 1900 m, the most widespread being the Common Frog Rana temporaria. The Common Frog showed preference for breeding aquatic habitats, the variables of importance being altitude, solar radiation, water chemistry and grazing. Higher elevation and lower solar radiation decreased frog occurrence, while the impact of grazing favored the use of water bodies. Acidification is eminent in the area with pH dropping below 5 in 20% of the water bodies. Overall, amphibian occurrence in alpine area can be partly explained by the characteristics of aquatic habitats.

Domestic lamb mortality on an open forested and alpine summer range in the municipality of Målselv in northern Norway was investigated. Two hundred and fifty-three lambs in four of the area's six flocks were randomly fitted with mortality transmitters and monitored throughout the summer grazing season from June to September. Total losses in the six flocks were 183 (22.9%) lambs and 20 (4.2%) ewes. The carcasses of 69 lambs, 36 of which had radio-collars, and six ewes were recovered. Of the collared lambs, eight (22%) died as a result of disease and 27 (75%) were killed by predators. Implicated predators included red fox Vulpes vulpes, lynx Lynx lynx, golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos and wolverine Gulo gulo. Diseased animals included those diagnosed with pasteurellosis, disrupted intestinal functions and advanced coccidiosis. The remains of one lamb were too decomposed for necropsy, though there was no evidence that it had been attacked by a predator. Factors associated with losses were identified using logistic regression. Age of lamb at time of release on the summer range and age of dam were statistically associated with lamb losses (P<0.05). Mortality was higher among older lambs and those of year-old ewes. Parameters commonly associated with lamb size and growth were not statistically associated with mortality. The negative association between lamb mortality and age of dam may be related to the quality of maternal care provided by ewes of different ages, particularly vigilance in the habitat of predators. Similarly, the positive association between mortality and age of lamb may be related to changing lamb behaviour, specifically increased distance from ewe, as lambs grow older and more independent. Predators, when present, are a major cause of mortality in free-ranging lambs, as in most wild ungulates.

Previous work in the Colorado alpine ecosystem has shown that amino acids are a potentially important N source for the sedge, Kobresia myosuroides. This plant is the only known sedge to harbour associations with ectomycorrhizal fungi. The aim of the present work was to test the hypothesis that these ectomycorrhizas transfer N from amino acids in the soil solution to the host plant, and thereby have an important role in the N nutrition of this species. We used a two-chamber system (rhizoboxes) in which K. myosuroides plants were separated from a soil chamber by nylon mesh that allowed fungal hyphae, but not plant roots, to cross it. Injections of [15N, 2-13C]glycine were made into the soil chamber. The hyphal crossings on half of the rhizoboxes were regularly disrupted to control for leakage of label across the barrier. Plants in the intact rhizoboxes showed significantly higher 15N enrichment than those in controls, and mycorrhizal root tips were significantly more enriched than bulk roots. The mycorrhizas transferred an average of 1.3% of the added 15N label to plants, a figure comparable to those obtained in previous studies in which plant roots were directly exposed to label. We conclude that fungal associations have an important role in the N nutrition of K. myosuroides by transferring N from amino acids to their hosts.

During the last two decades, more than 100 cattle deaths have been reported from 11 alpine sites in south-eastern Switzerland. Pathological findings and the histological examination of their organs strongly indicated acute hepatotoxicosis. Clinical symptoms suggestive of neurotoxicity were also observed in some cases. To elucidate the etiology of these poisonings, different water bodies in one of the affected alpine pastures were investigated for cyanobacterial toxins. The waters were highly oligotrophic, cold and turbid, and the ice-free period was limited to 3–4 months. The algal community in these waters consisted mostly of benthic cyanobacteria forming dense mats on the surface of sediments and on submerged rocks. Oscillatoria limosa and Phormidium konstantinosum (=Oscillatoria tenuis) dominated these populations, but occasionally other species of Oscillatoria, Phormidium, Tychonema and Pseudanabaena also occurred in the mats. Samples from the cyanobacterial mats yielded positive results in a protein phosphatase inhibition assay, reacted with antibodies against microcystins in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and were hepatotoxic in a mouse bioassay. The same cyanobacterial material also included neurological effects in mice. High-performance liquid chromatography was used to identify a microcystin, in these cyanobacterial samples as well as in the corresponding lake water. To our knowledge, this is the first documented example of hepatotoxicity associated with benthic cyanobacteria, and the first report of toxic cyanobacteria from the remote, oligotrophic alpine environment.

Sedimentary basins are structures that formed either by subsidence of an area relative to its surroundings, or by uplift of the surroundings. The basin is defined by its sedimentary fill, and the vertical kinematics of the fill are reflected by stratal wedging, unconformities and, or, faulting. The following basin mechanisms are distinguished: locally (a) stretch, (b) thrust and piggy-back, (c) local uplift, and regionally (d) stretch-and-cool, (e) load-and-flex and (f) cratonic uplift.

Basin patterns are reviewed for the three main Phanerozoic episodes for which molasse-like features of sedimentation or tectonics are claimed. Sediment accumulation rates are used as an index of the vigour of basinal activity.

Within the area of the Caledonian orogen, Devonian basinal activity was locally very rigorous, some of it being late orogenic and some post-orogenic, and mostly apparently of ‘stretch-type’. The orogenic area stood high, relative to sea level, throughout Devonian times, but outside the orogenic area, the basins were less vigorous and marine.

Within the area of the Hercynian orogen, and outside it, Permian basins were generally not so active, apparently reflecting a different style of orogenesis. However, the whole area was standing high, relative to sea level. The Triassic basins, though post-orogenic, were rather more vigorous, although a marine transgression records the general lowering of the continental surface. Major evaporites accumulated in these settings.

In Cenozoic times, the narrow orogenic belts formed the most active basins, and these were of load-and-flex type, reflecting the importance of thrust-sheet movement, itself perhaps a result of the presence of Triassic evaporites. Other non-orogenic basins reflect both ‘stretch’ and ‘stretch-and-cool’ mechanisms. Only the Spanish basins appear to have been standing high, relative to sea level, perhaps in response to cratonic uplift.