Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory

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The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (aka RMBL - pronounced 'rumble') is a Colorado high-altitude biological field station located near Crested Butte, in the West Elk mountains) It offers courses for undergraduate students - including National Science Foundation funded REU students [1]) and provides support for researchers from universities and colleges.

RMBL was founded in 1928 on the remains of an abandoned mining town in Gothic, Colorado[2]. Approximately 160 people are in residence there during the summer field season. Over 1200 scientific publications have been based on work from the Laboratory.

The diversity and depth of research at the lab make the area around Gothic, Colorado a well-understood ecosystem. While scientists can use RMBL's facilities[3] to study any topics relevant to the ecosystems around the Lab, a number of particular research areas have emerged as topics of particular interests. Charles Remington, an influential figure in the study of butterflies, spent a number of years working on the genetics of butterflies at the Lab. A number of other scientists, such as Paul R. Ehrlich, Carol Boggs[4], Ward Watt( President of the California Academy of Sciences [5]) , and Naomi Pierce[6], have also spent time working on butterflies at the Lab.

Climate Change is another well-studied area at the RMBL fueled by researchers such as John Harte[7][8] who has been heating a Rocky Mountain meadow to measure what global warming might mean[9].

Pollination biology is another historical research strength of the lab. Since 'introduced honeybees' do not survive at higher elevations such as the RMBL, a number of scientists, including Nicholas Waser[10], Mary Price[11], James Thomson[12], Diane Campbell[13], and David Inouye[14], who are interested in native pollination systems continue to work at the Lab.

The lab is home to one of the longest running mark-recapture studies of a non-game animal in the world. Ken Armitage started a study of yellow-bellied marmots in 1962[15] and it has been continued by Dan Blumstein[16][17] [18].

Stream ecology is another research strength. David Allen conducted work on streams around the lab in the 1970s. Barbara Peckarsky[19], one of the world's top stream ecologists[20], has worked on the streams for 30+ years along with collaborators from around the world[21].

A number of scientists who have had an influence on environmental policy have also worked at the lab, including Ehrlich (author of The Population Bomb), Michael Soule (founder of Conservation Biology), John Cairns[22] (member of the National Academy of Sciences), and Theo Colborn (author of Our Stolen Future).

RMBL is a member of the Organization of Biological Field Stations.