Ecologically important relationships are being altered by climate change. It is important to
understand these relationships in order to predict future changes in species distribution and
abundance. Previous research has shown that aphid (Aphis asclepiadis) abundances
correlate significantly with snowmelt date in subalpine Rocky Mountain ecosystems, with
late snowmelt years correlating with larger aphid populations in summer. Although
consistent across years, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon have not been …