Successful Field Season for Ariella

Ariella Thompson recently returned from an overall successful season of field work at the end of August. She sampled seeds and leaves from Mimulus tilingii populations across five elevational transects in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. She collected from a total of 45 populations ranging from the Lake Tahoe basin south to the Mt. Whitney area. Each day was spent hiking long distances–sometimes over 20 miles in a day–before sampling and conducting a herbivore damage survey on the populations. It was well worth the long distances for the purpose of science in addition to exponentially increasing the amount of pika she’s seen in the wild. If you have any questions about her research or methods, feel free to email her at arthompson26@wisc.edu.