A multidisciplinary team that is comprised of professionals from industry, academia, and law enforcement who are studying methods to locate clandestine graves has been formed in Colorado. This article describes this team, research conducted, and preliminary results directed toward identifying the most effective means of locating buried bodies.

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Crop production in water‐limited environments may be enhanced through improved soil function by facilitating precipitation capture and erosion control. Soil macrofauna are known to support improved soil structure and water dynamics through ecosystem engineering activities, and their populations can be influenced by management. We examined the effect of bare summer fallow frequency on soil macrofauna communities and soil physical properties in a long‐term (32‐yr) dryland no‐till agroecosystem experiment at two sites in eastern Colorado, USA. Treatments represented a gradient of fallow frequency and organic matter inputs, which included wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)–fallow, wheat–corn (Zea mays L.)–fallow, and continuously cropped with no planned summer fallow. The design also included a perennial grass treatment with minimal management consisting of six native grasses. We observed links between soil macrofauna and soil functional metrics, particularly related to soil aggregation and water infiltration. There was a trend toward higher macrofauna populations and soil function with increased cropping system intensity, and perennial grass outperformed the cropped treatments significantly for most soil health parameters. Multivariate analyses revealed that different treatments support relatively distinct macrofauna communities. Our results suggest that soil macrofauna populations may be important facilitators of soil structure and associated water dynamics in dryland no‐till agroecosystems and respond positively to reduced fallow and higher organic inputs.

Livestock grazing and non-native plant species affect rangeland habitats globally. These factors may have important effects on ecosystem services including pollination, yet, interactions between pollinators, grazing, and invasive plants are poorly understood. To address this, we tested the hypothesis that cattle grazing and site colonization by cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) impact bee foraging and nesting habitats, and the biodiversity of wild bee communities, in a shortgrass prairie system. Bee nesting habitats (litter and wood cover) were marginally improved in non-grazed sites with low cheatgrass cover, though foraging habitat (floral cover and richness, bare soil) did not differ among cattle-grazed sites or non-grazed sites with low or high cheatgrass cover. However, floral cover was a good predictor of bee abundance and functional dispersion. Mean bee abundance, richness, diversity and functional diversity were significantly lower in cattle-grazed habitats than in non-grazed habitats. Differences in bee diversity among habitats were pronounced early in the growing season (May) but by late-season (August) these differences eroded as Melissodes spp. and Bombus spp. became more abundant at study sites. Fourth-corner analysis revealed that sites with high floral cover tended to support large, social, polylectic bees; sites with high grass cover tended to support oligolectic solitary bees. Both cattle-grazed sites and sites with high cheatgrass cover were associated with lower abundances of above-ground nesting bees but higher abundance of below-ground nesters than non-grazed sites with low cheatgrass cover. We conclude that high cheatgrass cover is not associated with reduced bee biodiversity or abundance, but cattle grazing was negatively associated with bee abundances and altered species composition. Although floral cover is an important predictor of bee assemblages, this was not impacted by cattle grazing and our study suggests that cattle likely impact bee communities through effects other than those mediated by forbs, including soil disturbance or nest destruction. Efforts aimed at pollinator conservation in prairie habitats should focus on managing cattle impacts early in the growing season to benefit sensitive bee species.

Temperature-dependence of metabolic rate in tropical and temperate aquatic insects: 1 support for the Climate Variability Hypothesis in mayflies but not stoneflies.