Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory

The Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (aka RMBL – pronounced 'rumble') is a high-altitude biological field station located near Crested Butte, in the West Elk Mountains in the state of Colorado, United States. The laboratory was founded in 1928 on the site of an abandoned mining town. Research areas include the ecology of the region, climate change, pollination biology and a long-running study of the yellow-bellied marmot. The laboratory offers courses for undergraduate students, including National Science Foundation funded REU students, 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. Approximately 160 people are in residence there during the summer field season. Over 1500 scientific publications have been based on work from the Laboratory (currently 30–50 per year).

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 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, Ward Watt (former President of the California Academy of Sciences ), Maureen Stanton, and Naomi Pierce, have also spent time working on butterflies at the Lab.

Climate change is another well-studied area at RMBL, fueled by researchers such as John Harte, who has been heating a Rocky Mountain meadow to measure the effects of long-term warming on soil moisture, nutrient cycling, and plant communities.

Pollination biology is another historical research strength of the lab, and close to a hundred scientists who work in that field have visited or worked there since the 1970s. Because 'introduced honeybees' do not survive at higher elevations such as the RMBL, a number of scientists, including Nicholas Waser, Mary Price, James Thomson, Diane Campbell, and David Inouye, who are interested in native pollination systems continue to work at the Lab.

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