Living organisms are exquisitely attuned to environmental conditions to time important life history events and modulate their physiology.  The ECOR Labs make it possible for UM scientists to go beyond field observations, to investigate the precise environmental variables controlling natural patterns. Understanding the mechanistic basis and fitness effects of such environmental responses is key to many basic and applied questions in science, from understanding species range limits, to predicting population resilience to climate change, to choosing materials for ecological restoration.