Jessica Allewalt - Effects of Altered Precipitation on Soil Nitrogen Cycling (Mentor: John Blair).
In general, global climate change models predict opposing outcomes for the midwest under global warming in terms of the area either becoming increasing warmer or cooler. Predictions do agree, however, that a rise in atmospheric moisture is inevitable and will be responsible for increasing the intensity and variability of rainfall events. In order to understand how this increased intensity and variability would affect a tallgrass prairie ecosystem, the rainfall manipulation plots (the RaMPs) were built on the Konza Prairie in 1997. The RaMPs are designed to keep out natural rainfall and allow for rainfall collection in large water storage bins located in each plot. The collected rainfall is then used for re-application according to one of four designed treatments. The RaMP treatments have been designed to be factorial combinations of two specific treatments: the amount of rainfall applied and the timing of a rainfall event. The focus of this project was to determine the effects of altered precipitation on nutrient cycling, specifically nitrogen cycling. In order to examine the effects, a number of techniques were used. Resin bags, which consist simply of ion exchange beads, were placed in the plots for a period of one month to collect ammonium and nitrate ions from soil water. In addition, soil samples from all fifteen plots were collected and analyzed for extractable inorganic nitrogen and microbial biomass nitrogen using the techniques of KCl extraction and chloroform fumigation extraction respectively. For all of the data, statistics were run to test for a main effect of the drought treatment (change in the amount of rainfall) and for a main effect of the delay treatment (change in the timing of a rainfall event) and for any interaction between the two treatments. It was found that the delay treatment resulted in less plant available soil nitrogen and an increase in the amount of nitrogen sequestered in soil microbial biomass. The drought treatment had less of an effect on plant available nitrogen and microbial biomass. Overall, changes in the timing of rainfall events may have a greater effect on soil nitrogen cycling than changes in the average amount of rainfall, at least short-term.  

José Checo Colón-Gaud - Growth rates for Chironomidae (Diptera) in two habitats in King’s Creek (Mentor: Matt Whiles).
Temperature-dependent growth rates of Chironomidae (Diptera) from communities characteristic of two distinct stream habitats were examined in Kings Creek at the Konza Prairie Research Natural Area. In situ growth chambers were stocked with various length-classes of chironomids to compare growth rates from the different habitats. Two replicates of the test were run during the months of June and July 1999, with the time intervals of approximately 11 to 14 days each. The average daily biomass growth rate for individuals across all replicates was highest for the Gallery2 community (0.1320 d^-1) followed by the Gallery1 community (0.1301 d^-1). Lower growth rates of 0.1271 d^-1 and 0.0758d^-1 were found in Prairie site tests 1 and 2, respectively. No significant difference in growth rates were found between the habitats (p values = 0.90 and 0.31 for tests 1 and 2, respectively). Further growth studies are still in progress. Growth rates of this numerically dominant aquatic organism will be used for a larger project to determine the secondary production of the aquatic insect community of Kings Creek. 

Alexandra Latham - Brown-headed Cowbird Parasitism Rates on Ground-Nesting Birds of the Tallgrass Prairie in Bison-grazed and Ungrazed Habitats (Mentor: Jack Cully).
The Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater) is North America’s best known obligate brood parasite. It is believed to have coevolved with bison, which played an important role in the existence of the cowbird by disturbing insects from the ground cover, on which the birds could feed. The Dickcissel, the Grasshopper Sparrow, and the Eastern Meadowlark are common grassland hosts of the cowbird. We hypothesized that nests of the three species would exhibit higher rates of cowbird parasitism in bison-grazed than in ungrazed habitat. The study was conducted between 6 June and 19 July on Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, in the Flint Hills, northeastern Kansas, where bison graze approximately 1,000-ha of the research area. Sixty-six nests were located. Rates of cowbird parasitism were higher for all host species in the bison-grazed area than in the ungrazed area. Rates of parasitism for all species grouped together were significantly different between sites. Results indicate that parasitism may be enhanced by shorter and less dense grass, characteristic of bison-grazed habitat, which improves the probability of locating host nests. Further studies would be valuable to determine the importance of these two factors.

Molly Magill - Side-pool Dynamics of King’s Creek, Konza Prairie (Mentor: Walter Dodds).
King’s Creek on the Konza Prairie Research Natural Area consists of a main channel and several adjacent pools and channels that arise due to changes in water flow and level. These pools share hydrology with the main channel at times, but as the water level decreases, exchange between the two also decreases. Research completed during the summer of 1999 revealed some of the characteristics of these pools. Nitrate levels in the pools is significantly lower than in the main channel, indicating that the microbial activity in the pools has a great effect on their chemistries. Pools that have more organic and silt composition tend to have lower dissolved oxygen. Also, by releasing a known amount of sodium bromide and measuring the concentration over time, it was shown that the pools had reduced water exchange (turnover time) with reduced volumes, and the longer the turnover times, the less dissolved oxygen in the pools. Finally, by comparing the oxygen demand of the various substrata, it was concluded that turnover times and substrate composition both contribute to the oxygen levels in the pools, as organic silt substrata had higher oxygen demand within the substrate.

Jim McFadden - Environmental History and the Trajectory of Scientific Management Since 1971 on Konza Prairie Research Natural Area, Riley and Geary Counties, Kansas (Mentor: Jim Sherow).
Konza Prairie Research Natural Area is a managed landscape, and the plant and animal communities in its boundaries respond to and reflect human land use practices. The record of human manipulation of the Konza Prairie (KP) landscape is fairly continuous, long-lasting, and profoundly real. After 1850 Euroamerican settlement began and KP experienced tremendous landscape modification as a result of agricultural and ranching practices. In 1971, scientific experiments began to alter the landscape as well. Consequently, Konza is not natural in the sense that it is an undisturbed, unmanaged landscape, seemingly set apart from human civilization. Rather, its visual appearance, its built environment, and its biotic characteristics reflect the history and pattern of human use and ecological perception of the land. Individual backgrounds and ecological philosophy greatly affect how scientists envision the landscape. Plant and animal communities show dynamic responses to human land-use practices, so future KP geography and the visible, built, and biotic environments of the prairie depend on the human relationship with the land. The past is not over. It is merely a prologue, and it reappears again and again, as a walk to the old 12^th Street intersection shows. Scientific management ensures the constant presence of human beings at KP into the future. As long as it continues, KP will continue to need human beings to guide and shepherd it ecosystem.

Hope Phillips - Evaluation of Population Estimation by Removal Sampling in Kings Creek (Mentor: Christopher Guy).
Population estimation is an integral part of fisheries science. Electro-fishing using the depletion removal method is one of the most common techniques used to obtain population. The objectives of this study were 1) to determine if fish density and catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) from a single-pass electro-fishing event is correlated with the population density estimates obtained from the depletion removal method and 2) describe relationships among habitat variables and probability of capture from electro-fishing in Kings Creek. The study was conducted on Kings Creek, within Konza Prairie Research Natural Area in the Flint Hills region of eastern Kansas. Two species of fish, southern redbelly dace (Phoxinus erythrogaster) and central stoneroller (Campostoma anomalum) were analyzed. Significant correlations were found between CPUE and estimated density (fish/m²) and first pass catch density and estimated density (r² = 0.42, p = 0.03; r² = 0.85, p = 0.0001, respectively) for southern redbelly dace. estimated density r² = 0.30, p= 0.1). There were no high correlations between any of the measured habitat parameters and probability of capture for either species. These results suggest that it would be effective and time efficient to use the first pass catch density estimates to estimate southern redbelly dace populations in Kings Creek. More research is needed for the other species in Kings Creek.

Catherine Stewart - Growth of Andropogon gerardii and Solidago canadensis Under Altered Precipitation Regimes (Mentor: Phil Fay).
Rising temperature has been predicted to reduce growing season rainfall and increase the intervals between rainfall events. The Rainfall Manipulation Plots (RaMP) were implemented in 1997 to study the effects of altered rainfall regimes on plant species composition, nutrient cycling, and above‑ and below‑ ground plant growth dynamics on Konza Prairie, in northeastern Kansas. Twelve semi‑permanent greenhouse structures were constructed and four treatments were established in a randomized complete block design. These combined two treatments a) altered growing season rainfall quantity and b) altered timing of rainfall events. To determine the effects of altered precipitation regimes on plant growth, Andropogon gerardii and Solidago canadensis were measured through June and July 1999. Growth rates and biomass predictions were then calculated. Decreased rainfall altered plant growth only when the interval between rainfall events was increased. A. gerardii showed elevated growth, while S. canadensis showed depressed growth in these plots. A. gerardii had a variable growth rate which was rapid at the beginning of the season and decreased toward the end. S. canadensis had a constant growth rate which declined over the season. In the increased interval plots, growth rate responded negatively to increased periods of drought and increased after applied rainfall. Biomass correlated positively with total leaf area in A. gerardii, and total leaf length in S. canadensis. Predicted biomass over the season revealed similar patterns of the growth pattern data. The differences between A. gerardii and S. canadensis are best explained by C₃ and C₄ physiology.

Amy Toth - Preliminary Studies on the Foraging Behavior of the Western Slender Glass Lizard (Mentor: Eva Horne).
Ophisaurus attenuatus, the Western Slender Glass Lizard, is a little-studied member of the family Anguidae. The Anguids are generally considered to be actively foraging lizards with high prey chemical discrimination (PCD) abilities. A preliminary study on the foraging behavior, PCD ability, and behavioral effects of tail autotomy was conducted using 6 lizards from Kansas. Foraging behavior observations indicate low overall activity levels and no differences between various aspects of lizard behavior in the presence or absence of food items (crickets). These observations point to a sit-and-wait strategy of foraging for this species. There was a striking trend showing greatly reduced activity of lizards which had lost part of the tail as compared to lizards with complete tails. PCD ability was studied by presenting cotton swabs bearing prey and control odors to lizards and noting responsiveness to the odor based on tongue-flicking and predatory attacks. Moving and stationary cotton swabs were also tested to determine if these lizards are responding to visual cues from prey. Results showed a lack of PCD ability by the lizards and a tendency to rely more on visual cues in attack “decisions”. These results are intriguing in that they are characteristic of sit-and-wait predators, contrary to what one would expect from an Anguid species. More work is needed to cement these findings, since sample sizes were too small to adequately support any of the observed trends.