This is the monthly newsletter for the University of Kansas Field Station community. Each month, we share details about upcoming public programs, volunteer opportunities, and highlights from the month before. 

To read previous issues, please visit our newsletter archives.

If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to Wendy at wendyholman@ku.edu.

January Topic: Home on the Range: Prairie-chickens

Kansas is home to both Greater and Lesser Prairie-chickens, two iconic and increasingly rare species whose presence indicates a healthy prairie ecosystem. Known for their spectacular mating displays and unique booming calls, these charismatic birds face mounting challenges as their habitats shrink. Dr. Jackie Augustine, Audubon of Kansas Executive Director, will share her experiences of studying prairie-chickens for over 20 years, including their fascinating breeding biology, their role in grassland ecosystems, and the complex challenges she, and others, face in conserving these declining populations. Join us to learn about the story of these special birds and the people working to conserve them!

When: Sunday, January 19 at 2 p.m.

Where: KU Field Station, Armitage Education Center, 350 Wild Horse Road, Lawrence, Kansas 66044

What to bring: A mug for tea/coffee to help us reduce waste.

Please RSVP to Wendy (wendyholman@ku.edu) as space is limited. It also helps us plan for seating and snacks!

Science Sundays talks cover a variety of science topics, including research happening at the KU Field Station. Talks are free and open to everyone, but may not interest younger audiences. These talks are intended for members of the general public who want to learn more about science. You do not have to be a scientist to attend!

LICHENOLOGY WORKSHOP!

Saturday, February 15 from 1 - 5 p.m.

Registration will open on February 1, but pencil it onto your calendar now!

December didn’t turn out to be the catch-up-on-office-work month we envisioned. Instead, we stayed busy outside with all kinds of learning and research, and we’re glad we embraced the opportunities to spend time outside and learn with so many wonderful people. The office work will still be there waiting for us in January, right?

Sheena and Wendy are participating in a project called The Virtual Field to support place-based learning and increase the accessibility of the KU Field Station for people worldwide. On each solstice and equinox, they use a GoPro camera to record 5-minute, 360-degree videos from different ecosystems at the KU Field Station. At each site, a video will be captured four times a year from the exact same spot. These videos will be available online, offering a unique resource for researchers, educators, students, and anyone interested in exploring these environments.

Soon, Wendy will also begin creating Ecosystem Exploration videos that will offer virtual field trips to the KU Field Station, making it accessible to learners around the world. These videos will serve as a fantastic resource for educators at all levels, including activities that enhance students' observation skills while exploring diverse ecosystems. The activities are aligned with curriculum standards, making it easy for teachers to integrate them into their classrooms. Guides will be available for K-8, high school, and university students, providing tailored content for different age groups.

In the photo above, you can see the GoPro camera set up in a prairie on the winter solstice, capturing one of the 360-degree videos. You can also check out a 360-degree video that Sheena took last summer at the Rockefeller Prairie here. On your phone, simply move your phone around to explore the video in 360 degrees. On a computer, click and drag the video to look in all directions. With a virtual reality headset, you can immerse yourself in the prairie as if you were actually there!

Students from The Phoenix Collective joined us for a breezy, chilly December day focused on how Kansas wildlife survive in the winter. After learning about the behavioral and physical adaptations that different animal and plant species use to survive in the colder months, we ventured outside to search for signs of wildlife in the biting cold. The older students were given the added task of finding something that sparked their interest for an afternoon project focused on science communication.

It was a cold adventure that gave us a deeper appreciation for the challenges faced by wildlife in winter, and we were all glad to return to the warmth of the fireplace and hot apple cider!

Once inside, the younger students worked on writing stories, either on their own or with a partner, to share with the group. Meanwhile, the older students dove deeper into their outdoor observations, using what they learned to create comic strips aimed at teaching the younger students. They came up with some fantastic themes for their comics, ranging from why deer shed their antlers to how researchers identify and solve problems. It was a fun and rewarding exercise in both learning and communication, and the challenge of figuring out how to share new knowledge was well met.

Researchers from the Kansas Geological Survey visited the KU Field Station for a look into the rich history hidden beneath the prairie surface. Quaternary Geologist Tony Layzell and GIS Specialist Kolbe Andrzejewski collected soil samples that will allow researchers to learn more about Kansas' past climates. Using a Giddings rig, they extracted soil cores down to 2.4 meters deep, targeting soils that formed 28,000 to 14,000 years ago during the Late Pleistocene Epoch. This was a time when Kansas had a colder, drier climate, shaped by glaciers to the north. Grasslands covered the land and megafauna like mastodons, saber-toothed cats, and giant ground sloths roamed the region. Humans had already arrived in North America, and evidence suggests they lived and hunted on the Great Plains during this period.

Partway down these cores is a layer of loess, a fine, wind-blown material that can provide insights into climate change. Soils act as natural archives, documenting shifts in temperature, precipitation, and atmospheric conditions over millennia. Once in the lab, the researchers will analyze hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in the samples to reconstruct Kansas' past climate. By comparing this ancient data with modern observations, they can refine climate models to better predict the impacts of current changes on ecosystems, water resources, and human societies. This kind of research, along with the experience of physically touching the soils that supported ancient wildlife and people, is a powerful reminder of our deep connection to Earth's past.

A trip to the Baldwin Woods Forest Preserve was the perfect way to wrap up the semester! Field Ecology students, along with Professor Bob Hagen, explored this special woodland, which marks the westernmost edge of the eastern deciduous forest. They visited the Rice Woodland, which was burned last fall, and compared it to the Breidenthal Biological Reserve, which has not been burned. By observing differences in the understory of the two tracts, they could see the effects of the recent prescribed fire.

The students were excited to find a chilly Plains Leopard Frog trying to soak up a little warmth in a dapple of sun beside its icy overwintering pool. Taking advantage of the beautiful day, they continued beyond the end of the trail and followed the creek bed, where they explored a cliff of sedimentary rocks for a quick geology lesson. Field-based learning encourages students to rethink the traditional concept of a classroom, offering an immersive experience that deepens their understanding of the world around them.

Not on social media? No problem.

Here are a few of our favorites from the past month. 

🌿✨ Community Spotlight: Meet a Researcher! ✨🌿

Before starting on a summer field crew at the KU Field Station, Yalone Woodruff wasn’t considering graduate school or continuing with research. Today, he’s a Master’s student studying plant pathogens and their response to different mycorrhizal fungal treatments. Yae also works as a lab manager for the International Collection of Vesicular Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi at KU, where he adds new fungal species to their catalog, cultures and identifies species, and helps run the online store that ships mycorrhizal fungi to researchers worldwide.

Yae says his experiences at the KU Field Station set him on a new career path. “Working here opened up the field of research and showed me different directions I could take,” he says. Seeing and interacting with large-scale scientific experiments gave him insight into how to design and run his own research. One of the most rewarding parts of the job, he adds, is the collaborative community of people: “Everyone’s always interested in what you’re doing and wants to help. You don’t feel like you have to show out or impress people. There’s no fear of being wrong here. You don’t have to know all the answers—you can work to figure them out. It’s hands-on and makes you feel more connected to your research.”

We love watching students find their niche. From collecting data in the field, training fellow students, to conducting prescribed burns in experimental areas, Yae has found his here.🥹🌻🌾🔥

An unexpected visitor greeted us at the door on this chilly morning! 🐸🧡

Featuring: Woodhouse's Toad [Anaxyrus woodhousii]

Different day, different visitor! Read on for the opossum trivia you didn't know you needed! 🤓

This little marsupial was out and about near the Armitage Education Center, probably searching for a snack. Virginia Opossums are active year-round, but they don’t store much fat on their bodies or cache food, and their hairless ears, toes, and tails make them extra prone to frostbite. To survive the cold and scarce food of winter they often adjust their habits, sometimes foraging during the daytime to avoid frigid nighttime temperatures and to get enough calories. They also spend more time in sheltered spots like abandoned burrows, tree cavities, or under porches, using leaves, grass, or even trash for insulation. While their fur offers some protection, they rely a lot on behavioral adaptations to survive the winter.

✨🧠 Bonus Opossum Trivia 🧠✨

Opossum brains are small and smooth compared to placental mammals like raccoons. In fact, their brain is only about 1/6 the size of a raccoon’s, giving them one of the lowest brain-to-body ratios of any mammal.

In the early 1900s, Vernon Bailey, former chief naturalist for the U.S. Biological Survey, became interested in opossums. Bailey believed that brain size relative to body size could indicate intelligence, so he set out to compare the size of the opossum’s braincase with that of other mammals. He used small, uniform dried beans of an unknown variety as a measuring tool to see how many could fit in the braincases of similarly sized mammals. He found that an opossum’s braincase could hold just 25 beans, while a raccoon's could hold 150 and a house cat's 125. He published his findings in The Mammals of Texas in 1905.

Verdict: 10/10 for cuteness 😍, 10/10 for adaptability 💪, 11/10 for sheer determination to make it through winter 🌨️.

Looking for a New Year’s Resolution? 🌟

How about setting aside intentional time to slow down and truly notice the world around you? You don’t need to walk far or go anywhere special. Just go outside and move slowly, or settle into a comfy spot and observe your surroundings. 🔎

There’s a world of tiny, beautiful things waiting to be discovered if you take the time to see them. 🌱✨

Slowing down to connect with the natural world can calm your mind, reduce stress, lift your mood, and lower blood pressure. It’s a simple practice that improves mental clarity, stimulates creativity, and fosters a deeper connection with both nature and yourself, all while supporting your overall well-being. 🌿

University of Kansas Field Station Mission: 

   To foster scholarly research, environmental education and science-based stewardship of natural resources.

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