Can herbicide control thistles? – Mike Kuklinsk
Bull thistle and Canada thistle are two problem weed species that threaten the Biocore Prairie. Mike tested whether careful spot treatments with the non-specific herbicide RoundUp can kill (or severely weaken) thistles without damaging the …
Effects of Competition on Prairie Plants – Elizabeth Halley
Elizabeth studied plant growth in an area of the Biocore prairie restoration where there was considerable competition from weeds. The focus was on three species: little bluestem (a grass), butterfly weed (a forb), and leadplant …
Pollinating Insects – Molly Carlson
Molly studied insects in the two demonstration gardens that are part of the Biocore Prairie restoration site. The project examined the relationship between flowering prairie plants (specifically spiderwort, butterfly weed, bergamot, pale purple coneflower, mountain …
Foraging Behavior of Birds – Anjan Kaushik
Anjan studied differences in foraging behavior among individuals of several bird species. This research examined whether juvenile birds were being displaced to the less diverse grassland site just southeast of the Biocore Prairie. Anjan used …
Mycorrhizae Study – Chris Seebruck
Colored flags in the Biocore Prairie indicate locations where roots are being sampled from both nonnative weed species and prairie species to test for the presence of mycorrhizae. Mycorrhizae fungi colonize the fine absorbing roots …
Soil Nitrogen Manipulation Study – Kurt Klasson
This study was set up in May 2003 to test the effect of encorporated sawdust on soil nitrogen levels and plant community composition. Six of the twelve experimental plots had 500 mg/ square meter of …
The Impacts of Seed Predators – Elizabeth Flemming
Elizabeth studied the impact of seed predators, namely small rodents and birds, on areas freshly seeded with prairie seed. She found that seed predators preferentially took larger seed when offered seed of the same shape …
Effects of Long-Term Simulated Grazing – Craig Kohn
Craig established a series of 18 1x1m plots in Area II where he studied the effects of long-term simulated grazing. In 2005, Craig received a Wisconsin Idea Fellowship to establish workshops for FFA students wishing …
Bird and Insect Diversity – Kendra Johnson
A senior at Memorial High School in Madison, Kendra did a study of bird and insect diversity in the Biocore Prairie as compared to a nearby grassy field. She found that Biocore Prairie had greater …
Effects of Sawdust on Soil Insects & Microbes – Rebecca Steffenson
Rebeccah studied how the addition of sawdust and ground corn stubble impacts soil insects and microbes.
Effects of Sawdust on Weed Competition – Neha Sehgal
Neha (summer 2005 & summer/fall 2006, 2006 Hilldale fellowship receipient) studied how addition of sawdust and ground corn stubble to soil impacts the growth of weeds in competition with prairie plants.
Impact of Soil Restoration on Biological Processes – Anne Drefal
Anne monitored soil respiration and soil biological activity weekly through spring, summer and fall 2005 in different areas of Biocore Prairie to establish the impact of the restoration process on soil biological processes.
Topical Application of Avotone Anti-Wrinkle Cream Predicted to Reduce Corrugator Supercilii Activity – Ben Stern, Jeff Bonavia, Charlie McCanna, Kellen Sheedy, Tommy Kuehn, and Alex Ringeisen.
Ben Stern, Jeff Bonavia, Charlie McCanna, Kellen Sheedy, Tommy Kuehn, and Alex Ringeisen studied the active ingredient in Avotone anti-wrinkle cream during the 2006-07 academic year. They carried out a double-blind, controlled investigation to determine …
Effects of Red Bull Energy Drink on Short Term Memory – Annika Swenson and Allison Bichler
Annika and Allison studied the two active ingredients in the Red Bull Energy Drink, taurine and caffeine. They wanted to know if students who ingested these ingredients had any change in short term memory. Their …
Willow Creek Analysis – Emily Roth
Emily (summer 2006, 152 mentored research student) studied Willow Creek on a weekly basis, from mid-July to early October, taking measurements of dissolved oxygen, temperature and turbidity, and monitoring the benthic macroinvertebrate community at upstream …
Distribution of Soil Nematodes in Sawdust or Ground Corn Stubble – Flavien Leclere
Flavien determined the abundance and distribution of soil nematodes (specifically fungivorous and bacterivorous nematodes) in experimental plots treated with sawdust or ground corn stubble.
Ongoing study of the effect of soil carbon amendment with sawdust and cornstubble on the native versus non-native species composition of plant communities in the Biocore Prairie – Rachel Butler
(L&S Honors Sophomore Honors Research Apprenticeship recipient)
Study of Macroinvertebrates in Willow Creek – Karen Bednar
Benthic macroinvertebrates are commonly used as bioindicators of water quality. In a seasonal survey of Willow Creek from 2006-2008, dissolved oxygen was low contributing to poor water quality, with consistently lower DO in upstream versus …
Impact of soil carbon amendments on soil nitrogen, biomass production and vegetative composition in the Biocore Prairie – Deena Weiss
(L&S Honors Sophomore Honors Research Apprenticeship recipients) A major obstacle faced by the Biocore Prairie restoration on the UW-Madison campus is high soil nitrogen, encouraging the growth of nitrophilic weeds over native prairie species. We …
Digital Photography and Image Analysis to Measure Vegetative Cover in the Biocore Prairie – Caitlin Butte
(L&S Honors Sophomore Honors Research Apprenticeship recipients) Estimating ground coverage is a very useful procedure for characterizing vegetation and assessing its growth and development over time. Visual estimation methods are most widely used, but show …
Penstemon digitalis flowers in Biocore Prairie exhibit nectar replenishment when exposed to periodic nectar removal and artificial pollination – Liliana Palencia and Molly Overby
(L&S Honors Sophomore Honors Research Apprenticeship recipients) Pollinators perform nectar removal and pollination. Though research shows that pollinator visits prompt nectar replenishment, it is unclear whether nectar replenishment is differentially affected by nectar removal and/or …
Use of Bloom’s Taxonomy to Claassify Temporal Problem-solving Strategies of Two Biology Students – Michael Kerins
According to Bloom’s taxonomy, intellectual problem-solving development can be categorized as a series of cognitive abilities that start at low-level skills, like factual recollection, and build to higher level skills, like synthesizing different viewpoints and …
Ongoing Study on The Effects of Lake Marion Dam on Black Earth Creek – Kirsten Rhude
(L&S Honors Sophomore Honors Research Apprenticeship recipients) The Wisconsin DNR is requiring the Village of Mazomanie to remove or repair the Lake Marion Dam on Black Earth Creek in western Dane County. Generally dams have …
Peromyscus maniculatus & Microtus pennsylvanicus show no habitat differentiation in Biocore Prairie – Lauren Brooks
(Hilldale Award recipient) Two rodent species Peromyscus maniculatus and Microtus pennsylvanicus are known to coexist within prairie ecosystems. Despite overlapping resource requirements, I hypothesized that these species exhibit habitat differentiation, with M. pennsylvanicus found in …
Vegetative ground cover is important parameter for species distribution of Peromyscus maniculatus and Microtus pennsylvanicus – Kara Bretzman
Peromyscus maniculatus (deer mouse) andMicrotus pennsylvanicus (meadow vole) are two common small mammals found in the Lakeshore Nature Preserve. P. maniculatus is known to be a vegetative generalist, whereas M. pennsylvanicus is exclusive to grasses and forbs. This study measured relative …
QTL Analysis of Anthocyanin Expression in Brassica rapa – Max Wilson, Jaffna Mathiaparanam, John Riley
Anthocyanin pigmentation is used as a quantitative trait to study genetics in educational settings. We are conducting a Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) analysis to identify the genes involved in expression of anthocyanin pigments in hypocotyls …
A Study of Trichome Expression in Brassica rapa and Future Educational Opportunities – Natalie Tupper, Sophie Carr, Kimberli Ward
Our research will use a QTL analysis to identify the location and nature of genes in the Brassica rapa genome that condition the expression of trichomes, hair-like tissues that form on leaves of seedlings. The …
Quantitative Investigation of Flowering Trait Genes in Brassica rapa aimed at Enhancing Genetics Education – Alexander Lopez, Noah Richter, Jacob Zasada
This study seeks to determine the location and nature of genes that control flowering in Brassica rapa, a model organism used for teaching genetics principles, for future application in classroom settings. Time and height of …
Alkaline Phosphatase Structure Influences Heat Stability – Joseph LHuillier and Adam Miller
Alkaline phosphatase (AP) enzyme structure is highly conserved among phyla, but differences in AP heat stability exist. Human placental AP (HPLAP) contains a heat-stable amino acid 429, a hydrophobic pocket, and an RY cluster– all …
Nonacclimated Root Frost Tolerance in Goldenrod Species in the Biocore Prairie – Emma Geiduschek
(Lakeshore Nature Preserve Student Engagement Award) Rising winter temperatures are increasing the number of freeze-thaw cycles in the soil, exposing plant root systems to more extreme frost events. Plants with relatively higher root frost tolerances …
To Till or Not to Till: No Till Better for Suppressing Clonal Weeds in the Biocore Prairie – Christina Fisher
We studied how soil tilling influences the abundance and coverage of weeds in the Biocore Prairie in preparation for planting prairie seeds. Tillage generally decreases weeds overtime by increasing seed germination and depleting the seed …
- More Past Student Research