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2020 update: Aphid addition and exclusion

Team Echinacea continued the aphid addition and exclusion experiment started in 2011 by Katherine Muller. The original experiment included 100 plants selected from exPt01 which were each assigned to have aphids either added or excluded through multiple years. The intention is to assess the impact of the specialist herbivore Aphis echinaceae on Echinacea fitness.

The 2020 aphid team was Anna Allen and Allie Radin. They located 25 living exclusion plants and 16 living addition plants. The experiment was conducted from July 6th to August 19th, with the final visit consisting only of observation. Aphids were moved only during four visits from late July to mid-August due to late arrival and low numbers of aphids. Only one or two aphids were applied to each plant during each visit. They recorded the number of aphids present in classes of 0, 1, 2-10, 11-80, and >80. They also recorded the number of aphids added.

Aphids on an Echinacea leaf

Start year: 2011
Location: Experimental Plot 1
Overlaps with: Phenology and fitness in P1
Data collected: Scanned datasheets are located at ~Dropbox\teamEchinacea2020\allisonRadin\aphidAddEx2020.

Products:

  • Andy Hoyt’s poster presented at the Fall 2018 Research Symposium at Carleton College
  • 2016 paper by Katherine Muller and Stuart on aphids and foliar herbivory damage on Echinacea
  • 2015 paper by Ruth Shaw and Stuart on fitness and demographic consequences of aphid loads

You can read more about the aphid addition and exclusion experiment, as well as links to prior flog entries mentioning the experiment, on the background page for this experiment.

Arson 101

Hi flog!

Monday was the start of a new week. We traded Anna M. for Anna A. and hit the ground running.

The returned Anna A. – without braces!

Anna and I started the day off herding aphids in p1. Sadly, the number of aphids is slowly declining, after never really going up in the first place.

At lunch we all got to chat with Jared Beck, visiting possible post-doc. We talked about setting things on fire, like prairie preserves and experimental plots, and statistics. Jared will be here for the whole week, scoping The Echinacea Project out and looking at possible experimental sites.

After lunch, Emma, Anna, Mia, and I headed up to p2 to try and finish the last of the measuring. We made it all the way to row 73, meaning we have 7 more rows left. If John had been around we probably would have finished measuring (we miss you John!).

Measuring p2 on a nice day

Moving out/Moving in

Hey flog!

Amy headed back to the Twin Cities on Friday, which left me alone at the Hoff House. Since I don’t feel risking my life everyday biking to work on 27, I moved into the Andes Tower Hills condo Friday evening.

It has new topography (a hill) and new wildlife (Lea’s dogs). Given the general lack of dogs and elevation gain in the past 1.5 months, this is much more similar to my living condition at home (upstate NY).

I’m looking forward to fun new adventures with the Andes crew!

Andes Tower Hills – elevation of 1620 ft (290 ft rise)!
Bellamy (left) and Huxley (right)

The end of an era

On Friday The Echinacea Project saw the end of an era. Long-time team member Riley Thoen had his last day working for the project after 3 summers spent in the field.

We started off the morning with phenology in the remnants, with the added goal of looking for purple prairie clover at each of our sites.

Purple prairie clover, or Dalea purpurea, at Loeffler’s Corner

During lunch break, we celebrated Riley’s time here with some cake and an eyepatch.

Riley, featuring his cake (eye patch not pictured)

After lunch, we finished measuring all of the inbreeding 2 experiment plants and had an early end to the day. We spent some time eating ice cream bars provided by John and then headed to Elk Lake with some canoes for end-of-work-week and end-of-Riley-working-here activities.

Best wishes to Riley as he heads off to grad school!

Emma, Erin, and I enjoying some time in one of the canoes
The other canoe crew, with Riley, Anna M. and Mia

Back to business in the dry prairie

Hi again flog!

Friday morning was a delayed start so that the orchid trip team could try to catch up on sleep and get the visors synced and ready to go for the day. Erin and I had an even more delayed start after we locked ourselves out of the Hoff House while putting on sunscreen in the morning. Luckily, Erin had her phone, so we radioed the rest of the Hoffman House who had already left and Amy came to let us in. If Erin didn’t have her phone, it would have been a long walk to Hjelm with no shoes.

We spent the morning in the prairie remnants taking phenology. Many flowers are now reaching end flowering. John and Anna M. were gifted some broccoli during the morning, which we had for lunch.

Fresh broccoli for the team

In the afternoon, everyone scattered to do various projects. John and I headed to Staffanson to collect pollen for Amy. We visited about half the plants before we had to head back for a Zoom meeting.

John and I collecting pollen
An Echinacea head with a tiny pink inchworm

We heard from Anna M. and Devon about their projects for this year. Kristen, a former team member, also gave a presentation on the project she did while she was here in 2018.

Until next time!

Allie

Lakes, bonfires, and a loose goat

Hi flog! Today began slowly, with people in the Hoffman House up and about doing some field work and getting some errands/chores done.

However, this afternoon the Hoffman House crew and some of the Andes Tower Hill folks met up for some relaxation at Elk Lake. Some of us braved the plant-filled, squishy-bottomed lake for a nice, refreshing swim.

A view of Elk Lake

After that, we headed back home for some dinner, and then to Hjelm to meet the goats and have a bonfire, complete with the requisite s’mores. Emma started the second bonfire, which resulted in a gigantic flame. You could have roasted a marshmallow 10 meters away from the fire.

Emma with her fire – you can see what’s left of the first fire in the bottom right.

There are 9 goats staying at Hjelm House this summer and they are all adorable. They love eating treats and nibbling on fingers. For the most part, they are all well-behaved goats. But, one goat, Noess, decided that it would be better outside the fence than in, and hopped out to join us at the bonfire. Noess spent part of the night missing and part of the night trying to eat marshmallows with us.

Saying hi to the goats!
Noess on the loose

We were also joined by many mosquitoes and some bats. Everyone had a great time and we look forward to more evening bonfires in the future!

Flagging Echinacea around Golf Course and Landfill

Hi flog!

After lunch on June 15th, Amy and I headed out to visit the remnants around Golf Course and Landfill. We flagged flowering plants to get a sense of how many will flower later in the season.

The number of flagged Echinacea averaged around five flowering Echinacea per remnant. We did not visit Landfill, which has a much higher number of flowering plants.

A view of the flags fluttering in the wind.

One of the sites we visited had been recently mowed at the edge of the road, cutting off leaves and possibly flowering heads.

One of the plants that got mowed – you can see where the leaves got cut.

After a windy and hot afternoon of flagging we headed back to Hjelm House to pack up and head home. More flagging to come!

Allie Radin

Echinacea Project 2020

Biology and German Studies, Binghamton University, 2022

Research Interests

I am interested in studying the effect of non-native species on ecosystems, with a particular interest in developing sustainable ways to control and prevent further damage from invasive species. I am excited to learn more about how research done by the Echinacea Project can be applied on a larger scale to promote conservation of prairies.

Statement

I am from around Albany, NY.  In my spare time I enjoy baking pies and bread, traveling, and reading. I especially like watching The Great British Bake-Off and other wholesome cooking shows. I am also interested in research regarding the development of animal models and treatment methods for obsessive-compulsive disorder.