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Today was the third day in the field for Team Echinacea 2017. We all started out in P1, where we split up and did various tasks. Alex and Ashley took on the riskiest task and weeded some invasive bird’s foot trefoil around the plot that was among some poison ivy. Will, Lea, Wes, and I got the 10-meter signs and flag markers up and organized. Stuart and Anna started taking on the invasive hawkweed that has been getting into the plot and spreading, and eventually all of us were wrestling with it. The hawkweed has some incredible rhizomes that spread around to nets and nets of rosettes. Will and I found an estimated 45% hawkweed cover in one part of the plot. Here are some of the comments you might have heard from all of us while trying to get these out of the ground:
“Anytime you think you’ve found them all, you haven’t.”
“You will be champion of the longest rhizome!”
“I think I am becoming allergic to hawkweed.”
Weeding was fun, but I think we were all ready for lunch when it came around. At lunch we talked about doing a yellow pan trap experiment this year to catch and identify bees and see how their abundance and diversity relates to surrounding vegetation. Lea also gave an intro to her experiment for the summer, and we talked about potential REU projects.
After lunch we headed over to P8 and started learning how to collect data on the Echinacea growing there. Returners helped the newcomers start to get a hang of navigating the plot site, collecting data on visors, and finding and measuring Echinacea. We finished the day with a watermelon on the porch.
It was a great week. I’m excited for more.
Tracie
 Lea, Gretel, and Ashley in P8.
Echinacea Project 2017
Biology B.S. & Studio Art B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 2017
Research Interests
My general ecological interests involve macroecology and biogeography. I am fascinated by patterns that can be discovered across large geographic scales or over long time periods. With the changing climate I have become interested in how temperature can affect the phenologies of plant and animal species. In my time with Team Echinacea I hope to study prairie plant phenology, plant-pollinator interactions, and the effect of prairie fragment size on community characteristics.
Statement
I am from Charlotte, North Carolina, a day trip away from either the beach or the mountains. I am constantly making art, whether it is weaving, painting, or woodworking. I also love hiking, birding, collecting rocks, and eating sushi. I am excited to join Team Echinacea and experience a new ecosystem!
Hello Echinacea Project Fan Base!
Today the group split up as we continued getting oriented with the project. Five of us went out to examine Railroad Crossing and Loeffler’s Corner prairie remnants. We split into two groups and analyzed each remnant to determine the species makeup, disturbance history, and land history of each remnant. After taking time in each of our groups, we came together and discussed what we saw and learned. Alex was our wonderful guide and was able to give plant information. After remnant analyzing, Alex gave us a driving tour of a couple of other prairie remnants during which we stopped to examine some Echinacea angustifolia whose buds were showing. Yay flowers!
Before and after lunch, Stuart gave everyone a power point presentation on details of the project and past and current results and data. Next, we weeded Bird’s-foot Trefoil from the roadside near an experimental plot and created a path from Hjelm House to that same plot. We then went over the organization of some experimental plots and learned how to use our high-tech data collection devices (see attached image).
Hopefully more sun is ahead!
Wes
Today was the first day in the field for Team Echinacea 2017, and it couldn’t have been a better day! This weekend was hot, humid, and stormy in MN. Today was much cooler with a pleasant breeze all day. We started the morning with introductions and learning about safety and general Echinacea info. We learned about all of the dangerous plants and animals in our study site. The worst by far must have been death camas which you shouldn’t eat because it will kill you. After learning about safety we headed out to Staffanson Prairie Preserve to see some of the native (and non-native) plants that we will see during the summer. We spent the majority of the morning meandering around Staffanson pointing out new plants and discussing the history of the land, and then headed in for lunch.
We assessed everyone’s various skill sets at lunch so that we could form the Ultimate Team Echinacea by building on eachother’s strengths and skills.
Hegg lake WMA was our second stop of the day where we discussed the differences in the plant communities within the site and between the site and Staffanson. We then said our good-byes for the evening.
Goodnight Flog,
Will
Team echinacea learns.
Echinacea Project 2017
I will be a senior at Minnewaska Area High School this next fall. Our district is fairly small and located between Glenwood and Starbuck.
Research Interest
I am interested in learning more about plants and prairies in general. I would also like to learn more about the types of plants I live around and ways to protect the prairies we have in Minnesota. So far, I am undecided on exactly what I would like to study in college, but I am heavily considering plant science or biology.
Statement
I live in Glenwood, Minnesota where my family owns and operates Dorrich Dairy. Growing up working on a farm I have a passion for the dairy industry and agriculture in general. I enjoy gardening in the summer and spending time with friends and family. Some of my other hobbies include baking, eating pie, tennis, traveling, and 4-H.
I am currently studying Biology and Japanese at St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. I am expecting to graduate in in June of 2018.
Research Interests
I am interested in learning about prairie fragmentation and using Echinacea to find out more about different prairie plant species in the same ecosystem. I’ve done guided research and group research in a college setting and I am excited to have new research experiences outside of a laboratory setting.
Statement
I went to high school in Northfield, MN, and (after graduating) I took a gap year in which I went to high school in Japan for a year on a Rotary Youth Exchange scholarship. After my gap year, I returned to Northfield to attend school at St. Olaf College. In my spare time I like to play tuba, canoe, cross-country ski, hike, and knit.
Greetings! I am an environmental science major with a biology emphasis and an honors interdisciplinary studies minor at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway, Arkansas. I will graduate in 2019.
Research Interests
My love for plants stemmed from working in my family’s gardens as a kid. In high school, I had a great botany teacher, and ever since, I’ve been interested in plant science. Specifically, unusual plant reproduction, plant carbon sequestration potential, and weird flower morphology fascinates me. Recently, I have become interested in plant-pollinator ecology and biogeography, and I hope to study the efficiency of pollinators in fragmented habitats this summer.
Statement
I grew up 20 miles south of Fort Smith, Arkansas, and I enjoy living in the Natural State. In my free time, I like writing, baking, working in my small garden, painting, playing Scrabble, and hiking. I also enjoy spending time with my dog, family, and friends. I’m excited to spend my summer in Minnesota and be a part of Team Echinacea!
 Me in the Jewel Moore Nature Reserve prairie on the UCA campus.
Howdy Flog Followers,
After the scanning is completed and all of the achenes have been counted, the next process is randomizing.
Randomizing consists of taking the top, middle, and bottom sections of achenes and separating their achenes into an informative and uninformative subcategory. The goal of this step is to get a random, and therefore representative, sample of achenes from the middle.
For the informative subcategory, the goal is to place 30 achenes from the top, middle, and bottom section into clear envelopes. The top and bottom achene sections normally have 30 achenes already within their section, due to the extraction method used that aimed to get 30 achenes from the top and bottom before moving on to the middle. So, in exchange the middle section of achenes normally has a larger number of achenes. In order to narrow the large sections of achenes down to 30, randomization is necessary.
Steps for randomizing:
- Pour the section of achenes across a sheet with a labeled grid.
- Make sure that all of the achenes are clearly within a box of the grid. Go through and push all the achenes that landed on the lines and outside the grid space into a distinct box. This is to avoid bias.
- Follow the list of randomized letters and numbers, provided on a separate sheet of paper, until you have accumulated 30 informative achenes.
All of the remaining achenes from randomization that were not chosen are put into the uninformative subcategory. Ray achenes, achenes with holes, and achenes that have been crushed along the way are considered uninformative. These are placed in small white paper envelopes.
After the achenes are separated into their informative and uninformative subcategories, they must be labeled with their corresponding sticker. This is so that their identification, and therefore the extreme quality that the seed-head possesses, is not lost.
Seen in the image directly below is The Final Product: 11 envelopes. 3 of these envelopes are the clear bags full of the informative achenes, from the top, middle, and bottom sections, that will move on to be X-rayed. The use of clear bags is for X-ray purposes, so that a clear shot of the achenes is achieved.
‘Till next time folks,
Nicolette McManus
Howdy Flog Followers,
After cleaning a whole bunch of seed-heads, I began the process of scanning.
Scanning is a rather simple process. Out of the 5 achene envelopes for each seed-head, the four envelopes containing achenes (excluding the chaff) are used. Each section is poured out onto a glass ‘sheet’, that is placed onto the scanner. I loaded each section with its corresponding label from the paper envelope, for identification and to avoid confusion between the different sections. In the image below, from the bottom to the top of the glass sheet the achene sections : top, middle, bottom, other. The middle section is the most noticeable, as it normally has the largest number of achenes.
After all the achenes are placed onto the glass sheet, a cover is placed over the sheet, for the sake of darkness. Then the scanning can commence! Each resulting scan looks similar to the second image, on the computer screen.
Lastly, it is important to have a specific place to save all of the scans to. I have saved all of the extreme scans to the ‘EchinaceaCG2016’ Folder, under the I Drive. This way, everyone (including yourself) will be able to find your hard work.
 
The scanned images are then used to count all of the seeds found on that specific seed-head. Specifically, the seeds are counted in reference to their category (top, middle, bottom, or other), which can be combined for a total count value. As a result, we are able to compare the sizes of the seed-heads, based on achene count.
‘Till next time folks,
Nicolette McManus
Today was Amy Waananen’s last day working at the Chicago Botanic Garden with the Echinacea Project. The last few days were a flurry of activity with our potluck, preparing for prescribed burning in Minnesota, and getting ready for the summer field season. On top of that, Amy submitted a manuscript about reproductive synchrony to The American Naturalist. It’s sad to see Amy leave but we’re happy that she will be nearby. She is working out on the prairie in western Minnesota the summer with her new lab group. It is great she is starting a PhD program at the University of Minnesota this fall. Good luck, Amy!
 Amy W at CBG
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