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Today we visited the rather small and flat NNWLF Site. This plot is just off the road and shows signs of disturbance from cars. The site is interesting because of the nearby pine trees which are not native to prairies. Pine trees could create a shadow over the remnant in the early morning because of their eastern position, this could impact the growth of plants. The outer edges of the plot contained non native sweet clover and alfalfa, which are legumes, and cool weather grass, brome. On the other hand, the core of the remnant contained mostly native milkweed and few non natives. There were no Echinacea buds yet as it is early in the season.
 North of Northwest of Landfill Site
We started our second day of the field season with tour of Hegg Lake Wildlife Management Area. Stuart told us about the natural history of the area and we observed how management decisions and land use can impact plant communities. Some changes are obvious: Stuart pointed out that the landscape 200 years ago would have been mostly treeless, but now they are abundant between the agricultural fields that cover majority of the region. Other changes are more subtle: we saw a population of Echinacea at Hegg that were much further along in flowering than any others we had seen, but soon learned that these Echinacea were actually a different species–Echinacea pallida, which are not native to this area. Not all human-plant interactions are negative though! In certain areas we saw a large diversity of native plants, some of which were restored and others which persisted despite disturbance, and we finished up our tour of Hegg Lake WMA with a visit to p2, Jennifer’s experimental plot. This summer we will work in the p2 to answer questions about flowering phenology, pollination, and fitness.
 James, Ruth, and Gretel after setting up flags in p8 At lunch, we heard from Ruth about the quantitative genetics experiment (which we call qGen_1, 2, and 3), which aims to test Fischer’s Fundamental Theorem of Evolution in natural populations. After lunch, Lea, Will, Ruth, and I went to set up flags and get ready to measure the youngest cohorts of the qGen experiments. The rest of the group went out to visit other remnant populations and learn more about the lay of the land. Tomorrow we’ll collect the first data for the 2016 field season, when we search for seedlings from the qGen_3 experiment that was planted last fall. Fingers crossed for good weather and lots of seedlings!
 Yellow Ladyslipper (Cypripedium parviflorum) at Hegg Lake Other notable events from 15 June 2016:
- “What is wind? I’m really flustered as to where it starts. Where does it start?” and “Does wind make noise?” were hot questions on the brains of all team members this morning.
- We saw a sandhill crane and some really neat yellow ladyslippers at Hegg Lake.
- I saw a little baby deer sleeping in p1 when we were putting up signs! It was very cute but unfortunately it ran away when Will walked over to take a picture.
Scott Nordstrom
Echinacea Project 2016
Biology, Math, William and Mary 2015. Operations Research, William and Mary, 2016.
Research Interests
I am interested in studying how complex systems assemble and function. I’m especially interested in pollination ecology (properties of plant-pollinator networks) and spatial processes in ecology. My ideal job is to spend the summer months on the side of a mountain catching butterflies, then spending the rest of the year playing around with data on the computer. I’m new to the prairie ecosystem, so I’m excited to learn it inside and out and contribute to exciting research projects.
Statement
I am from Burke, Virginia, in the suburbs of D.C. I’ve done field work in Oregon, Idaho, Vermont and Maine before this summer. In my spare time I like to hike, run, cook, drink coffee, and listen to my local public radio station.
Me with my vegetable of choice.
Echinacea Project 2016
Hi everyone! I’m a biology major and a political science minor. I attend the College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio, and I will be graduating from there in 2017.
Research Interests
My primary research interests pertain to conservation biology and environmental science as it applies to biology. As a part of a Wooster education, students are required to complete an independent study project. For my project, I have chosen to study the exposure and effects of neonicotinoid pesticides on the native solitary pollinators of Echinacea. In future research and study, I really want to focus on how human activities have and currently are affecting fragile and scarce ecosystems like the prairies.
Statement
I am originally from Chagrin Falls (a small suburb southeast of Cleveland, Ohio). In my spare time I enjoy hiking, rock climbing, fly fishing, and backpacking, and in recent years these activities have taken me all over the United States. I truly love to travel, and I hope to do more in the future. I also love to draw and paint, and I look forward to doing some while I am in Minnesota.
Echinacea Project 2016
B.S. Biology 2009 California State University Los Angeles
Masters in Education 2012 University of California Los Angeles
Research Interests
As part of Team Echinacea I am certainly interested in understanding more about how Echinacea populations respond to their heavily fragmented environment. I’m also interested in learning more about species interactions from a community level, how species influence each other, and how learning more about those interactions might contribute to restoration and conservation efforts.
Statement
I am from Los Angeles, but have been living in Spokane, WA for the last year. In addition to science I love cooking, taking barre classes, spending time with my dogs, creating random art projects (which may not be worth looking at given the fact I have no expertise at all), and teaching. I was on Team Echinacea last year as a high school teacher and I’m excited to be back this summer as I make the transition back into graduate school!
Echinacea Project 2016
I am a Biology Major and Environmental Studies Minor at The College of Wooster and will be graduating in 2017.
Research Interests
I am very excited to join Team Echinacea this summer and learn more about The Echinacea Project. I will also be working on my Senior Independent Study this summer, looking at the effects of removing buckthorn, an invasive species, on a bog habitat.
Statement
I am originally from Manchester, Michigan, but I currently live in Flushing, Michigan. I play the flute in the Wooster Scot Marching Band and I am Vice-president of my sorority, Kappa Epsilon Zeta. In my free time I enjoy reading, hiking, and taking pictures of pretty flowers and cool fungi.
Today was the first day of the field season. We met at the Hjelm house at 8:30 but quickly left for a tour of the largest prairie remnant that we will be working in, Staffanson Prairie Preserve. We got a lesson in the history of the landscape from Stuart. We learned about geologic features in western Minnesota that were formed by glaciers almost 10,000 years ago! We also learned about the role European settlement had on the size and composition of prairie communities. We had a good look at many of the earliest plants to flower at Staffanson. We also got to see how big of a difference a burn makes in the prairie since the west unit was burned this spring. As we were leaving Staffanson it began to rain and we had to cut our tour of the remnant prairies in Solemn Township short.
After lunch Stuart gave a talk about some of the work that has been done on the project since it started. He talked about the Echinacea angustifolia mating scene and how the different dimensions of reproduction affect plant fitness. Distance, timing and compatibility can all play a role in the reproductive success of Echinacea! Jennifer also gave a talk on her work with pollinators and Echinacea, we learned about how varying taxa of pollinator affects the quality and quantity of pollen that a plant will receive. Her talk gave us a lot of good information to build a foundation for the work that will be done this summer with pollinators!
We called it a day a little early because of the rainy weather and so we could do some reading and think about what we want our independent projects to be for the summer. Tomorrow looks like it will be a little bit nicer or at least it won’t rain so hopefully we will be able to visit a few remnants and get started measuring seedlings that are apart of the Q3 experiment!
 A dragonfly I spotted at Staffanson trying to warm up early in the morning, hopefully it didn’t get too beaten up by the rain! Stuart is giving his talk about the 3 dimensions of the Echinacea mating scene!
Echinacea Project 2016
Ecology, Evolution and Behavior & Plant Biology, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities 2018
Research Interests
This will be my third summer with the Echinacea Project, in past years I have investigated methods for increasing pollen longevity and the heritability of flowering time and duration in Echinacea angustifolia. I am very interested in using quantitative genetic methods to investigate traits in long-lived perennials and learning how local adaptation affects prairie species and overall prairie health. This summer I am looking forward to working with the demography and surveying aspects of the project.
Statement
I am from Alexandria, MN about 20 miles from the research site. In my spare time I enjoy doing things outdoors; fly-fishing, biking, hiking and kayaking are a few of my favorites! I also enjoy taking photo’s of the plants that we encounter during our field work. I am very excited to be back with the project this summer and I can’t wait to get started
Echinacea Project 2016
Rising junior biology major at Gustavus graduating in 2017.
Research Interests
I am excited to be a part of Echinacea Project this summer. I look forward to learning more about the impact habitat fragmentation has on the genetic diversity and fitness of Echinacea Angustifolia and how various phenotypes caused by inbreeding compound to impact fitness.
Statement
I am from White Bear Lake, Minnesota and have lived in both Austin, Texas and Saint Mary’s, Montana. At Gustavus, I enjoy studying plant biology and statistics as well as researching the underground longevity of Botrychium gametophytes and gammae. In my spare time, I enjoy doing most anything in the outdoors including sailing, backpacking, hiking mountains, cross country skiing and biking.
Echinacea Project 2016
Hi everyone! My name is Rachel Rausch, and I’m so excited to be a part of Team Echinacea this summer. I graduated from Morris Area High School a few weeks ago, and will be attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities this fall, studying Psychology.
Research Interests
Because UMN is a research institution, I’m looking forward to getting research experience this summer. This will be my first hands on experience with conservation biology and I’m excited to learn about the research process.
Statement
I’m from Morris, MN which is about 30 miles from Kensington. I In my free time, I love to read, rollerblade, and enjoy Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes. I love learning new things, and in my 18 years on earth have attempted to knit, play piano, weld, unicycle, and make an ice sculpture.
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