We are no longer accepting applications for this position.
Please read about our current opportunities!
The Echinacea Project is offering several REU internships during summer 2012. Apply to the Chicago Botanic Garden REU by 31 January 2012 at the CBG REU website. To increase your chance of selection, you are welcome to apply to both the CBG REU and the Echinacea Project REU program. The latter application is due 29 February 2012.
When applying to the CBG program. Be sure to select a project mentored by Wagenius as a top choice, like this one or this one! All six potential projects are listed below for your convenience.
- Effects of habitat fragmentation on a native prairie grass
- Reproductive susceptibility of prairie plants to habitat fragmentation
- Does style persistence measure pollen limitation in perennial Helianthus species?
- Plant-herbivore interactions in tallgrass prairie
- Pollination of Echinacea angustifolia
- Hybridization between native and non-native Echinacea
Effects of habitat fragmentation on a native prairie grass
Keywords: porcupine grass, Hesperostipa spartea, prairie grass, habitat fragmentation, genetic diversity, quantitative traits
Mentor(s): Stuart Wagenius (CBG)
Project Description: Porcupinegrass (Hesperostipa spartea) is a common native prairie grass in western Minnesota. We are investigating how habitat fragmentation is influencing the amount and distribution of genetic diversity in quantitative traits such as seed dispersal ability, seedling recruitment, plant growth, and fitness. We seek an REU participant interested in investigating seed traits and seedling growth traits. Potential project activities include collecting seeds from prairie remnants, measuring plants in prairie remnants and experimental plots, analyzing digital images of seeds and seed behavior, planting seeds, or mapping plants. An REU project could involve using GPS and GIS technology. Research will take place in prairie remnants and experimental plots in our study site in western Minnesota.
Location: Chicago Botanic Garden (2-3 wks) and field site in western Minnesota (7-8 wks)
Lab/Field: field
Special Considerations: X Insects X Pollen
Reproductive susceptibility of prairie plants to habitat fragmentation
Keywords: fragmented habitat, reproductive failure, self-incompatibility (SI), reproductive susceptibility, habitat fragmentation
Mentor(s): Stuart Wagenius (CBG)
Project Description: Many plants in fragmented prairie habitat experience reproductive failure. Self-incompatibility (SI) is the trait that is most consistently associated with reproductive susceptibility to habitat fragmentation. Worldwide, it is estimated that about 60% of plant species have some kind of SI system. The tallgrass prairie is one of the most fragmented habitats in the world, but the proportion of prairie plants with SI is unknown. Also, we do not know the extent to which reproduction is susceptible to habitat fragmentation for most plant species. For this project you will determine the SI system (self-compatible or self-incompatible) in a sample of common plants in our study area. Experiments will be designed, in collaboration with the mentor, to test the reproductive susceptibility to habitat fragmentation of these species. Such experiments will involve pollen exclusion and pollen supplementation treatments. Research will occur in remnant prairies in our study site in western Minnesota.
Location: Chicago Botanic Garden (2-3 wks) and field site in western Minnesota (7-8 wks)
Lab/Field: field
Special Considerations: X Insects X Pollen
Does style persistence measure pollen limitation in perennial Helianthus species?
Keywords: Helianthus species, sunflowers, self-incompatibility, pollen limitation, reproduction, fragmented habitat.
Mentor(s): Karen Taira (MS student) and Stuart Wagenius (CBG)
Project Description: Self-incompatible plant species are highly susceptible to pollen limitation of reproduction in fragmented habitat. A method of determining pollen limitation during flowering season, called style persistence, was developed in the prairie species Echinacea angustifolia. In this species, styles persist as long as ten days when no pollen is received; but if compatible pollen is received, then styles shrivel within 24 hours. Quantifying style persistence serves as a measure of pollen limitation in the field and as an indicator of potential reproductive failure. If this measure is applicable in other genera, it could help land managers and restorationists assess, by observation, the availability of pollen throughout the flowering season. We will be investigating style persistence in native, perennial Helianthus species in remnant prairie sites in Illinois and Minnesota. Field work for this project includes designing and conducting hand pollination experiments, locating and identifying perennial Helianthus species, identifying Helianthus species at remnant prairie sites, mapping individual plants, and observing style conditions.
Location: Remnant prairie sites in northern Illinois and western Minnesota
Lab/Field: field
Special Considerations: X Bees X Insects X Pollen
Plant-herbivore interactions in tallgrass prairie
Keywords: Echinacea angustifolia, aphids, ants, insect communities, mutualism
Mentor(s): Katherine Muller (MS student), Stuart Wagenius (CBG)
Project Description: Habitat change influences dynamics between plants and their insect herbivores. We are investigating interactions between the purple coneflower (Echinacea angustifolia) and insect herbivores in fragmented prairies. We have previously found interesting “bottom-up” effects of plant genotype on insect communities, including greater herbivore damage on inbred and outcrossed plants compared to plants from within-remnant crosses. We are now investigating aspects of the relationship between E. angustifolia and its specialist aphid. Current projects include quantifying “top-down” effects of aphids on host plant performance, dynamics of aphid infestation within plant populations, and the effects of habitat fragmentation on aphids. We are also interested in the role of aphid-tending ants for host plants and the insect community. We seek an REU student interested in investigating plant-herbivore interactions. Potential project activities include collecting and identifying ants, surveying aphids and ants in remnant prairies, and conducting field observations of insect behavior. The student will also collaborate with a graduate student on several field experiments related to plant-herbivore interactions.
Location: Field site in western Minnesota
Lab/Field: field
Special Considerations: X Bees X Insects X Pollen
Pollination of Echinacea angustifolia
Keywords: fragmented habitat , reproductive failure, pollination, Echinacea angustifolia
Mentor(s): Stuart Wagenius (CBG)
Project Description: Many plants in fragmented habitat experience reproductive failure. We are studying pollination of Echinacea angustifolia (purple coneflower) in prairie remnants in western Minnesota. In this species, reproduction is high in large prairie remnants and low in small remnants. We present three hypotheses: Plants have better reproduction when there are many nearby compatible Echinacea plants. Plants benefit when certain pollinators (native bees) visit. Plants that flower at the peak of the season fare better than early or late plants. For this project, you will design an experiment with help of the mentor, that will test one of these hypotheses (or one of your own ideas welcome!). Fieldwork may include pollinating plants by hand, identifying prairie plants, observing or capturing bees, identifying pollen, and mapping individual plants.
Location: Minnesota and CBG
Lab/Field: field
Special Considerations: X Bees X Insects X Pollen
Hybridization between native and non-native Echinacea
Keywords: prairie restorations, remnants, hybrids
Mentor(s): Stuart Wagenius (CBG)
Project Description: In western Minnesota prairie restorations have been planted near prairie remnants. The non-natives Echinacea pallida and Echinacea purpurea have been planted in restorations. We want to know the extent to which the non-natives affect reproduction in the native species. Non-native pollen is hypothesized to interfere with pollination in the native and hybridization between the species may occur. For this project, you will design an experiment, in collaboration with the mentor, to investigate potential interactions between pollen of several Echinacea species. Crossing and pollen addition experiment will occur in remnant prairies in our study site in western Minnesota.
Location: Chicago Botanic Garden (2-3 wks) and field site in western Minnesota (7-8 wks)
Lab/Field: field
Special Considerations: X Bees X Insects X Pollen
