The Echinacea Project is looking for interested and enthusiastic summer field assistants for the 2022 summer field season and into the fall. Our project investigates how small population size and reduced genetic diversity influence individual fitness, population demographics, plant-insect interactions, and evolution in the purple coneflower, Echinacea angustifolia. Summer field assistants will help maintain experimental plots, observe pollinators, remove invasive species, harvest seed, collect data for several long-term research projects, and establish new experiments. This is a great opportunity for aspiring ecologists, conservation biologists, and evolutionary biologists to gain research experience and learn about the ecology and evolution of plants in fragmented prairies! Read about what it’s like working and living in Minnesota.
Qualifications: We are looking for undergraduates or recent graduates who are willing to work outdoors in adverse conditions, pay attention to detail, exhibit patience, possess good hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, work well independently and as part of a team, and have an interest in scientific research. Members of groups underrepresented in science are particularly encouraged to apply. No experience is necessary, but you must be enthusiastic and hard-working.
Details: The field season runs from May to October. We anticipate hiring assistants to start in May or June and end in August or September, with the possibility of extension later into the fall. There is a $600/week stipend, and housing is supplied.
Send a cover letter, your resume, and a transcript (unofficial OK) in one email to echinaceaProject@gmail.com. Use the subject line: “Summer Field Assistant 2022” and format your cover letter, resume, and transcript as pdf files. Begin each file name with your surname.
In your cover letter, please include:
why you are interested in this position
what are your future plans
what you hope to gain from the experience
who will serve as your reference
when you can start and end
your email and phone number
Please ask one of your references to send a letter of recommendation to echinaceaProject@gmail.com.
Maris (field assistant 2021) measures an Echinacea plant
Students who are now and will be undergraduates in Fall 2022 should also consider an REU internship.
You are welcome to apply to multiple positions with the same application. Please indicate which positions you are interested in on the form you submit with your application.
Review of applications will begin on 3 March 2022. We’ll accept applications until positions are filled. Be sure to include an email address and phone number where you can be reached during March.
Members of groups underrepresented in science are particularly encouraged to apply.
More information
First, read about our field season! If you have any questions, contact a team member via e-mail. Read about our lab and field activities on the flog and more about the project’s background. To learn more about fire and prairie plants, check out this video that we made.
For Wesley’s individual project, we made pollinator visitation observations and noted the presence or absence of other arthropods on Liatris aspera heads. Using the focal plants from the Liatris fire and flowering study, we were able to perform 95 5-minute observation periods on 84 individual plants. Most visitor identifications were made by eye in the field; however, we captured one bumblebee (released upon identification) and one fly (captured and frozen for future identification). We also recorded presence/absence data for Pennsylvania leatherwings, ants, ambush bugs, spiders, and other beetles.
All focal plants from the Liatris fire and flowering study were brought back to the lab, where the arthropod experiment is continuing via the quantification of seed predation. We have also encountered living larvae throughout the Liatris cleaning process which we hope to identify, possibly through rearing.
A Liatris with two beetles and a bumblebee on its heads
Start year: 2021
Location: 22 prairie remnant sites in and around Solem Township, MN
Data collected: Scanned datasheets and their typed versions can be found in ~Dropbox/remLiatris/liatrisObservations
Samples or specimens collected: 1 fly was captured for identification. Additionally, 234 focal plants were harvested. These plants are currently being cleaned and processed in the lab.
Products: Wesley’s REU was based on this project, which may at some point result in a paper or poster. Stay tuned!
Stuart shows RAHSS participant Shea Issendorf (2019) how to collect pollen from a flowering Echinacea plant
Are you a high school junior or senior interested in gaining research experience? Do you like working outside and learning about plants? If so, then our research internship may be right for you!
The Echinacea Project has conducted research experiments on tallgrass praire plants and insects in the Kensington-Hoffman area since 1995. Prairie used to cover this landscape, but it is now restricted to small patches. We focus our research on one plant, Echinacea angustifolia, the species of purple coneflower native to Minnesota, to gauge the health of native prairie plants in their current fragmented habitat. Plants in these small habitats face both ecological and genetic threats and we conduct long-term cutting edge research experiments to assess whether these populations will persist.
We’re seeking a high school student to participate in a paid, summer-long field biology internship. You will work with PhD scientists, graduate students, and college students to collect data on the ecology and evolution of the purple coneflower in prairie patches. You will participate in field research activities, gain experience in GPS and mapping techniques, learn to identify plants and insects, hand pollinate flowers, and measure plant traits. You will work on an independent project with guidance from Stuart Wagenius. Your project will contribute to our main research goals and, in the process, you will learn about the evolutionary, genetic, and ecological concepts that motivate our research. You can contribute to the scientific understanding of the ecology and evolutionary biology of Echinacea angustifolia, another prairie plant species, or plant associated insects.
More information: This opportunity comes with a $500 per week stipend plus partial-to-full reimbursement for commuting. Commuting reimbursements can be paid to the student or the student’s parent or guardian. Participants must provide their own transportation to and from the research base daily (M – F). Our study area comprises 6400 ha (25 square miles) and is based between Kensington & Hoffman. Housing is not included in the internship. The position will start in mid-June and run for 10 weeks. If you are interested, please apply!
You can read more background information about the research project and what summer field work is like. Check out a recent episode of Prairie Yard & Garden that featured our site. It is called “Prairie Flora: History and Future” — here’s the link: http://goo.gl/qU4bcN
Qualifications: High school student who wants to work outdoors, is patient, and has good hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skill. You must be willing to work hard in all weather conditions, and be interested in science.
How to apply: Fill out the following form (required) and send your resume (optional) to echinaceaproject@gmail.com. Also, ask one of teachers to email a letter of recommendation on your behalf to the same email. The teacher should be someone who can speak to your character and academic performance; we would prefer that they be a science teacher, but anyone who knows you well is appropriate. Get your application & letter in soon. We will start reviewing on March 5, 2021.
If you have any questions, contact us via e-mail (echinaceaproject@gmail.com).
The 2019 field crew after planting Echinacea seedlings at a local high school Left to right: Riley, John (RET participant,) Julie (REU participant,) Shea (RAHSS participant,) Drake, Jay (REU participant) and Erin (above.)
This weekend I traveled to the University of Georgia for a graduate student recruitment event (“Go Dawgs,” as they say,) and stumbled upon Echinacea Project alum Laura Leventhal! We rode on a shuttle from the ATL airport to campus in silence for 2 hours and then, having realized our connection, terrified the other passengers in the last 5 minutes of the journey by jabbering about Team Echinacea, the Hjelm House, goats, phenology and more.
We thought we’d seen the last of each other when we split up at TSA, and then coincidentally reunited while contemplating whether or not to buy airport mac and cheese (verdict: not.)
Laura was on the team in 2016 and worked at the Chicago Botanic Garden through the CLM program. Currently she works at UC Davis as a lab manager and is currently interviewing for PhD programs in biology. We had a great time getting to know more about each other in person than we could from reading old flog posts. I found out that Laura heard my undergraduate PI Dr. Joshua Puzey speak at a conference, and that my friend is currently applying to work with a PI at UC Davis whom Laura knows! The world of ecology is, occasionally, delightfully small.
Best wishes to Laura as she continues interviewing and I’m crossing my fingers for more Team Echinacea reunions in our travels!
In 2019 Team Echinacea conducted a new experiment called
“Pulse-Steady,” with roots in Ashley Barto’s 2017 REU project. The experiment investigates
whether flowering Echinacea plants which received a resource pulse (pollination
every three days) set seed at a different rate to Echinacea which received a
steady flow of resources (pollination every day.)
Shea expresses frustration with the bees who beat us to the pollen—bagging flowering plants to ensure we had pollen sources became critical at the end of flowering!
Stuart and Gretel selected 48 flowering Echinacea with
single flowering heads and assigned 24 to the pulse treatment, and the other 24
to the steady treatment. The team placed pollinator exclusion bags on the heads
of all plants prior to the beginning of flowering to ensure that humans were
the only pollinators. The team returned to exPt 2 every day from July 16 to
August 7 to count anthers and styles and hand-pollinate the 48 heads, though
rain caused pollen to present at strange times or not at all on some days. The
team collected pollen from other flowering plants in exPt2 as well as bagged
heads around Hegg Lake. Pollen samples included a minimum of four sires to
ensure that compatible S-alleles were present in the mix. Pollinators collected
additional pollen from heads in the experiment after pollinating the styles, to
prevent self-pollen from clogging the styles and to replenish dwindling pollen
supplies. Human pollinators frequently competed with insect pollinators, as
pollen was scarce at the end of the flowering season, and had to wave off bees
from taking pollen from experimental heads and pollen donors in the plot.
In December, Carleton externs Jack, Eli and Emma worked on a
modified ACE protocol to process the harvested pulse-steady heads. They cleaned
the heads and carefully separated the achenes based on their position in the
head so that we can investigate whether seed set differs at the beginning,
middle and end of flowering between the treatments, as well as whether seed set
differs based on style “freshness” in the pulse treatment. They also scanned
the heads with achenes separated out by location in the head.
Data/materials collected: The team harvested 48 heads in the experiment which have been cleaned and are ready to be randomized and x-rayed at the CBG. Each head has 8 envelopes associated with it (7 envelopes of achenes and 1 of chaff.)
Maps and datasheets for the field experiment are located at
~Dropbox\teamEchinacea2019\pulseSteady
The cleaning protocol and datasheets relevant to cleaning
are located at ~Dropbox\CGData\150_clean\clean2019\inb2PulseSteady
Stuart shows RAHSS participant Shea Issendorf (2019) how to collect pollen from a flowering Echinacea plant
Are you a high school junior or senior interested in gaining research experience? Do you like working outside and learning about plants? If so, then our research internship may be right for you!
The Echinacea Project has conducted research experiments on tallgrass praire plants and insects in the Kensington-Hoffman area since 1995. Prairie used to cover this landscape, but it is now restricted to small patches. We focus our research on one plant, Echinacea angustifolia, the species of purple coneflower native to Minnesota, to gauge the health of native prairie plants in their current fragmented habitat. Plants in these small habitats face both ecological and genetic threats and we conduct long-term cutting edge research experiments to assess whether these populations will persist.
We’re seeking a high school student to participate in a paid, summer-long field biology internship. You will work with PhD scientists, graduate students, and college students to collect data on the ecology and evolution of the purple coneflower in prairie patches. You will participate in field research activities, gain experience in GPS and mapping techniques, learn to identify plants and insects, hand pollinate flowers, and measure plant traits. You will work on an independent project with guidance from Stuart Wagenius. Your project will contribute to our main research goals and, in the process, you will learn about the evolutionary, genetic, and ecological concepts that motivate our research. You can contribute to the scientific understanding of the ecology and evolutionary biology of Echinacea angustifolia, another prairie plant species, or plant associated insects.
More information: This opportunity comes with a $440 per week stipend plus partial-to-full reimbursement for commuting. Commuting reimbursements can be paid to the student or the student’s parent or guardian. Participants must provide their own transportation to and from the research base daily (M – F). Our study area comprises 6400 ha (25 square miles) and is based between Kensington & Hoffman. Housing is not included in the internship. The position will start in mid-June and run for 10 weeks. If you are interested, please apply!
You can read more background information about the research project and what summer field work is like. Check out a recent episode of Prairie Yard & Garden that featured our site. It is called “Prairie Flora: History and Future” — here’s the link: http://goo.gl/qU4bcN
Qualifications: High school student who wants to work outdoors, is patient, and has good hand-eye coordination, and fine motor skill. You must be willing to work hard in all weather conditions, and be interested in science.
How to apply: Fill out the following form (required) and send your resume (optional) to echinaceaproject@gmail.com. Also, ask one of teachers to email a letter of recommendation on your behalf to the same email. The teacher should be someone who can speak to your character and academic performance; we would prefer that they be a science teacher, but anyone who knows you well is appropriate. Get your application & letter in soon. We will start reviewing on April 16, 2020.
If you have any questions, contact us via e-mail (echinaceaproject@gmail.com).
The 2019 field crew after planting Echinacea seedlings at a local high school Left to right: Riley, John (RET participant,) Julie (REU participant,) Shea (RAHSS participant,) Drake, Jay (REU participant) and Erin (above.)
An ideal position for either an undergraduate or a graduate interested in gaining field experience.
The Echinacea Project is looking for interested and enthusiastic summer field assistants for the 2020 summer field season. Our project investigates how small population size and reduced genetic diversity influence individual fitness, population demographics, plant-insect interactions and evolution in the purple coneflower, Echinacea angustifolia. Summer field assistants will help maintain experimental plots, observe pollinators, remove invasive species, harvest seed, collect data for several long-term research projects, and establish new experiments. This is a great opportunity for aspiring ecologists, conservation biologists, and evolutionary biologists to gain research experience and learn about the ecology and evolution of plants in fragmented prairies! Read about what it’s like working and living in Minnesota.
Qualifications: We are looking for undergraduates or recent graduates who are willing to work outdoors in adverse conditions, pay attention to detail, exhibit patience, possess good hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, work well independently and as part of a team, and have an interest in scientific research. Members of groups underrepresented in science are particularly encouraged to apply. No experience is necessary, but you must be enthusiastic and hard-working.
Details: The field season runs from June to October. We anticipate hiring assistants from June through August, with the possibility of extension later into the fall. There is a $600/week stipend and housing is supplied.
Send a cover letter, your resume, and a transcript (unofficial OK) in one email to echinaceaProject@gmail.com. Use the subject line: “Summer Field Assistant 2021” and format your cover letter, resume, and transcript as pdf files. Begin each file name with your surname. Please ask one of your references to send a letter of recommendation to echinaceaProject@gmail.com.
Students who are now and will be undergraduates in Fall 2021, should also consider an REU internship.
You are welcome to apply to multiple positions with the same application. Please indicate which positions you are interested in on the form you submit with your application.
Review of applications will begin on 5 March 2021. We’ll accept applications until positions are filled. Be sure to include an email address and phone number where you can be reached during March.
Members of groups underrepresented in science are particularly encouraged to apply.
More information
First, read about our field season! If you have any questions, contact a team member via e-mail. Read about our lab and field activities on the flog and more about the project’s background.
Hi again, Flog! My name is Julie Bailard, and I’m a senior at Carleton College majoring in biology with a minor in cognitive science. I am excited to be starting my second winter at the Chicago Botanic Garden, after joining Team Echinacea last year as a winter extern and working this summer as an REU field intern. I am very interested in population and community ecology, particularly in the context of conservation and ecosystem health. Much of my previous work with the Echinacea Project has centered around one broad question: How effectively do our current methods of prairie maintenance and restoration protect and promote the health of small plant populations in fragmented habitat?
Staffanson Prairie on a gorgeous August day
This winter, I will be continuing to pursue this question in a new setting: my first germination study, using rope dodder (Cuscuta glomerata) seeds that Drake Mullett collected this summer for his dissertation research on the role of parasitic and hemiparasitic plants in prairie community health. Dodder seeds are “hard” seeds, with a tough outer coat that is impervious to water, leaving the seed dormant until that outer coat is damaged. Researchers aren’t sure how dodder breaks out of this physical dormancy in nature. While certain artificial laboratory methods for scarifying seeds have successfully broken the impervious outer coat in other dodder species, none of these methods have been applied to rope dodder, and very little is known about the optimal conditions for germinating rope dodder seeds. Interestingly, one earlier study of rope dodder distribution in Ohio prairies suggested that novel population recruitment may be positively associated with a recent history of burning. With my experiment this winter, I hope to compare the success of various scarification methods in promoting rope dodder germination, in order to identify the most effective treatment for laboratory germination. If possible, I also hope to consider the results in the context of rope dodder’s natural germinating conditions, including climate, sprouting phenology, and exposure to burning.
Cuscuta glomerata (rope dodder) seeds are about the same size as a poppy seed. And so far, no one knows how to make them sprout!…And sprout is exactly what I want to make them do! So this week, I’ve been designing and setting up a germination experiment to figure out what scarification methods and climate conditions are best for making these seeds grow.
Outside of the lab, I am a clarinetist in the Carleton Orchestra and a consultant in our campus writing center. In my spare time, I also enjoy knitting, practicing T’ai Chi, and playing Muggle Quidditch.
Carleton Quidditch after a Halloween win against St. Olaf (in case you thought I was lying)
Jay Fordham gave a presentation on his research about Fraxinus pennsylvanica (green ash) management that he conducted for his summer 2019 REU project. He presented at the 2019 Midstates Undergraduate Research Symposium in St. Louis on November 1-2.
Today was a fun and productive day. This morning, I went to the NW remnant sites to monitor phenology. I also collected leaf tissue from some sneaky flowering plants that I’ve found since the last time I collected tissue in June. Meanwhile, Julie, Jay, Riley, Erin, and John headed out to P2 to monitor phenology, crosses for the pulse/steady experiment, assess crosses from Julie’s heterospecific crossing experiment, and measure the final rows of P2. Stuart joined them later in the morning and they completed measuring the plot! Wow!
Does Ratibida pollen induce style shriveling in Echinacea? Julie is finding out!
This afternoon the team split up into three teams: Jay and Julie formed Team “Kick Ash” for Jay’s experiment looking at different management treatments on ash. They described the experience as “walking on a treadmill of trees,” but made great progress in metaphorically kicking back the advance of ash in ExPt 8 by applying herbicide treatments to leaves of plants. Team “Smoking Plants” consisted of Riley and me. We went to a spot that is north of landfill, south of around landfill, and south-southeast of north of northwest of landfill to identify plants for an experiment looking at the effects of liquid smoke on flowering. We found 100 plants that were flowering this year, counted each plant’s number of rosettes, and shot a point at each plant so that we can revisit them later. This fall or spring we’ll apply different liquid smoke and mowing treatments to assess just what it is about fire that induces flowering in Echinacea. Stay tuned for when we actually smoke the plants this fall! Finally, Team “Seed Collection” collected seeds for Drake while he is away at a family reunion.
Riley gazes at south-southeast of north of northwest of landfill
We wrapped up the day with watermelon and very impressive, definitely NBA/WNBA-worthy tosses of watermelon rinds into a five gallon bucket. That’s all for now!
