Six students receive Kansas Biological Survey Student Research Awards for 2023

LAWRENCE — The Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research at the University of Kansas has awarded $6,500 in funding this spring for student research to be conducted this year. The research center’s 2023 Student Research Awards are providing six graduate students with funding in support of their ecological research.

Their work covers subjects such as the effect of microbes on native plant adaptation and drought tolerance, the effect of wildflower seeding density in a prairie restoration and the effect of roots on the structure of deep soil. During the 2023–2024 academic year, each student will present their research during one of the center’s Friday Ecology Seminars, which went online in 2020.

The research center houses a diverse group of ecological research and remote sensing/GIS programs. It also manages the 3,300-acre KU Field Station, a resource for study across the university.

“We’re excited about the important work these students are doing in various areas of terrestrial ecology and are glad to be in a position to provide support,” said Bryan Foster, who chairs the awards committee. Foster is a KU professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, a senior scientist at the research center and director of the KU Field Station.

The Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research has presented several different named awards, listed below. Each is funded through KU Endowment, the independent, nonprofit organization serving as the official fundraising and fund-management organization for KU.

The Director’s Award provides support for research conducted by a graduate student. Ceyda Kural, Houston doctoral student in ecology & evolutionary biology, was awarded $1,500 in funding for her project, “Tripsacum dactyloides: a native plant model to study microbial contributions to local adaptation and drought tolerance.” Her adviser is Maggie Wagner, assistant professor of ecology & evolutionary biology and assistant scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research.

The Kenneth B. Armitage Award provides support for research conducted by an undergraduate or graduate student at the KU Field Station. Brooke Bernhardt, Minneapolis graduate student in ecology & evolutionary biology, was awarded $1,000 in funding for her project, “The role of species identity and species richness on physiological responses to precipitation.” Her adviser is Jim Bever, Foundation Distinguished Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and senior scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research.

In addition, four students received funding through the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research Awards, which provide support for research conducted by either undergraduate or graduate students. In 2023, four students were awarded $1,000 each.

Naomi Betson, Nashville, Indiana, doctoral student in ecology & evolutionary biology, received the award for her project, “Effects of forb seeding density on community structure and development over the first eight years of a prairie restoration.” Her adviser is Bryan Foster, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology and senior scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research.

Reb Bryant, Shreveport, Louisiana, doctoral student in ecology & evolutionary biology, received the award for their project, “Native arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and prairie restoration success at Nachusa Grasslands.” Their adviser is Jim Bever, Foundation Distinguished Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and senior scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research.

Annalise Guthrie, Kansas City, Missouri, doctoral student in ecology & evolutionary biology, received the award for her project, “Evidence for rapid and wide-spread root-induced soil structural changes in deep soils.” Her adviser is Sharon Billings, University Distinguished Professor, Dean’s Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and senior scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research.

Yufan Zhou, doctoral student in ecology & evolutionary biology, from Urumqi, Xinjiang province, China, received the award for his project, “Comparing plant-soil feedback between perennial and annual species.” His advisers are Maggie Wagner, assistant professor of ecology & evolutionary biology and assistant scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research, and Jim Bever, Foundation Distinguished Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, and senior scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research.

Photos, from top left: Ceyda Kural, Reb Bryant.