Biology

Join us for a celebration of the harvest season! The Panther Plot, the on-campus student vegetable garden, invites all students, staff, faculty and community members for a sampling of local foods, live music and garden tours.

Where could science take YOU this summer? Follow the path of the sun's energy through ecosystems and you could end up in all kinds of cool places! Paddle a kayak to the middle of a lake and find out what organisms are harvesting solar energy in the water. Explore a prairie, then figure out how much energy it stores in a week by burning samples in your own calorimeter. Wander woods and streams on a night hike, tracking down the animals to find out what they eat and how they live. By week's end, you'll report on your discoveries to your fellow campers, family and friends. JOIN US this summer for a Wild Energy Adventure.

8 am- 2 pm daily and one night hike 9 pm-11 pm

Ages: entering 9-12th graders

Cost: $150 - registration AND lunch

 A one-week workshop (June 17-21) for high school students (students entering grades 9-12) that allows students to get a hands-on experience with the tools of biotechnology. Students will isolate DNA, analyze it and understand how these techniques are used in gathering DNA evidence from a crime scene. Other topics include a project that asks how microbes cause disease, food safety and understanding the role of biotechnology in the production of energy. Field trips are included. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and scholarships are available. Cost of the camp is $200 which includes lunch at UNI.

The Botanical Center and Student Nature Society will hold their Annual Spring Plant Sale. Hanging baskets, tasty herbs, heirloom tomatoes, tropical plants as well as a limited number of  summer lilies, caladiums and annuals for flower beds will be available.

"Bird use of heterogeneous native prairie biofuel production plots" will be presented by Jarret Pfrimmer. 

Agricultural intensification has driven the loss of more than 90% of native grassland habitats in the Midwest. Consequently, grassland birds have declined more drastically than any other North American guild. Current biofuel production systems rely on high input monoculture crops that provide little habitat value to most grassland birds. The research investigates bird use of four diverse mixes of native prairie vegetation for biofuel production on three diverse soil types. This seminar will present data on visual breeding bird surveys and nest monitoring conducted over multiple years of growing, managing, and harvesting native prairie species for biomass production.

Karen Viste-Sparkman, wildlife biologist with Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge, will discuss the ecological restoration at the Neal Smith National Wildlife Refuge. The seminar is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

The 3rd annual UNI 5K 'Run for the Preserves," sponsored by the UNI Botanical Center and the Student Nature Society, is a cross-country run to promote awareness of UNI's natural preserves for students, faculty and staff as well as the Cedar Valley Community. The course winds through the Tallgrass Prairie along Dry Run Creek, into the Upland Forest and around the UNI Observatory.

Follow the link to register for the run on-line or print the registration form and drop it off at the UNI Botanical Center.

The Botanical Center and the Biology Student Nature Society will hold their annual spring plant sale. Plants for sale include many types of tropicals, herbs, vegetables and a limited number of orchids.

Anna Abney, M.S. in biology graduate candidate, will present her research findings on the effect of burn timing on insect assemblages in a recent prairie reconstruction. Refreshments will be provided.

Prescribed burning is a common management practice in prairie reconstructions, but many entomologists are concerned about the impact of burning on insect populations. The effect of fire on insects has been studied on remnant prairies, but little research has been done on reconstructed prairies, especially the first years after planting. This study examines how spring and fall prescribed burns affect the abundance and community composition of grasshoppers (Acrididae) and ground beetles (Carabidae) in a recent prairie planting.