The Natural Enquirer

The Natural EnquirerFORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESFall Semester, 2011Volume 10, Issue 1Biological Sciences Office Manager Retires after 17 YearsSheila Pfeifer (left) and Karen Diehl(right) together at their retirement partySheila Pfeifer, Senior AdministrativeAssistant for the Biological SciencesDepartment since August 1994 retiredOctober 28th, 2011 . Ms. Pfeifer, whowas born and raised in Beloit, KS,made her home in the GreatBend, KS, area until she settledin Hays with her husband Rayin 1994.Ms. Pfeifer states that shemisses the department, thepeople, and the challenge ofcreating systems that lead toefficiency in running the department behind thescenes. She does have much tolook forward to in her retirement including travel to seeher grandchildren and otherfamily, mosaic crafting, and“the freedom to do whatever Iwant.” She and her husband Ray remaindie-hard FHSU fans and plan to continueattending sporting events as often asable.After seventeen years as the face of theBiological Sciences Department, Ms.Albertson Hall Custodian retires after 11 yearsKaren Diehl, Albertson Hall custodian for11 years (and FHSU employee since 1996)retired on September 16th, 2011. Since shearrived, Karen’s smiling face and optimismhave become a fixture of the BiologicalSciences Department and are missed byfaculty and students alike.Ms. Diehl was born and raised in Hays,graduated with honors from Marian HighSchool (now Thomas Moore Prep) and continued her education at FHSU studying Elementary Education for two years. Marriage to her husband, Ron, changed herpriorities, and Mr. Diehl’s career (marketingand retail) provided the couple with manyrelocation opportunities throughout theGreat Plains. During this period, Ms. Diehlcontinued her career in facilities care inhospitals, homes for the disabled andother locations. In 1996, they returned toHays and their permanent home. Ms.Diehl began her FHSU tenure in SheridanHall in 1996 and moved to Albertson Hallin 2000. Throughout her career, she maintained her professional demeanor andwork ethic, but focused her positive energy, charisma, and kindness on making adifference in the lives of the people withwhom she worked. Her optimistic attitudebuoyed many a graduate student andfaculty member on late-working nights,and she is missed by the Department.Pfeifer says she is most proud of thefact that “I feel like I kept the BiologyDepartment on top of things and wasable to absorb all of the changes overthe years. I incorporated them into theDepartment and made themwork.” Most of the Department wasunaware of how much she was doingbehind the scenes, which indicates whata great job she did; she made it lookeasy!The Department appreciates her 17years of service and misses her smileand efficiency, but wishes her good luckand happy retirement!Inside this issue:YOUR NEW BFF2STUDENT NEWS3-5OUTREACH AND PRESENTA-5-6TIONSMs. Diehl“misses the interaction with students andthe people in the department,” andwould like to “thank the Biology Dept. formaking me aware of the environmentand the beauty of nature. I learned a lotabout biology.” In her retirement, shelooks forward to more time with her husband (she is actually home for suppernow!), family and friends, volunteering atchurch, walking the dog, spending thetime outside, reading, and stitching. TheDepartment misses Karen Diehl and hershining smile, but wishes her a happy andrelaxing retirement!

Your New BFF: A Celebration of the EndangeredBlack-footed FerretBy Andrée BrissonOn November 7th , TheSternberg Museumhosted an all-day eventto celebrate the 30thanniversary of the rediscovery of the endangered black-footed ferret, as well as the 20thanniversary of its reintroduction. As almost1,500 guests viewed alive black-footed ferreton display, the event ischronicled as recordbreaking for the mostpeople in one day tosee a bff! Event highlights included presentations by wildlife biologists Dr. Dean T Angelo, M Steve Cringan, Eva Hays, Clint A Goodrich, Edwin J Miller, MarkVan Scoyoc, Bryan R Simmons (presented by Bryan Sowards). HistoricalChanges in the Occurrence and Distribution of Freshwater Mussels in Kansas.Publications“IF WE KNEWMaricle, B.R. and P.B. Adler. 2011. Effects of precipitation on photosynthesis and water potential in Andropogon gerardii and Schizachyrium scoparium in a southernmixed grass prairie. Environmental and Experimental Botany 72:223-231WHAT IT WASSmith, J.J., B.F. Platt, G.A. Ludvigson and J.R. Thomasson. 2011. Ant-nest ichnofossoilsin honeycomb calcretes, Neogene Ogallala Formation, High Plains region of westernKansas, U.S.A. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 308:383-394.WOULD NOT BEWaring, E.F., and B.R. Maricle. 2012. Photosynthetic variation and carbon isotope discrimination in invasive wetland grasses in response to flooding. Environmental and Experimental Botany 77:77-86.WOULD IT?”Page 6WE WEREDOING, ITCALLEDRESEARCH, ALBERTEINSTEIN

Faculty NewsAwardsMark Eberle with PresidentHammondPhoto Credit: University staffMr. Mark Eberle wasawarded the University Outstanding Faculty ResearchAward for the Fall, 2011Semester! Congratulations!Dr. Elmer Finck was honored for 30 years ofservice to the State of Kansas! Thank you foryour service, Dr. Finck!Professor Emeritus Dr. Joseph Thomasson wasrecently recognized for his contributions to science by Ad Astra Kansas, an affiliate of theKansas Space Grant Consortium.Biological Sciences and Art andDesign Collaborate on Ant NestCharacterizationDrs. Richard Packauskas and Joseph Thomasson recently cast a western harvester ant colony; a project that was inspired by a recent publication of coauthored by Thomasson in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,Palaeoecology (see Publications, page 6). “The great part in my opinion,”stated Dr. Thomasson, “was the collaboration we had with Toby Flores(Professor of Sculpture, Department of Art and Design) and his students in theart department. They did a fantastic job andthe result was awesome.” This was a preliminary casting and the group may produce alarger cast in the future.Melting the aluminum (above),pouring aluminum into the ant colony (upper right), completed pour(right) and Tobias Flores (Art) withMr. Mark Eberle and Mr. Joe Tomelleri sign books in frontof the Sternberg Museum Gift Shop.Photo Credit: Dr. Bill StarkMark Eberle Holds Book SigningFishes of the Central United States by Mr. Mark Eberle and FHSU Biology alumnus Mr. JoeTomelleri was published and released in September by University Press of Kansas in Lawrence.A book signing ceremony took place at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History on Saturday, November 12.Alumni NewsPatrick Allen Casey (MS 2009) accepted a position as Assistant Manager-Soil Conservationist at the ElsberryPlant Materials Center, USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service in Elsberry, MOPage 7

Kansas Wetlands Education Center News Curtis J. Wolf, DirectorA Busy Fall Semester for the KWECThe Kansas Wetlands Education Center has utilized students in the Department of Biological Sciences for several eventsthis Fall. Graduate Wetlands Assistants Clint Helms, Scott Schmidt, Katie Talbott, and Brian Zinke help with many ofthese events, but other graduate students also have donated their time to help make the events successful.Second Graders’ Wetlands DayOn September 1, more than 350 2nd graders from Barton County spent a dayat the KWEC for the 2nd annual Second Graders’ Wetlands Day. Studentsrotated through seven breakout sessions, including: Wonderful Wetlands, aBird Migration Obstacle Course, a Nature Hike, Night Sounds, Water Cycle, aKWEC Scavenger Hunt, and a Hands-on station. Several Graduate Studentshelped lead several of the stations. Scott Schmidt, Brian Zinke, Ryan Pinkall,and Megan Rohweder all helped.Mad About MonarchsOver 100 adults and kids chased monarch butterflies through the fieldsaround KWEC on September 24, duringthe first annual Mad About Monarchsevent. Many were successful, catching,tagging, and releasing about 60 monarchs. Several Graduate Students helped with the event as Monarch taggingleaders, including Clint Helms, Brian Zinke, and Victoria Cikanek.Graduate Students Scott Schmidt andRyan Pinkall address young students atSecond Grader’s Wetlands DayPhoto credit: Art BakerKansas Ornithological Society Fall MeetingThe KWEC planned and hosted the annual Fall meeting of the Kansas Ornithological Society from September 30-October 2. Attendeeswere treated to an evening social, paper presentations, asilent auction, a banquet, and a keynote address by ChrisWood, program coordinator with Cornell’s EBird. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty that presented and/or helped during the event were Elmer Finck,Greg Farley, Scott Schmidt, Jeffrey Carter, Victoria Cikanek,Katie Talbott, Brian Zinke, and Clint Helms.Graduate student Victoria Cikanek anda young student tagging a monarchbutterfly. Photo credit: Pam MartinTop 20 Birds of Cheyenne Bottoms ID CardsThe KWEC, in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy, received funds from the Chickadee Checkoff Program to develop and print a series of wildlife identification cards. InSeptember, the first card, The Top 20 Birds of Cheyenne Bottoms, was printed. Scott Schmidt designed the card, an8.5x11, laminated card that includes photos and descriptivetext of common birds visitors might see while they travelthrough Cheyenne Bottoms. The cards are sold in the KWECWetlands Gift Store. Cards featuring other common wildlifeare planned for future printings.Cheyenne Bottoms ID cards are available in the KWEC Wetlands Gift Store. Look for more editions in the future!Page 8

FORT HAYS STATE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES600 Park StreetHays, KS 67601Range Plant Identification Fieldtrip a photo essayPhone: 785-628-4214We’re on the Web!www.fhsu.edu/biologyThe field trip participants(Brian Serpan, MattNordgren, Jake Olsen,Chris Baroody and ScottSchmidt) with Dr. JordgeLaFantasie visited rangeland ecosystems throughout New Mexico andSouthern Colorado inSeptemberCylindrical Papershell (continued)(continued from page 5). Qualitative sampleslected in fine to coarse gravel substrates inwere collected at 38 sites within the Smoky Hill run habitats near riffles, beaver dams, andand Saline rivers. Each site was selected bylowhead dams. These surveys indicate aproximity to previous collection sites of cylin-relatively small population of cylindrical pa-drical papershells or by presence of shellpershells in the two rivers. Although few mus-material. Five sites were sampled quanti-sels were collected, representatives of vari-tatively based on higher catch-per-unit-ous sizes indicated recent recruitment.effort of cylindrical papershells. Musselswere tagged and released to assume independent samples. ACylindrical papershellon left, mapleleaf onright (top), Tagging acylindrical papershell(center) and the sampling crew (bottomright). Photos courtesyof Bryan Sowards andWes Flemingtotal of 117 hoursyielded 22 live individuals; too few todiscern habitat associations. The majority of cylindrical papershells were col-The results of this study will be presented atthe Midwest Fish and Wildlife Conference,Kansas Natural Resources Conference, andInterior Highlands Mollusk ConservationMeeting. This research would not have beenpossible without the field assistance from thefollowing FHSU biology students: KyleBroadfoot, Ryan Cox, Jordan Voss, MattNordgren, Kaden Buer, Clinton Helms, RanceShreibvogel, and Kevin Klag.

ergy, charisma, and kindness on making a difference in the lives of the people with whom she worked. Her optimistic attitude buoyed many a graduate student and faculty member on late-working nights, and she is missed by the Department. Ms. Diehl “misses the interaction with students and the people in the department,” and