The Kaw and Wakarusa rivers have carved their wide valleys around Mt. Oread during hundreds of thousands of years. The last great geologic event to impact the area was the Kansan glacier six hundred thousand years ago, leaving behind glacial till and rich alluvial soil. A few generations after the territorial settlements in these valleys have brought about a complete transformation of this landscape. The 1867 photographs of Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner show how the valley had changed after just the first decade of this settlement. Although grassfires were stopped around the town of Lawrence and the surrounding rural farms, the native trees already had been harvested completely for fuel and shelter. The arrival of the railroad allowed these and all other needed commodities to be transported from the East and the New England settlers planted imported varieties of grasses, trees, and crops throughout the hills and valleys. Recent photographs based upon Gardner's views show these changes and others which have resulted from only a few generations of settlement here.

The occurrence of the first associated tooth set of the Late Cretaceous Lamniform shark, Scapanorhynchus raphiodon (Mitsukurinidae), is described from the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk in Gove County, Kansas. The specimen, which consists of five small teeth, represents the most recent (Late Coniacian) occurrence of the species in Kansas. Morphological variation observed in the tooth set confirms the presence of heterodonty in the dentition of this taxon. By comparing the teeth of S. raphiodon with those of the extant mitsukurinid shark (Mitsukurina owstoni), the total body length of the fossil individual is estimated conservatively to be 59 cm. Similar to M. owstoni, S. raphiodon possibly fed on small fishes and squid, but this idea is yet to be confirmed.

Teeth of the endopterygoid are described for the first time in the North American Late Cretaceous fish Enchodus gladiolus (Cope, 1872) from a previously described specimen from the Niobrara Chalk of Kansas. The teeth are located on the medial side of the bone with the greatest number concentrated at its posterior end. Most teeth consist of numerous small cones, but at the posterior end of the bone are several elongated teeth that run parallel to the length of the bone. E. lewesiensis (Mantell, 1822) and E. brevis Chalifa, 1989 are the only other two Enchodus species known to have endopterygoid teeth. Their teeth are very similar to those of E. gladiolus. Several fossil aulopiform genera besides Enchodus also have similar endopterygoid teeth. The endopterygoid teeth in E. gladiolus superficially resemble the tubercles found on other dermal bones. The presence of endopterygoid teeth in other fossil aulopiform taxa suggests that it may be a primitive condition.

Tylosaurus nepaeolicus (Cope 1874) is one of the least well known of the five species of mosasaurs that are recognized from the lower Smoky Hill Chalk Member (upper Coniacian) of the Niobrara Formation in western Kansas. In describing the type material, Cope stated that this species was one-third or less the size of T. proriger (Cope 1869), a species that appeared during the Santonian and is well represented in the middle and upper chalk. Additional data provided by Russell from a review of specimens in the American Museum of Natural History and the Yale Peabody Museum showed that most T. nepaeolicus material is somewhat larger than the type specimen, but is significantly smaller than adult T. proriger specimens. Measurements of two additional T. nepaeolicus skulls, an articulated series of Tylosaurus sp. vertebrae and other material in the Sternberg Museum of Natural History suggest that this species approached 8–9 m in size by the end of the Coniacian and was approximately the same size as a large T. proriger reported from the lower Santonian. Although time and other morphological features separate T. nepaeolicus from T. proriger, the two species are closer in size than previously reported.

An armadillo invasion of Kansas is underway. Each year more sightings are reported and they now are recorded as far north as the Platte River in southern Nebraska. They are abundant enough in some areas in southern Kansas to be considered nuisances because of their burrowing habit. They prefer soft ground which in Kansas includes the Pennsylvanian sandstone and shale in the Chautauqua Hills in the southeast, the Permian redbeds in the Red Hills country in south-central, and the shales and siltstones of the Cretaceous in central and western Kansas. Because their metabolism requires a constant intake of food, they can not tolerate long periods of severe weather. The change in climate and other factors, however, favors their continued northward migration. They now have been reported from almost one-quarter of the Kansas counties.

The vast expanse of North American prairie has been reduced by at least 90% of its original area. As a result, the populations of many grassland birds are in serious decline. This study investigated Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) population trends in Kansas by comparing two Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes (16 and 17) in north-central Kansas showing more stable shrike populations, with two BBS routes (06 and 07) in southern Kansas showing more dramatic declines during the last 30 years. With the exception of large increases in pesticide use, there have been few land-use changes the last 30 years along the two northern routes. Along the southern routes, land-use changes include large decreases in pasture, urbanization, loss of tree rows, and large increases in pesticide use.

Our land-use survey showed more pasture, woodland, scattered trees and shrubs, and barbed-wire fences in the north, and more wheat, residential areas, and tree rows in the south, indicating significant differences between study areas in key habitat requirements for breeding Loggerhead Shrikes. Our two-year census of the four BBS routes showed a higher density of shrikes in the north (3.0/census) than the south (1.9/census). The habitat associated with shrikes in the north showed a greater amount of pasture and significantly more scattered trees and shrubs compared to the south, where shrike habitats were more heterogeneous and usually associated with tree rows. The nesting success in both areas was relatively low for Loggerhead Shrikes.

Various commercial chemicals were tested to control visually obstructive weed populations abundant in the graveled storage areas on the Fort Riley Military Reservation. Several herbicides applied at lower amounts than the historical treatment were effective in reducing weedy plants. The chemicals Oust and Telar Karmex provided the best long-term control. Arsenal could be added to a tank mix to provide greater control of field bindweed and tumble windmill grass. A change to these chemicals as part of the integrated pest management strategy would thus help to meet the United States Department of Defense directive to reduce pesticide usage.

The unique features of the improved plasma confinement discovered earlier using automated optimization software have been explored. Reduced performance was associated with nonMaxwellian electron and ion distributions which are not electrostatically well confined. Enhanced confinement corresponds to Maxwellian electron and ion distributions.

Using data collected through a mail questionnaire survey, this paper examines the extent of primary care physician (PCP) bypassers in rural Kansas, identifies the factors of PCP bypassing, and analyzes the reasons for bypassing as reported by the respondents. A total of 313 Kansas residents living in households in 79 of the state's 105 counties with populations of 20,000 or less participated in this survey. Approximately 16% of the respondents identified themselves as PCP bypassers, indicating they did not utilize the services of the nearest PCP. The findings of this study suggest that user characteristics were more infuential than provider characteristics in the decision to bypass locally available health-care providers. Respondent perceptions regarding the quality of services provided by local PCPs and respondent age were the most important determinants of PCP bypassers. The former also was cited by more than 84% respondents as the main reason for bypassing locally available PCPs.

Sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata) is a Kansas statewide noxious weed that is spreading at an alarming rate. The genetic variation among different populations of this plant was investigated using the methodology of randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Samples of sericea lespedeza were obtained at distinct sites throughout eastern Kansas and total DNA prepared from each. Four arbitrary primers were used individually in a RAPD-PCR and the combined amplification patterns used to generate a dendrogram. Sixteen plants from nine different populations were grouped into nine unique genotypic groupings using this method. These data indicate that significant genetic variation exists among the different populations of sericea lespedeza examined and that RAPD-PCR is a valid and reproducible means for the detection of these differences.