This study documents a management history for two forested sites at Fort Leavenworth military reservation in Leavenworth County of northeastern Kansas. Additionally, we monitor forest cover change in the study area through the application of a single-band, multi-date satellite image analysis method. We use existing land use records and information from key informants to reconstruct a history of forest use. Our examination reveals that while the past witnessed significant timber felling from these forests, more recent ‘benign neglect’ management approaches have contributed to a resurgence in the growth of woody species. To monitor more recent trends in forest cover change, we successfully employ a multi-date image analysis method using Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) data from 1987, 1992 and 1997. Furthermore, a cursory comparison between this technique and routine land use classifications reveals significantly more information on the direction of change and vegetation health from the multi-date method.

The Worden Fault is a 6-km long, northeast-trending fault located in southwestern Douglas County, Kansas. The fault has a displacement of about 6 m with the downthrown side to the northwest. The fault probably is the surface reflection of adjustments of Precambrian basement fault blocks.

The southern extent of the Kansan glacier in Douglas County, Kansas is marked by a series of discontinuous outcrops of boulder beds, comprised of erratics in a modified terminal-like morainal topography. The Clearfield tongue (SW¼ sec. 16, T. 14 S., R. 21 E.) extended as far south as 38° 51′ latitude. Most of the material left by the glacier is outwash or reworked till and this material along with the boulder beds is definitive for marking the southern extent of the glacier. Although subdued, the Pleistocene deposits modify the local landscape and are important in piecing together the late geologic history of the region.

Before and after photographs taken many years apart show historic changes to some of the more notable topographic features of Kansas. Recently, several prominent erosional remnants have been modified or destroyed, including the Indian petroglyphs (Ellsworth County), Natural Bridge (Barber County), and Castle Rock, Cobra Rock, and the Sphinx (all in Gove County). These unique and interesting topographic forms were carved by water and modified by wind erosion. Although erosion rates are slow by human standards, catastrophic events can change or modify features rather drastically by any time standard.

Many features appear to influence avian nest success, and nest concealment and distance to habitat edge are among the most influential. We placed simulated bird nests baited with House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) eggs in two riparian grasslands to document the influence of these two habitat characteristics on nest depredation rates. Over three trials, 49% of nests (n = 105) were depredated with a mean daily survival rate of 0.908 (± 0.012 SE). Side and overhead concealment of depredated and undisturbed nests did not differ in any consistent manner, and logistic regression models indicated that nest fate was not influenced by the amount of vegetative concealment surrounding a nest. Depredated simulated nests were closer to habitat edges than undisturbed nests during only one of three trials, suggesting nest depredation was not strongly influenced by habitat edges. Our results indicate that in simulated grassland bird nests baited with sparrow eggs, concealment may be more influential on nest fate than distance to habitat edges. We recommend that future studies of simulated songbird nests use songbird-sized eggs to insure that the potential suite of nest predators is sampled by simulated nests.

Streambank changes were examined after the Kansas flood of 1993. Aerial photography was used to determine the relationship of streambank stability to natural riparian vegetation, stream channel morphology, and soil type. The flooding that occurred that summer along river courses in the central plains of the United States was considered in the magnitude of a 100- to 500-year flood. Water flooded riverbanks and farmlands for a 2-month period. Lateral streambank erosion was related significantly to vegetative cover and soil types. Erosion was greatest on cropland and minimal on the forested streambanks, and was greater on sandy than on silty soils. Channel configuration or the interaction of soils with either cover type or channel configuration influenced lateral erosion on one river system but not the other. The flood was so large that the water flowed over the banks for great distances much of the time.

We note the occurrence of the Late Cretaceous teleostean genus Thryptodus from the Lincoln Limestone Member (upper Middle Cenomanian) of the Greenhorn Limestone in Russell County, Kansas. The specimen, here referred to Thryptodus cf. T. zitteli Loomis, is represented by fused premaxillae. The specimen is noteworthy because it marks the oldest record of the genus.

The effects of grazing on vegetative biomass and richness and various soil parameters in the tallgrass prairie were examined at the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve (TPNP) and the Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS). It is hypothesized that grazing will exert significant influence on vegetative biomass and native species richness, and soil depth, moisture content, pH, nutrient levels (total Kjeldahl nitrogen and total phosphorus), and organic matter content. To test this hypothesis, four sets of samples were gathered: 10 from an ungrazed portion of TPNP and 10 from a grazed portion, 10 from an ungrazed area of KPBS and 10 from a grazed area. Results indicate that grazing decreased vegetative biomass density, increased soil nutrient levels, and increased soil organic matter content. Mixed results were found on the effects of grazing on available soil moisture and soil pH. Soil moisture content was significantly higher in the ungrazed area of TPNP, but significantly higher in the grazed area at KPBS. Soil pH was significantly higher in the ungrazed area of TPNP but no significant differences were observed at KPBS. Grazing did not significantly influence soil depth or species richness, though differences in the taxa of species observed were evident as native grass species richness decreased in grazed areas and invasive species richness increased in grazed areas.

Three Petalodus teeth are described from the Upper Pennsylvanian rocks of northeastern Kansas. Specimens from the Merriam Limestone Member of the Plattsburg Limestone (Lansing Group, Missourian) and the Brownville Limestone Member of the Wood Siding Formation (Wabaunsee Group, Virgilian) are assigned to P. ohioensis. The third specimen, too fragmentary to assign beyond genus level, was recovered from the Ervine Creek Limestone Member of the Deer Creek Limestone (Shawnee Group, Virgilian). Previous references to petalodonts from Kansas are cited, and the reported occurrences of P. ohioensis document its range throughout almost the entire Upper Pennsylvanian Series of Kansas.

The KSU Herbarium had a modest beginning and grew slowly during the first 20 years. Early campus political turmoil and inadequate funding created difficult circumstances and a high faculty turnover. Dedicated individuals, who recognized the value of a botany reference collection, persisted. These individuals and others who followed made the KSU Herbarium the largest in the state throughout its first century and primary in providing applied research and public service. The extensive historical holdings (pre-1900) are unique in the state and significant in supplying solid data for measuring floristic changes as well as for fundamental botanical studies. Today the KSU Herbarium contains collections of bryophytes, seeds, algae, pollen, and fossil plants. The vascular plant collection numbers ca. 185,000 specimens.

What effects will elevated ultraviolet B radiation and/or elevated temperature have on the loss of zooxanthellae from Aiptasia pallida? The hypothesis of this study was: if Aiptasia pallida are exposed to elevated ultraviolet radiation and/or elevated water temperatures, then the number of zooxanthellae expelled from the Aiptasia pallida will increase. Sea anemones (Aiptasia pallida) containing symbiotic zooxanthellae (Symbiodinium bermudense) were maintained in 3 L salt-water aquariums on a 10:14 hour light:dark cycle. In addition to a control aquarium, one aquarium was exposed to elevated water temperature, another aquarium was exposed to elevated UVB radiation, and the fourth aquarium was exposed to elevated levels of both UVB radiation and water temperature. The number of zooxanthellae expelled from the sea anemones was measured with a hemacytometer once every three days over a fifteen-day period. The number of zooxanthellae expelled per sea anemone was lowest in the control aquarium. The number of zooxanthellae expelled per sea anemone was greatest in the aquarium that was exposed to elevated levels of both UVB radiation and water temperature. Aquariums that were exposed to elevated levels of either UVB radiation or water temperature experienced moderate levels of expulsion. In conclusion, elevated levels of both UVB radiation and water temperature had a greater effect on the loss of symbiotic zooxanthellae than the effect of either variable individually or the control.

Since antibiotic resistance of bacteria is becoming such a large and frequent problem, this research was conducted to determine if resistance in Escherichia coli could be induced by repeated exposure to ampicillin.

The procedure was based on a standardized method of testing resistance called the Kirby-Bauer (KB) Disk Diffusion Test. Brain-Heart Infusion (BHI) broth was labeled CØ for control and Tl-5 for tests. The broths were inoculated with E. coli. Ampicillin disks were added to the Test Group's BHI broths. After incubation, the BHI broths were sub-cultured to blood agar plates and Mueller-Hinton agar plates for the KB test. The plates were incubated, and the zones of inhibition read. The E. coli was then sub-cultured from the blood agar to the BHI, and the process was repeated until the E. coli showed significant resistance to the ampicillin.

The average rate of resistance of the CØ Group was 0 mm per day, because the zone diameters of the CØ Group stayed at 20 mm. The average rate of resistance of the Test Group was 3.2 mm per day. This data indicated that the CØ Group remained susceptible to the ampicillin throughout the experiment. The Test Group, however, did become resistant to the ampicillin.

Populations of Crossopriza lyoni (Blackwall), a common synanthropic spider in many tropical and subtropical regions of the world, were discovered at two locations in Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas. These records represent a significant northward range extension of the species in the western hemisphere and document its presence within the state.