Although Kansas is best known for an abundance of marine fossils from the Late Cretaceous, there may be up to 16 dinosaur records from the state. These are (in order of discovery): 1) the Mudge tracks from the Dakota Formation of Clay County; 2) the hadrosaur, Claosaurus agilis, from the Niobrara Chalk of Logan County; 3) the Snow track from the Dakota of Ellsworth County; 4) the “fossil turtle” specimen from the Dakota of Cloud County, which appears to be an ankylosaurid sacrum; 5) a vertebra from the Pierre Shale of Logan County; 6) a partial vertebra from the Kiowa Formation or Cheyenne Sandstone of Clark County; 7) nodosaurid dermal scutes from the Niobrara of Lane County; 8) a partial skeleton of the nodosaurid, “Hierosaurus sternbergii,” from the Niobrara of Gove County; 9) a partial skeleton of the nodosaurid, Niobrarasaurus coleii, from the Niobrara of Gove County; 10) a large slab containing tracks and trackways from the Dakota of Lincoln County; 11) possible dinosaur gastroliths from the Dakota of Clay County; 12) a partial skeleton of the nodosaurid, Silvisaurus condrayi, from the Dakota of Ottawa County; 13) a partial skeleton of a nodosaurid from the Niobrara of Rooks County; 14) a natural mold of a Silvisaurus(?) sacrum from the Dakota of Russell County; 15) two associated limb bones of cf. Niobrarasaurus coleii from the Niobrara of Lane County; and 16) a dinosaur footprint from the Dakota of Ellsworth County. Of these 16 specimens, five (specimens 1, 3, 4, 6, and 11) are lost. The dinosaur record of Kansas spans the late Albian to the early Campanian, and includes diverse depositional settings that are not otherwise well represented in the dinosaur fossil record.

The right ulna and radius of a small nodosaur were recovered from the Smoky Hill Chalk Member (Upper Santonian) of the Niobrara Formation in October, 2000. Based on the similarity of the specimen in comparison with the holotype of Niobrarasaurus coleii, and the relatively small size of the remains, the bones are considered to be those of a juvenile N. coleii. The presence of two parallel scratch marks on the distal shaft of the radius, and the partially digested appearance of the proximal and distal ends of both bones, suggest that the lower limb had been detached from the carcass as the result of scavenging, most likely by the large lamniform shark, Cretoxyrhina mantelli. Although the remains of terrestrial vertebrates are not unknown from sediments deposited in the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Sea, additional discoveries are infrequent and valuable sources of information regarding the terrestrial fauna of the time.

We used 16S ribosomal RNA gene analysis, fatty acid methyl ester analysis, and scanning electron microscopy to partially characterize two apparently unique bacteria isolated from the environment. Light microscopy revealed that the first organism was a Gram-positive spore-forming bacillus, while the second organism was Gram-negative. The second organism was determined to have a bacillus morphology based on the images obtained from scanning electron microscopy. The 16S rRNA sequence and fatty acid methyl ester analyses demonstrated that both organisms could be previously undescribed species within known genera. The Gram-positive organism was shown to be a close relative of Brevibacillus laterosporus; the Gram-negative organism was shown to be closely related to Stenotrophomonas maltophilia. Scanning electron microscopy also was used to determine the fine details of cellular morphology of both isolates.

A re-evaluation of the status of fishes in Kansas suggests that 54 of the 116 native species should be assigned special conservation status due to substantial declines in distribution or abundance and/or their rarity in the state. Nine species are recommended for retention in their existing status of endangered, threatened, or species in need of conservation. We recommend elevated conservation status for 44 additional species, and provide information on trends in distribution and abundance for these taxa. A single species, the Arkansas River Shiner, Notropis girardi, is considered to be extirpated recently from Kansas.

The Spring River in southwestern Missouri and southeastern Kansas is a high-value aquatic resource with a history of poor water quality. This study of the Spring River basin provides a high frequency synoptic evaluation of water quality in the Spring River between Waco, Missouri and Riverton, Kansas below Empire Lake as impacted by five tributary streams (Cow, Center, Turkey, Center, and Shoal creeks). Total reactive phosphorus (TRP), total phosphorus (TP), nitrate-N, total ammonia-N, and discharge were estimated 26 times from January to November 2001. Evaluation of mean nutrient concentrations at base flow and runoff conditions indicated that most nutrients entering the Spring River from its tributaries were due to agricultural runoff. The primary exception to this trend was Turkey Creek, where some mean nutrient concentrations were significantly lower during runoff compared to base flow (P <0.05 for TRP, TP, and nitrate-N), suggesting a greater importance of point sources. Instantaneous nutrient loads were calculated for each site. The largest hydrologic load was associated with Shoal Creek (32% of total sub-basin loads), followed by the Spring River at Waco (28%), Center Creek (21%) and Turkey Creek (10%). Shoal Creek had the greatest P-load (42% of combined sub-basin loads for TRP and 39% of TP), followed by Turkey Creek (27% of TRP and 24% of TP) with only 10% of the hydrologic load. Nitrate loads were more equitable (29% from the Spring River at Waco, 28% from Shoal Creek, and 23% from Center), but the Spring River at Waco dominated total ammonia loads with 41% of the total sub-basin load. A comparison of combined sub-basin loads to the load estimated downstream suggests that Empire Lake is a sink for TP and TRP, and relatively neutral to the nitrogen parameters.

A new species of kalligrammatid lacewing is described and figured as Meioneurites spectabilis Engel n. sp. from the Jurassic of Karatau, Kazakhstan. The species is distinguished from all other Meioneurites species on the basis of wing venation and is the most completely preserved specimen of its genus and perhaps for the family. Owing to the dramatically expanded costal space and forked costal veinlets the species is placed in a separate subgenus, Parameioneurites Engel, n. subgen.

Salt cedar (Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.) is a small shrubby tree that is taking over wetland and riparian habitats in the western United States. Biocontrol experiments are underway based on the Chinese leaf-eating beetle, Diorhabda elongata deserticola, as a means for controlling salt cedar. Kite aerial photography and ground observations were conducted in 2003 to document the effects of beetle biocontrol on salt cedar at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation study site near Pueblo, Colorado. High-resolution August images provided clear visual evidence of salt cedar defoliation by beetles, and the images were suitable for quantitative analysis. This approach could be employed successfully to monitor other types of biocontrol study sites.