Habitat management for Northern Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) has been suggested by researchers and managers to improve conditions for the species. The Fort Riley Conservation staff radio collared 154 bobwhites during the winters of 2010 and 2011 on the Fort Riley Military Reservation to investigate seasonal space use and survival around strip disking, woody manipulation, combination of strip disking and woody manipulation, and control treatment types. Bobwhite winter home ranges overlapped significantly higher amounts of area that had received habitat manipulations versus control treatment types. Bobwhite summer home ranges overlapped significantly more area that had received combination treatment versus other treatment types. Bobwhite winter survival increased when closer to strip disking and summer survival decreased when closer to edge feathering. Bobwhite survival probability in the winter was higher for males than females but there was no difference in survival during the spring and summer. Habitat manipulations at Fort Riley appear to have influenced bobwhite survival.

The Monahan Outdoor Education Center is located on a former active coal mine and facility for washing and processing coal that was partially recontoured and reclaimed as a grassland in 1984–1985. Terrestrial gastropods were collected at 55 sites among the reclaimed and unreclaimed areas from 2008–2013. The sites were grouped into 10 zones representing three major habitat types: woodland, grassland, and mixed. Of the 27 identified taxa, more were collected from woodland sites (26) than from grassland (13) or mixed vegetation sites (17). Glyphyalinia indentata and Gastrocopta armifera were the most commonly collected taxa and were found in all three major habitats. Pupoides albilabris, Zonitoides arboreus, and members of the Succineidae were found in at least 6 of the 10 zones. Woodlands now encroach on the original grassland reclamation, effecting the overall composition of the land snail community.

Nighttime rainfall has long been thought of as an important component to the central Great Plains hydroclimate during the wettest three-month period known as the “late spring - early summer precipitation maximum” from May–July (MJJ), though the climatological characteristics in Kansas are not very well documented in the literature. The nighttime rainfall characteristics are examined based on hourly precipitation data for Topeka, KS and other Kansas stations for a 63-year period from 1950–2012 for May–July. Nighttime rainfall is a major contributor to the overall moisture budget in the Great Plains, contributing over 50% of the overall rainfall total for the three-month period, with an increase in the percentage from May to July. Most nocturnal rainfall events initiate around the local midnight hour, with earlier start times in May compared to June and July. The greatest hourly precipitation tends to occur around the same time, with a gradual step down into the mid-morning hours. Geographically, areas in the eastern portion of the state receive more nighttime rainfall on average for all three months than areas to the west.

The Seville Limestone has been tentatively identified in southeast Kansas with only one outcrop. Cores recently drilled southwest of Pittsburg, Kansas, in relation to a new proposed highway alignment of US-69 have provided information on the occurrence and characteristics of the Seville Limestone. Detailed lithostratigraphic observations of the Seville Limestone Member presented within core samples increase understanding of the Seville Limestone Member lithostratigraphy. The Seville Limestone Member is continuous through southern Crawford County and into northern Cherokee County as a significant marker unit that distinguishes the boundary between the Cabaniss Formation and the Krebs Formation, both belonging to the Middle Pennsylvanian Cherokee Group. The Cabaniss Formation increases in thickness south into Cherokee County with increasing thickness of terrestrial sandstones and near shore marine shales occurring between the Weir-Pittsburg Coal (WPC) sequence and the Seville Limestone Member. Further study of these units is definitely warranted in order to determine the extent of lateral and vertical changes that occur in the southern Crawford County area.

“As the explorer approaches the beds of the Niobrara Group, he often sees in the distance a city of imposing grandeur. Wide streets, lined with buildings of dazzling whiteness meet his eye, and only a near approach will convince him that he is looking at nature's handiwork. The rains of ages have cut and fashioned the soft limestone into the semblance of cities.” Charles H. Sternberg, “The Niobrara Group.” (1881)

“On the fırst day of May, 1876, three young men were seated around a campfıre at Buffalo Station on the Kansas Division of the Union Pacifıc Railway in western Kansas. The party was in the immediate employ of Professor E. D. Cope, the noted paleontologist of the United States Geological Survey… Is this the enchanted city of the Arabian Nights?… We see indeed a beautiful city but it is the city of the dead.” C. H. Sternberg, “The Young Fossil Hunters: A True Story of Western Exploration and Adventure.” (1889)

“What vivid memories I have of that fırst expedition! Memories of countless hardships and splendid results.” Charles H. Sternberg The Life of a Fossil Hunter. (1909)

Triclosan is a multi-purpose biocide used in hundreds of personal care products, including but not limited to antibacterial hand soaps, lotions, and toothpastes. The ubiquitous usage of triclosan allows it to be widely dispersed into the environment, which could contribute to the resistance of environmental microorganisms to triclosan and perhaps to clinically relevant antibiotics.

The aim of this study was to evaluate whether long-term exposure of the common skin bacterium, Staphylococcus epidermidis, to subinhibitory, but increasing concentrations of triclosan would select for triclosan-resistant mutants. The study began with exposure to 0.00015% triclosan, which was ten-fold less than the initial MIC. The concentration was increased with respect to observed increases in the MIC. The duration of the study led to the ability of the bacteria to grow in 0.15% triclosan. The fabI gene, the product of which is a known target of triclosan, was sequenced to determine whether the selection pressure applied by triclosan would induce mutations in this region of the genome.

We found exposure of Staphylococcus epidermidis strain SE 1457 to increasing subinhibitory concentrations of triclosan for 70 days in broth cultures resulted in a notable increase in resistance to triclosan, and that these mutants contained a point mutation at position 284 in the fabI gene, leading a change at position 95 in enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase.

Reservoir sedimentation has become a large and pervasive problem throughout the entire United States. Sedimentation gradually destroys and eliminates the services for which reservoirs were constructed (flood protection, water storage, and recreation), yet sedimentation is also an ecological problem. Organisms that depend on the deep parts of lakes cannot survive if their habitats are being buried by sediments. Perry Lake, in northeastern Kansas, has lost 23% of its original volume. Sediment thicknesses (depth of sediment accrued since lake formation) in the main lake range from 2–140cm, and upper portions of the lake have become unnavigable. To measure the effect of sedimentation the diversity and density of profundal invertebrate macrofauna were sampled. Thirteen taxa were collected and assemblages were dominated by oligochaetes, midges (chironomidae), and the Phantom Midge Chaoborus. No significant associations between sediment thickness and invertebrate metrics were found, however sediment size was correlated positively with % insects and total invertebrates and negatively correlated with blood worms (Chironomus riparius). Water depth was also negatively correlated with total invertebrates. While sedimentation will be a problem in the future for Perry Lake, the current rate of sedimentation seems to not be affecting the profundal invertebrates. Erosion control should concentrate on limiting the entry of small-particle sediments to the lake.

Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) invasion greatly impacts aquatic systems, with economic and ecological consequences. Monitoring zebra mussel density and reproductive timing are essential for effective detection, management, and control of this invasive species. Veligers, the free-floating planktonic life stage of zebra mussels, are often monitored to estimate reproductive effort and as a first indicator of zebra mussel invasion. Although many veliger monitoring methods exist and vary greatly in cost and effort, no study has compared results yielded by different sampling techniques. We compared estimated veliger densities collected with offshore vertical plankton net tows and oblique plankton net tows taken from shore from April through October 2011 in Marion Reservoir, Kansas. Secondarily, we compared enumeration results returned by an established laboratory and a laboratory that had recently begun enumerating veligers. Using ANOVA testing, we found no significant difference between sampling methods or laboratories. We recommend using oblique plankton net tows taken from shore because of their potential to reduce monitoring costs compared to other sampling techniques by reducing equipment, time, and manpower expenses.

The Greenhorn Limestone is a rock formation composed primarily of chalky limestone and shale that was deposited in the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway of North America. Many dental and skeletal remains of fossil fishes were collected from the basal Greenhorn Limestone (early Turonian; ca. 93 Ma) at a locality along the western border (Plymouth County) of Iowa. The fish fauna consists of at least eight chondrichthyan and 12 osteichthyan taxa that are represented by diverse trophic forms, including durophagous forms, pelagic carnivores, and opportunistic feeders. Sedimentary particles of the basal Greenhorn Limestone at the locality include a relatively large quantity of quartz grams (e.g., compared to the basal Greenhorn Limestone in southeastern Colorado). This observation suggests that the deposition took place at a position closer to the shoreline than other Greenhorn localities.