Isolated tooth specimens of the Late Cretaceous shark Ptychodus anonymus Williston 1900 are common occurrences in the Cenomanian and Turonian deposits throughout the Western Interior Seaway. Reported here is an association of 58 teeth of P. anonymus (FHSM VP-19170) recovered from the Jetmore Member of the Greenhorn Formation (Late Cenomanian) in Mitchell County, Kansas. This specimen is significant as it represents the first occurrence of an associated dentition of this species. A single vertebra was also collected, which makes this the stratigraphically oldest occurrence of Ptychodus with associated post cranial remains. This tooth set consists of teeth from seven tooth file positions to the right and left side of a central medial file. This specimen demonstrates the complete heterodonty pattern in the dentition of P. anonymus, clarifying the morphological variations that exist in isolated teeth ascribed to the species. This specimen provides additional clues to determine the ordinal taxonomic classification of the family.

Micropycnodon kansasensis (Hibbard and Graffham 1941) is an extinct bony fish that lived in the Western Interior Seaway of North America during the Late Cretaceous. In this paper, we describe previously unreported anatomical features of the fossil fish based on a partial skeleton from the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk in Gove County, Kansas, U.S.A. The specimen consists of the anterior four-fifths of the fish, including a nearly complete skull with incisiform premaxillary and dentary teeth as well as a vomerine tooth plate and paired prearticular tooth plates. The body possessed imbricate squamation with platy bony scales posterior to the head that decreased in size from dorsal to ventral. Additionally, the lateral sides of the fish were covered with blunt tubercle-type denticles to sharp hook-shaped conical denticles. Furthermore, at least the posteroventral rim of the body was equipped with a series of laterally compressed, sagittally-arranged, triangular denticles. The collection of denticles and platy scales likely served as forms of protection against predators. Radiographic imaging of the specimen suggests that the vertebral column may consist of fused vertebrae. The fossil fish had a deep body with an estimated standard length of approximately 23 cm, indicating a slightly larger specimen than the holotype, and a slightly smaller specimen than the paratype.

Artemisia, a wide spread and diverse genus in the family Asteraceae, includes five native species common in Kansas, particularly in the western half of the state. These include Artemisia campestris (field sagewort), A. carruthii (sagewort), A. dracunculus (tarragon), A. filifolia (Louisiana wormwood) and A. ludoviciana (sand sage). Using both fresh material and herbarium specimens, we completed a comparative morphological and anatomical study of roots, stems, leaves and inflorescences to construct a phylogenetic tree of the Kansas species. Antennaria neglecta was used as an outgroup for the analysis. Morphological measurements were made with a vernier caliper or with a fine metric ruler under a dissecting microscope. For the anatomical study, we examined sectioned material prepared from fresh collections and rehydrated herbarium specimens. There was no significant difference in measurements obtained in specimens from these two sources. A total of 46 characteristics were used to construct a phylogenetic tree of the Kansas species. Our objectives were to compare our tree to the molecular tree published by Watson et al. (2002), which included more than 50 species in the genus, sensu lata, but not A. caruhii, and to place the latter species into the tree. The typologies of our tree and the molecular tree were congruent and we were able to place A. carruhii into the clade they identify as Artemisia subgenus Dracunculus, which also contains A. compestris and A. dracunculus. Both trees identified A. ludoviciana and A. filifolia as sister species in the same clade (their Artemisia subgenus Artemisia).

Species diversity of unionid mussels of the Walnut River Basin, Kansas was reassessed in 2017 and compared with surveys from 1979 and 2001. Our 1979 study surveyed 120 sites in the basin collecting 18 extant species. We resampled 87 of these sites in 2001, finding evidence of 8 extant species. In 2017 our survey of four sites collected 5 extant species. The most abundant species were Amblema plicata in 1979, A. plicata and Quadrula quadrula in 2001, and Quadrula pustulosa in 2017. The most abundant bivalve mollusk in 2017, comprising 36% of live mussels, was Tritogonia verrucosa. The non-unionid species Corbicula fluminea was absent from sample sites in the basin in 1979, comprised 51% of live individuals in 2001, and 24% of live individuals in 2017. Non-native Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) were found in the basin in 2017, but not in the earlier surveys. These results demonstrate that changes in mussel abundance and diversity have occurred since the 1979 survey, but do not suggest continual dramatic declines in mussels in the Walnut River Basin.

Increased salinity affects plants by toxic ion effects and by lowering soil water potential, which makes it difficult for plants to take up water. Salt marshes in Kansas are characterized by highly saline soils, but interspecific variation of photosynthesis and water potential in inland salt marsh species has been largely unexplored. Comparisons between species can help give a better understanding of how saline environments are tolerated by different plants. It was hypothesized that non-native Tamarix ramosissima has a greater tolerance to high salinity by maintaining lower water potential compared to the native species Spartina pectinata and Distichlis spicata. In this study, all three species were grown under controlled salinity treatments in a greenhouse experiment to determine if photosynthesis or water potential differ between species. Individuals of T. ramosissima, S. pectinata, and D. spicata were grown in 0, 15, or 30 g L^-1 salinity under greenhouse conditions for two weeks. Photosynthesis was reduced in all species under high salinity and stomates were particularly sensitive to increasing salinity in T. ramosissima. Individuals of non-native T. ramosissima were able to lower water potential to a greater extent than native D. spicata and S. pectinata. There is physiological tolerance to high salinity in all species, helping them to survive in conditions of Kansas salt marshes.

The Atlantic ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata) is a widely distributed predator and scavenger along Atlantic Ocean and Gulf Coast beaches. A long-term study was initiated on the Bolivar Peninsula of Texas in 2006 to assess the impact of human activity on ghost crabs. Line transects were used to determine crab burrow arrangement at a high-impact site and a low-impact site. Differences were found between the two sites in number of active burrows per transect, burrow density, the diameter of burrow openings, burrow distance to the high-water line, and nearest-neighbor distances. In Fall 2008, Hurricane Ike struck the study sites. Re-examinations of the sites in 2010 showed changes in ghost crab burrows. The high-impact site experienced a decline in human activity – beach width increased by > 50%, the number of burrows/transect tripled, and nearest-neighbor distances decreased by one-third. The hurricane also reshaped the low-impact site on the western tip of the peninsula as beach width decreased by two-thirds, burrow density increased by sevenfold, and nearest-neighbor distances decreased by one-half. Sampling in 2012, 2014, and 2016 show that some of the physical characteristics of the beach gradually returned to near pre-hurricane status. However, reduced beach space at the low-traffic site remained, with higher burrow density and reduced crab size persisting 8 years after the hurricane, and the post-storm reduction in human traffic in the high-impact site has maintained higher burrow density there even as traffic increased. Monitoring the ecological impact of hurricanes is of growing importance as global climate change could lead to increased frequency and severity of tropical storms.

The ruins of the 19^thcentury Fruitland Schoolhouse were investigated and documented using unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technology to determine the extent of the ruins and to acquire high-resolution imagery of the archaeological site in its entirety, a perspective not obtainable using ground-based photography. The Fruitland Schoolhouse was a structure with a limestone foundation that was built by Quakers Thomas H. and Mary W. Stanley in the late-1860s on what is today known as the Ross Natural History Reservation (RNHR) in Lyon County, Kansas. The schoolhouse served as both an educational and religious center throughout the mid-to-late-19^thcentury, but today lies abandoned and overgrown with dense vegetation, largely hidden from view. In 2012, the location of this archaeological site was rediscovered after a large wildfire exposed the schoolhouse's foundation stones, the only extant portion of the original schoolhouse structure.

A scheduled burn at the Ross Reservation in the spring of 2017 allowed for an aerial investigation of the site and surrounding property via UAS. Aerial imagery revealed for the first time that, in addition to the 9 m x 9 m schoolhouse, the foundation of a limestone wall approximately 100 m x 50 m surrounds the Fruitland Schoolhouse property, and a hand-dug well also remains in the southeastern corner of the site. The use of small-format aerial photography, in concert with ground-based photography and ground-truthing methods, proved advantageous in the documentation of this historically significant archaeological site located in the eastern Flint Hills of Kansas. Remote-sensing via UAS has great potential in terms of site identification, and can be instrumental to both the physical and digital preservation of archaeological ruins.

A controversy involving human health issues and burning to maintain grassland health in the Flint Hills prompted this study. Available ground-level ozone and corresponding weather data for dates from April to October for the eleven-year period from 2002 to 2012 were subjected to statistical and synoptic climatic analysis. High ozone levels in the Flint Hills occurred during the presence of warm, dry air masses early in the warm season and more humid warm days in mid-summer. Synoptic analysis of ozone exceedance days in April documents the importance of surface high pressure to the east of the Flint Hills and weak southerly winds.

Catfish are an important part of the fishing experience for Kansas anglers. Channel and Flathead catfish have been commonly angled in Kansas waters throughout recorded history, but the statewide popularity of Blue Catfish has been a recent development. These three catfishes now share a much larger distribution than they did 20 years ago. Furthermore, the Blue Catfish is stocked for its trophy potential and, as such, is regulated more conservatively. These regulations vary from minimum-length limits to protected slot lengths and lower creel limits. Channel and Flathead catfish are regulated more liberally in Kansas. The recent Blue Catfish range expansion and varying harvest regulations among catfish species have increased concerns of fisheries managers regarding the ability of anglers to distinguish among the species. We presented anglers at Wilson Reservoir with live Blue and Channel catfish and quantified misidentification rates. We compared misidentification rates from participants with varying angling experience and catch-related attitudes. Anglers misidentified catfish 27.4% of the time despite their mean angling experience of 26.7 years, and rates of misidentification varied based on catch-related attitudes. Although not always intentional, there is significant potential for illegal harvest of catfish at Wilson Reservoir and, likely, statewide.

In many eastern North American forests white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations are large and their browsing reduces tree regeneration and alters sapling species composition. In comparison to forested communities further east, deer effects in Great Plains riparian woodlands are poorly understood. These woodlands may experience greater browsing pressure than regional deer densities suggest because deer are associated with wooded habitats in this otherwise open landscape. To explore potential effects of deer in these riparian woodlands, we quantified deer preference among tree species and spatial patterns in browsing in the Kings Creek riparian zone at Konza Prairie Long-Term Ecological Research Site. Our objectives were to determine how 1) browsing intensity differs among tree species and 2) browsing intensity varies in relation to a woodland edge – center gradient, an upstream – downstream gradient and proximity to deer trails. In June 2016, we quantified the proportion of twigs with new growth that had been browsed on saplings 15 -150 cm tall in 10 m² plots along pairs of transects that extended from the stream to the woodland edge. Transect pairs were arranged in a downstream progression. We found significant differences among tree species in proportion of twigs browsed with bitternut hickory (Carya cordiformis), black walnut (Juglans nigra) and burr oak (Quercus macrocarpa) being most browsed. Hackberry (Celtis occidentalis) and honey locust (Gleditsia triacanthos) were least browsed. Xerophytic tree species (oaks, hickories) were browsed more than mesophytic species (all other species). Browse intensity was greatest within 3 m of deer trails and increased downstream, but was unaffected by proximity to woodland edges. Strong differences among tree species in browse intensity suggest the potential for deer to affect tree species composition, possibly accelerating mesophication. Even in these wooded habitats, deer browsing is concentrated near deer trails.

While conducting a research project for the Regeneron Science Talent Competition, six taxa of the phylum Tardigrada that had not been reported to occur in the state of New York were discovered. This result doubled the taxa of tardigrades from the state of New York, U.S.A.