Student Research Positions Available
Why care about grassland ecology and management? Grasslands provide the habitat and food wildlife species require to maintain healthy populations. Grasslands also provide key services contributing to human well-being and economic viability of rural areas. There are paid positions available for undergraduates interested in gaining experience in research during the spring (10-15 hours per week) and/or summer 2023 (15-20 hours per week). Students interested in applying for the Undergraduate Research Fellows (URF) or Summer Student Research Program (SSRP) and students interested in conducting research as part of BIOL431 or BIOL499 for experiential learning credit are encouraged to contact Dr. Jayne Jonas, BHS346, email: jonasj at unk.edu
Positions related to the following questions are currently open
Can we improve plant growth and decrease harmful effects on the environment if agricultural chemicals are applied in a new way?
A student interested in the ecology and/or management of agricultural systems could have the opportunity to develop questions for an undergraduate research project related to either plant or soil responses to a new way of applying chemicals.
This greenhouse project scheduled for spring 2023 is being done as part of a collaboration with faculty in Engineering and Entomology at UNL and partners in Nebraska Cooperative Extension.
Research questions could include: do plants benefit when chemicals are applied in this way? Does less chemical go into the soil? What happens to the chemical that does go into the soil?
Does it matter where plants come from when we are trying to create grassland habitat for wildlife?
Once grasslands have been damaged, a common technique for fixing them is to plant seeds of desirable species. We expect that by doing this, plants will growth and provide habitat for insects and wildlife. Achieving these habitat outcomes can be very difficult. The overall goal of this research is to understand whether where seeds are purchased, for a set of plant species, changes how well they grow with one another and if it affects how grasshoppers feed on them.
This greenhouse project will begin in spring and continue into summer 2023. There are positions for two students to develop questions for independent research projects while also working together on other aspects of this project.
Questions could include: Do plants grow bigger or faster depending on where they were “born”? Are some plant species superstars? Are some plant species tastier to grasshoppers? How much can a grasshopper eat?
Do conservation management practices improve grassland habitat for wildlife beyond the fence line?
Conservation of grasslands is important for making sure wildlife, such as mammals and birds, have the plant and insect resources they need to thrive. Thinking about how different management strategies affect plants and insects in grasslands occurring within agricultural areas is an important part of making sure we have these resources for wildlife going into the future.
This field-based project will begin in late spring 2023 and run through the summer as part of a collaboration with many other biology faculty at UNK and UNL, as well as an outside conservation agency. This project will look at potential benefits of grassland established through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
There are positions for at least two students to develop research questions related to plants and insects associated with CRP while also gaining experience working in natural resources and as part of a field crew. Potential research questions could include: Are there more kinds of “good” plants or insects on grasslands managed for conservation? Do they have fewer “bad” plants or insects? Are there more benefits when grasslands are managed for conservation longer?