Lakeside News Summer 1998

Reflections of Summer 1998
Wehrspann Update
Waitt Dedication
Intern Update
Diatoms
Lakeside Merchandise for Sale!!
Water Quality News
News From Friends

Reflections of the Summer 1998

By Ken Lang, Associate Director

This has been an interesting and enjoyable summer for me. Late last spring, Dr. van der Valk, on sabbatical and working on Florida marshes, asked me to be the Associate Director of the Lab for the summer. This meant that I had to be here early and leave late. Nice duty for a Lakesider.

I've gotten to see all the students and faculty in all three terms, something I don't ordinarily enjoy when I just come and teach my class in the second term. This summer I've been immersed in Lakeside like I've never had to be before. I'll tell you this, there is a lot more to do around here than one imagines. Of course, Mark and Judy take care of the lion's share of the business; and I've learned that they have this place running smoothly. Nice for the Director. They even let me ride the John Deere as long as I mowed around the Lab buildings.

We had 127 students spend all or part of the summer. Most of them experienced their first immersion in Lakeside courses. We also welcomed three new faculty to the Lab. In the first term, Dr. Paul Currier from the Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust, taught the Wetland Ecology course and from all indications enjoyed himself. Dr. Joe Tiffany, Iowa State University, had to fight the rains in the first term, but his archaeology class managed to have a productive dig at Gillett Grove site. In the third term, Dr. Mary Harris from the University of Iowa taught Plant-Animal Interactions, and Jerry Symons from Iowa State University taught SCUBA Diving during Natural History Week. It was great having these new folks here.

Being here all summer allowed me to see many old friends. Dr. Neil Bernstein from Mount Mercy College and Dr. Tom Rosburg, now a tenure track Professor at Drake, braved the cold, rainy weather of the first term. For the second term, I joined the usual pack of regulars; Dr. Gene Stoermer, University of Michigan, Dr. Mike Lannoo, Ball State University, Dr. Dennis Anderson, Humboldt State University, and Dr. Daryl Smith, University of Northern Iowa. And, of course, three days before the end of the term we got a nice rain so that the fungi would be out in the third term for Lois Tiffany.

Dr. Tiffany has this uncanny arrangement with the weather that brings the rain before Mycology field trips. Dr. Lee Burras, Iowa State University, taught the Soil Genesis course. I was very glad to finally meet him and enjoy conversations about soils.

It was wonderful to see old friends like Dr. Charlie Reimer, who came out from Philadelphia to join Gene in the Diatom lab and Dr. Paul Christiansen who taught Prairies and Prairie Restoration during Natural History Week. Their presence and enthusiasm for teaching inform the younger students of the continuity and traditions of field station life.

The biggest event of the summer was the dedication of the new Waitt Water Quality Lab. Built with private funds raised by the Friends of Lakeside Lab, this magnificent laboratory building was transferred to the State of Iowa on July 10.

Over 400 people from local communities attended the dedication, listened to speeches, and drank lemonade to stay cool. They also mingled with the first class to use the new facility, a science camp for middle school girls co-sponsored by the Women in Science and Engineering Programs at Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa Department of Teaching, and taught by Lyn Le Countryman, a former student of Lakeside Lab. Somehow it seemed so fitting to inaugurate the new teaching lab and classroom with a new generation of biologists.

That's it. I've loved every minute being here. Arnold, I've swept out the cabin, washed the dishes, straightened up the Bovbjerg library, and hung the umbrella back behind the front door. See you all next summer. Adios.

Jennifer Peyser and Chris Peterson were students in Daryl Smith's Prairie Ecology Course. The class learned to do transects, including this one at Caylor Prairie.

Wehrspann Update

As we come to the close of another summer session at Lakeside, it suddenly becomes apparent that the last year has zipped away.

To give a brief taste of that fleeting schedule, we have mapped out the past year's basic activity. All are general in nature but very encompassing in task.

Wehspann Yearly Update

June '97
Groundbreaking on Waitt Water Quality Laboratory. 

July '97
Exceptionally large faculty/student population, underscored need for larger dinning space.

August '97
Arnold van der Valk leaves on one-year sabbatical in Florida as all the local fun begins.

 
Bill Crumpton becomes Director in Absentia 

Trees removed on WWQL site and site prep began.

September '97
Construction began on WWQL.

 
Completed on-site laundry facilities for students/staff. 

October '97
Construction began on Mess Hall addition and renovation. 

November '97
The north and south campuses are fully piped and connected for natural gas utilities.

December '97
Very mild NW Iowa winter making a contractor's dream for closing in buildings for dead of winter. 

January '98
Weather continues mild allowing construction to continue both on WWQL and Mess Hall.

Buying trips for wood at mill in Minnesota and lighting fixtures in Sioux Falls.

March '98
Iowa Lakeside Laboratory receives a new truck designed for year-round utility use along with an adjustable V-plow for that white stuff. (This is truly special--the last one was a 1983 model and something newer was needed, especially with the arrival of a year-round program.) 

April '98
Completion of Mess Hall project for this year--to be continued in fall of 1998 through April 1999. Heating and air conditioning to be installed October 1998.

May '98
Cleaning ladies arrived mid-April and continued to press forward through most of May.

First students arrived late May. 

June '98
Summer sessions in full swing. 

July '98
Dedication of WWQL.

August '98
Summer sessions coming to an end as we begin to gear up for continuation of Mess Hall remodeling.

 
Welcome fall student groups from area colleges and begin to shut down summer facilities for a long winter's rest.

So, as you can see, the months have past, Arnold has re-arrived in Ames and Lab functions increase. We express our sincere thanks to our Associate Director, Dr. Ken Lang. Thanks also to the community, both near and far, who have given so graciously to Lakeside as we embark on a new horizon.

Waitt Lab Dedicated July 10

Those attending the dedication and opening of the Andrea and Norman Waitt Jr. Water Quality Laboratory witnessed the dawning of a new era for Iowa Lakeside Lab and a new partnership between local communities, students, and educators on water quality issues.

The dedication of the new water quality lab was held July 10. More than 400 people from across the state of Iowa attended the historic event.

Sue Richter, president of Friends of Lakeside Lab said the turnout and support from the community was incredible. Arnold van der Valk, Director of Lakeside Lab, thanked the people of the community for their support. "This building is for you," he said encouraging them to "make this into your lab and your facility."

In addition, van der Valk announced two scholarships that would be available to students attending Lakeside Lab. One scholarship will be named in honor of Richard V. Bovbjerg for aquatic biology students. Bovbjerg originally had the idea to build the water quality lab and served as director of Lakeside Lab for many years.

Another scholarship will be named in honor of Charlie Reimer from the Philadelphia Academy of Science, for a diatom student taking a class at the Lab.

Richter thanked the University of Okoboji Foundation for its support and called the foundation "good people doing good things."

As a result of its support, the University of Okoboji Foundation gained its first classroom in the water quality lab.

Richter also thanked Neal Conover, a strong force in fundraising for the building. Conover chaired the fundraising committee who raised more than $872,00 from more than 180 entities. The initial boost from the project came from the Waitt Foundation who gave $400,000 as well as an additional $100,000.

Richter presented a plaque to the Board of Regents president, Owen Newlin. Newlin said he "appreciated the spirit of cooperation" and called the construction of the Waitt Water Quality Lab an "Iowa Success Story."

Newlin also assured the future of Lakeside Lab and said this would be the first of many improvements to the Lab.

"Iowa Lakeside Lab was created by generosity nearly 90 years ago to protect resources. Its future as an education center has not only been secured but expanded and enhanced," he said.

Presidents and representatives from affiliated education institutions were also on hand. In attendance was Robert Koob from the University of Northern Iowa; Jim Billings, president of Iowa Lakes Community College; Ed Lewis, Associate Provost at Iowa State University.

Koob said the UNI would increase its level of support and felt that by building the water quality lab, "you are creating opportunity in an environment unique to anywhere in Iowa." Likewise, Lewis said that Iowa State University would remain a partner and help to get things going at the facility.

Marvin Pomerantz, form president of the Board of Regents, was also at the dedication. Privileged to be a part of the festivities, he said that "When people come together, they can achieve it."

Mary Jean Montgomery, president-elect of Friends of Lakeside Lab, said it's important not only to enjoy this new building but to also look towards the future. She said that several challenges lie ahead which will require leadership, flexibility, and partnership.

Andrea Waitt, whom the building is named for, said she is happy with the design of the new building and hopes it will raise awareness of water quality issues. She also hopes it will be a facility for year-round education and research.

The dedication event offered guests a chance to view the nearly one-million-dollar building, tour the water chemistry laboratory, teaching lab, and educational classroom. They were also given demonstrations of the water quality testing equipment.

Montgomery said that the Friends of Lakeside Lab would be talking with van der Valk about future programming for the water quality lab.

"One important step is to make aware all educational institutions (K-12) and higher education that these opportunities exist.

Furthermore, any groups or organizations doing water quality research, and need it analyzed, can have it done at the lab," she said.

She also said the dedication had a "fantastic turn-out. It was a real compliment to the lab and to the people of the Lakes Region."

Students in Dr. Joseph Tiffany's Archaeology class are shown here closing up the site. This class spent four weeks on a dig near Gillett Grove.

Neil Bernstein, faculty member and instructor of Fish Ecology, shocks fish in a stream near Spencer. Students in Fish Ecology searched the lakes area for the black nose shiner fish.

Summer Internship Report

By Shelly Anstey

For the past five summers, Lakeside has offered an internship position. The intern handles Lab public relations and also works for local newspapers.

My summer at Iowa Lakeside Lab was a terrific one! As the 1998 intern, I worked on many different things. I put together a brochure with weekly Lab programs open to the public and promoted the nature programs each week to local media.

I also produced a radio spot for local stations to promote the Lab, updated our walking tour, and canvassed the Iowa Great Lakes with Lab propaganda!

Perhaps most exciting this summer was the dedication of the Water Quality Lab and working with Friends of Lakeside Lab.

The other half of my summer I spent time working at the Spirit Lake Beacon and Okobojian newspapers. I covered local news, as well as events at Lakeside Lab.

The Lakeside Lab internship experience was terrific for me, and I really enjoyed meeting new people and making new friends. I also gained excellent hands-on experience in public relations and journalism.

Lakeside Lab is a terrific place to live for three months! The students and faculty helped me further my knowledge of the environment and gain an appreciation of the beauty of the Iowa Great Lakes.

This fall I will travel back to the University of Iowa and finish my final year as a communication studies major. I encourage you to tell your family, friends, and students about this unique internship. It's a fun, educational summer internship opportunity.

Diatoms Invade Lakeside Lab!

What's small, stores food in the form of fats and oils, lives in a glass house, and reproduces to get bigger? It's nothing like you have ever seen before, it's a diatom!

Just what is a diatom? It's a single-celled microscopic plant belonging to a division of algae called Bacillariophyta. The walls of the cell are silicate, like glass, and they store food in the form of fats and oils.

Diatoms are the most important base organisms of most aquatic food pyramids, and their walls are constructed so the two halves overlap and fit together like a petri dish or pill box. They also provide information about the history of lakes, ponds, or streams.

These small cells are big news at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. Lakeside Lab offers a diatom class and workshop, giving students the opportunity to study this unique division of algae in a class at one of the few places in the world.

Students came from across the country to take the course, taught by Eugene Stoermer of the University of Michigan, whom at one time was one of very few people in America studying diatoms. Students came from as far as Virginia, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas, and Ohio to take the class.

While Stoermer has taught the course for ten years, it has been a tradition at Lakeside Lab for more than 30 years. Many students return year after year to the diatom research class.

In fact, even former Lakeside Lab diatom faculty return for the session. Charlie Reimer, diatomist and instructor from 1965 to 1988 makes his way to Lakeside Lab each summer from Philadelphia, Penn.

Students can take a four-week diatom class and also a one-week diatom workshop. "Students taking the diatom class go through a professional project and learn to document diatoms. They find and identify 60 different taxa (categories), photograph them, and put them into a database," said Stoermer.

Diatoms can be collected from almost any moist environment, including damp soi, and especially streams and ponds. According to Reimer, students often use a knife to scrape rocks or collect plants. Diatoms can also be strained out of the water with a plankton net.

Diatoms are also found in places where rivers or lakes have dried out. Reimer said, "Lakes dry up and become a place for geologists and historians to find history."

Because the shell of a diatom is silicate, it does not go away. Because of this, geologists can study the diatom records of an area and find out large amounts of information about the past, he added.

To study diatoms, students must eliminate organic matter by boiling nitric acid. Teaching assistant for the course, Kris Rhode, said this process "oxidizes the organic material so all that is left is the cell wall."

The diatoms are then placed on slides and examined under the microscope. Rhode has helped design a digital imaging system for diatoms.

"This was put together to archive the collection and image information," she said. "It makes all information accessible. Collection records can be viewed as a list or as images."

Kurt Haberyan, of Northwest Missouri State in Maryville, said that "the project kept us busy--it was challenging." He added that the project was meticulous and took careful study.

"In the 60's I had some wrong names so I had to re-identify," he said, "but I think that was typical for most people."

No one knows just how many diatoms exist. Reimer said estimates have ranged from 30,000 to 1000,000 different taxa. Because of these large numbers, Reimer said that "even one has not been exhaustively studied."

So what good are organisms that can't be seen with the naked eye?

"Diatoms dominate the world because the world is mostly water," Stoermer said. "There are more diatoms than flowering plants."

He added that the condition of a lake or stream can be assessed by diatoms. Diatoms are also good indicators of normal environmental ranges.

In addition, Reimer said that the idea of diatoms as predictors of water conditions helps continue diatom research. "It gets people to do the research," he said. "People want to confirm it."

Just how many people are doing the research? According to Reimer, "we are dealing with a small field and like any other field it has fluctuated through time."

However, Reimer said that from a science standpoint the study has increased. He adds the focus and emphasis has changed.

Students come to the class and workshop working on a variety of projects. One student was working on Diatoms from Chesapeake Bay and another from Ecuador. Another student in the class studied how certain insects eat diatoms in the Smoky Mountains.

Stoermer said the future of diatom research is somewhat unknown. "It was cutting edge before 1900. After that, very few people worked on it. In 1950 it picked up. We are now on an upswing of research in the country, he said. According to Stoermer, computers and digital imaging have also added to diatom research.

Peoples are interested in diatoms for a variety of reasons. "I first got interested because they are pretty to look at and progressed from there to studying why and how they function," said Stoermer.

Reimer said it takes someone with concentration and attention to detail to do this work. "I study them because I fell in love when I saw them," he said.

The Lab recently added a scholarship for a diatom student in honor of Reimer. This scholarship will help assure a future for diatom research at Iowa Lakeside Lab.

Diatoms teaching assistant, Kris Rhode, works in Macbride Lab on the computer imaging system she helped design.

Merchandise for Sale!!

Just when you thought that you wouldn't be able to get Lakeside Lab clothing any longer, you still can! Below is a list of Lab merchandise for sale. To order the following items, indicate items you wish to purchase and include $4 for shipping and handling. Send this order with a check or money order to Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, 1838 Highway 86, Milford, IA 51351-6267. The items will be sent directly to you in approximately 2-3 weeks.

Colored T-Shirts
weathered shirt with embroidered
Lakeside logo on right front
Corner of shirt
(M-XXL)
willow, bay, moss, brick, smoke
$15

Sweatshirts
weathered heavy-weight sweatshirt
with embroidered logo
on right front corner
(M-XXL)
denim, moss, brick
$30

White Logo T-Shirts
white shirt with small logo
on right front
(S-XXL)
$10

Denim Shirts
long sleeved forest denim
with embroidered Lakeside logo
(S-XXL)
$30

Caps
khaki with logo
$10

Polos
S-XXL
Jade
$25
Return to beginning of this newsletter .

Waitt Water Quality Lab Testing Update

By Steve Fisher

At present, the Waitt Water Quality Lab is working on a research grant funded by the Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station at Iowa State University. Twelve sub watersheds of Lower Gar Lake and Lake East and West Okoboji have been selected to be monitored. This project has two main objectives: 1) to determine how differences in current land-use (e.g., area of restored wetland, amount of land in set aside programs like CRP, and amount of land in buffer strips) in the 12 watersheds affect nutrient inputs (phosphorous and nitrogen) into the lakes and 2) to determine how much land-use change in these 12 watersheds since the 1970's have affected nutrient losses from these watersheds by comparing the results of this study with those from a similar study completed over 25 years ago.

Weekly water sampling began in April of 1998 and will continue over the projected five-year duration of the project. The samples will be analyzed for total phosphorous and total nitrogen and nitrate-nitrogen at the Wait Water Quality Lab. The water quality data collected for the project will be statistically analyzed to determine if nutrient losses from the watersheds with more area in CRP and wetlands are significantly lower than those for sub watersheds with little or no land in these categories. Historical comparisons of mean nutrient losses in the 1970's and 1990's from these watersheds will also be made.

The results of this study will help indicate the extent to which off-field practices can reduce the impacts of agriculture. This information is essential for convincing policy makers and farmers that off-field practices can be used to reduce the negative impacts of agriculture. Also importantly, it could re-assure people who use Midwestern lakes and streams for recreation that the effect of agriculture in the surrounding watershed can be reduced to acceptable levels through proper land-use planning.

Sometimes Lakeside classes can wear you out! Steve Hovick, from Dr. Anderson's Plant Taxonomy class, sneaks in a quick afternoon nap outside of King Lab.

 

Lee Burras works with students, Jeff Schulte and James Pohlman to examine a soil sample from Kenue Park in Dickinson County.

News from Friends

Friends of Lakeside Lab have had a busy year and are ready for some much needed rest. According to president Sue Richter, the group was very pleased with the community response and turnout to the Waitt Water Quality Laboratory Dedication. It exceeded expectations and was exciting to see the wide variety of ages and questioning eyes. She also thanked everyone who made the water quality lab a reality.

The group will see some changes in the near future. Mary Jean Montgomery will be the group's next president. She said the first meeting for Friends of Lakeside Lab will be held in October. The group doesn't have any specific plans, but will be discussing year-round programming ideas for the water quality lab and ways to get the community to utilize the facilities. Montgomery said they will also continue to discuss a proposal to build a section of bike path through Iowa Lakeside Lab.