Lakeside News Spring 1999

Richard Viggo Bovbjerg (1919-1999)
Richard V. Bovbjerg Scholarship
Tagami is New Intern
Improving Biology Teaching
The Wehrspann Report
Lakeside Laboratory 1999 Summer Courses
Banding Birds
Fisher Samples Subwatersheds
Friends of Lakeside Lab
College Students Play with Dirt
Archaeology
Students are "Shocked" with Their Findings

Richard Viggo Bovbjerg (1919-1999)

By Ken Lang and Mike Lannoo

Professor Richard Viggo Bovbjerg died late in the afternoon of February 16, 1999. He wanted no fanfare, flowers, gatherings, eulogies. We honor that; after all, that was Dick. But, as his academic offspring, we choose not to let him depart without some telling of tales. Neither can we let him go without some expression of respect, thanks, and love.

Sorry, Dr. B, this isn't some dry, changing of command at sea; you'll have to stand at ease a bit longer while your students, now colleagues and friends, have a little say.

The stats on Dick Bovbjerg read as follows: Born in 1919 in Chicago, earned a BS in '41 and a Ph D. in '49 from the University of Chicago. In between he skippered a minesweeper during World War II. Arrived on the University of Iowa faculty in '55, became Director of Lakeside in '63, retired in full health in '89 at age 70. He published over 50 papers on the behavioral ecology of crustaceans, molluscs, insects, and amphibians, including the 1970 classic: Ecological isolation and competitive exclusion in two crayfish (Orconectes virilis and Orconectes immunis). Ecology 51:225-236. Of his teaching, one student said: "His class was the only one I've ever seen where, at the end, the students gave him a standing ovation." We remembered Dick on the occasion of his retirement with a special issue of The Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science (Volume 97, number 4).

By Ken Lang:

In early June 1964, I arrived in Milford by Greyhound from Iowa City. I had always wanted to take a course at the Lab when I was a student at Iowa State in the late 50's, but summer work always seemed to interfere. Chuck Brandstetter picked me up at the bus station and dropped me off at the foot of the stairs leading to the loft above the mess hall. It was cold, windy, and rainy; and the loft offered few amenities against the cold. We had iron army cots with very thin mattresses and the wool blankets seemed to weigh a ton but offered no warmth. Little did I know that I wouldn't be spending much time in my bunk, so amenities were not going to be an issue. Anyway, I had asked for a job in the kitchen, and the cooks put me on the pots and pans. It was a blessing, that hot, soapy water, after a night in the loft.

I had enrolled in Bovbjerg's Aquatic Ecology course, but I have no idea why. My graduate advisor in the Physiology Department at the medical school at Iowa had no idea either. I just knew I needed to take a course at the Lab to satisfy that dream from my undergraduate years. What I didn't know was that my life was going to change in a big way.

There were four of us in Dr. B's course. I had never been in a class so small. He told us that we would never have this luxury again, to have nothing to do for five weeks but study animals and plants of the ponds, streams, and lakes. He would often just say, quietly, "Cherish these moments!"

It wasn't quite true that we had nothing else to do because Tuesday and Thursday mornings were his, to lead us through a discussion of Ruttner's Fundamentals of Limnology. Other times we would fill up his station wagon with buckets, nets, and boots and go collecting, or load plankton nets, water samplers, and bottom dredges into the Cris Craft launch and spend a half day on the lake. But, the bulk of any day was spent with our organisms. We could study them as long as we wanted, and the lights burned long into the nights.

Near the end of the term we spent an afternoon collecting plankton, and at the end of the day we brought some back to the Lab to observe. Dr. B gave us each a small mirror that we put under a watch glass on the stages of our dissecting microscopes. He came round with a jar of plankton and squirted a pipette full into our watch glasses. I can remember how stunned I was a seeing those organisms for the first time--they were just so beautiful and unexpected! He knew I was taken by them and said simply, "Why don't you study them? You could stay another term and study plankton."

I did stay and I stayed and I stayed. I guess I stayed as long as it took for me to be able to argue with him as a colleague. How many lessons did that take? I have no idea.

I finished my dissertation in 1970 and took a job in California. When I returned to the Lab in 1988, Dr. B and I had become friends. And, I met other old friends like Charlie, Gene, and Bob. And I made new friends like Mike, Dick, Debbie, Daryl, Mark, and Judy. The Lab was in good hands, and Dr. B was pleased.

I have been privileged to be able to teach the Aquatic Ecology course at the Lab and help initiate a new generation of field biologists. Arnold has put the Lab on solid ground, up to code, and added his own touches. Dr. B was adamant about not coming back to the Lab after he retired, and I have always felt he missed out on a lot; and the new students missed out on knowing him. On the other hand, there was a lot of wisdom in making a clean break; and I'm going to paraphrase one of his favorite B-isms that many will recognize, "Well, I think I'll retire, so you'll all feel free to do what you want."

I'm really going to miss him.

From Mike Lannoo:

I met Bovbjerg at Lakeside in June, 1977, after my advisor at Iowa State suggested--probably as a last ditch effort--that I take the Aquatic Ecology course. Those were the days when Bovbjerg smoked cigars (the cheap ones). We students assembled our invertebrate collections in his old cigar boxes; and we wrote essay exams, which lasted about half a day. Ann would bring in donuts to sustain us through the ten one-line questions. The daily routine back then consisted of barely making it to breakfast, class, lunch, field trip, dinner, volleyball, back to the Lab, nightcap on the porch, and not much sleep. Those evening nights in the Lab were where we students worked things out--Dick taught so the course ran itself. Occasionally Dick would eavesdrop by stooping under the southside windows. We always knew he was there--the smell from the cigar smoke gave him away. There are two favorite Bovbjerg sayings from those years. The first influenced me professionally in a profound way. Dick would say: "Always make comparisons, they're illuminating." The second, my all time favorite, about colleagues (never students) who did not meet his standards: "He burns with a smokey flame."

It was during those years that I got to know Ann, Viktor, and Blair; and an extended family was formed--cemented by our occasional visits to Iowa City. Getting to know Dick was not immediate, even after two summers together working out the biology of the aquatic land snail, Oxyloma retusa. In the early 1980's I covered the field trips for Dick when his gall bladder had to be removed--the only class time he ever missed ever. The happiest moment of my professional career was in 1988, when, through Dick and Bruce Menzel, I was brought onboard to stabilize the old Vertebrate Zoology course and became a member of the Lakeside Laboratory faculty. As a result of returning to Lakeside, 1988 was a nodal year for me, a year from which many things now important to me first happened. It was the year that Sue and I got back together--at Lakeside, of course. It was the year that Ken was brought back to Lakeside--the year we got to know Ken.

Through the years, mostly on the old Dodd cottage porch, as Ken and I told our Bovbjerg stories, we came to realize that Dick was equally pivotal in our lives. The details differ. Our backgrounds differ; Lakeside in the '60's was different from Lakeside in the late '70's. But for me, discovering Ken was like meeting a brother who had gone off to college before I was born. And those Bovbjerg stories we told were not simple hero worship. We had both seen Dick at his best and at his worst. It was just that for us. Bovbjerg provided what we needed academically at the time when we needed it. And as we began to meet our potentials as academicians, it grew to be much more than that. Sue has a wonderful, thoughtful letter that Dick wrote after she expressed some anxiety about being the only faculty spouse/mom in residence at Lakeside. Pete has a little pine chair and redwood building blocks that Dick made for him. Ann and Dick gave Pete the children's book "Tuesday," based on flying frogs. I still bring in donuts for my students during exam days, even here in Indiana.

And so, Dick, your body has handed down its orders. And we imagine you standing on that rusty pier watching your minesweeper, YMS 353, motor out of the harbor, separating you from your men. But just as you prepared them then, you have prepared us now. We quote from you (Steaming as Before): "... there were strong ties here. Grown stronger. The handshakes were very genuine; I loved them so. And I worried about them now. How silly! They were good at their job. But I worry about them. I was leaving. How can they get along without me?"

We'll be different now, Dick, but we'll be OK. You would have enjoyed experiencing both the concept and the craftsmanship of Arnold's Waitt Lab. Examining the Waitt Lab you would have known that Lakeside is in good hands. You would have enjoyed the enthusiasm that "The Friends of Lakeside Lab" have for the place. But far from getting along without you, you permeate us the same way your cigar smoke will always linger in the Limno Lab. You are not gone. You live on in the things we learned from you. Rest easy, we understand. And we'll keep it going.

Richard V. Bovbjerg Scholarship

By Arnold van der Valk

Richard V. Bovbjerg’s many contributions, which included getting funding for and building King Lab, have left a lasting impression on both Lakeside’s campus, programs, and reputation. Wherever I have gone in the last five years and mentioned Lakeside, inevitably somebody would ask immediately about Dick Bovbjerg and would begin to tell a story about Dick. Dick was Lakeside’s best good will ambassador and, because of his activities in organizations like the Organization of Biological Field Stations, Lakeside’s reputation as a first-class field station spread all over the country. Lakeside was blessed to have someone with his dedication to it and his administrative skills as director.

Unlike Ken Lang and Mike Lannoo, I never knew Dick Bovbjerg very well. The only time that I met him was when I taught at Lakeside briefly in the mid-1970's. Although I tried on several occasions to have him come to Lakeside since I became director, he always begged off because of health reasons. Although I had little direct contact with him, I have been inspired in a variety of ways by him--primarily by reading his various reports about Lakeside and in conversations about him with colleagues at Lakeside. Today Lakeside faces a number of problems that were unknown in Dick’s day. These problems are largely caused by the increasing development of the west side of West Lake Okoboji. In dealing with these problems, the vision of Lakeside that Dick developed of an institution dedicated to field teaching and research remains the primary guideline that will be used to determine what is in Lakeside’s best interest.

Although Dick Bovbjerg never sought any formal recognition for the 25 years that he was director of Lakeside, his friends and former students have and are working to keep his memory alive in two ways. One, the water chemistry laboratory in the new Waitt Lab was named after him. The establishment of such a facility at Lakeside had been one of Dick’s long-term goals. Two, a new scholarship has been established in his name. The Bovbjerg Scholarship will be given to the most qualified student to enroll in Dick’s old course, Aquatic Ecology. Anyone wishing to contribute to the Bovbjerg Scholarship fund can do so by sending a contribution to the Friends of Lakeside Lab, Inc.

Tagami is New Intern

By Barbara Tagami

Hello, and let me introduce myself. My name is Barbara Tagami, and I'm your very first Naturalist Intern/Environmental Education Coordinator for Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. This position was created through the cooperative effort of the Dickinson County Conservation Board and Iowa Lakeside Lab. Additional start-up funding has come together through broad-based community support such as the Dickinson County Soil and Water Conservation District, Dickinson SWCD Foundation, Friends of Lakeside Lab, Conservation Foundation of Dickinson County, and the Dickinson County Chapter of Pheasants Forever.

My initial goals in this position include helping Lakeside Lab become an effective and attractive interpretive center for the general public, developing and implementing an environmental educational program for the public school systems and offering educational programs for various community groups. A mini-lecture/hands-on series of public programs for all age groups will be created, utilizing the fantastic new classrooms at Waitt Water Quality Lab in conjunction with the natural resources of this unique area of Iowa.

Thanks for this great opportunity to spark people's curiosity and wonder in our natural world.

Improving Biology Teaching

Each summer Lakeside offers a number of sections of a short course called Techniques for Biology Teaching . The goal of this course is to provide biology teachers (middle school and high school) with a foundation of new ideas, practical skills, and student activities in environmental biology that can be incorporated into their school classrooms and laboratories. Although each of the sections of this course has a unique content--there are sections on Animal Biology, Prairie Ecology, and Insect Ecology this summer--they all share a common emphasis on "experiential learning" in biology. [NOTE: This summer the Animal Biology section will run for two weeks while the Prairie Ecology and Insect Ecology sections will run for only one week.]

The first offering of the Techniques for Biology Teaching course at Lakeside was the Animal Biology section, which I have been instructing since its inception in 1993. Because teacher training is a relatively new direction for Lakeside, what follows is a brief account of the Animal Biology section to illustrate how Lakeside’s tradition of full-immersion, hands-on teaching is now being used to improve the training of biology teachers in Iowa.

In the Animal Biology section, course activities place heavy emphasis on the ecology, development, behavior, and physiological adaptations of invertebrates. Special features of this section are: (a) pairing of talented, newly certified biology teachers with dedicated and energetic veteran teachers, the latter serving as role models for the former, (b) discussion sessions on environmental bioethics, and (c) take-home projects and presentations.

Most teacher training programs provide little or no training relating to freshwater biology. Consequently, teachers usually lack experience with certain practical and basic aspects of biology laboratory education--such as field recognition, collecting, handling, maintaining, culturing, and investigating the wealth of invertebrate organisms that may exist locally in freshwater en- vironments. Though under-utilized in the classroom, invertebrates deserve special attention for several reasons. First, they occupy key niches in freshwater and terrestrial food chains and communities. Second, they possess marvelous and fascinating reproductive, behavioral and physiological adaptations for survival. Student discovery and study of these special adaptations have great potential for stimulating their curiosity and appreciation for the natural world. Third, invertebrates generally represent educationally superior and ethically preferable laboratory alternatives to vertebrate animals with respect to many aspects of biology education. Finally, of course, invertebrates are abundant, easy to collect, inexpensive to maintain, and fun to investigate.

This summer the following activities will be emphasized in Animal Biology:

·Macro- and micro-habitat recognition, general identification and field-collection of living freshwater invertebrates from nearby lakes, streams, and wetlands

·Richness of phylogenetic diversity of wetland invertebrate fauna

·Relationship of body form and function to ecological niche

·Development, regeneration, and survival strategies of freshwater invertebrates

·Physiological and behavioral adaptations to freshwater environments

·Creative ways to handle, observe, and investigate invertebrates in the classroom

·Simple methods for laboratory culture of common invertebrates

·Use of invertebrates as non-invasive alternatives for classroom investigations of developmental biology, physiology, and behavior

·Use of freshwater invertebrates as sentinels for ecosystem "health"

·Survey and utilization of new reference books, lab exercises, and educational resource materials relating to invertebrate biology

·Development and presentation of individual projects (such as new ideas for "hands-on" classroom activities or future presentations at science education meetings)

·Formal review and discussion of current issues in environmental ethics

During the session, there is a continuous mix of field and laboratory activities along with in-depth discussions. Lecture presentations are limited to several impromptu briefings (20-30 minutes) each day, as needed. Opportunities are maximized for (1) learning and developing new "hands-on" lab exercises, (2) documenting observations on videotape, (3) engaging in in-depth discussions with instructor and colleagues, (4) doing uninterrupted microscope work, and (5) developing and presenting individual or small-group projects. Participants will interact almost continuously from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. every week-day. Weekends are more flexible, allowing time for participants to do extended reading of new materials, develop independent projects for second week, and recreate with family and friends.

During the second week, teachers concentrate on completing " long-term" observations, which they started during the previous week, especially those involving invertebrate development and regeneration. Also, as a follow-up to assigned readings in bioethics, two afternoons during the second week are devoted to round-table discussions of issues and educational strategies in environmental bioethics. Finally, considerable time is invested by participants in developing individual projects (ideas for new "hands-on" classroom activities with invertebrates) that build upon activities and themes from the previous week. The second week culminates in a day-long series of presentations in which participants share with one another their project outcomes using live demonstrations, videotapes, charts, diagrams, models, and write-ups.

As you can see from the full schedule of activities, participants will be exposed to a great many topics and ideas during this course. In spite of the full schedule, teachers love these short courses because they are practical and focus on activities that they can immediately incorporate into their own classes. Follow up contacts with teachers who participated in the Animal Biology section in previous years have shown that they do use the exercises and activities that they learned in their classes and frequently give presentations on them at science teachers’ conventions. The teachers also like these short courses because they allow teachers an opportunity to exchange ideas among themselves. The teachers are housed together during these workshops in Main Cottage, and this facilitates social interactions.

In summary, teaching this course has been a rewarding and stimulating experience. Teachers make excellent students, and there is immense satisfaction in knowing that the material that you are presenting in class today will be used in a large number of classrooms in the near future; and that you are improving biology teaching in many schools for years to come.

Anyone wishing more information about this summer’s Techniques in Biology Teaching sections, should contact the Administrative Office, Iowa Lakeside Laboratory, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011 or contact it by phone (515-294-2488), fax (515-294-9777) or email (lakeside@iastate.edu).

The Wehrspann Report

We greatly appreciate the new truck and blade we received access to in March of 1998. The "joy stick" control offers Mark inside comfort and blade options never experienced before atop the "open-air" IH Farmall tractor with attached scoop and blade! It was used frequently this past winter even though the snows came later than usual in December. Thanks to Arnold, this comfortable means of moving the snow is a reality.

As time allows, Mark has been attacking the leaks in the north bathhouse--namely the women's shower. This is a project of unending duration but a much-needed focus.

ACI Mechanical of Ames was awarded the heating and air conditioning contract for the Mess Hall renovation. It is very good to see this work being accomplished.

With the climate controlled environment in the former horse barn, we will be able to utilize its resources year-round. We also look forward to some relief during high humidity episodes.

The wait is over at the Waitt Lab. The aquarium is in place. Workers have rocked in the foundation with remaining exterior rock and trimmed it nicely. This special addition took great efforts on the part of the general contractor Bill Eich. We thank him for "taking the bull by the horns" and seeing the project through to completion! We think everyone will agree it was worth the wait(t)!

Barbara Tagami, the new naturalist intern, is occupying the educational office in Waitt Lab. Welcome Barbara. We are pleased to have you with us at the Lab.

Last fall brought our regular institutions back to the Lab for their fall field trips. In addition to the old regulars, an Okoboji Water Wonders Weekend headed by Rich Leopold, Dickinson County Naturalist, and his committee was held. We also hosted two public elections--one in the library and one in the Waitt Lab.

On a personal note, we both lost a parent within a six-week time frame--last fall Mark's father and Judy's mother. Thank you again to all who graciously offered expressions of sympathy.

We look forward to 1999 and another summer at the Lab--our 21st year! Arnold is back, so the ship's commander will be on deck to direct us all. We are thankful for his return.

We also give sincere praise and high marks to our Friends of Lakeside Lab, Inc. The fine leadership and tenacity of Sue Richter leading the Waitt Lab construction to completion is history now. Mary Jean Montgomery is now chairperson and ably carrying on the great tradition set by Judy Thoreson and Sue. This group is an invaluable asset to the Lab and to us personally. Thanks Friends--each and everyone of you!

Lakeside Laboratory 1999 Summer Courses

Below is an outline of this summer’s course offerings.

(May 23 or 31 to June 18, 1999)

Archaeology (Dr. Shott, University of Northern Iowa) Begins May 23rd

Ecology (Dr. Weihe, Central College) Begins May 23rd

Environmental Geology (Dr. Brant, University of Northern Iowa)

Freshwater Algae (Dr. Czarnecki, Loras College)

Ornithology (Dr. Bernstein, Mt. Mercy College)

Second Term (June 20 to July 16, 1999)

Aquatic Biology (Dr. Lang, Humboldt State University)

Diatoms (Dr. Stoermer, University of Michigan)

Evolution (Dr. Lannoo, Ball State University)

Plant Taxonomy (Dr. Anderson, Humbolt State University)

Prairie Ecology (Dr. Smith, University of Northern Iowa)

Third Term (July 18 to August 6 or 13, 1999)

Conservation Biology (Dr. Lannoo, Ball State University)

Plant Ecology (Dr. Rosburg, Drake University)

Restoration Ecology (Dr. Smith, University of Northern Iowa & Dr. van der Valk, Iowa State University)

Wetland Ecology (Dr. Currier, Platte River Whooping Crane Maintenance Trust)

Watershed Analysis (Dr. Burras, Iowa State University) Ends August 13

Techniques in Biology Teaching

This course is designed for biology and environmental science teachers. Three sections of this course will be offered in 1999 Animal Biology (June 13 to 25, 1999) ,Prairie Ecology (July 11 to 16, 1999), and Insect Ecology (August 1 to 6, 1999) . Permission of the instructor is required to take all sections of this course.

Natural History Workshops

Six sections of the Natural History Workshop , each on a different aspect of the natural history of Iowa will be taught. This course has no perquisites. Each section lasts one or two weeks and can be taken on a credit or non-credit basis. Sections that will be taught this summer: A. Amphibians and Reptiles (August 8 to 13, 1999) ,C. Nature Photography (August 8 to 13, 1999) ,G. Prairies and Prairie Restoration (August 8 to 13, 1999), L. Life in Lakes (June 27 to July 2, 1999) ,and P. Field Archaeology (May 23 to May 28, May 31 to June 4, and June 6 to 11, 1999) , and U. Sketching Nature (May 23 to June 4, 1999).

Adult Nature Weekend

Our annual Adult Nature Weekend will be held August 6 to 8, 1999 . This is an opportunity to participate in field trips to various natural areas in the Iowa Great Lakes region supplemented by evening interpretational programs. Learn more about Iowa’s natural history from some of the state’s leading naturalists in a relaxed and congenial setting. For more information, contact Dr. Lois Tiffany, Department of Botany, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1020 (515-294-3121).

Banding Birds

By Neil Bernstein

Ornithology classes have been banding birds at the Lab for many years. While it is always a chance whether a banded bird is ever found again, we have had some interesting finds. For instance, one of my classes caught a Yellow Warbler that had been banded previously as an adult by Peter Lowther's ornithology Class 11 years previous. Apparently, Peter's students caught the bird as an adult in almost the same place that we did 11 years later. Yellow Warblers winter on the Gulf coast as far south as Central America; and at the time, this banding record was considered the oldest Yellow Warbler known in the wild. We've also caught several other previously banded birds.

Last fall I got notice that an adult male Common Grackle that my class and I banded in 1987 was re-captured in August in Ocheyedan. It was already an adult when we caught it, so it has lived quite a while. Common Grackles do sometimes spend winters in Iowa but most migrate to the south. So this one has survived 12 seasons and migrations.

We band birds at Lakeside to learn about the technique but also to give the students a close look at bird adaptations. It's great to know that we also are contributing to a larger body of information on bird longevity and movements.

Fisher Samples Subwatershed

Steve Fisher has been sampling the water of ten Iowa Great Lakes’ subwatersheds weekly since April 29, 1998, for a research study funded by the Iowa Agricultural and Home Economics Experiment Station at Iowa State University. The study will analyze the effectiveness of various land-use practices in reducing non-point source nutrient inputs into the Iowa Great Lakes. Because annual precipitation varies from year to year, the sampling is proposed to continue for at least five years to include both wet and dry years. Fisher is currently analyzing these samples for nitrate, total nitrogen and total phosphorous at Iowa State University. The results of this sampling will eventually be statistically compared to a 1970’s study done on the same subwatersheds. Each of the subwatersheds will be analyzed to determine if changes in land-use over the past 25 years has improved or worsened the quality of water entering the lake from the subwatershed.

Most of the supplies and equipment needed to turn the Iowa Lakeside Water Quality Laboratory into a functioning facility have been purchased--only a water purification system and an autoclave are needed. These items will be purchased and installed by spring.

Iowa Lakeside Laboratory is committed to helping concerned citizens who are interested in starting volunteer water quality monitoring programs. Miriam Patton of the Palo Alto County Conservation Board and Jim Coffey, who has been involved in the Five Island Lake Restoration Project, organized a January 28, 1999, meeting of citizens to discuss monitoring of the county’s lakes. Fisher attended the meetings, and the group discussed future sampling sites, sampling methods, water tests, and possible sources of funding for the monitoring program. At a future meeting Fisher will demonstrate water-sampling techniques to the volunteers.
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Friends of Lakeside Lab

By Mary Jean Montgomery, President

1999 brings several changes to Lakeside Lab and some exciting possibilities for the future. First of all, thanks to a partnership with the Dickinson County Conservation Board, Barb Tagami has begun her duties at Waitt Laboratory as the Naturalist/Environmental Education Intern for the County's and Lab’s shared goals in environmental education. (More about this new position appears in a separate article in this issue.)

In addition, by the time this newsletter reaches you, the Friends of Lakeside Laboratory will have conducted their first day-long planning event and gathered a wide range of ideas for future programming for the Waitt Lab. Combined with the proposals generated from the Annual Meeting held in November, the Friends group will have a rich and challenging agenda for the future. Furthermore, the innovative ways in which we can reach populations of all ages and at the same time assist communities and lakes on water quality issues will go a long way in achieving the purposes of the new Waitt Lab. It will be important that these opportunities for gathering input become routine business for planning activities at the Lab.

Finally, this year’s focus on the utilization of the new Waitt Lab and the delivery of programs and services to a larger community underscore the importance of new partnerships. The Naturalist Internship represents one important way to maximize funding streams for shared purposes. Many other possibilities exist, and this year the Friends’ group will explore some new relationships with organizations and agencies as part of our commitment to promoting environmental awareness at Lakeside.

One final 1999 thought—since the Waitt Lab is a year-round facility we no longer have to wait for spring to get things done at the Lab. Steve Fisher, manager of the water chemistry lab is at Waitt weekly, and the Friends’ Board is eager to see that the Lab is fully functioning. If you have programming ideas or suggestions for new partnerships, let us hear from you.

College Students Play with Dirt

By Shelly Anstey

For the students at Iowa Lakeside Lab, the study of soil is more than just looking at dirt. The study of soil is an integrate look at the place where life starts.

Lee Burras, assistant professor of Agronomy at Iowa State University, teaches Soil Genesis at Lakeside Lab. The class originated on the campus of Iowa State University and was moved to Iowa Lakeside Lab last year.

Burras along with the director of the Lab, Arnold van der Valk, felt this class would be a worthwhile addition to the curriculum at Lakeside Lab. This class would give students a variety of soil field experiences.

"Soils, just like aquatic or environmental geology are field disciplines," said Burras. "If someone can see it, we don't have to spend time describing it."

Last summer there are six people taking the course. Unlike other classes at the Lab, this course focused not only on the soils in the Iowa Great Lakes region but all around Iowa. Burras said his goal is for students to see all the soils in Iowa.

Students taking the course have seen soils in Okoboji, southern Iowa, and the northeast corner of Iowa, near Effigy mounds.

Bryant Hawkins, a student in the course, said the field trips allowed students to see new and different landscapes.

While on field trips, students go into the field and take samples of soil to study. Burras said the students have learned to describe soils and their properties. They also learned about good field notes and mapping.

Burras said that field notes and mapping are key parts of a soil scientist's job. He said environmentalists are increasingly in lawsuits where their notes must reflect a clear understanding of the location and area they studied.

Students also examine soil characteristics. One thing students look at is color. A dark color indicates a high level of organic matter. Another characteristic is the soil texture. This indicates the amount of sand, silt, or clay.

While in Kenue Park, the class examined the soils that were on a moraine formed by a glacier. The class took soil samples down the slopes of the hill to see how the soils change. They also discussed factors that might cause these changes.

Burras said he likes to think of soil as the geologic material that interacts with life. He said that soil is often seen as the "unglamorous" part of the environment, because people like the colors and looks of plants.

Burras stressed that these plants couldn't grow without the soil; it is extremely important to our environment. He said that in order to gain a basic understanding of life, we must also gain an understanding of soil. Soil is responsible for cleaning up contaminants that run through it.

It is also a key indicator of environmental problems. For example, light colored soil indicates a loss of organic material. A loss of topsoil also may indicate a problem.

Soil scientists play a critical role in many other fields. Louis Moran, student in Soil Genesis, said "when you go out into the field, take samples, and classify soil, you learn to give assessments of how to use the soils."

Hawkins is studying to be an agronomist. He said that he needs knowledge of soils for better crop management decisions.

Moran also said he is gaining a good knowledge of glacial derived soils to apply to his research as a graduate student.

Among environmental science programs, soil studies are becoming increasingly important. Burras said that at Iowa State University soil studies are now a quarter of the program.

Burras also gave two presentations throughout his four weeks at Iowa Lakeside Lab. His first presentation discussed the soil characteristics of the Iowa Great Lakes area. He also gave a presentation on the human impacts upon soils of the Iowa Great Lakes region.

In addition to learning soil science, Burras said he hoped to make the class fun for the students. "Anything can be fun if given a chance, " he said.

Students have given this class high marks. Moran said, "I've found it more useful than a regular lecture. You immediately apply what you learn in lecture in the field."

Soil Genesis will be offered again in the summer of 2000.

Archaeology

By Shelly Anstey

Some local students last summer really "dug" the study of science and history. That's why they chose to spend part of their summer working on an archaeological dig.

The students were part of a class offered at Lakeside Laboratory last summer. Students taking the class spent four intense weeks digging and studying about archaeology and Iowa prehistory.

The students learned all the basics of archaeology from mapping the site, careful excavation with trowels to intensive surface survey. They also learned about the plants and animals used at the site and gained a history of past Indian tribes in the area. The students examined first-hand the remnants of past Indian lifeways and how Indians used the land from the artifacts and material culture left behind at the site.

The site is located near Gillett Grove. Monday through Friday the class would travel to the site, dig, and identify items for nearly eight hours each day.

This was the Lab's fourth season at the site. The actual site is only 10 acres in extent, but the area excavated last summer was only 25 square meters. The village is an early post-contact Oneota site according to Dr. Joseph Tiffany, instructor of the course. The site has evidence of European contact, but Native American artifacts as well as trade goods were found.

Oneota is an archaeological culture that is found statewide and represents one of the historic Indian tribes in the area such as the Iowa, Omaha, or Oto. The site is dated somewhere between 1680 and 1700 using the trade goods found such as a Jesuit finger ring from the site in a private collection.

Tiffany said most of the "traditional Native American lifeway was intact." They specifically found a bell-shaped storage pit filled with refuse. The class also found postholes representing a house.

The class found many animal bones towards the end of the dig, including bison bones and those of birds, dogs, turtles, fish, and deer. Tiffany said these bones indicate that "the occupants were still exploiting local resources." Even though they farmed, as evidenced by charred corn recovered at the site, they used a full range of resources, he said.

The bones, which the students found, can tell them three things. They tell them what animals were available locally and hunted and what the vegetation was like around the site.

The archaeology class at Lakeside Lab began four years ago and is open to students and community members for college credit. The class rotates between instructors at the University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and the University of Northern Iowa. Tiffany is a professor from Iowa State University.

Last summer's class was made up of undergraduate students, secondary teachers, and interested community members. Tiffany was aided by graduate student, Jason Titcomb of Iowa State University.

Titcomb is completing more research on the site for his M.A. thesis. In addition to the excavated materials from the site, Titcomb is also documenting materials in private collections.

David Schmit is a student from Loras College who worked on the dig for four weeks. He said that learning the breakdown of tribes was the most interesting aspect of the class to him.

He said that the group at this site was "huge, maybe 600-700 people. In this class we learned when the Oneota moved into western Iowa, how they set up villages, and tended fields. We also learned about their belief systems and practices based on the historic tribes they represent."

Students are "Shocked" with Their Findings

By Shelly Anstey

Where can you spend three intense weeks wading chest deep through streams and lakes, shocking fish, and studying the ecology of the Great Lakes area? Only at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory.

For three weeks, students in Neil Bernstein's class learned all about Fish Ecology, the study of relationships and interrelationships between the biotic and abiotic worlds.

Bernstein, from Mount Mercy College, says this is a "multi- faceted" class. Many of the students came wanting to learn to identify fish, which they did, but the class undertook a larger project for the three weeks they were at the Lab.

The central project for the class was to look for endangered species, specifically the blacknose shiner fish, in Clay, Dickinson, and Osceola counties.

The project was based on previous studies done at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. In the 1960's students found the fish in several locations and again in studies from 1983. However, no one looked for the fish after recent droughts and floods, which prompted Bernstein to study the area again.

The process of locating the blacknose shiner fish is an interesting one. The class traveled to several locations, primarily rivers, in the three county area.

Students first blocked off a section of the river (around 70 meters), so the fish were unable to swim up and down. The class then used an electroshocker to bring fish to the surface. They then seined the area by capturing fish in a net that went across the width of the river. Finally they would put the captured fish in a bucket filled with water to examine later.

After this process, the class examined and recorded the fish they found. Bernstein said the class found a large number of creek chubs and black bullheads. The students then used this data from many different locations to form conclusions about why fish exist in certain places.

The fish the class was looking for, the blacknose shiner, was not located. This fish is what is called an "indicator species." In this situation, the loss of the fish indicates the streams aren't as clear as they used to be. Mud and silt erosion has helped cause this problem, leading fertilizers and other products to seep into the water.

This project showed students several things. One thing is an appreciation of how fragile the ecosystem is. Bernstein says that many times people will see bridges and signs that say no fish. They may even be tempted to pollute these areas because they think nothing is there, when in fact there are many things living there.

Stevenson Christian of Memphis, Tennessee, was a student in the class. He said, "by taking the class, I started to appreciate different colored fish with different shapes and body sizes." He said that he also gained a better appreciation of the habitat in which we live.

This class was very diverse--made up of high school and middle school teachers as well as university and community college students. Students taking the course received three hours of college credit.

Bernstein enjoys this teaching environment. He says he "likes the fact we can concentrate five days a week, all day, on one basic subject. The learning is all hands-on. I don't tell them what to think. This leads to self-discovery.