The MAPS KEES program teaches seed dispersal to third graders at Scott Dual Language Magnet School

    The Kansas Ecosystems for Elementary Students (KEES) program finished the Fall 2018 semester teaching an interactive seed dispersal lesson to Ms. Charlotte Muñoz’s third grade class at Scott Dual Language Magnet School in Topeka, KS. The KEES program is one of the education and workforce development initiatives funded by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS) and is under the direction of Dr. Peggy Schultz, Associate Specialist for the Kansas Biological Survey Environmental Studies Program. As part of Scott's curricular focus, science is taught in Spanish, so Dr. Schultz hired Ms. Tita Hernandez-Soberon to write and teach the KEES curriculum in Spanish. Dr. Shultz also enlisted the help of University of Kansas (KU) Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) PhD students, Laura Jimenez, Claudia Nunez-Penichet, Fernando Machado-Stredel, and Javier Torres-Lopez as well as program volunteer, Dr. Gaby Valverde-Muñoz to lead the small group activities within each KEES lesson.

Students discovering how seeds might disperse

    The seed dispersal lesson began with a brief discussion on how seeds can be dispersed by wind, water, explosions, and animals. Then, the third graders viewed a video showing how chipmunks store and transport acorns. Students were also shown a video, in slow motion, that explained how a "Jewelweed" or "Touch-Me-Not" seed capsule explodes in order to disperse its seeds. Following the introduction, students were split into small groups that rotated through activity stations led by the KEES instructors. At the first station, students were introduced to different types of seeds, and they conducted experiments to discover how each seed might be dispersed in an ecosystem. At the second station, students wore tape on their hands and crawled through oatmeal spread on the ground to simulate how seeds can be spread by sticking to animal fur. In the third activity, students pretended to be squirrels storing acorns for the winter. In this exercise, students wore socks on their hands and then crawled, hopped and ran from their trees, or home base to 1.) collect wooden acorns that were spread out on the ground; 2) dodge predators (KEES instructors); and 3.) bring the acorns back to their home tree. Through this activity, students learned how squirrels eat, gather, store, and drop acorns in order to help oak trees disperse their seeds. The final activity provided the students with the opportunity to create their own seed dispersal mechanisms and then test their mechanisms' effectiveness using water, wind, and gravity.

Students constructing their own seed transports and testing their efficiency

     When asked about the impact the MAPS KEES program has had on her students, so far, Ms. Muñoz said, the KEES program "has covered many of our Life Science standards. I love that the program is engaging for students. It brings in resources that we do not have access to as a public school and opens the eyes of our students to things they normally would not be able to experience.” Her students also echo her enthusiasm for the program as Ms. Muñoz describes, “My students LOVE when the 'science people' come visit us. They are always asking when they will come again.” Ms. Muñoz shared some of the comments her students have made about the KEES program below:

• "It is really fun. We learned about plants and seeds." (Isaac)
• "It's fun because they show us new things that we might not learn here." (Bryan)
• "I think it's fun when they come because we do exciting experiments. I learn exciting things that I didn't know about before." (Zaylee)

In addition, Ms Muñoz said that although most of her students already love science, “the ones that do not change their perspective when the science teachers from KU are here. They become lovers of learning.” Furthermore, Ms. Muñoz has seen evidence that her students are retaining the information they are learning. She explained, “My students talk to each other about what they learn. When we talk about similar things in class, students are able to tell me and compare what they learned then to what they are learning now.” When Ms. Muñoz was asked what activity has been her students' favorite, so far, she said they really liked the squirrel game that taught them about seed dispersal (see video below). 

     Parents are also expressing their enthusiasm for the KEES program. Ms. Muñoz shared, “I post pictures of my students in their activities on Class Dojo for parents to see. Many of the parents have expressed excitement that their child is learning in a hands-on style. One parent in particular has a gifted student in my classroom and has had concerns that her child needs to be working in a challenging and engaging environment. She feels that this program fulfills those needs for him."

    The KEES program is also engaging third grade students at Jardine Elementary in Topeka, KS as well as Hillcrest Elementary and New York Elementary in Lawrence, KS. These additional classes are taught in English by undergraduate student instructors. In the Spring of 2019, three more MAPS related lessons will be taught, and the KEES program is expected to reach over 250 third grade students during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Workforce Development, Education and Outreach funding for the KEES program is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas. The award's workforce development and educational objectives are designed to enhance STEM education in Kansas by supporting activities that will lead to an expanded STEM workforce or prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.

MAPS graduate student researcher receives a Self Graduating Seniors Fellowship at the University of Kansas

Paige Hansen

   
      Paige Hansen, a master’s student in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) at the University of Kansas (KU) and a graduate student researcher for the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS), has been selected to be a 2018-2019 Madison and Lila Self Graduating Senior Fellow. The Madison and Lila Self Graduating Senior Fellowship is a prestigious award that recognizes outstanding undergraduates who are entering a graduate degree program at KU immediately after completing their bachelor’s degree and who exhibit "the potential to make significant contributions to society that are beyond the bounds of normal expectations.” Selected Fellows also have demonstrated “individual achievement in leadership and scholarship” and possess “the ability to envision and attain goals that require exceptional energy and tenacity.” As part of the award, Paige will receive $10,000 of support for one academic year and will participate in monthly professional development programs covering topics such as “leadership, effective mentoring relationships, conducting and communicating research, grant preparation, public speaking, policy advocacy, networking, and preparation for today’s labor markets and evolving industries."
     Paige is from Brookings, SD and graduated from KU in the spring of 2018 with a bachelor's degree (BS) in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and a minor in English literature. Her research focus is soil microbial ecology. Paige was first introduced to this field of study in high school when she worked for a family friend who was a research scientist at the USDA North Central Agricultural Research Laboratories. She commented, “I didn’t like it at the time.” However, when she participated in a KU study abroad opportunity as an undergraduate researching “plant-fungal genetics in Bangkok…,” she said, “I ended up really loving the research, especially its potential to help the environment and people.” She added, “This experience also made me realize that there are fun, cool people who are excited about research, and that spending long days in the lab can be fun. I came back to KU wanting to continue to do research 1) that matters to people and the environment and 2) with people who are super excited about their research.” While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Paige developed a novel technique for "quantifying microbial abundance and quantifying fungal response to disturbances such as controlled burns.” She also became interested in "how climate change and land use conversion alters soil fungal and bacterial community composition, both at the soil's surface and deep underground... and how these compositional shifts can impact plant communities and biogeochemical cycling."
     This fall, Paige is working in the Sikes Lab with Dr. Benjamin Sikes, Assistant Professor of EEB, Assistant Scientist with the Kansas Biological Survey (KBS), and part of the MAPS plant systems research team. Her MAPS research focuses on “how the structure (abundance and composition) and function of bacterial and fungal communities at different soil depths in native prairies, restored prairies, and agricultural fields change in response to alterations in historical precipitation regime.” She explained, “I'm trying to figure out how bacteria and fungi might respond to precipitation changes associated with climate change, and contribute to the ongoing debate on whether microbial community structure or function matters more to healthy ecosystem functioning.”
    As an undergraduate, Paige received the following research recognitions: Kansas IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (K-INBRE) Fellowship, KU Undergraduate Research Award, KU Undergraduate Biology Research Award, the KU Honors Opportunity Award, the Freeman Foundation Scholarship for East Asia Internships, and the Plains Area Director’s Research Scholarship. She also was involved in the KU Global Scholars Program, the KU University Honors Program, and the KU Undergraduate Biology BioScholars Program. In addition, Paige has presented her undergraduate research at the 6th Annual K-INBRE Symposium, the Argonne Soil Metagenomics Meeting, and the Central Region IDeA Conference.  And, Paige has co-authored a paper for publication titled Recurrent fires do not affect the abundance of soil fungi in a frequently burned pine savanna with T. A. Semenova-Nelsen, W. J. Platt, and B. A. Sikes. As for her future plans, Paige said, “I would love to be a professor at a research institution, or do anything that involves soil and microbes and that lets me travel!”

The Self fellows are nominated by their academic departments and are selected based on their “individual achievement in leadership and scholarship, potential to make significant contributions to society, and ability to envision and attain goals that require exceptional energy and tenacity.” This award is the third fellowship endowed by the Selfs at the University of Kansas, joining the Self Graduate Fellowship program for doctoral students and the Self Engineering Leadership Fellowship program for undergraduate students. Eleven students were selected as the 2018-2019 Self Graduating Senior Fellows.

MAPS science team meets to discuss year one accomplishments and plans for year two

Year 1 Science Meeting Group at Konza Prairie Biological Station

     On November 16, 2018, faculty and students working on the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS) gathered at the Konza Prairie Biological Station near Manhattan, KS to discuss accomplishments and challenges that occurred during year one as well as review and modify research plans for year two. The morning began with a welcome from Walter Dodds, a co-principal investigator (co-PI) for the MAPS project and member of aquatic systems research team. Then, the junior faculty team leaders for the aquatic, plant and soil systems research groups each gave a ten minute research update that was followed by a five minute discussion addressing challenges and the proposed research plans for year two. Discussions on project modeling and data management issues followed the team presentations. Over the lunch hour, MAPS students participated in a poster session. Twelve undergraduate and graduate students from the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Fort Hays State University presented their research on the following MAPS topics:

• Methane Oxidation in Native Prairie Soil 
• Do novel inputs to the Kansas River affect the water or sediment microbiome and water chemistry? 
• The Effects of Climate and Land Use on Methanotropic Communities
• Plant-soil Microbiome Feedback Impacts on Native and Non-native Grasses Throughout Kansas
• Soil health across a precipitation gradient with different land uses
• Impact of Drying and Rewetting Cycles on Microbial Communities in Tallgrass Prairie
• Effects of Land Management on the Microbial Community, Soil Structure, and Nutrient Dynamics of Cultivated Grain Sorghum
• Recurrent fires do not affect the abundance of soil fungi in a frequently-burned pine savanna
• A Mechanistic Model of Plant-Symbiont Interactions
• How roots and microbes transform decaying organic matter into bioavailable phosphorus: pH as a master variable
• Time Series Transcriptomic Responses to Drought in Maize Seedings
• Impact of Land Use on Groundwater Chemistry and Microbial Communities in Great Bend Prairie Aquifers

     Breakout sessions were held in the afternoon to discuss research methods and sites locations specific to each research team, followed by a whole group discussion synthesizing year one's findings. Publications and data sharing policies made up the final session for the day. Research team members who were unable to physically attend the meeting, were able to participate in the sessions through video conferencing.

Funding for the Science Meeting was provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas. The award's research, workforce development, and educational objectives are designed to enhance research capacity and STEM education in Kansas, expand the STEM workforce and prepare a new generation for STEM careers in the areas of aquatic, plant and soil microbiome environments and ecological systems.