KS-LSAMP Student Studies Groundwater Discharge across Kansas

Gonzalo Alcantar

    An intro-geology class “as well as the instructor’s enthusiasm for teaching the subject” led to Gonzalo Alcantar’s curiosity for “agriculture/farming and aquaponics/vertical farming.” Looking for an opportunity to do further research on the subject, the 2019 Pathways to STEM: Kansas Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (KS-LSAMP) program at Kanas State University (KSU) presented a great opportunity to explore his interests. The KS-LSAMP program is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF LSAMP) and "promotes recruitment and retention programs throughout Kansas in support of increasing the success of underrepresented minority students in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. "The summer portion of KS-LSAMP is called Research Immersion: Pathways to STEM (RiPS) and is an 8-week summer research program that "aims to introduce students to the process of research and assist in their academic and professional success." Gonzalo was one of three students in the KS-LSAMP program sponsored by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS). His mentor was Dr. Matthew Kirk, Associate Professor of Geology at Kansas State University (KSU) and MAPS Soils Team leader.

Gonzalo Alcantar working in the Kirk Lab
Photo provided by Matt Kirk

     The title of Gonzalo’s research project is Variation in contribution of groundwater discharge to streams across the Kansas precipitation gradient. He said that he picked this particular topic because “I am interested in everything that goes into agriculture/farming and aquaponics/vertical farming, hence the water research.” Gonzalo explained his project as follows “Groundwater discharge affects the coupling between terrestrial and aquatic habitats and ultimately the biogeochemistry and water quality of streams. To better understand the contribution of groundwater discharge to streams in Kansas, this project tests the following hypotheses: (1) the proportion of groundwater discharge in streamflow decreases with distance east across the Kansas precipitation gradient and (2) the proportion of discharge has increased over the past 60 years. To test these hypotheses, we used the U.S. Geological Survey program PART to carry out hydrograph separation analysis on groundwater discharge data from seven gage stations located across the Kansas precipitation gradient. Our analysis uses stream baseflow as an estimate of groundwater discharge. We also examined precipitation data collected at Hays, Salina, and Topeka, Kansas. The results indicated that the amount of groundwater discharge and runoff both increase eastward across the precipitation gradient but the increase is greater for runoff. Therefore, the proportion of groundwater discharge in streamflow decreases slightly across the precipitation gradient. Over the past 60 years, the proportion of groundwater discharge in streamflow has increased in western Kansas but remained fairly stable in eastern Kansas. Potential reasons for the change in the contribution of groundwater discharge in western Kansas over time include changes in the rate of precipitation and land management changes. The average annual precipitation in western and eastern Kansas has remained largely stable suggesting land management changes could be responsible for variation in the proportion of groundwater discharge over time in western Kansas. These findings suggest that the potential influence of groundwater discharge on stream habitats is greatest in western Kansas. Future research will evaluate the biogeochemical impact of spatial and temporal variation in groundwater discharge in Kansas.” Gonzalo presented his research at the RiPS Summer Program Final Poster Session on July 24, 2019.

Gonzalo Alcantar presenting his research at
the RiPs Summer Program Final
Poster Session

     When asked what his favorite part of his KS-LSAMP experience was, Gonzalo responded, “My favorite part of LSAMP was being able to get some research experience as well as gain better connections with a K-State faculty member.” He continued, “I learned an abundant amount of information about not only my research but also other graduate students’ research in which I was able to help with over the summer. I learned how to work in a lab environment and how to better communicate with my mentor as well as understand my responsibilities and role in a lab.”
     Gonzalo is from Garden City KS and is currently a sophomore at KSU studying Industrial Engineering. He is involved with the Society of Hispanic Engineers (SHPE), the Hispanic and Latino Organization (HALO), and the Multicultural Business Student Association (MBSA) on-campus student organizations. In addition, he is a Teaching Assistant (TA) for Dr. Bailey Sullivan, a Residential Learning Assistant for a Cat Community, a Building Operations Assistant for the K-State Student Union and a Berney Family Welcome Center Ambassador. As for his future plans, Gonzalo wants to pursue a master’s degree in industrial engineering. But for now, he hopes to work closely with his professors during his sophomore year.

Workforce Development, Education and Outreach funding for KS-LAMP is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas. The grant'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 Researcher Receives Three New NSF Awards

     

Dr. Jesse Nippert

      Dr. Jesse Nippert, Professor of Biology at Kansas State University (KSU) and research team member working with the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS), has received three new National Science Foundations (NSF) Awards to study the impacts of global change on grassland ecosystems. The first award is a three-year grant funded by NSF Hydrological Sciences and is titled Digging deeper: Do deeper roots enhance deeper water and carbon fluxes and alter the trajectory of chemical weathering in woody-encroached grasslands? The goal of this research is to study "how deeper roots associated with woody plant encroachment enhances transport of water and carbon to greater depths, increases the water residence time in the subsurface, and enhances the potential for weathering at depth." The second award is also a three-year award supported by NSF-Macrosystems Biology and NEON-Enabled Science program and is titled Collaborative Research: MRA: A lineage-based framework to advance grassland macroecology and Earth System Modeling. This project seeks to advance the "predictability of grassy ecosystem responses to global change by measuring many grass species traits. The new data will be incorporated into new modeling approaches. The project will enhance understanding of grass ecology, with many applications in agriculture and natural resource management."  The third award comes from the Population and Community Ecology Cluster within the NSF-Division of Environmental Biology  This three-year award is titled Collaborative Research: Rainfall variability and the axes of tree-grass niche differentiation. The scope of this project is to study the savanna biome and combine experimental, observational and modeling approaches to "(1) identify the rainfall regimes that favor trees over grasses, (2) identify the functional traits and tradeoffs that differentiate savanna trees and grasses, and (3) develop and test a mechanistic model of tree and grass dynamics as a function of rainfall."  In addition, the project will examine"functional differences (e.g., drought tolerance, water use efficiency and functional rooting depth) between six tree and six grass species using a greenhouse, growth chamber and field experiments." The first two projects will use the experimental infrastructure of the Konza Prairie Biological Station and the third project's fieldwork will take place in Limpopo Province of South Africa.

HERS Student Studies the Impact Warming Waters of the Blackfoot River has on Westslope Cutthroat Trout

 

Joseph Zupan

     Although Joseph Zupan grew up in West Point, New York, it was the summer vacations fishing and camping with his family on the Blackfoot River in Montana that led to his interest in the environment, animals, and plants. Joseph is a member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe from the Rocky Boys Indian Reservation in Montana, and he participated in the 2019 Haskell Environmental Research Studies (HERS) Institute supported by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas (MAPS) research project. The HERS Institute is an 8-week paid summer internship program where student interns spend six weeks on the Haskell Indian Nations University campus during June and July, learn about climate change and develop individual research projects. Dr. Jay Johnson, Professor and Associate Chair of Geography & Atmospheric Science, Director of The Center for Indigenous Research, Science, and Technology (C-FIRST) at the University of Kansas (KU), and member of the MAPS Workforce Development and Education team, supervises the HERS Institute.
     During his summer vacations to Montana, Joseph said, “We would always catch trout, particularly Westslope Cutthroat Trout (WCT),” and he thought this was “such a beautiful species of fish, it needed to be preserved so that other people are able to enjoy them.” His fishing experiences along with being raised “to respect and love the lands we live in” led to his desire to investigate the WCT for his HERS project. He titled his research project, Trout in Hot Water: Warming Waters Impact on Westslope Cutthroat Trout (WCT) in the Blackfoot River, Montana. Joseph explained his study as follows: “Climate change is negatively impacting trout populations in the Blackfoot River system in Montana. Increasing temperatures are considered to be the most damaging factor impacting a myriad of factors including the hydrological regime, habitat structure, runoff, and snow-pack. An increase in water temperature is of particular concern as it directly impacts nearly all of the WCT physiological functions at each stage of its life cycle. The focus of my research addresses how warming waters of the Blackfoot River are effecting the reproductive cycle of the WCT.” As part of his research process, Joseph analyzed “stream-flow data to compare water and air temperatures during normal and extreme temperatures and studied how warm water impacts the Blackfoot River water regime.” He then compared “dissolved oxygen levels of the river during drought and normal conditions,” and the influence “precipitation during drought versus normal conditions” had on the river. Next, he examined the data that outlined the “WCT needs for survival,” and analyzed the biological and physiological requirements of the WCT reproductive cycle in order to compare" its reproductive needs to those of other trout species. Joseph found that changing temperatures are "a significant factor in the decline of WCT reproduction.” He further concluded that because WCT are “an important species for tribal and state economies, and historically, are a primary food source for Northwestern Native Americans” efforts such as “actively securing cutthroat populations, habitat distributions, and preventing invasive species interactions” need to continue. These recommendations are outlined in more detail as part of the Blackfoot River Restoration project. In addition, Joseph found that after “using existing physiological data on adult WCT temperature tolerance, it became apparent that temperature change may have a detrimental impact on the size of the WCT roe, and if adult WCT populations decrease, there might be no roe.” At the end of his study, Joseph recommended that “future research focus on spawning sites in cold, clear head water streams, and additional WCT physiological roe data should be collected. Specifically, data addressing how temperature effects the viability and gestation needs of the WCT roe.”
 

Joseph working on weather instruments and presenting his research at UCAR

     When asked about his HERS experience, Joseph said, “the HERS program was amazing!” His favorite part of the institute was “how the mentors and program managers genuinely cared about us (the interns). I felt like I was part of a big family and that was really important to me!” Joseph’s HERS mentor was Kate Ingenloff, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at KU. As for what he learned from his HERS experience, Joseph stated, “I learned so much in such a small amount of time that I feel like I learned more at the HERS institute than I would during a normal school semester. Specifically, I learned how to refine my research and writing skills as well as manage time, organize a research product, and analyze results. He then added, "when we went to the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, I learned about the phenomenon of bomb cyclones and the methods associated with water quality research as well as how to set up weather instruments." Joseph also presented his WCT research during a UCAR poster session.
     Joseph graduated from Haskell Indian Nations University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Science last spring. While attending Haskell, he “participated in numerous projects for the Haskell Eco-ambassadors, a student-run environmental organization specializing in wetland remediation.” As an Eco-ambassador he was involved with projects such as “butterfly tagging for the Monarch Watch program at KU, trail cultivation and development, compost development, and habitat restoration.” In addition, Joseph coached children’s ice hockey, taught a women's self-defense class, and was the captain of the First City Cavalry, a semi-professional football team out of Leavenworth, Kansas. This fall, he will pursue a Masters Degree in Geography at KU with a plan to continue his education and earn a Ph.D. Once Joseph finishes his graduate work, he wants to “work on tribal lands as a scientist or tribal college instructor.”

Workforce Development, Education and Outreach funding for the HERS Institute is provided by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Award OIA-1656006 titled: Microbiomes of Aquatic, Plant, and Soil Systems across Kansas. The grant'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.