1989 — 1992 |
Alexander, Helen |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Collaborative Research: Ecological Genetics of a Plant/Pathogen Interaction @ University of Kansas Main Campus
Genetic interactions between plants and their fungal pathogens have been studied for many of the major disease problems in agriculture, but little is known about host resistance and pathogen virulence in natural systems. Since it is widely thought that natural systems have fewer disease epidemics than crop systems, information on the distribution of genetic variation and the genetic basis for traits that control disease reactions in nature may prove useful in crop disease control. Past work on the anther-smut fungal disease of the white campion revealed that the likelihood of infection for a plant depended on the genetic identity of both the plant and the fungus. In the current study, the mode of inheritance of plant resistance and fungal virulence will be examined; methods will include testing progeny of genetic crosses in both field studies that mimic natural disease spread and in controlled greenhouse experiments. This research will begin to determine if the relatively simple single gene control of disease expression found with several crop plants also is prevalent outside of agriculture.
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0.915 |
1991 — 1994 |
Gaines, Michael Alexander, Helen Denoyelles, Frank Armitage, Kenneth [⬀] |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Laboratory Building For Kansas Ecological Reserves @ University of Kansas Main Campus
This project will underwrite the construction of a research laboratory on the Nelson Environmental Study Area. The facility will contain standard wet laboratories; animal behavior room with an adjoining observation booth; two general purpose laboratory rooms for activities not requiring wet laboratory facilities; a room for storage of field equipment; a computer/meteorology room; office and conference room. The facility will support experimental ecology in five major areas: small mammal population biology, plant population biology and physiological ecology, mechanisms of secondary succession, air-ecosystem interactions, and dynamics of aquatic ecosystems. The building will enhance current research programs, increase the efficiency of field/laboratory interactive measurements, make possible the development of now lines of research now foreclosed because of the lack of a research laboratory, and make the KER more accessible to the national scientific community.
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0.915 |
1996 — 1999 |
Holt, Robert Alexander, Helen Price, Kevin (co-PI) [⬀] Kettle, W. Dean Rich, Paul |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Enhancement of Research Facilities At the Kansas Ecological Reserves @ University of Kansas Main Campus
The Kansas Ecolgical Reserves (KER) includes a wide variety of managed natural and experimental areas in the tallgrass prairie-eastern deciduous forest ecotone. Recently ecological research at KER has grown to include a diverse assemblage of individual and collaborative research efforts with a trend toward developing long-term projects and experimentally manipulated ecosystems, both terrestrial and aquatic. Development was assisted by funds from institutional, private, and federal sources. This project will enhance research facilities in three ways: (1) to install a surveyed field grid for georeferencing study sites and field research facilities throughout KER, (2) to expand the database management system and GIS by adding key equipment, such as a UNIX workstation, software, etc., and by establishing a set of core map coverages, and (3) construction of a lath house that will be used for plant population and aquatic studies. The enhancement will supportvongoing research programs, make the field station more attractive for outside investigators, and foster research aimed at larger spatial and temporal scales.
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0.915 |
2001 — 2005 |
Alexander, Helen |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Reu Site: Research Experiences For Undergraduates in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology @ University of Kansas Center For Research Inc
The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at University of Kansas has developed a summer program to help undergraduate students understand how scientific research is conducted. To achieve this goal, 30 students (10 in each of the years 2001-2003) will be recruited to spend 10 weeks at the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence, Kansas. Students in the program will learn about research in two main ways. First, each student will be paired with a faculty mentor and will complete their own research project. Participating faculty have varied interests (ecological study at many spatial scales; research on evolutionary patterns and processes at several time scales), so a diversity of research projects will be done. Second, students will participate in many group activities including weekly seminars and tours of research facilities. Students will also get additional research exposure by presenting their results at a research symposium and attending a national scientific meeting in their discipline. An objective of this program is to provide research experiences for students who are unlikely to have this opportunity at their home institution and therefore help encourage a diverse population of students to consider scientific careers. Thus, although recruitment will be nationwide, a particular focus will be to attract students from smaller institutions with fewer research faculty, and students from institutions with high minority enrollment. In particular, students from Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence, KS will be encouraged to become involved.
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0.915 |
2002 — 2004 |
Alexander, Helen |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Collaborative Research: Effects of Environmental Variation On Plant Disease in the Tallgrass Prairie @ University of Kansas Center For Research Inc
ABSTRACT Karen Ann Garett, Allison Power, Helen Alexander (DEB-0130692, 0128277,0128810)
Little is known about the role of plant disease in natural ecosystems, but several current environmental concerns motivate a greater understanding. When considering the potential effects of climate change, invasions of new pathogen species, or movement of disease resistance genes from genetically modified crop species to wild plant populations, understanding the role of plant disease in natural ecosystems is key. We propose a study of plant disease in the tallgrass prairie to provide information relevant to these concerns as well as to a general theoretical understanding of pathogen ecology and the role pathogens may play in determining the success of particular plant species. Plants in the tallgrass prairie of North America are of particular interest because so little area remains of this ecosystem and attempts to restore tallgrass prairie are an important focus of conservation efforts in the Great Plains. In this study we will provide information about the abundance of pathogen species and the patterns of their co-occurrence on a set of representative tallgrass prairie plant species found at the Konza Prairie Biological Station (KPBS), an NSF LTER site in the Flint Hills tallgrass prairie region in northeastern Kansas. We will also estimate the effects of predicted climate change scenarios, landscape patterns of microclimate variation, and burning cycle patterns, and work to refine sampling methods for characterizing pathogen populations within natural plant populations. This study will supply an essential baseline data set for plant diseases at KPBS to complement the LTER database on plant species composition and productivity.
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0.915 |
2004 — 2007 |
Kettle, W. Dean Foster, Bryan [⬀] Billings, Sharon (co-PI) [⬀] Denoyelles, Frank Alexander, Helen |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Enhancement of Research and Education Facilities At the University of Kansas Field Station @ University of Kansas Center For Research Inc
A grant has been awarded to University of Kansas Field Station and Ecological Reserves (KSR) under the direction of Dr. Bryan Foster, to construct a multi-purpose building and modest visitor housing at KSR. The multi-purpose building will enhance the KSR environment in three inter-related areas: 1) research, 2) education, and 3) health and safety. Research space in the proposed building will provide a general-purpose laboratory, a laboratory for wet chemistry, and a commons space (library, station archives/reference materials, computer laboratory) for resident and visiting researchers. The multi-purpose building will provide a physical setting for scientists to undertake innovative research that addresses complex environmental issues. The multi-purpose building will also provide basic accommodations for resident and visiting users of the field station. Improvements include a dedicated kitchen area and ample restrooms/showers. Two small sleeping cabins will accommodate the demonstrated need for housing an ever-increasing use of KSR by visiting scientists and students. Collectively these improvements will provide flexibility to accommodate a wide range of current and future uses, and promote the wellbeing of users by providing a safe and efficient work environment.
KSR also supports an active program of teaching and outreach. Teaching initiatives have grown recently and the new multi-purpose building will allow groups of students and visitors to engage in instructional programs in a more appropriate environment. Educational initiatives at KSR reach students of all ages (K-12 short courses, undergraduate classes and individual research experiences [including the NSF program Research Experiences for Undergraduates], graduate research and education, and public workshops). KSR is actively involved in bringing underrepresented groups into science; in particular, faculty and students at Haskell Indian Nations University increasingly use our facilities. KSR also promotes science infrastructure by providing research facilities and archived data sets to scientists both in the region and nationally. Research results produced by these scientists are broadly distributed through the scientific literature, and by novel approaches of public outreach and internet dissemination. Finally, KSR research addresses many topics of societal concern; examples include spread of invasive species, ecosystem restoration, risk assessment of transgenic crops, and pesticide effects on aquatic communities.
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0.915 |
2018 — 2022 |
Bever, James [⬀] Schultz, Peggy Foster, Bryan (co-PI) [⬀] Sikes, Benjamin Alexander, Helen |
N/AActivity Code Description: No activity code was retrieved: click on the grant title for more information |
Dimensions Us-China: Collaborative Research: Microbe Eco-Evolutionary Feedbacks as Drivers of Plant Coexistence and Diversity Gradients @ University of Kansas Center For Research Inc
Grasslands comprise 26% of global land area and 80% of agriculturally productive land. In addition to their agricultural importance, grasslands also play key roles in diverse ecosystem services, including the production of clean water and the prevention of flooding. Native grasslands are often very species-rich, with richness increasing with increasing annual precipitation and declining following disturbance. These patterns of diversity can have important consequences because species-rich grasslands have been shown to be more productive and more resilient to unpredictable events like drought, flooding, or tornado damage. It is essential to understand the processes that govern both the patterns of plant diversity and the benefits of plant diversity to better manage grassland areas. The different processes that create and maintain the rich diversity of plant species coexisting in grasslands are unknown, but recent research suggests that plant pathogens may play a role. This project examines the extent plant disease determines natural patterns of plant diversity within grasslands by conducting parallel experiments at multiple field sites within the United States and China. Undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers will be trained in diverse field and laboratory methods, including students and faculty from colleges and community colleges adjacent to study sites in Illinois, Missouri and Kansas. Data from this project will generate new directions for the management of rangelands and also lead to improvements in the yield and resilience of agricultural and native ecosystems.
Pathogens are predicted to accumulate and limit plant productivity most strongly in grasslands with low plant phylogenetic diversity, low plant genetic diversity and high precipitation. These predictions will be tested through a coordinated set of field observations, field manipulations, and greenhouse assays, performed on parallel diversity and rainfall gradients in North American and Asian grasslands. Specifically, patterns of plant and pathogen phylogenetic diversity, patterns of plant resistance due to genetic diversity, and patterns of ecological and evolutionary feedback will be tested across rainfall gradients in central United States and China. Rainfall manipulations of experimental plant communities will test environmental dependence of plant species coexistence, productivity benefits of plant diversity, and the role of pathogens as drivers of these processes. These empirical studies will be integrated with mathematical models to generate predictions of patterns and benefits of plant biodiversity, as well as predictions of vulnerabilities of grasslands to environmental perturbations.
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0.915 |