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Mike Krings/University Relations

Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Richard Lariviere, right, speaks about research at the Kansas Biological Field Station and Ecological Reserves with Jerry De Noyelles, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology.

Provost begins research tours at Field Station

By Mike Krings

When Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Richard Lariviere gazed out over a bass-stocked pond on a recent crisp autumn day, he wasn't sneaking out of his office for some end of the season recreation. He was paying a visit to one of KU's "best kept secrets."

Lariviere visited the Kansas Biological Survey's Field Station and Ecological Reserves on Oct. 23. The trip was the first in a series to familiarize the new provost with some of KU's many research stations.

The visit began with a stop at the biological survey's office in Higuchi Hall, where Ed Martinko, director, and Jerry de Noyelles, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and deputy director of the survey, gave Lariviere an overview of the survey's work. The survey's core expertise is water, land, wildlife and information technology. Among the survey's major projects is research along the Kansas River basin. The survey works closely with other KU units and Kansas State University as part of a $9 million annual research initiative funded by the National Science Foundation. The survey also works extensively on several surface water issues, including combating siltation of reservoirs in Kansas and studying water quality.

After the presentation, Lariviere traveled to the Field Station with Martinko, de Noyelles and Jim Roberts, vice provost for research. The Field Station, established in 1947, sits on nearly 1,800 acres a few miles northeast of Lawrence.

More than 70 faculty, staff and students conduct research at the station each year. The Field Station and Ecological Reserves are home to more than 700 plant species, 19 of which are rare and threatened. There is also a good deal of wildlife – more than 200 species of birds, 45 species of mammals and 30 reptilian species can be found at the reserve. It is home to the Fitch Natural History Reservation, which draws more than 1,000 visitors annually.

The reserve is also a reminder of what the Kansas prairie used to look like. Several tracts of land have been cleared and reseeded as native prairie.

Among the numerous ponds that dot the landscape of the reserve, research is conducted on everything from preventing water contamination and siltation of reservoirs to protecting the endangered Topeka Shiner fish.

Lariviere plans to visit the Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center, Higuchi Biosciences Center and Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies this semester.

NOTABLE ALUMS

James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, is KU's only basketball coach with a losing career record, but two alumni more than made up for it. Dean Smith, a member of the 1952 national championship team, holds the record for most NCAA coaching wins, and Adolph Rupp comes in a close second. Rupp was coached by Naismith.