Are we making selfish microbes?

This piece was authored by Terra Alpaugh and originally posted on the Long Term Ecological Research Network website. ~~~ Some bacteria become less cooperative with their plant hosts under long-term nutrient additions, finds new research by Jen Lau, an ecologist at the Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) LTER, and her collaborator Katy Heath at the University of Illinois. “A decade ago, no one was thinking about the idea of rapid evolution—the kind you could see over a career or even a year or two,” says Lau. Now researchers know that evolution can be measured at much smaller timescales

Had it with politics or ready to jump in: Reflections from an LTER researcher

By, Bonnie McGill, PhD candidate and LTER researcher, W.K Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University Tired of the US Presidential race dominating the airwaves? Wish the candidates talked about issues like climate change, global food security, or science education?  Well, I can’t make any promises for any immediate changes (for that see sciencedebate.org), but one of my career goals is to use my scientific expertise to bring more science to Washington. As most any graduate student will tell you, exploring careers outside of academia while you’re immersed in academia is a

Michigan was pretty cool after all: Reflections from an undergraduate researcher

KBS undergraduate summer researcher Rebekah Sanchez is a horticulture major at the University of Puerto Rico. She wrote about her Research Experience for Undergraduates project working with mentor Kate Glanville, an LTER and GLBRC graduate student in Phil Robertson's lab. Rebekah was funded by an REU site award to the Kellogg Biological Station and by an ESA SEEDS Fellowship. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ One of the cool things about going to new places or engaging in different experiences is that they rarely turn out how you imagined. Sometimes an experience exceeds your expectations and other times you

My summer at Kellogg Biological Station: Reflections from an undergraduate researcher

KBS undergraduate summer researcher Bibiana Rodriguez is a Biology major at California State Univ. - Sacramento. She wrote about her Research Experience for Undergraduates project working with Dr. Karen Stahlheber  in Dr. Katherine Gross’ lab. Bibi was funded by an NSF REU site award to the Kellogg Biological Station. ~~~~~~~~~ This summer, I spent 11 weeks at the Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) as part of the Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program. Eleven weeks was all the time I had to: Work on my summer research project. Learn new techniques. Collect and analyze

Learning about the environment from the soil up: Reflections from an undergraduate researcher

KBS undergraduate summer researcher Kathryn Bloodworth is majoring in biology and environmental science at Eastern University, near Philadelphia. She wrote about her Research Experience for Undergraduates experience working with Will West, a post-doc in Sarah Evan's lab. Kathryn was funded by an ESA SEEDS fellowship and an NSF REU site award to the Kellogg Biological Station. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My name is Kathryn Bloodworth and I am a rising senior at Eastern University, located outside of Philadelphia. There I study biology and environmental science and for the last eleven weeks I have had

10cc’s of experience. Stat!: Reflections from an undergraduate researcher

KBS undergraduate summer researcher Parker Anderson is a pre-medical student at Michigan State University. He wrote about his Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship (URA) experience working with Kate Glanville, an LTER & GLBRC graduate student in Phil Robertson’s lab. Parker was funded by the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As a pre-medical student at Michigan State University, I was nothing less than bewildered and intimidated as my research mentor, Kate Glanville, drove my colleague and myself through the Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) site. The sights,

The forest, animals, and my missing bottles: Reflections from an undergraduate researcher

KBS undergraduate summer researcher Aleah Dungee is majoring in Biology at Norfolk State University. She wrote about her Research Experience for Undergraduates experience working with Di Liang, an LTER graduate student in Phil Robertson’s lab. Aleah was funded by an NSF REU site award to the Kellogg Biological Station. ~~~~ This summer as a participant in the Research Experience for Undergraduates program at the Kellogg Biological Station, I researched the relative contributions of ammonia oxidizing archaea (AOA) and ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) to nitrification on different land use

Learning to be a scientist: Reflections from an undergraduate researcher

KBS undergraduate summer researcher Julie Barrios is entering into the Marine Biology program at University of California, San Diego. She wrote about her Research Experience for Undergraduates experience working with Bonnie McGill, an LTER graduate student in Steve Hamilton's lab. Julie was funded by an NSF REU site award to the Kellogg Biological Station. ~~~~ This fall I will be transferring to the University of California San Diego to major in marine biology after being four years in community college. For a while I felt discouraged in my work and felt that I should have been done

Jack of all trades: Reflections from an undergraduate researcher

KBS summer researcher Andrew Konieczny is majoring in Biology at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He wrote about his Research Experience for Undergraduates project working with KBS LTER post doctoral researcher Adam Reimer in Phil Robertson's lab. Andrew was funded by an NSF REU site award to the Kellogg Biological Station. ~~~~~~~~ The summer of 2016 will forever hold a spot in my heart and will not be long forgotten in my mind. The plan was simple enough: go to Michigan, do some social science research, maybe meet some people, and return to life as normal. However, one of

My summer of science (fiction): Reflections from an undergraduate researcher

Each summer the KBS LTER supports students to participate in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program, funded by the NSF. This is part of a larger undergraduate research program at KBS. Tori Niewohner is majoring in Environmental Science at Western Washington University. She wrote about her REU experience working with Kileigh Welshofer a graduate student in Dr. Pheobe Zarnetske's lab at MSU. ~~~~~ After my first day at the field site I would be working at for the summer, I attempted to describe it to someone. “Well, it’s a field of hexagonal structures