KBS LTER

Kellogg Biological Station | Long-Term Ecological Research

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MSU researchers uncover decline in butterfly populations, highlighting urgent need for conservation efforts

3.20.25

MSU Researchers found a 22% decline in butterfly populations from 2000 to 2020. Their work explores how prairie strips in agricultural areas can support insect populations. Dr. Nick Haddad, Director of the Kellogg Biological Station Long Term Ecological Research Program, co-led a research project with Dr. Elise Zipkin, director of MSU’s Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Program, to evaluate the state of butterfly populations across the United States. They report that from 2000 to 2020, the total butterfly abundance has fallen by 22% - shocking rates that demand action. The Haddad lab

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Long-term data reveals how no-till agriculture increases crop yields and environmental gains over the long haul

5.18.20

Despite the environmental benefits of no-till agriculture, farmers often hesitate to change to this management approach due to uncertain economic returns. Sarah Cusser, postdoctoral research associate at the Kellogg Biological Station (KBS), and MSU terrestrial ecologist Nick Haddad, director of the Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) program at the Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) and professor in the Department of Integrative Biology, however, have just published a study in Global Change Biology that clearly demonstrates significant benefit

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Insect vacuum on the KBS LTER helps serve as an early warning system

2.4.14

The insect vacuum on the Kellogg Biological Station Long-term Ecological Research (KBS LTER) site. Photo credit: Bill Krasean, KBS LTER volunteer.

By Bill Krasean, retired journalist and KBS LTER volunteer Every Friday mid-May through mid-October, a staff member at Kellogg Biological Station (KBS) Long-term Ecological Research (LTER) program drives to a tall, narrow pipe on the main experiment site, opens a small door at the base of the tower and extracts a bottle filled with liquid and a cornucopia of insects. The little critters, victims of a strong suction at the top of the pole as they fly by, are shipped to the University of Illinois where Dr. David J. Voegtlin and Dr. Doris Lagos, experts in the identification of aphids,

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Recent News and Events

  • Prairie strips that pay – upcoming MiSTRIPS Field Day
  • Listening first: How KBS is expanding the reach of conservation research
  • New research leverages long-term treatments in novel ways to study plant biotic interactions
  • Announcing the 2025 KBS LTER Artists-in-Residence!
  • Graduate research from the KBS LTER reveals the value of soil microbe diversity for sustainable agriculture

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