Course Catalog

This course is an introduction to naturesound, field recording, audio editing, and other issues related to sustainability and the audio environment. Field studies, lectures and project based assignments will build a strong understanding of the role sound plays in the environment. 

Acoustic Ecology studies the relationship between living things and their surrounding soundscape. Throughout this course, students will explore a variety of tactics for exploring, documenting and analyzing the soundscape at a various locations surrounding Lake Okoboji and beyond. Students will also utilize audio editing and compositional skills to create works of communication and expression that range from the documentary (as in a PodCast episode) to the experimental (as in sound art).

Studying the soundscape crosses into a variety of disciplines and topics. There are issues relating to biology, audio engineering, acoustics, community development, social engagement, design, art, health and many, many more. While some portion of this course will discuss art and design as it relates to the study of acoustic ecology, no previous art or design knowledge is required to successfully complete this course. 

Open to undergraduate and graduate students.

In this course, students will study the ecological principles of aquatic ecosystems at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. The course is divided into two, 2-week sections which can also be taken independently as stand-alone sections. The first half focuses on the ecology of wetlands and streams with an emphasis on faunal and floral diversity. The second half will focus on limnology: an overview of the biology, chemistry, and physics of lake ecosystems. Students will investigate how physical and chemical environments of aquatic ecosystems affect the distribution and composition of aquatic biota, and vice versa. Lectures will cover such topics as the origins of lakes and their global distribution, biogeochemical nutrient cycling, phytoplankton and zooplankton ecology, and management of aquatic ecosystems, including wetland delineation and regulation.

This course will have a strong field and laboratory component, in which students will learn field techniques and laboratory analyses commonly used by aquatic ecologists. For example, students will learn to sample and identify common plants and animals of streams and wetlands including use as indicators of environmental conditions, the relationship of hydrologic and soil conditions to flora & fauna, methods to measure underwater light climate and mixing regimes of lakes; nitrogen and phosphorus analytical techniques; phytoplankton, zooplankton, and macroinvertebrate identification and enumeration techniques; and measures of community metabolism in aquatic ecosystems. Students will also learn statistical analyses, interpretation of ecological data, and writing of scientific manuscripts through independent group research projects.

The course is an introduction to the evolutionary and basic principles of ecology at the organismal, population, community, and ecosystem levels. The course integrates lectures and field studies to examine factors controlling the distribution and abundance of plants and animals in native ecosystems along with abiotic factors impacting ecosystems.

Pre-requisites: Two semesters of introductory biology or consent of the instructor

Course Objectives:

Introduce students to the process of conducting field research projects.

Introduce students the collection, analysis, and interpretation, of field data.

Introduce students to general topics in ecology  including:

climate, microclimates, soil, aquatic environments

life history

population growth and regulation, demography

species interactions, community composition and structure

landscape ecology, trophic structure and productivity

biogeochemical cycles

behavioral ecology

Biology, ecology and taxonomy of cyanobacteria and eukaryotic freshwater algae based on field collected material. Samples collected from lakes, fens, streams, and rivers will be identified mostly to genus level with some common species identifications within each algal group. 

An ecological perspective is used to explore the diversity of photosynthetic microbes that form the energy base of freshwater ecosystems. Environmental and economic concerns caused by excessive algal growth will also be examined. Field collections will be used to identify the common phyla and genera of algae, to study their life histories, and to examine environmental factors that affect algal growth and distribution. A class project will investigate the algal ecology of Lake West Okoboji. 

Pre-requisites: Ecology and General Biology classes

This course is an intensive, field-oriented class appropriate for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students, and post graduate workers in ecology, geology, environmental sciences, and diatom taxonomy. We will immerse ourselves in the diverse aquatic habitats and fossil deposits of the Upper Midwest to observe freshwater diatoms. Students will learn techniques in diatom collection, preparation, and identification. Lectures will cover taxonomy, systematics and biogeography of most freshwater genera. Students will complete individual voucher collections using modern database techniques and produce a written species treatment using guidelines for electronic publication. Students are encouraged to bring research materials. The use of diatoms in ecological and paleoecological research will be discussed. Instructors: Mark Edlund, St. Croix Watershed Research Station, Science Museum of Minnesota. Sylvia Lee, United States Environmental Protection Agency. 

Scholarships are available through Iowa Lakeside Lab including The Charlie Reimer Scholarship, which is awarded to one student annually based on scholastic merit. For more information see the scholarship section of the Lakeside Lab web site (www.iowalakesidelab.org). 

The Hannah T. Croasdale Fellowship is available through the Phycological Society of America (deadline March 1): http://www.psaalgae.org/hannah-t-croasdale-fellowship 

The John C. Kingston Diatom Fellowship was established in 2004 by colleagues, friends and family to honor John's memory and to recognize the contributions he made to the study of diatoms at Iowa Lakeside Laboratory. Each summer, an award is made to one advanced student or researcher to serve as teaching assistant for the Ecology and Systematics of Diatoms course and to engage in a research project. The fellowship includes a stipend and room and board at Lakeside and is available to domestic and international students, at the graduate level or advanced undergraduate level. See the Iowa Lakeside Lab webpage (www.iowalakesidelab.org) to apply.  The JC Kingston Fellowship is administered by the Friends of Lakeside Lab.

Pre-requisites: none

Learn the ways scientists can better communicate discoveries and ideas.  Learn the importance of identifying your audience and how you can adapt your writing based upon your understanding of those varying audiences.

Theory and practice of environmental policies, including the study of U.S. federal environmental policies with direct and indirect bearings on water issues; focus on policy history, implementation, and effectiveness; how policies interact with each other, how local stakeholders perceive their pros and cons, and linkages between local implementation efforts and regional and large-scale impacts.

The 2018 Lakeside Laboratory archaeological field school will continue on-going research efforts at Woodland site 13DK143 located in beautiful Mini-Wakan State Park on the shores of Spirit Lake. Previous Lakeside Laboratory summer archaeological field schools have investigated regional late prehistoric/protohistoric Oneota tradition sites since 1995 and Woodland adaptations since 2014, recovering large assemblages of diverse materials including arrow and spear points and other stone tools, decorated ceramic sherds, copper fragments, bison bones and other faunal remains, and worked catlinite and glass trade beads. Features related to semi-subterranean houses including hearths, storage, and refuse pits will be investigated as opportunity permits.

Pre-requisites: This is an introductory level course—no prior experience is required.

Assignments: As this is primarily a field course, excavation and mapping notes as well as recording of general observations while digging will be required. Lab processing forms will also be completed by field school participants. No formal tests or writing assignments are required beyond the field notebooks (which will include building an annotated bibliography from pertinent source materials provided by the instructor).

Course Objectives: Participants will be introduced to the essential methods of field archaeology including artifact identification, site mapping, excavation techniques, artifact processing, and beginning analytical methods. The field school will include lectures on Iowa archaeology and the culture history sequence of western Iowa as well as day trips to the Sanford Museum in Cherokee, Iowa and the Dixon Oneota site, and possibly  the Blood Run National Historic Landmark, Jeffers Petroglyphs, and Pipestone National Monument.

This course takes advantage of the unique location of Iowa Lakeside Lab to provide a field-based introduction to glacial environments and processes, including the origin of sediments, landforms and landscapes produced in glacial and associated environments.  Aeolian (wind) processes, river and lacustrine systems, and mechanisms and chronologies of climate change will also be covered.

Scientific introduction at intermediate level to ecology and evolution of fish.  

Activities will be fish sampling and identification, electroshocking data collection in as many different habitats as possible, field trips, discussion, possible preparation of study skins and dissection, and more.  Additional focus on fish identification and fish taxonomy as well as the science of ichthyology from a field perspective including fish behavior and ecology.

This introductory course provides the history, purpose, functionality and basic uses of geographical information systems (GIS) as a tool for demonstrating information in relation to locations on the earth and moments in time. While map data may often serve as the basis for using or understanding geographical information, more complex data and systems may be analyzed using GIS tools to grow understanding of geographical phenomena. For the sake of consistency, ArcGIS tools will be used to familiarize students with the basic application and function of GIS technology in relation to data.

The major goals of the course are to: Understand the basic functionality of GIS software using ESRI tools; and apply this knowledge to real-world problems. By the end of the two-week course, students should be able to:

·       Successfully navigate ArcGIS software to perform basic map building and data management.

·       Apply GIS techniques to questions related to human and environmental challenges.

Scientific introduction at intermediate level to ecology and evolution of lichens.  

Lichens are a diverse, abundant, and readily accessible group of organisms that are routinely overlooked. This course will focus on allowing students to appreciate the beauty and diversity of local lichen species, while learning to identify these organisms. Course Objectives: By the end of the course, students will be able to: 1) recognize and describe the biology and morphology of lichens; 2) use taxonomic keys to identify lichens; and 3) recognize local lichen species in the field.

The 2019 Lakeside Laboratory archaeological field school will continue on-going research efforts in the Iowa Great Lakes region including excavations at a Woodland era site (13DK96 or other nearby sites) within the Kettleson-Hogsback Wildlife Management Area adjacent to Spirit Lake. Previous Lakeside Laboratory summer archaeological field schools have investigated regional late prehistoric/protohistoric Oneota tradition sites since 1995 and Woodland adaptations since 2014, recovering large assemblages of diverse materials including arrow and spear points and other stone tools, decorated ceramic sherds, copper fragments, bison bones and other faunal remains, and worked catlinite and glass trade beads. Features related to semi-subterranean houses including hearths, storage, and refuse pits will be investigated as opportunity permits.

Basic patterns, underlying physical and biotic causes of regional and local distributions of North American prairie plants and animals; field and laboratory analysis and projects.

Ecological principles for restoration of native ecosystems; establishment (site preparation, selection of seed mixes, planting techniques) and management (fire, mowing, weed control) of native vegetation; evaluation of restorations; emphasis on prairie restoration and wetland vegetation.

Relationships between soil formation, geomorphology and environment.  Activities include developing expertise in soil descriptions, classification, geography, mapping, and interpretation for land use.  Fieldwork will emphasize investigations of the Iowa Great Lakes watershed.