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.

The course is an introduction to observing the basic principles of animal behavior in the field. The course field studies to examine factors relevant to the evolutionary approach to animal behavior. It will not cover all topics in a college-level animal behavior class in depth.

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 ethological  including:

behavioral ecology

evolutionary ethology

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.

Bryophytes 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 bryophyte species, while learning to identify these organisms.

Pre-requisites:  Two semesters of introductory biology

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.

Scholarships are available through Iowa Lakeside Lab (deadline April 1) including The Charlie Reimer Scholarship, which is awarded to one student annually based on scholastic merit, and the Eugene F. Stoermer Diatom Scholarship, which is awarded to a student or independent researcher based on background, qualifications, and motivation for attending Lakeside. For more information see the scholarship section of the Iowa Lakeside Lab web site.

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. Applicants should submit a cover letter, CV, and statement of teaching, research, and career interests to the Lakeside Lab Executive Director by email (chet-rzonca@uiowa.edu) by February 28, 2016. The JC Kingston Fellowship is administered by the Friends of Lakeside Lab.

Pre-requisites: none

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are increasing in frequency and intensity worldwide. Despite the ubiquity of blooms, only a handful of algal and Cyanobacteria species are considered “bloom-forming”. This course will investigate ecological mechanisms that trigger and maintain blooms in aquatic ecosystems, as well as the physiological advantages that allow some species to bloom while others do not, with emphasis on Cyanobacteria. This intensive course will combine discussion of primary literature, applied field sampling techniques, species level taxonomic identification and physiological characterization (stable isotope or toxin analyses) of local bloom-forming taxa.

Pre-requisites:  General Biology, Ecology

How do you define and express what’s valuable to you about nature?  Are you more persuaded by facts and statistics or by an evocative essay?  We will compare two main subgenres of environmental nonfiction: "activist" environmental literature and nature writing.  Both hope to persuade us of the important value and imperiled state of nature.  Which style is more successful at persuasion, or are they equally compelling? How do activist writers differ from nature writers?  How can you incorporate either or both styles of writing in your unique view of environmental issues?   Both groups are scientific writers, using science in very different ways to shape their arguments; we'll consider 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.  We will read excerpts from books and articles from environmental magazines, and explore Lake Okoboji and the Lakeside Lab's landscape to shape both discussions and writing.

Since our origins in the distant past, we humans have relied on plants for food, fuel, and fiber; we often use them in many other ways as well. Likewise, plants have adapted to us, and in some sense have changed our human nature through the interaction. Ethnobotany is the study of how people use plants, so it is the intersection of two distinct disciplines: Plant Biology (Botany) and Anthropology. This field is a subset of the study of humans using other organisms (not just plants) for material, cultural, and spiritual uses, a subject known as Ethnobiology.

In our activities, students consider how the interaction of plants and people help us understand social norms, how faith and history help us interpret what we study, and how the Scientific Method and technology are employed.

Pre-requisites: None

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 class will discuss approaches to collecting data in the field.  Topics to be covered include aligning collection techniques to study goals, proper replication, voucher specimens, map reading, and documentation (metadata).  Although class will be one week, it is designed to flow into the Quantitative Analysis for Field Data class.

Prerequisites: Basic math skills, Willingness to participate in outdoor activity

Study of fungi

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.

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.

This course covers teaching approaches, instructional and assessment strategies, curricular and laboratory materials, and issues related to either elementary-level life science instruction or grades 5-12 life science and biology instruction.  Special attention will be given to instructional methods for field-based, hands-on investigations in life science pertaining to algae and aquatic ecology. This 3-credit course is designed for informal educators or pre-service teachers enrolled in a teacher-licensing program of study. Two weeks of the course will be held at Lakeside Lab, with an additional week of online instruction. Suggested prerequisites for this course include foundational courses in educational psychology, classroom assessment, college biology, and classroom field experiences.

The 2017 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.

Lake deposits are useful records of earth history at high resolution and over variable time scales.  Paleolimnological methods can be applied to address many currently relevant research questions relating to lake systems, including those pertaining to watershed disturbance, global climate change, geologic history, biological evolution, and changes in aquatic ecological structure.  This is a 3-credit, advanced level class that will be focused on how past biological, physical, and chemical events in fresh water systems are archived in geologic records. The first two weeks of the course (on site at Lakeside Lab) will give specific attention to methods in paleolimnology, the biological environment of lakes, and paleoecological archives in lake deposits. The final week of the course will be online where students will research topics in paleolimnology and write a short thesis or research proposal for a lake system of interest.

This class will discuss approaches to analyzing and presenting data, both to scientists and the public. Topics to be covered include data management, basic R (a free statistical package), graph development, and effective presentation of data.

This one-week class is designed to follow the Field Monitoring Methods class, but it is not a prerequisite.

This course is for students from both science and design backgrounds. Students will work in interdisciplinary teams to conduct scientific inquiry and explore ways to visualize/represent/present the results. Course projects are designed to engage different audiences with the research being conducted.  This course allows design students to experience the natural world in a new way and the science students to build their visual communication skills.

Open to undergraduate and graduate students.

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.