Current Projects by Taxonomic Group and Habitat

Please contact the contact person (indicated in parentheses after each project) for more information.

For a complete list of current OBS projects, see Projects by Subject

Plants

• Floristic inventory of the vascular plants of Oxley Nature Center and Redbud Valley and preparation of a teaching collection (Buthod).
• The status of Leavenworthia aurea var. aurea, Lesquerella angustifolia and Phlox pilosa var. longipilosa in Oklahoma (Buthod).
• Updating, amending and appending the list of tracked vascular plant taxa for the state of Oklahoma (Buthod).
• Filling data gaps in plant species distributions as identified in the Oklahoma Vascular Plants Database. Survey botanists are collecting plant specimens from Oklahoma counties that are underrepresented in herbarium collections. (Buthod and Hoagland)
• Pollen morphology of the narrowly endemic Lesquerella angustifolia and Penstemon oklahomensis (Buthod and Skvarla).
• Pollen morphology of the Oklahoma endemics Leavenworthia aurea var. aurea and Phlox pilosa var. longipilosa (Buthod and Skvarla).
• The future of tallgrass prairie remnants in northeastern Oklahoma: conservation motivation of private landowners. (P.H.C. Crawford)
• Germination rates of seaside alder (Alnus maritima) under a variety of environmental conditions. (P.H.C. Crawford)
• Vegetation analysis of newly recorded cross timbers remnants in eastern Oklahoma. (P.H.C. Crawford)
• Completion of a manual for the Vascular Plants of Oklahoma. The vascular flora of Oklahoma comprises 173 families, 868 genera, and 2540 species. The members of the Flora of Oklahoma editorial committee are writing a modern floristic treatment for Oklahoma. (Elisens)
• Expansion of the Bebb Herbarium Library. Donated and purchased books/volumes continue to be added to the herbarium library. (Elisens)
• Expansion of TORCH: the Texas Oklahoma Regional Consortium of Herbaria. After a successful NSF-funded TORCH workshop in April 2011, continued work is underway to expand digitization efforts in Texas and Oklahoma. (Elisens)
• Development of Socorro - a critical plant data portal for herbarium collections of the Southwest USA (OK, TX, NM, and AZ). Efforts continue to develop a Thematic Collections Network focused on globally-accessible, digitized herbarium data for select families. (Elisens)
• Systematics and ethnobotany of Iva (Asteraceae; sumpweed and related species). Morphological variation, phylogenetic relationships, and economic usage among Native Americans are the focus of several ongoing studies (Elisens, Giddens, Shelton, Jones).
• Systematics and ethnobotany of subterraneum indian breadroot. The morphological variation and usage by Native Americans are being investigated throughout their range in the Great Plains and south-central USA. (Elisens, Wills)
• Catalog of the Woody Plants of Oklahoma with descriptions and range maps. This catalog presents a comprehensive on-line guide to the native and naturalized woody plants of the state. (Hoagland)
• Development of an aquatic and wetland plant manual and Worldwide Web site for Oklahoma. This project grew from the need of wetland and aquatic plant identification manual for state wetland managers. A prominent component of this project has been databasing wetland and aquatic plant specimens in order to generate distribution maps. (Hoagland)
• Trees and Shrubs of Oklahoma book. (Hoagland)
• Vascular Plant Inventories: Red Slough WMA, Ouachita National Forest, upper Rio Savegre Valley (Costa Rica). (Hoagland)
• Oklahoma Vascular Plants Database. An ongoing project to database all the specimens collected in Oklahoma at targeted herbaria (Oklahoma State University, University of Sciences and Arts of Oklahoma, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, and the Bebb Herbarium. Some collections have also been databased from Northeastern Oklahoma State University, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, and Cameron University). This has been a critical tool for locating data gaps and focusing field work. The goal is to publish an Atlas and generate web products. (Hoagland and Buthod)
• 1871 land cover map for Oklahoma Territory and the Chickasaw Nation. This project invovles digitizing and joining General Land Office plats to compile a map of vegetation distribution in the late nineteenth century. (Hoagland)
• Photographic Atlas of the Pollen Flora of Oklahoma. Descriptions and scanning electron micrographs of pollen grains from representative genera of Oklahoma's flora are being compiled into one volume. (Skvarla and Elisens)

Terrestrial Invertebrates

• Inventories of Oklahoma land snails (Bergey)
• Land snail biology (Bergey)
• State conservation ranks of Lepidoptera (Bergey)
• Status and Distribution of Oklahoma Odonata. A compilation of occurrence data for all species of dragonflies and damselflies that occur in the state, targeted toward publication of a book. (Smith-Patten, Patten)
• Effects of Land Use Changes on Odonata Distribution. A study of how post-dustbowl creation of reservoirs and channeling of rivers across Oklahoma has affected occurrence of both lentic and lotic species of dragonflies and damselflies. (Smith-Patten, Patten, Fagin)

Amphibians and Reptiles

• Survey of salamanders in Oklahoma caves (Fenolio, Graening, Bergey)

Mammals

• Listed under Broad Studies: Terrestrial
  

Birds

• Status and protection of endangered interior least tern (Sterna antillarum athalassos) breeding colonies of the Canadian River in central Oklahoma. (P. H. C. Crawford)
• Animal Migration: Migratory movements reflect an animal's need to eat,breed, avoid predators and find a tolerable physiological environment over the short term. These movements are also shaped by an animal's evolutionary history, during which natural selection has resulted in behaviors that maximize fitness in complex and changing environments. Because migration behavior is labile, it contains information about the integrated organism's response to recent changes in the environment. These properties make migration behavior an ideal metric for understanding organismal responses to changing environments over large spatial extents (e.g., climate change and land use change). Patterns of geographic and demographic connectivity among breeding season, wintering and migratory phases of the annual cycle of migrants is also a pressing concern for conservation. We are using many technologies that include genetics, stable isotope ratios, light-level gelocators, and radar to better understand the integrated annual cycle of migrant birds. Focal study species include Painted Buntings and Purple Martins (Kelly)
• Greater Prairie-Chicken Ecology and Status. Three year study of prairie-chickens in northeastern Oklahoma using radio-tagged birds to determine survivorship and mortality rates, nesting success, habitat use, and movement patterns. (Patten)
• Lesser Prairie-Chicken Ecology and Status. An ongoing study of over 10 years monitoring the Lesser Prairie-Chicken in Oklahoma. (Wolfe, Larsson, Patten)
• Oklahoma Gas & Electric's Sooner Power Plant Wildlife Improvement. Consultations initiated with OG&E to improve Bald Eagle and Greater Prairie-Chicken habitat at and near their Sooner power generating station. (Jenkins and Sherrod)
• Monitoring avian productivity and survivorship at Ft Sill. (Kelly)
• Bachman's Sparrow Ecology and Habitat Use. Surveys of suitable habitat in Ouachita National Forest in southeasternmost Oklahoma to determine the status and habitat needs of Bachman's Sparrow in the region. (Kelly, Patten)
• Lesser Prairie-Chicken lek surveys and habitat assessment. (Larsson, Wolfe, Patten)
• Avian Response to Deforestation. Study of ecological and behavioral mechanisms associated with species turnover and changes in species assemblage in response to loss of rainforest in Belize and Costa Rica, with a particular focus on microclimate variation. (Patten, Smith-Patten)
• Systematics for The Birds of North America. Revision, editing, researching, and writing sections on systematic relationships, geographic variation, and subspecies for the important series of avian life history accounts, now run through the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. (Patten)
• Broad-scale Genetic Variation in a Passerine. Collaborative studies with researchers at the Florida Institute of Technology, University of British Columbia, University of Alaska, and Smithsonian Institution on patterns of genetic variation in the highly morphologically variable Song Sparrow across its range in western North America. (Patten)
• Tallgrass Prairie Birds. Analysis of data collected 1992­1996 in northeastern Oklahoma to study the reproductive success and habitat use of tallgrass prairie birds. (Patten, Reinking)
• Status of the Black Rail in Western North America. Compilation of all existing data from publications, museum holdings, and agency reports to elucidate the occurence of the Black Rail (Laterallus jamaicensis) from California through the Great Plains to the western Great Lakes region. (Patten, Smith-Patten)
• Greater Prairie-Chicken Ecology. Analysis of data from a 3-year study of the Greater Prairie-Chicken in northeastern Oklahoma using radio-tagged birds to determine movements, nest placement, habitat use, survivorship, and mortality rates. (Patten, Wolfe)
• Lesser Prairie-Chicken Ecology and Demography. An ongoing study--now entering its 10th year--of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken in Oklahoma and Texas, using radio-tagged birds to determine survivorship, mortality causes, reproductive output and success, habitat use, and movement patterns. (Patten, Wolfe, Larrson)
• Lesser Prairie-Chicken and Whooping Crane Habitat Conservation Plan. (Patten, Wolfe, Larsson)
• Oklahoma Winter Bird Atlas. A five-year statewide survey of Oklahoma's winter birds being compiled into a book illustrating current winter distributions of each species in the state. (Reinking)
• Satellite tracking of young Bald Eagles. (Sherrod, Jenkins, Reinking)
• White-tailed Ptarmigan Habitat Use and Genetic Variation. Field surveys, habitat quantification, and genetic screening of the White-tailed Ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura) in north-central New Mexico, the southern tip of the species' range and an area likely to be affected by climate change. (Wolfe, Larsson, Patten)
• Lesser Prairie-Chicken Conservation. Application of our ecological work to guide and implement management of dwindling populations of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken in Oklahoma, including fence marking and identification and restoration of dispersal corridors. (Wolfe, Larrson, Patten)
• Lesser Prairie-Chicken habitat assessments for energy companies. (Wolfe, Patten, Larsson)
• Marking and removing fences to reduce Lesser Prairie-Chicken mortality. (Wolfe, Patten, Larsson)

Broad Studies: Terrestrial

• Response of grassland and shrubland fauna to grassland restoration in arid and semiarid grasslands. Removal of shrubs in arid grasslands is predicted to result in increased diversity and abundance in grassland obligate fauna. We studying the impacts grassland restoration through shrub removal in the Chihuahuan Desert. Focal study species include Black-throated Sparrows and Cassin's Sparrows (Kelly and Hoagland)
• OK-GAP -- GAP Analysis Program, Oklahoma. We developed extensive databases describing the habitat and ecological associations of over 400 species of terrestrial vertebrates (mammals, birds, amphibians and reptiles) and developed and digitized range maps for these species. We also developed GIS models based on this information to be used to predict the distributions of these vertebrates based on a vegetation map. The database is now in the form of an Access file, and the images are shape files that can and have been used for reports and responses to queries related to distributions of terrestrial vertebrates. The completed project report is being distributed by the Survey, with the Final Report available from the Survey web site where there is also a form to request the data CD's. (Hough)
• A Revised Land Cover Map for the State of Oklahoma. An updated land cover map for the state is being developed. The map will use the Ecological Systems model devised by NatureServ. The Survey will be responsible for field data collection, maintenance and archiving. Project originated with the Oklahoma Geographic Information Council and done in cooperation with Missouri Resource Assessment Partnership. (Hough, Hoagland, Fagin)

Algae

• Biological implications of crevice refuges. This research examines the characteristics of crevice refuges and explores the ecological effects of the protection of organisms in crevices, primarily using an algal-based system. (Bergey)
• Diatoms of aquatic plants (Bergey and Desianti)

Aquatic Invertebrates

• Ecology of playa lake invertebrates (Bergey and Bright)
• Distribution and Abundance of Freshwater Mussels in Oklahoma. (Vaughn)
• Environmental Flow Requirements of Freshwater Mussels, including the Ecological Costs and Benefits of Environmental Flow Recommendations. Freshwater mussels are filter feeders and thus provide important ecosystem services in rivers, particularly water filtration and nutrient recycling. The ability of mussels to provide these services changes with different in-stream flows because water volume partially governs water temperature, and water temperature determines mussel filtration and nutrient recycling abilities. In addition, when mussel populations are adversely affected, it is likely that other aquatic species are at risk. Their high sensitivity to changes in flow regimes and water temperatures make freshwater mussels an early-warning test system for determining the ecological costs/benefits of environmental flow recommendations. We are combining information on (1) discharge and water temperature under various in-stream flows in different seasons with (2) information on how mussels perform the ecosystem services of water filtration and nutrient recycling under those conditions to (3) produce an empirical, predictive model of the ecosystem services provided by mussels under various flow and atmospheric conditions. (Vaughn)
• Nutrient Recycling, Biofiltration and other Ecosystem Services Provided by Freshwater Mussels. Freshwater mussels have high biomass and link pelagic and benthic compartments through filter feeding and excretion, providing an excellent system for examining the role of consumers in nutrient recycling. We are using a mass-balance, stoichiometric approach to quantify mussel-mediated nutrient fluxes in rivers across a gradient of agricultural land use. We are combining these data with information on mussel bed locations, biomass, and species composition to estimate the contribution of mussels to stream reach and watershed-scale nutrient fluxes. Because mussel species excrete nutrients at different rates and N: P ratios, communities composed of different mussel species may have different effects on nutrient recycling depending on which nutrients are limiting in the watershed. Our mass balance approach allows us to assign rates and masses to biofiltration and nutrient recycling and storage rates across broad spatial extents. We are comparing these "natural capital" values with the costs of providing similar nutrient reduction services through human engineered and best management practices strategies. (Vaughn)
• Cave invertebrate survey of limestone caves in the Ozark Plateau and Arbuckle uplift areas. (Bergey)
• Crayfish species distribution and abundance in Oklahoma, based on field collections and the identification of previously collected material. (Bergey)

Fishes

• Field studies to fill gaps in knowledge of the distribution and abundance of fishes in Oklahoma. (Broughton)
• Evolution of Cyprinella. The focus is on phylogenetic patterns within this widespread genus cyprinid fishes. Sequences of three mitochondrial genes have been obtained from all species in the genus and individuals representing geographic populations of several species. Sequences from nuclear introns are also being used to aid in phylogenetic resolution of this large group. We are also surveying genetic diversity among C. lutrensis populations around Oklahoma and the southwest. (Broughton)
• Molecular Phylogenetics of fishes. We have heavily involved in data generation for the euteleost tree of life project where we will be sequencing approximately 20 genes from 1,500 species representing all families and many important genera of euteleost fishes. A spin-off from the tree of life project is the phylogenetic analysis of basal ray-finned fish lineages and molecular dating of divergence events using fossil calibrations. The phylogeny of the major ray-fin lineages has been in a state of disarray for many years. We also have a reliable set of dates for the major divergence events. (Broughton)
• Genotype-environment interactions. We have begun studying the relationship between genotype, environment and phenotype in body shape, which is known to vary between individuals of the same species depending on whether they live in flowing vs. standing water. We are planning to investigate the developmental mechanisms for and heritability of variation in body shape in different environments. (Broughton and Cureton)
• Molecular evolution of OXPHOS genes. Mitochondrial genome sequences from a number of fish groups are being used to examine the effects of selection at the molecular level, and nucleotide compositional bias on genes involved in oxidative phosphorylation. These data are being analyzed with respect to swimming performance and the evolution of endothermy in fishes such as tuna, mackerels, barracudas, marlins, jacks and flatfishes, which exhibit a wide range of these characteristics. (Broughton and Zhang)

Broad Studies: Aquatic

• Effects of dams on stream algae and invertebrates in northern Thailand (Bergey)
• Survey of Oklahoma springs. The fauna, flora, and habitat of springs throughout the state are inventoried to document diversity, describe distributional patterns, and assess impacts. (Bergey)

Last updated: 27 February 2012

Biodiversity Information and Data | Programs | Projects | Personnel | Opportunities | Publications | History | Links | Contact

This page is sponsored by the Oklahoma Biological Survey

Disclaimer