Research projects listed on this page represent a sampling of project from the last year. Please use the search box above to investigate our research project archive.
Husker ecologists forge international network focused on ag, climate resilience
Husker researchers Craig Allen and Tala Awada are playing leadership roles in establishing a “network of networks” that unites some of North America’s most forward-thinking, interdisciplinary collaborations focused on agricultural and climate resilience and food and water security. (10/18/2021)
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Research looks to control nitrate leaching, protect Nebraska groundwater
" This project is innovative because it provides a new, economical approach for improving groundwater quality." —Dan Snow, research professor and director, Water Sciences Laboratory (9/20/2021)
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Detecting Signatures of Forest Change in Nebraska's Niobrara Valley
Brittani McGuire spent the summer conducting a seedling census in a long term forest monitoring plot at Nebraska's Niobrara Valley Preserve. This presentation is a compilation of my experience and research findings. If you like trees or are interested in forest ecology and conservation, have a listen! (8/24/2021)
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Mountain lions moved less, downsized territory during LA's pandemic shutdown
As people sheltered in place at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, sightings of wildlife in urban areas reinforced an intuitive belief: Carnivores were stretching their legs, and their ranges, by expanding into long-lost territory. A new study from Nebraska’s John Benson and the National Park Service says otherwise. (8/6/2021)
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New Equipment Brings New Possibilities to the Water Sciences Lab
The University of Nebraska’s Water Sciences Laboratory (WSL) has acquired important new equipment through the Federal Excess Personal Property Utilization Program. (8/5/2021)
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Study reveals food scarcity, desperate diet of Marine killed in Korean War
Seven decades after one of the most harrowing battles in the history of modern warfare, Nebraska’s Karl Reinhard and colleagues have helped illuminate the final days, and final meals, of a Marine who died fighting it. (5/18/2021)
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New Drought Center dashboard steps ranchers through key questions
Ranch Drought Monitoring
Ranchers can now find answers to some of their most common drought-related questions in one place on the National Drought Mitigation Center website. The NDMC's Ranch Drought Monitoring Dashboard aims to provide information that will help reduce risk ahead of time. (5/17/2021)
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Collaborative study tracks pronghorn in Panhandle
Researchers have begun a two-year study designed to provide a more detailed picture of pronghorn ecology in western Nebraska. (4/16/2021)
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Center for Resilience in Agricultural Working Landscapes up and running
What does it mean for a landscape to be resilient? That's the question the university's new Center for Resilience in Agricultural Working Landscapes sets out to answer. (4/14/2021)
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Husker team leading $6M project to study waterways' changing ecology
Scientists have long known that all living things require specific amounts of elements such as carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous to survive and thrive — it’s why we fertilize our yards and crops, for example. But the increasing frequency of phenomena such as harmful algal blooms, nitrate-contaminated water and “dead zones” in oceans and lakes have underscored that there can be too high or low of a concentration of these essential elements in the environment. (2/16/2021)
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Decisions, decisions -- study shows ranchers with drought plans in place make some pivotal moves sooner than those who don't
The journal Rangeland and Ecological Management recently published an article by Tonya Haigh detailing the results of a survey of ranchers. She led a team that surveyed a collection of Northern Plains ranchers who endured a 2016 flash drought that significantly altered forage production in the area. (12/21/2020)
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Mummy GI tracts yield evidence of early hospice care
Re-analyzing the microscopic gut contents of a mummy buried in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands of Texas has revealed the extreme pressure that built up in the colon, which swelled to six times its normal diameter in response to a parasite-carried disease. The case study, along with two others, is detailed in a forthcoming book chapter authored by Nebraska's Karl Reinhard and his colleagues. (12/9/2020)
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NGPC partners with PBT project, others to boost wetland resources
The three-year project is expected to result in a new online collection of educational materials, including a fifth-grade curriculum and activity book; Platte Basin Timelapse short films and multimedia stories; a public-consumption Guide to Nebraska Wetlands; and an online wetland ESRI StoryMap (11/13/2020)
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Significant Workshops
Implications of a Changing Arctic on the Water Resources and Agriculture in the Central U.S. (2015)
The focus of this workshop was on how the significant climatic and environmental changes being observed in the Arctic may be affecting changes in mid-latitude weather and the implications of these changes on the frequency of extreme weather and climate events (e.g., severe weather, droughts, floods, heat waves) in the Central U.S.
Climate Change Implications for Nebraska (2014-2016)
In September 2014, the University of Nebraska published a report summarizing climate change impacts to the state. This comprehensive report summarized the current understanding of climate change science, projected changes in climate for Nebraska and the implications of these changes for some of the state’s primary sectors. Eight roundtable discussion focusing on areas such as wildlife, human health, energy availability were conducted and summarized.