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Graduate and Postdoctoral

EREC offers special research opportunities for individuals pursuing advanced degrees and conducting postdoctoral work, including access to field research sites and researchers and the opportunity to link field and laboratory studies to sophisticated data analysis and modeling. There are instructional and outreach opportunities as well for broader professional development. The graduate program in Biology at the University of Kentucky has a 20-year history of facilitating student research at ERF and other Bluegrass sites such as Griffith Woods, as noted under Research; contact Dr. David Westneat (david.westneat@uky.edu) for more information. Other EREC researchers train graduate students through other programs at UK (Entomology, Forestry, Plant and Soil Sciences, Plant Pathology) and Eastern Kentucky University (Biological Sciences). Postdoctoral training may be available through individual faculty researchers, including some of the researchers with active research linked to EREC (see Research) and other affiliates listed under Personnel.

Undergraduate

A National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU Site) Program on Suburban Ecology and Invasive Species is centered at EREC. See REU for a description of the program and application information. Both the University of Kentucky and Transylvania University teach courses that make extensive use of EREC/ERF, as described below. Independent research courses (e.g. BIO 395 at UK) and associated undergraduate research opportunities are noted under Research.

Numbers of student-hours of regular coursework at EREC each semester, Fall 2010-Fall 2015. "Transy" = Transylvania University. Independent research hours, often numerous, are not shown. Instructional use will continue to rise with the advent of new courses and the welcome participation of other institutions.

College Courses

University of Kentucky Courses

BIO 325 Ecology (Laboratory): The core ecology course for biology majors traditionally included 25-student recitations for 2 hours/week, including a few "mini-lab" exercises. In 2010, we piloted the new laboratory component, which soon completely replaced the recitation. With the availability of L-UK, we have greatly increased the number of 3-hour EREC/ERF sessions per semester in 20-30-student groups. Exercises include comparative studies of leaf photosynthesis using portable fluorometers, field studies and measurements in the ponds, social structure of crayfish groups, fractal analysis of ecological edge, analyses of plant architecture, and other contemporary topics. Data are gathered in the field with laptops and analyzed in the L-UK ecology lab. The hands-on nature of these exercises and their tight connection to concepts addressed in the classroom has made the labs and the course as a whole increasingly popular with students, who generally find their time in the field exciting and instructive.

BIO 559 Ornithology has already been taught partly at ERF 3 times to date to about 15 students each; from now on, the course will operate out of the ecology laboratory in L-UK, with explorations of ERF and nearby sites. Other organismal courses will also be re-located to EREC for upcoming offerings.

BIO 525 Advanced Ecology will be taught in Fall, 2016, also operating out of the L-UK ecology lab. The class (limit 15) will function as a research team, working on 4 or 5 projects over the semester. These may include estimating the carbon footprint of ERF; running a replicated small-pond experiment and a mesocosm or artificial stream experiment chosen and designed by the group; conducting comparative fractal analyses of various plant-stand edges (honeysuckle, native grasses); and using NetLogo to simulate population dynamics of an invasive species or a disease.

BIO 580 PCR Ecology will be taught in Summer, 2016, using the L-UK ecology lab and PCR lab. This is an intensive 4-week, 4-module course in which students will develop hypotheses about systems available at ERF (e.g. soil microbes, spider diets, mosquito and fescue endosymbionts) using PCR and cloning methods. Students can take this course for university credit or on a for-fee basis.

Transylvania University Courses

BIO 4144 Ecology is taught in even-year fall terms to about 12-16 students. ERF was used in 2008 and 2010 for one field-day of mark-recapture; in 2012, there were three additional weeks of independent projects at ERF as part of the course, addressing soil analysis and features of two invasive species (bamboo and honeysuckle).

BIO 2164 Ornithology is a field-based course taught in alternate May terms, with a class size of 16. ERF is used for several birding sessions during the term, and some students choose to do independent field projects at ERF as well.

BIO 2504 Entomology is also a field-based course taught in May terms that alternate with those of ornithology. Students spend the field part of the class capturing and identifying specimens for a collection at ERF, incorporating insects from the old fields and the ponds.