The most commonly used index of influenza activity historically has been mortality due to pneumonia and influenza (P&I), which is complicated by factors such as the coding for P&I mortality on death certificates having changed through time, as has the ability of physicians to diagnose these conditions. Total death records are available for each county in Kansas and Missouri beginning in 1914. Pre-pandemic total mortality and P&I death rate baselines were determined for Kansas and Missouri counties using data from 1915-1917. Total mortality statistics from 1918-1923 were compared to baseline data to determine excess mortality rates for each county and independent city. As expected, relatively high numbers of excess deaths were seen in and around major cities. Two unexpectedly high mortality clusters are seen in the Missouri Bootheel and mining belt along the state lines near Joplin, MO and Baxter Springs, KS. Excess total mortality in Kansas and Missouri cities in 1918 was positively correlated with excess P&I mortality. Widespread negative mortality across the two-state region followed major pandemic waves, providing evidence for forward displacement of mortality, also known as harvesting.

Seabirds are considered indicators of ecological hotspots in modern ecosystems because their biogeographic distribution is correlated with physical, chemical, and biological oceanographic factors. Pursuit diving seabirds – those that actively pursue prey underwater – are generally more limited in distribution and more closely tied to oceanographic factors, as diving ability is often gained at the expense of flight capabilities. Today, wing propelled pursuit diving seabirds are restricted to colder waters; foot propelled divers have a broader latitudinal distribution, but do not forage far from shore in marine environments. In comparison, Late Cretaceous Northern Hemisphere seas were host to foot propelled pursuit diving seabirds called hesperornithiforms. Their Western Interior Seaway fossil record, in particular, reflects the broad latitudinal distribution of modern foot propelled divers, but with occurrences of offshore foraging more typical of modern wing propelled divers. The presence of hesperornithiforms in such a wide variety of environments (Boreal, Tethyan, coastal, nearshore, and offshore) suggests different ecological and oceanographic conditions affected biogeographic patterns of Late Cretaceous divers. The purpose of this study is to explore Late Cretaceous hesperornithiform paleobiogeography in light of what is known about how biotic and environmental factors affect modern pursuit diving seabirds to better understand WIS paleoecology.

The Late Cretaceous was characterized by greenhouse climate, high sea levels, and epicontinental seas that provided marine paleoenvironments with no modern analogs. Two notable ecological differences between the Late Cretaceous and today are the presence of marine reptiles (and absence of marine mammals) as apex predators and the lack of acanthomorph fish diversity. Spatio-temporal overlap among hesperornithiforms, marine reptiles, and large predatory fishes implies different competition and predator-prey relationships among marine carnivores than today. Differences in swimming capabilities between marine reptiles and marine mammals may partially account for the presence of hesperornithiforms in warm, offshore waters. Additionally, environmental factors relating to the unique paleoceanography of the WIS would have also influenced hesperornithiform populations. Ample shoreline, abundant shallow water habitats, and high primary production made epicontinental seas hotspots for pursuit diving seabirds, despite warmer temperatures. Together, ecosystem structure and the unique oceanographic factors characterizing epicontinental seas both contribute to differences in seabird biogeography between the Late Cretaceous and today.

Emporia State University (ESU) manages eight natural areas that offer a range of habitats, both aquatic and terrestrial, and are home to a variety of flora and fauna. Throughout the Flint Hills, some fish, turtle, and crayfish species have experienced declines in range and population. To track possible changes in assemblage composition with respect to these animal groups, it is vital to have a baseline understanding of species presence on these areas. The objectives of our study were to compile and organize historical data pertaining to fish, semi-aquatic turtle, and crayfish species' presence on ESU's Natural Areas and to complete a survey of the areas to create an accurate list of the species present on each site. Historical data consisted of field reports from ESU faculty members sent to the Director of the Natural Areas from 1997–present, past master's students' theses, current studies being performed, and communications with faculty members. Surveys were conducted from spring 2018–spring 2019. We found 42 fish, four semi-aquatic turtle, and two crayfish species on the ESU Natural Areas, including new species records on six of the eight areas. Our study created baseline species presence data for the ESU Natural Areas and may serve as a reference for future sampling on these sites.

“Reader, you must die… What will become of you?...what shall you be on the day after your death…your soul, whither shall it go?... That which was free within you…what shall become of it? Where shall that sensible, existing soul, which must survive the tomb, go to? What will it become, what shall you be, my reader, the day after your death?” Louis Figuier, The Day After Death. 1884, pp. 1-2.

“Every age has its bogus prophets, who become famous or infamous if you prefer it.” Elliott Coues, New york Sun, July 20, 1890.

“The serious worker in science holds a high position among men, no matter what the great herd may say about him. They simply do not know their opinion is not worth considering.” Edward D. Cope to Charles H. Sternberg, March 16, 1896.

Hunting by humans impacts behaviors of targeted species, similar to what is observed in other predator-prey systems. Managed wildlife areas commonly have refuges where hunting is prohibited. Deer (family Cervidae) are commonly hunted species and their behavior might differ between such refuges and areas outside refuges where deer hunting is permitted. We predicted that white-tailed deer detections would be higher in refuges than in hunted areas as populations seek refugia from hunting, and that detections would be greatest at night in hunted vs. refuge areas. Using camera traps in refuge and hunted areas on two public wildlife areas in eastern Kansas, we calculated detections of individual deer per hour and categorized days into four time periods (dawn, day, dusk, night). Detection rates of deer overall (sexes pooled) did not vary significantly between refuges and hunted areas. Unexpectedly, male detection rates were higher in hunted areas than refuges. Differences in deer detection rates among time periods were marginally significant for deer overall with detection rates being higher during dawn than daytime, apparently driven by activity of females (as males showed no significant pattern). Sizes of the refuges in our study might not have been large enough to negate the effects of hunting pressure on deer behavior. Despite standardization of habitat characteristics, habitat differences between refuge and hunted areas may have also affected deer behavior. It is also possible that hunting pressure during our study (18 October – 15 November 2018) was not high enough to alter deer behavior. Future study is warranted to account for these variables.

We estimated exploitation of walleye at Milford Reservoir in 2015 by tagging 433 walleye with reward tags and monitoring their returns for one year. Estimates of annual exploitation varied from 22% to 50%, depending on angler nonreporting rate. An objective of this study was to determine effect of a large walleye tournament on exploitation of walleye. Exploitation of walleye by tournament anglers was low and immediate mortality associated with tournament weigh in procedures was also low. In general, most harvest of tagged walleye came from recreational anglers who resided in Northeast Kansas near Milford Reservoir. Approximately 85% of tagged fish reported by anglers were caught in April through June. Linear regression indicated a negative relationship between proportion of tagged fish caught per length group and increasing size, suggesting catchability of tagged fish decreased with increasing size. Male and female walleye were caught by anglers in approximately similar proportions to those in which they were tagged.

This study examines high-terrace chert-gravel deposits preserved in several locations near and north of Toledo at the eastern edge of the Flint Hills in Chase County, Kansas. High-terrace gravel deposits are situated in ascending steps north of the Cottonwood River valley at three levels from approximately 90 to 150 feet (×28-45 m) above the Cottonwood River channel. All deposits contain exotic quartzite pebbles and represent the Old Osage River, which gradually shifted southward as it eroded into the modern valley. Assuming a late Pliocene age for the highest terrace gives a vertical incision rate of 1.5 cm/1000 years and a lateral migration rate of 2.2 m/1000 years. The Toledo vicinity provides confirmation for the asymmetric history of valley incision presumably due to regional crustal tilting downward to the south.

Xenotransplantation is considered a potential alternative to allotransplantation to relieve the current shortage of human organs. Due to their similar size and physiology, the organs of pigs are of particular interest for this purpose. Endogenous retroviruses are a result of integration of retroviral genomes into the genome of infected germ cells as DNA proviruses, which are then carried in all cells of the offspring of the organism. Porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) are of special concern because they are found in pig organs and tissues that might otherwise be used for xenotransplantation. PERV proviruses can be induced to replicate and recombine in pigs, and have been shown to infect human cells in vitro. There are three subtypes of PERVs based on differences in the receptor binding domain of the env protein; PERV-A, PERV-B, and PERV-C. PERVs A and B can infect human cells in vitro and can recombine with PERV-C, resulting in a recombinant virus with a higher rate of replication in pig and human cell lines. In this study, we used a PCR-based analysis of 50 domestic and 35 feral pigs to study the distribution of PERVs A, B, and C in swine raised under domestic conditions, versus feral swine from rural areas. PERV-A and PERV-B were universal in both domestic and feral swine. Feral swine had a higher incidence of PERV-C (85.7%) compared to domestic swine (42.0%). Further studies in other feral swine herds are ongoing to verify this observation.

Prairie stream fishes have adaptations to contend with seasonal stream drying, however, drought can exacerbate drying and present fishes with harsh environmental conditions. Here, I describe the harsh conditions in an isolated pool and the first observations of Central Stoneroller (Campostoma anomalum) shifting to aquatic surface respiration as a means to deal with low oxygen conditions.

The ability of plants to detect variations of light conditions is an essential mechanism for seed survival and germination. In this experiment, germinability and mean germination time were measured in five species of Asteraceae that are native to the tallgrass prairie in Kansas. Seeds were exposed to four light levels in a greenhouse experiment: 100% of natural light, approximately 50% of light, 10% of light, and dark conditions. Ageratina altissima (White snakeroot), Rudbeckia laciniata (Cutleaf coneflower), and Solidago ulmifolia (Elmleaf goldenrod) were non-photoblastic, as light levels had little effect on germinabilities. Aster drummondii (Drummond's aster) and Eutrochium purpureum (Sweet Joe-Pye weed) were positively photoblastic, as increasing light increased germinabilities. However, there were significant differences among species that might correlate with ecological roles. Ageratina altissima and R. laciniata had fast germinating seeds (< 5 d) and S. ulmifolia had slow germinating seeds (> 10 d) in all light levels. A. drummondii and E. purpureum had germination times that ranged from fast to intermediate to slow, depending on light levels. Mean germination times decreased with increased light. Measurements of germinability and mean germination time are essential for understanding establishment, succession, and regeneration processes that occur in prairie communities.

Microplastics have come to the forefront of aquatic science over the past decade. Research on microplastics has focused primarily on presence and distribution, and the overwhelming majority of studies have been conducted in marine environments. These plastic particles have the potential to leach chemicals into the surrounding aquatic environment, or into organisms that actively or passively ingest them, affecting growth, behavior, and survival. Plastics also change the physical properties of the stream, altering temperature, permeability of water through sediments, and habitat suitability. This research quantifies microplastics in the Great Plains. Surface water and sediment samples were collected at twenty-three locations from small streams, rivers, ponds, and reservoirs in Fall 2018. We reviewed a variety of sample processing techniques and chose a method that destroyed the least amount of microplastics per sample and exhibited a high rate of recovery. Samples were filtered through a 125 µm mesh sieve and thoroughly rinsed, placed into 30 mL polypropylene vials and processed in 15mL of 1N KOH for 14 days. Microplastics were detected in all samples. Data were analyzed using a two-way analysis of variance and paired t-test. Sediment samples had orders of magnitude greater microplastic densities than water column samples. The issue of microplastics is ubiquitous across aquatic environments, and we intend to build on this research with more thorough documentation of distribution and density across the Great Plains and mechanistic experimental manipulations to assess ecological impacts on stream environments and organisms.

Despite global eradication efforts, the worldwide measles vaccination program has stagnated over the past decade and there is growing concern of a “measles resurgence”. This study reports the results of an analysis of the latest immunization data, a secondary dataset from the World Health Organization (WHO), while addressing three questions: (1) What is the trend of MCV1 immunization in terms of regions (African, Americas, South-East Asia, European, Eastern Mediterranean, and Western Pacific); (2) What are the countries with very low MCV1 coverage rates; and, (3) What are the prospects for the African region for the next 5 years; Is the GVAP's goal of 90% global immunization coverage likely to be met? The results highlight that, while the measles vaccination program has made steady progress since 1980, there is wide variation in the coverage among countries and world regions, and global progress appears to have been hindered by economic and political turmoil.

Fossil fuel exhaust contains CO, CO₂, SO₂, NO, in addition to particulates (soot). It was hypothesized that ryegrass seeds (Lolium multiflorum) when exposed to diesel fuel exhaust would have fewer seeds germinate and sprout. Exhaust collector pans were created and one hundred ryegrass seeds and water were added to each pan. Fossil fuel exhaust was added to two exhaust collector pans. A third pan with no exhaust was prepared. The three pans were placed in a greenhouse for eight days. The seed growth from each pan was calculated and recorded. The mean growth for the control was 100%. The growth for the gasoline exhaust was 85%. The germination for the diesel was 67% and was 19% for sprouting. The t-test analysis of the data had a p-value of 0.0001. The hypothesis was supported because the fossil fuel exhaust did affect the growth of L. multiflorum.