South Dakota Academy of Science Newsletter
Volume 2 Number 3 Summer 2024
by Dr. Robert Tatina
In the January issue of the Newsletter, Dr. Eric Pulis introduced himself as one of the newer members of the SD Academy of Science. In this issue, I have the honor of introducing Dr. Kenneth Higgins based on some notes he sent me. Ken is a Professor Emeritus of SDSU, having retired as a research biologist with the US Department of the Interior. During his 40-year career he conducted waterfowl, land use and wetlands research within the Central and Mississippi Flyways in Canada, at the Northern Plain Wildlife Research Center in North Dakota and with the USGS-South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at SDSU in Brookings. He has authored or co-authored over 180 scientific publications and 300 presentations at scientific meetings and workshops.
I called Ken to find out what prompted him to join the Academy. Ken who is a member of a number of professional organizations, indicated that the Academy seemed like an excellent place to share his research and that of his students. And he did just that: Ken joined the SD Academy of Science in 1989, presenting and then publishing the first of over 40 talks about waterfowl, hunting, grazing, non-game mammals, upland birds, arthropods, fossil fishes, and water chemistry. Ken also served the Academy as Editor and Co-editor of the Proceedings from 1998-2004. In 1998 Ken was elected the first Fellow of the South Dakota Academy of Science and in 2015 he was elected Fellow of the Wildlife Society.
The following description of the new Academy website was written by Tim Mullican, Webmaster.
As the Academy webmaster, I am excited to share some important news with you. Earlier this year, our former web host informed us that due to a major career advancement, he no longer has the time to maintain our website. Therefore, after much discussion by our Executive Committee, we have decided to switch our web hosting to Wild Apricot, a platform known for its comprehensive services tailored specifically for non-profit organizations like ours. Over the past 1.5 months, I have put together a website complete with a membership application, a slideshow with photos taken by some of our members, news articles, the Proceedings, and a list of Executive Committee members (https://southdakotaacademyofscience.wildapricot.org).
Why Wild Apricot?
Wild Apricot allows organizations like ours to build and maintain a professional-looking website without the help of a paid website manager. Wild Apricot provides a variety of customizable templates that allow the creation of a professional and visually appealing website without needing advanced technical skills. This ensures that our online presence accurately reflects the professionalism and dedication of our organization.
Membership Management Made Easy
One of the additional features of Wild Apricot is its robust membership management system. This platform allows us to automate many of the tasks that previously required manual effort, such as membership renewal reminders, emails and event registrations. With Wild Apricot, members can easily update their information, renew their memberships, and register for events through a user-friendly online portal. One nice feature of the website is that it keeps track of contacts and allows users to control how much and what kind of information is made public or available to other members. If a member wishes, they can opt out of allowing any member of the public to see their contact information, allow only members access, or only allow fellow members of the Executive Committee to see their email and phone numbers. This should make communication much easier than it has been in the past.
But what about the cost?
Yes, there is a cost for using the services of Wild Apricot. However, with automated membership renewal reminders and event management services, I believe that the net cost of the service will end up being less than what we were paying for maintenance of our old website and will pay for itself in the long run. Over 26,000 non-profit organizations use the services of Wild Apricot, and many of them report increases in memberships following implementation.
Transitioning
Transitioning to a new web hosting platform can be challenging, so there probably will be bugs to be worked out, so please be patient. Wild Apricot does offer extensive support and they have been very helpful thus far. One of the most difficult challenges will be putting the volumes of the Proceedings on the new website. Thus far, I have uploaded the issues for 2021-2023 and 2017, and will be continuing to add more throughout the summer. In addition, our Executive Committee is investigating the archive of the Proceedings on Open Prairie. This should give the Proceedings more exposure through its presence on more than one website.
In conclusion, our switch to Wild Apricot marks a significant step forward for the South Dakota Academy of Science. This platform offers the comprehensive services we need to enhance our online presence, streamline our operations, and better serve our members. I am confident that this change will bring numerous benefits to our organization and help us continue to grow and thrive.
If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to contact me. Tim.Mullican@dwu.edu
Jewett Regional Science Education Center-NSU
If you did not attend the Annual Meeting in April, here is a summary of some of the interesting presentations.
Dr. John Long, NSU, tracked changes in plant community structure after the 1988 Fan Fire in Yellowstone National Park. Models of secondary succession describe these changes as slow and proceeding through a number of stages that replace one another. His research has shown that for the fire adapted coniferous forests in Yellowstone, secondary succession bypasses the early stages and instead is self-replacing.
Bibek Adhikari, SDSU, described how he is using nuclear and chloroplast DNA to study hybridization in red and white mulberry and reports that the native red mulberry may become extinct through introgressive hybridization with white mulberry. Using nuclear and chloroplast DNA, Bibek and his team have found that the hybrids have red mulberry nuclear DNA and white mulberry chloroplast DNA.
Using zebrafish as a model organism to study obesity, Samantha St. Clair, NSU, fattened them and then treated them with estradiol, which is known to inhibit a gene in the liver involved in fat metabolism. She and her fellow researchers found that estradiol was effective in preventing obesity, but only in males.
Khang Huynh, along with Bharath Maddipudi (Rajesh Shende lab at SDSMT), described how waste cardboard can be processed into capacitors. As Khang described it, the process involves the hydrothermal conversion of carboard to a hyrochar which is activated to produce a porous carbon. That product is then used as the anode in a capacitor.
Paula Mazzer, DWU biochemist, has created a game to help students learn organic chemical reactions and their products. The card game, called React, is competitive (as one aspiring organic chemist turned arsonist can play a card that torches the reaction products of her opponent) and fun while it has improved comprehension.
And who could forget Abigail Martens’ (SDSU) description of the “fart in the face” defensive behavior of the beaded lacewing larva as it attacks termites. She reported the flatulent species as new to the insect fauna of SD, a specimen of which she collected at the bombing range in Lakota County. For lacewing larva “shoot from the hip” expands the meaning of “hip.”
The Nature Conservancy is hiring a Southern Black Hills Land Steward. This position will be stationed at the Conservancy’s Whitney Preserve near Hot Springs, SD.
See this link for more information.
Congratulations to the following winners of the poster and oral paper competitions held at the 2024 Annual Meeting. Besides recognition, each received a cash award.
Poster Judging committee: Adam Sturlaugson, Eric Pulis, George Nora:
Poster Award: Jessica Splichal. Science & Mathematics, NSU “Transcription Analysis of miRNA’s within CD34+ Hematopoietic Stem Cells”
Oral Presentation judging committee: Tom Montoya, Adam Sturlaugson
Oral Presentation awards
Undergraduate Oral Presentation Award: Zoe Boughton and Eric Pulis. Science & Mathematics, NSU “MOLECULAR SCREENING AND IDENTIFICATION OF BLOOD PARASITES FROM SOME UPLAND GAMEBIRDS (PHASIANIDAE)”
Graduate awards-
First Place Graduate Student Oral Paper Award: Sanam Parajuli, Bibek Adhikari, and Madhav P. Nepal. Biology & Microbiology, SDSU “GENOME-WIDE IDENTIFICATION OF MADS-BOX TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR GENES IN RED MULBERRY (MORUS RUBRA L.)”
Second Place Graduate Student Oral Paper Award: Bharathkiran Maddipudi, Khang Huynh, Anuradha Shende, and Rajesh Shende. Chemical & Biological Engineering. SDSM&T. “CATALYTIC HYDROTHERMAL LIQUEFACTION OF AGRICULTURE RESIDUE FOR VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS”
Appearing in your email every January, April, July and October is a copy of this Newsletter. But something is missing…It’s news from you.
The major purpose of this Newsletter is to share information about the Academy and its members. To facilitate this, I need your help in the form of short essays about your research, about developments in your field, about science in the news, and about your vision for the Academy. Send those essays to me at Robert.Tatina@dwu.edu.
The South Dakota Academy of Science Newsletter is published quarterly by the South Dakota Academy of Science. Submissions, and comments about content should be addressed to Robert Tatina, Editor (Robert.tatina@dwu.edu)
