South Dakota Academy of Science Newsletter
Volume 3 Number 3 Autumn 2024
Academy Website https://southdakotaacademyofscience.wildapricot.org
I am a behavioral ecologist interested in the ecology and reproduction of invertebrates and birds, as well as the social and environmental conditions under which related behaviors occur. I am also dedicated to understanding and documenting the biodiversity and natural heritage of the Great Plains.
I am currently an assistant professor at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, SD. Prior to my current position, I served as an assistant professor at Cameron University in my home state of Oklahoma. I was fortunate enough to get that position directly out of grad school and there developed a deep love of teaching and involving students in research. After leaving OK, I spent a short time as a post-doctoral research associate at the University of Illinois and South Dakota State University.
Some of my past research addresses: 1) Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Tyrannus forficatus) paternity and how morphology, population characteristics, habitat, and weather correlate to extra-pair paternity, 2) Scissor-tailed Flycatcher habitat use and nest success across urbanization gradients, 3) impacts of temperature on foraging behavior of Pogonomyrmex barbatus harvester ants, 4) timing of foraging and competition between ant species sharing the same habitat, 5) ant diversity and habitat associations both in natural and urban areas, 6) demography of long-lived perennial herbs in relation to the environment, and 7) coevolution between long-lived perennial herbs and their pollinators.
My current work focuses on: 1) ant and other ground-dwelling invertebrate diversity in restored and remnant prairie patches in MN, 2) thermal tolerance and desiccation resistance of ants and how these are related to habitat use, 3) resource use by Hymenoptera across an urbanization gradient, and 4) ant diversity across South Dakota.
The 110th Annual Meeting in 2025 will be hosted by the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City, April 11-12. Watch for further information and the Call for Papers in January Newsletter.
This announcement is open from 9/24/24 to 10/3/24 through both Merit Promotion and Public/Career Transition recruitment pathways.
The Supervisory Vegetation Ecologist is duty stationed in Rapid City, South Dakota, in the Northern Great Plains Network (NGPN), which serves 13 National Park Service units in the Northern Great Plains region. This position designs, develops, coordinates, and administers a vegetation ecology program developed for use by the National Park Service and other scientists to understand the status and trends of plant communities. Plant monitoring data help characterize park-wide ecosystem health and responses to environmental drivers, including weather and climate, land cover changes, invasive/exotic plants, and habitat conditions for species of interest, such as prairie dogs, bison, and deer. The Supervisory Vegetation Ecologist leads protocol implementation by hiring and supervising permanent and seasonal vegetation program staff, conducting statistical analysis, and interpreting and synthesizing results for written and oral presentations to park and scientific communities. They work closely with the Invasive Plant Monitoring Team (IPMT) Liaison, fire ecologist, park resource managers, scientists, geographic information system (GIS) specialists, and cooperating personnel to evaluate data, and ensure that relevant and useful data are acquired and integrated into decision support tools used to help parks make informed treatment choices. Project management responsibilities include project coordination, writing and overseeing contracts and agreements, developing work plans, schedules, and cost estimates, and tracking budgets.
Merit Promotion: USA JOBS - Job Announcement
Public/Career Transition: USA JOBS - Job Announcement
All applications must be received through USAJOBS.
Please reach out to me with any questions about NGPN or this position. Shauna Marquardt (she/her)
Regional Inventory & Monitoring Program Manager
National Park Service - Midwest Region - Interior Regions 3, 4 & 5
St. Paul, Minnesota
402-378-2058
shauna_marquardt@nps.gov
We were meeting in Spearfish when Dr. Ken Higgins, SDSU, was honored as the first Fellow of the South Dakota Academy of Science. Since then, 30 members have been so honored. Is there a member of the Academy that you feel deserves this honor? If so, the process is easy to get started. Send me (robert.tatina@dwu.edu) the name of that person and I will get the ball rolling.
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).
