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The Flora Richardson Foundation is dedicated to supporting the education of students at all educational levels who are pursuing education in the natural sciences or natural history, including the environment, conservation, zoology or ecology affecting the Indiana Dunes and/or region of southern Lake Michigan.  Eric Bird The Department of Biological Sciences is proud to announce that the Foundation’s Board of Directors recently announced that PUC biology student, Eric Bird, will be awarded a $10,000 grant for his proposal entitled, the Effect of nitrogen enrichment on biomass allocation and competition between two prairie grass species Schizachyrium scoparium (little bluestem) and Elymus canadensis (Canadian wild rye), which was prepared under the mentorship of Professor Young Choi. The purpose of the project is to determine how soil nitrogen enrichment affects competition between S. scoparium and E. canadensis. Eric and Dr. Choi hypothesize that S. scoparium will establish initial dominance due to its higher allocation of biomass to shoots, resulting in increased photosynthesis and seed dispersal. Over time, they believe that E. Canadensis will become dominant because its increased belowground biomass allocation will result in increased root and rhizome production providing a competitive edge by exploiting nutrients, water, and space.  Dr. Choi The results of the study will be presented at the 95th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) to be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in August 2010 and at the 97th annual meeting of ESA in August 2012 (location to be determined). They will hope to publish their completed work in peer-reviewed journals, such as American Midwest Naturalist, Natural Areas Journal, Journal of Torrey Botanical Society, and American Naturalist.
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