Oak Lake Field Station provides laboratory and computing facilities and field areas for research studies of northern prairie environments. In addition, the station provides two to three seed grants each year to support student and faculty research (see links below). Much of the research activity at the Oak Lake Field Station focuses on ecology, management and environmental issues related to prairie environments. Oak Lake has been the subject of over 20 years of comparative aquatic research. Current efforts focus on the ecological effects of disturbance to littoral zone communities, studies of intermittent prairie stream communities, life-history and human utilization of native prairie forbs, insect-plant interactions and studies of prairie fire and browser effects on vegetation. New efforts are now focused on the influence of management of fields for biofuels production and influence on biological diversity. The station hosts research scientists interested in broader landscape-level questions. These efforts are contributing to greater understanding and sustainable
Monitoring efforts at the Field Station provide data to support instruction and research efforts. Information on station climate and lake monitoring programs can be obtained through the field station director. Climate and lake monitoring data are available for use by state agencies, researchers and educators from this site. In addition, a geographic information system of the Oak Lake watershed has been developed to facilitate instruction, research and management activities on the site. GIS coverage’s are available directly from the field station director.
The station hosts an annual research retreat in October. Students, faculty and visiting researchers are invited to deliver presentations of their efforts and discuss future directions for their projects. A feedback session toward the end of the retreat provides information to field station staff regarding researcher needs and suitability of facilities.
Oak Lake Field Station administers three competitively awarded grants to support faculty and undergraduate research. These grant funds are intended to help support initial research efforts. These grants support efforts extending over one calendar year and must be conducted at the station. Faculty or students interested in applying for one of the incentives grants should explore the hyperlinks below to gain access to forms and deadlines.
Publications
Please click Open Prairie to see Oak lake Field Station Research publications.
S. Herzog and M. Latvis. 2021. Examining the utility of DNA barcodes for the identification of tallgrass prairie flora. Applications in Plant Sciences 9(1): e11405
Troelstrup, N.H., Jr. 2018. Selection and validation of regional reference sites and development of indices of biotic integrity for the Northwestern Great Plains Ecoregion. Final Project Completion Report, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Pierre, South Dakota.
Boe, A. and P.J. Johnson. 2017. Fates of ovules in groundplum milk-vetch (Astragalus crassicarpus NUTT.) in South Dakota. Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Science 96: 121-129.
Cooper, S.D., D.P. Roy, C.B. Schaaf, I. Paynter. 2017. Examination of the potential of terrestrial laser scanning and structure-from-motion photogrammetry for rapid nondestructive field measurement of grass biomass. Remote Sensing 9: 531-543.
NandaKafle, G., A.A. Christie, S. Vilain, V. Brozel. 2017. Growth extended survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in soil organic matter. Preprint Server for Biology, bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/235275, (accessed Dec. 20, 2017), 31p.
Troelstrup, N.H., Jr. 2017. Development and online access to the South Dakota Aquatic Invertebrate Collection and Database. Progress Report and Supplemental Workplan. South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Pierre, South Dakota.
Troelstrup, N.H., Jr. 2017. Development and maintenance of the South Dakota Aquatic Invertebrate Collection and Database. Final Project Report submitted to South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, Pierre, SD. Xu, L., D. Olson, J. Young, A. Boe, J.R. Hendrickson, N.H. Troelstrup, Jr. 2016. Impacts of mowing treatments on smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis) belowground bud bank. Pages 755-756 in A. Iwaasa, H.A. Lardner, M. Schellenberg, W. Willms, K. Larson (eds). Proceedings of the 10th International Rangeland Congress, Saskatoon, SK.
Boe, A. and P.J. Johnson. 2015. First report of seed predators of Platte milkvetch, Astragalus plattensis Nutt, ex T.&G. Proceedings of the South Dakota Academy of Sciences, in press.
J. Manuel Perilla Lopez, P.J. Johnson, R.J. Gagne, A. Boe. 2015. A new species of Stenodiplosis (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on Spartina grasses (Poaceae) with notes on its biology and its parasitoid Tetrastichus bromi (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). Zootaxa 4057(1): 115-124.
Renville, Florestine Kiyukanpi, ed., We’re Still Here: Oak Lake Writers 20th Anniversary Publication (Revised Edition). Watertown, SD: Oak Lake Writers’ Society Press, 2015.
Smart, A.J., D.E. Clay, R.G. Stover, M.D. Rezwanul Parvez, K.D. Reitsma, L.L. Janssen, N.H. Troelstrup, S.R. Burckhard. 2015. Persistence wins: long-term agricultural conservation outreach pays off. Journal of Extension 53(2): 1-11.
Theses and Dissertations
I. B. Vilella-Arnizaut. 2021. Pollinator Ecology in Agroecosystems of Eastern South Dakota. M.S. Thesis. South Dakota State University. Brookings.
S. Herzog. 2020. Examining Biodiversity Metrics and the Utility of DNA Barcoding in the Northern Great Plains. M.S. Thesis. South Dakota State University. Brookings.
S. Stiles. 2019. Maximizing Ecosystem Services Provided to the New Oil Crop Brassica carinata Through Landscape and Arthropod Diversity. M.S. Thesis. South Dakota State University. Brookings.
Foley, J. 2017. Native species for biomass production and roadside habitat in South Dakota. M.S. Thesis, South Dakota State University, Brookings. 80p.
Kuehl, L.C. 2017. A statewide assessment of drivers influencing biotic integrity in perennial, wadeable prairie streams of South Dakota. M.S. Thesis, South Dakota State University, Brooking. 116p.
Peterson, E.C. 2017. Invertebrate prey selectivity of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) in western South Dakota prairie streams. M.S. Thesis, South Dakota State University, Brookings. 105p.
Suehring, A. 2017. Assessment of watershed condition and vulnerability to forecasted land-use/land-cover change in the Northwestern Great Plains of western South Dakota. M.S. Thesis, South Dakota State University, Brookings. 111p.
Cooper, S.D. 2016. Examination of the potential of structure-from-motion photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning for rapid nondestructive field measurement of grass biomass. M.S. Thesis, South Dakota State University, Brookings. 99p.
Faltys, K.L. 2016. Assessing freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae) in South Dakota and identifying drivers of assemblage variation. M.S. Thesis, South Dakota State University, Brookings. 90p.
Perilla López, Juan Manuel. 2015. Grass-feeding gall midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) and their parasitoids in eastern South Dakota. M.S. Thesis, South Dakota State University, Brookings.