(Top photo) Civil engineering student Alan Holderread studies water quality in Cedar Creek as it flows through the field station. (Bottom photo) English and biology major Megan Krintz investigates the invasive shrub autumn olive.

Two Valparaiso University students studied storm water management and the effects of invasive plants on birds at an ecological field station in southwestern Michigan this summer and presented their findings at a research conference held September 20.

Pierce Cedar Creek Institute awarded Valparaiso senior Alan Holderread of North Liberty, Indiana and junior Megan Krintz of Fairview, North Carolina a total of $12,000 through its Undergraduate Research Grants for the Environment program, which helps undergraduate students gain experience planning and conducting environment-related studies.

Holderread, a civil engineering major, studied water quality in Cedar Creek as it flows through the field station and used those results to propose storm water best management practices to protect the stream. Krintz, a biology and English major, investigated whether the invasive shrub autumn olive is affecting populations of nesting birds, particularly nest predation and cover compared to native plants.

Krintz said her research sought to understand how autumn olive impacts bird populations and point toward strategies for dealing with the shrub, first introduced to the United States in the 1970s. Autumn olive began spreading out of control shortly after its introduction and, as with many non-native plant species, little is known about how it impacts the biodiversity of an area.

"My main result was that autumn olive overall offers no better prospects for birds than native plants, especially in nesting and arthropod (which include insects, arachnids and caterpillars) availability," she said. "Despite this, bird activity was actually higher in autumn olive than native plants."

According to Krintz, those results provide biologists with a better understanding of how the autumn olive impacts the ecology of an area..

"It's quite interesting to get these results, although it might not immediately look like it," she said. "These results make us rethink the importance of frugivory (feeding primarily or exclusively on fruit) for autumn olive dispersal. With no other apparent advantage offered to birds, autumn olive's superior fruits must be a real draw."

Autumn olive is just one of numerous invasive plant species that are spreading throughout the United States at a rate of 14 million acres a year, and Krintz's findings this summer could have implications for how to deal with other invasive plants affecting native species.

Krintz, who has worked as a volunteer at Moraine Ridge Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Porter County and the Carolina Raptor Center, said completing the independent research project allowed her to gain a better grasp of scientific study.

"I know that the skills I acquired over the summer will be beneficial to me for years to come, whatever I choose to study in graduate school and in whatever field I ultimately choose for my career," she said.

Holderread's research developed a better understanding of the Cedar Creek's hydrology, provided an overview of the impact of development taking place upstream from Pierce Cedar Creek Institute and quantified its effect on water quality in Cedar Creek and its ecosystems.

"Land use upstream of the institute seems to have limited impact on the water quality," Holderread said. "Agricultural runoff contributes somewhat to decreased water quality in the creek. Different testing times, like during the spring fertilizing season, could further explore the relation between local agriculture and the water quality."

Holderread said he was pleased to find the tested portion of Cedar Creek was healthy and able to absorb runoff without any drastic changes in water quality.

The data collected by Holderread should contribute to the development of appropriate storm water management plans to address and improve water quality, he said. The project also allowed him to use skills from his environmental engineering and hydrology courses at Valparaiso.

"Being at a multi-discipline research center was a good experience because I got to work alongside people with many different majors," Holderread said. "I will be prepared to communicate more effectively with other disciplines of scientific research in the future."

Holderread plans to present his results at Valparaiso's Celebration of Undergraduate Scholarship in April and possibly at water quality conference as well.

Valparaiso University, which joined Pierce Cedar Creek Institute in 2005, is one of 13 colleges and universities belonging to the consortium that operates the biological field station at Pierce Cedar Creek Institute – a 661-acre site with forest, wetlands, fields and lakes. The Institute, located south of Hastings, Mich., is open to the public and includes a visitor center, education building, trails and housing facilities for researchers and guests. More information about the Institute is online.