By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
A St. Joseph student is the first student-researcher at the University of Dubuque in Iowa to receive a prestigious fellowship.
The University of Dubuque reports environmental science major Tatum Levendahl, who is a junior, is the first student-researcher selected for the Franzen Biodiversity Fellowship at Wolter Woods and Prairies. The university reports Levendahl learned about field research and conducted surveys as well as collected, prepared, and cataloged specimens over the summer. She has systematically surveyed a variety of fungi, arthropods, plants, and more at the University of Dubuque’s Wolter Woods and Prairies Environmental Stewardship and Retreat Center.
“One of the most exciting organisms to add to the collection was the Asiatic Dayflower. The bloom only lasts for one day, so I was really lucky to run into it when I did,” Levendahl said in a written statement issued by Dubuque University. “I also love to find parasitic insects. They’re so interesting to learn about, and it almost feels like I’m uncovering a mystery when trying to identify them.”
David Koch, PhD, assistant director of Wolter Woods and Prairies, curator of the Wolter Woods and Prairies Herbarium Collection, and associate professor of environmental science, was impressed by Levendahl’s observational skills.
“Tatum located rare and hard-to-find specimens for the herbarium collection,” Koch said in a written statement. “In the third year of the herbarium collection project, Tatum has accounted for around 20 percent of the collection’s total species count at a time when finding new species should be difficult.”
The university reports Levendahl continues to organize her collection and will add new specimens as the academic year progresses. She will wrap up her experience with the Franzen Biodiversity Fellowship in April when she presents her findings in a poster at the annual meeting of the Mississippi River Research Consortium in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
The Franzen Biodiversity Fellowship at Wolter Woods and Prairies is sponsored by Pat (Wild) Franzen (C’68) and Dick Franzen (C’67).
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