July 5, 2011

Faculty member and students to determine

what species are living in native prairie

Members of the biology department at Morningside College received $2,490 from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for a summer project to see what animals are living in a local wildlife area.

Jim Stroh, professor of biology and chemistry, will work with students in August on a weeklong intensive survey of the Five Ridge Prairie Wildlife Management Area.

Five Ridge Prairie is just north of Sioux City in Plymouth County. It is one of the largest tracts of native prairie left in Iowa. A large number of species are dependent on native prairie ecosystems. The Morningside group will try to determine what species of mammals and reptiles are living on this important prairie remnant.