The Kaspari Lab

Category: Latest Posts


Herbivores like a little salt with their protein

When offered grassland plots fertilized with Nitrogen+Phosphorus, Sodium, or both, above and belowground invertebrates respond to salt differently.

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One way to build a dietary generalist

Karl Roeder gives some background on the dietary diversity hidden in a population of red imported fire ants

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New PostDoc to study Geographical Ecology of prairie food webs

A new NSF DEB grant to Mike Kaspari and Nate Sanders supports a 3-year postdoc who will join us to explore the Geographical Ecology of invertebrate plant consumers across North American grasslands, meadows, and roadways. Our focus is on the…

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Brittany Benson leads AntLab BugOut!

Brittany Benson leads the AntLab’s public outreach in her traveling roadshow “Acari Safari”.

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Not all male ants are “sperm missiles”

When your mating system calls for patience, male ants will stick around for a while.

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On the salutary effect of the Kudos Email

If you like someone’s work, don’t just cite them, write them!

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On writing a strong NSF pre-proposal

Its been 4 years since NSF DEB began to require pre-proposals. What makes a strong one?

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A manifesto for Biogeochemical Ecology

The theoretical and empirical challenges of Biogeochemical Ecology include: making biogeochemical maps scalable; translating elemental chemistry into ecological niches; building a science that predicts how the abiotic forms a template for the biotic.   Twenty-five chemical elements form the recipe for…

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Know Your Grassland Invertebrates: The Cobweb Spiders

An occasional series by AntLab Parataxonomist: Brittany Benson Theridiidae – Cobweb Spiders, or Comb-Footed Spiders Have a comb of serrated setae on the fourth tibiae (these are used to draw out and fling silk when attacking).  Also, typically have a round…

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Know Your Grassland Invertebrates: The Checkered Beetles

  An occasional series by AntLab Parataxonomist: Brittany Benson Cleridae – Checkered Beetles With more than 3,500 species in 330 genera worldwide, about 300 species in 36 genera occur in North America, being more diverse in the south.  They have a…

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