Since 2004, the Biology Department has been the home of several biologists with the Heartland Network of the National Park Service (NPS). Because of the department’s strengths in wildlife and conservation biology, the partnership between the department and the NPS is an excellent fit. Director of the Heartland Network and Missouri State alumnus Mike DeBacker and former Biology Department head Steve Jensen were largely responsible for establishing the partnership. The lead NPS researchers on campus are Dr. David Bowles, who is an expert in stream ecology and aquatic insects, and Dr. Lloyd Morrison, whose expertise is in conservation biology related to populations and communities. The other NPS scientists with offices in the Biology Department include Hope Dodd (stream ecology), Sherry Leis (fire ecology), Jennifer Haack (Geographic Information Systems), and Janice Hinsey (aquatic ecology).
The Biology Department and other CNAS units have benefitted from the NPS staff’s presence in several ways. The NPS biologists have been adjunct faculty who have employed student researchers, served on graduate committees, given guest lectures, and provided students with research opportunities in national parks. The NPS has also given Missouri State students paid internship opportunities and has worked with undergraduate service-learning students. Beyond that, the NPS researchers have served as ongoing informal invaluable resources for both faculty and students. Through the NPS, the university has received over half a million dollars in research grants.
Research projects involving Missouri State students and NPS researchers have been varied and have reflected the diversity of habitats in the Ozarks and the heartland regions. Some study subjects have included the Topeka shiner (a species of native fish), vegetation in tallgrass prairies, control of algae in streams, biological integrity in rivers, aquatic insects, and management of invasive plants.