Biodiversity Research

The Biodiversity Institute seeks to increase our understanding of biological diversity in Wyoming and beyond through a variety of research grants and collaborative research projects.  Research is essential for:

• understanding how organisms, ecosystems and connections work;
• identifying the state of biodiversity now so we can monitor changes over time;
• fostering young scientists to become creative yet grounded researchers;
• effective, sustainable and smart conservation of biodiversity.

To this end, the Biodiversity Institute has developed the following programs:

Biodiversity Research Grant Program

This program provides financial support for University of Wyoming undergraduate and graduate students conducting innovative and high-impact research projects that address important topics in biodiversity scholarship.  The Request for Proposals for 2013 is now closed.  The research proposals that are funded will be directly concerned with biological diversity, but not necessarily restricted to the natural sciences, and are for students' own independent research ideas.

> Click here to read the (closed) Request for Proposals.

Research Synthesis and Dispersal

The Biodiversity Institute will work closely with land and wildlife managers to determine topics of critical concern for research synthesis and dispersal via white papers and workshops.  This initiative will pull critical information from a variety of recent, cutting-edge and important research papers into one consolidated reference guide on a topic, such as climate change modeling for vegetation changes.  The product of this research will be white paper publications and/or workshops geared toward agencies and non-governmental organizations.

This program is under development.

Biodiversity in Art Grant Program

Exploration and understanding of biodiversity doesn't only come through the study of proteins and photosynthesis - much of it comes from what we observe and portray as a result!  The Biodiversity in Art Grant program  provides funding for cross-disciplinary projects that advance the research and depiction of biodiversity through art, including visual and written.  The Request for Proposals for 2013 is now closed.

> Click here to read the (closed) grant RFP.

Green Roof Research

The Berry Center, home of the Biodiversity Institute, maintains a living roof filled with 60+ species of native grasses, wildflowers and shrubs.  We call it the "Berry Prairie".  Because of its unusual design which mimics a native prairie (rather than the typical design using less than five species of sedum), the research potential is limitless!  Currently, there are two research projects underway: Kyle Bolenbaugh, MS student in Botany, is studying how well plants survive year to year in this harsh environment; Brenna Marsicek, Project Coordinator for the Biodiversity Institute, is exploring whether there is a difference in soil temperature and therefore plant phenology between the green roof and the surrounding area.

> Click here to learn more about the green roof.