Iowa has no mountains, access to an ocean, or even particularly large lakes. But Iowa is beautiful and there’s a great deal to explore and learn about in our natural environment.
Iowa State University Extension is set to prove that with their newly released comprehensive guide to nature: Iowa’s Nature Series. The 10 part series gives an updated, in-depth look at Iowa’s landforms and geology, soils, eco-systems, animals- large and small, insects and even some of the influential voices who have hailed from Iowa and helped to shape this state. On this episode of Talk of Iowa, host Charity Nebbe speaks with three of the 35 authors who put the Iowa Nature Series together.
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— aquatic web labeled
Aquatic food web showing examples of producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and detritivores that are part of the aquatic ecosystem.
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— woodlands web labeled
Forest food web showing examples of producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and detritivores that are part of the forest ecosystem.
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— prairie web Labeled
Prairie food web showing examples of producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers, and detritivores that are part of the prairie ecosystem.
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— soil food web labeled
Soil food web showing examples of producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, and tertiary consumers that are part of the soil ecosystem.
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— NREM-Prairie
Prairie plant gradient showing examples of species found in dry, mesic, and wet soil conditions.
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— Flower Anatomy Colored Labels
Diagram of the parts of a flower. Reproductive parts include the female pistil, which is comprised of the stigma, style, and ovary, and the male stamen which is comprised of the filament and anther. Non-reproductive parts include petals, sepals, and the receptacle.
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— JuliaBaker-final-illustration-roots
Comparison of the fibrous root system of prairie cordgrass with the taproot system of cylindrical blazing star.
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— VertsLandscape-Page_Vectorized
Landscape illustration showing 26 vertebrates and the many places they can be found in Iowa including a city, wetland, prairie, agricultural field, farmstead, forest, and stream.
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— Grasshopper Cycle
Two-striped grasshopper life cycle showing the three stages of simple metamorphosis: egg, nymph, and adult.
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— Jumping Spider labeled vectorized
Zebra jumping spider with labels for cephalothorax, abdomen, and eight legs.
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— Web
Paleogeographic map showing the position of Iowa and the North American continent in the middle northern latitudes during the late Cretaceous period, around 80 million years ago. High sea levels and mountain building along the west coast led to the Western Interior Seaway extending across the continent. This was approximately the position of Iowa when the Manson Impact occurred 74 million years ago.
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— Web
Paleogeographic map showing the position of Iowa and the North American continent in the Southern mid-latitudes during the Devonian Period. A shallow sea extended across the middle of Iowa.
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— Web
Paleogeographic map showing the position of Iowa and the early North American continent just south of the equator near the end of the Precambrian. The valley extending across the state is the Midcontinent Rift.
Guests:
- Adam Janke, assistant professor, Extension Wildlife Specialist, Iowa State University
- Pete Moore, adjunct assistant professor in Natural Resource and Ecology Management, Iowa State University
- Stephanie Sheppard, wildlife diversity biologist, Iowa DNR
