FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 2005 NEWS THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN Professor researches diversity By TY BEAVER teebr@kansan.com KANSAN STAFF WRITER Erin Droste/KANSAN Professor Val Smith demonstrates how he examines the water samples he uses in his study of water diversity yesterday in his office in Haworth Hall. Smith said he and his staff have completed much of the field work needed for the research and were working mostly in the laboratory conducting experiments and analyzing their work. A University of Kansas researcher is gaining national attention after he conducted a study based on other people's work. Val Smith, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, found that phytoplankton, microscopic plants that live in water, tend to be more diverse in larger habitats. His research supports the theory that species diversity is determined by habitat size. To reach this conclusion, he compared past research to see if a basic rule of ecology could be applied to his studies. During the course of his research, he spent more time in the library than the laboratory. His paper, "Phytoplankton Species Richness Scales Consistently From Laboratory Microcosms to The World's Oceans," was published in the March 22 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. While Smith did use research data from similar past experiments, he used data unrelated to the research. such as biological surveys of the Great Lakes and Lake Baikal in Asia. He also conducted several of his own small scale experiments in his laboratory. After gathering all the information, he synthesized it. The research provides reasoning that small closed experiments can be used in researching environments, he said. A collaborator and colleague of Smith, Brian Foster, said this type of research, called meta-analysis, was not uncommon. Studies in the medical field can involve researchers analyzing primary research and asking bigger questions. Using phytoplankton as the model provided a universal application. Foster, an assistant ecology and evolutionary biology professor said. Smith began his research after he was asked to join the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis several years ago. "Phytoplankton are cosmopolitan, they're able to get around and live in a variety of habitats." he said. As technology has improved, researchers like Smith have attempted to examine whether the rule about habitat size controlling diversity applied to phytoplankton. Smith simply took the information that was available and made sense of it. Now Smith hopes that a researcher will investigate why this rule exists. "It doesn't make sense that a body the size of a water bottle and the Arctic Ocean are ruled by the same principle," he said. Edited by Kendall Dix As the competition for the NCAA championship heats up, so did Allen Fieldhouse. Firefighters and police were called to the field house at about 1:30 p.m. yesterday after someone inside smelled smoke. Mark Bradford, deputy fire chief, said one of the air handling units in the southwest corner of the third floor heated and started smoking. The smoking unit set off the fire alarms. Firefighters, police respond to smoke in Allen Fieldhouse The number three air handling unit, which coincidentally has a red "no smoking" sign attached to it, is located right next to a storage area filled with cardboard boxes, posters and handouts. Nicoletta Niosi/KANSAN This is the second time this year firefighters have been called to the fieldhouse. A cardboard box of potato chips caught fire in the fieldhouse March 2. There was no damage to the fieldhouse or external damage to the unit. Estuardo Garcia ON THE RECORD A 22-year-old KU student reported stolen an unknown amount of Hydrocodone to Lawrence police between 10:30 p.m. March 23 and 11:30 a.m. March 24 from the 1700 block of West 19th Street. The medicine is valued at $12. A 46-year-old KU Memorial Unions employee reported graffiti spray painted on a sidewalk to the KU Public Safety Office between 5 p.m. March 29 and 7 a.m. March 30 between the 1300 and 1400 blocks of Jayhawk Boulevard. The damage is estimated at $300. The graffiti was advertising a presentation. ON CAMPUS Student Union Activities will sponsor Tunes At Noon today at the Kansas Union Plaza. This event is free.Call 864-SHOW for more information. - Student Union Activities will sponsor a screening of the film "Ocean's Twelve" at 7 and 9:30 tonight at Woodruff Auditorium in the Kansas Union. Tickets are $2 or free with SUA Movie Card. Call 864-SHOW for more information. - English Alternative Theatre will present the play "Jocasta" from 8 to 9:30 p.m. tonight and tomorrow night and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St. Tickets are $6 for students. Call 864-3642 for more information. - Golf Course Superintendents Association of America will host the Lisa Ramos Bland Scholarship fundraiser from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sunday in the St. John's Parish base ment, 12th and Kentucky. Contact Kathy Thomas at 841-2240 for more information. - Students in Communications Studies will sponsor a bowling fundraiser from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at Jaybowl in the Kansas Union. Pizza will be available. Call (847) 668-7715 for more information. Cellist Zuill Bailey will perform at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Lied Center as part of the Swarthout Chamber Music Series. Call 864-2787 for more information. Note: The University Daily Kansan prints campus events that are free and open to the public. Submission forms are available in the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall. Items must be turned in two days in advance of the desired publication date. On Campus is printed on a space available basis. THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN kansan.com 25¢ OFF CHICK-FIL-A BREAKFAST BISGUIT 25¢ OFF CHICK-FIL-A Between 7:30-10 a.m. at The Underground at Wescoe CANTERBURY One Item Per Person Per Visit ED. 1/10 Hillcrest Shopping Cir Not valid with any other offers, exp. 4/15. See spotrieve for details. 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Drum Drum world music from Papua New Guinea "... from rhythms of the log drums to a funky dance fusion, where ancient traditional instruments and chants are reborn with an influence of Funk, Ska, and Soul." — ABC Radio National - Pre-Performance Lecture - 6:30 p.m. - Lied Center lobby exhibit on *Papua New Guinea and related cultures through Monday, April 4. Friday, April 1 $ ^{*} $ - 7:30 p.m. SIMSIVE Go to Kansan.com for more great offers from these advertisers - Program: Mendelsohn's Variations Concertantes, Op.17; Beethoven's Sonata No. 3 in A major; Debussy's Sonata in D minor; Saint-Saul's Concerto No. 2 in D minor - Pre-Performance Lecture - 1:00 p.m. Zuill Bailey, cellist with Robert Koenig, pianist Sunday, April 3* - 2:00 p.m. "Bailey is both an artist and an athlete with the cello ... with energy to burn." — The Free Times (Columbia, South Carolina) McDaniel & McDaniel VIP Sponsor Hold on to the Dream. 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