The Ecological Research Facility, maintained by the Department of Biological Sciences, is located on a large old-field tract in Lexington, Kentucky. Surrounded by agricultural land and horse farms, it offers a convenient resource for field studies within easy commuting distance of campus.
Access is controlled, providing a secure site for long-term studies.
Several faculty in the department utilize this facility for diverse ecological studies. Experiments conducted here investigate the behavioral ecology of predators and prey in stream and pond systems, bird mating systems, and experimental plant ecology. The on-site laboratory is equipped with abundant bench space and storage room, a cold room, balances, and other portable equipment. Aviaries are used for studies of bird mating systems. Abundant old-field land is available for observational studies of successional ecology and for experimental manipulations of plant populations.