Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory

Producing the food we rely on depends on plants being pollinated, and pollination often relies on insects. The Bee Biology and Systematics Laboratory is home to researchers working to understand and solve pollination management difficulties and develop a diversified and stable pollinator base for U.S. agriculture and the environment. The USDA supports other bee laboratories in the United States, but this is the only one devoted to studying the hundreds of species of bees besides honeybees.

Center for Integrated BioSystems

The Center for Integrated BioSystems at Utah State University leads a progressive, interdisciplinary effort in research, core services, and education serving agriculture and life sciences. Our center is a consortium of faculty, technical, and office staff housed in a central facility on the Utah State University campus. We collaborate with and train scientists in academia, industry, and national laboratories.

Forage and Range Research Laboratory

Intermountain Herbarium

The Intermountain Herbarium is a major resource for information about the plants and fungi of Utah and the Intermountain Region. It houses over 239,000 specimens and a library of over 5,000 books and numerous reprints. The specimens are used in preparing species descriptions and in determining where different species grow. Some were collected to document which species grew at a particular location at a particular time; others document the material mentioned in a research study.

Most specimens in the Intermountain Herbarium are of vascular plants but the fungal collection is growing rapidly, from less than 200 to over 1,200 since 2000.About half the herbarium’s specimens are from the Intermountain Region, a quarter from other parts of North America, and the remainder from other parts of the world.

The herbarium is home to several projects. It recently completed a county-level summary of vascular plant distributions for Utah for the Bureau of Land Management. It is also the editorial center for the two grass volumes in the Flora of North America north of Mexico series. The first volume was published in 2003, the second will be published in 2006. Information from these volumes is available at the Web Manual site; information about the project is available here. Other projects underway include databasing the collection, making information from the collection available to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and developing a fungal checklist for Utah.

Meat and Physiology Laboratory

The Meat and Physiology Laboratory is the site of research concerning meat and the reproductive physiology of small ruminants.

Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory

Most plant communities contain plants that are poisonous to livestock, wildlife and humans. These toxic plants interfere with the best use of rangeland and pastures and their seeds may also be harvested with grains and forages, contaminating food and animal feed. The Poisonous Plant Research Laboratory brings together interdisciplinary teams of plant and range scientists, veterinarians, nutritionists, chemists, toxicologists, pathologists and physiologists to understand and solve problems caused by poisonous plants. Their findings are used by the livestock industry, wildlife managers, veterinarians, physicians, poison control centers, scientists and many state and federal agencies.

Crop Physiology Laboratory

USU Analytical Laboratories

The USU Analytical Laboratories test soils, plant tissues, irrigation water, and livestock feed and provide people with answers they need to grow better crops and landscape plants and improve animal health.

Utah Botanical Center

The Utah Botanical Center raises awareness among all generations of how they can enrich their quality of life by preserving precious natural resources. The Center provides educational, recreational, and interactive experiences and is home to innovative research.

Utah Climate Center

The Utah Climate Center and Weather Database provides archival weather and climate information and creates computer models based on historic observations to study climate changes and patterns. A system of automated weather stations, satellites, and computers makes weather information available almost instantaneously. The Climate Center also develops climate-related information to supplement science curriculum in schools.

Utah Crop Improvement Association

A seed certification specialist with the UAES works with the Utah Crop Improvement Association to ensure the availability of superior, high quality seeds. This office also handles foundation seed and licensing of varieties released by Utah State University.

USDA Agricultural Research Service

The USDA-Agricultural Research Service laboratories are a cooperative research group which includes a trio of laboratories supported through the UAES and closely tied to academic departments at Utah State University.

Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory

The Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory assists in diagnosing diseases of livestock, wildlife and companion animals. The main laboratory in Logan, and its satellite facility in Nephi, are on the front lines of biosecurity in the state and intermountain region, diagnosing ailments such as West Nile Virus, Chronic Wasting Disease, hantavirus, and Exotic Newcastle disease that may spread among animals and sometimes into human populations. The laboratory works closely with veterinarians, regulatory agencies, public health agencies, laboratory animal caretakers, animal research units and animal owners.