photo by: Courtesy: University of Kansas

Researchers are shown at work at the KU Field Station northeast of Lawrence.

A longtime entity at the University of Kansas that studies the state’s biology has a new name.

KU has approved a name change for the Kansas Biological Survey. The center’s new name is the Kansas Biological Survey & Center for Ecological Research.

“The new name is meant to raise the visibility of the unit’s primary function as a KU designated research center and our research strength in ecology,” Sara Baer, director of the center, said in a press release.

Baer said the new name should help people understand that the center conducts ecological research on a national and international scale, in addition to doing specific work for the state of Kansas.

For the state, the center is tasked by legislative mandate to go out in the field and gather information on the kinds, distribution and abundance of plants and animals in the state.

But in addition to that work, the survey does research related to ecosystems, holistic environmental practices and conservation, and it has expertise in remote sensing and GIS technology. The center operates the KU Field Station, which is a 3,700-acre site northeast of the Lawrence city limits that contains abundant plant and animal life.

The center has 25 scientific researchers, in addition to more than 20 additional staff members. The center became part of KU in 1911, and it gained status as a state agency in 1959.