Theodore Eugene Burk, DPhil

Department

Biology

Position

Professor

Articles

• Creighton University Magazine
  Burk, T. Butterfly lore and legend
  2006, p. 22-25 2006
• Creighton University Magazine
  Burk, T. E. Fly-witness testimony: The science of forensic entomology.
  2005, p. 28-33 2005

Publications

• Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences
  Robinson, Abby & T. Burk, 'Effect of Temperature on Black Swallowtail Territoriality'
  130, p. 44 2020
• Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences
  Jacob Jarzynka & T. Burk, 'Butterfly Flower Visitors at Glacier Creek Preserve: a Photographic Catalog'
  130, p. 44 2020
• T. Burk & Abby Robinson, 'Prairie Butterfly Flower Visits: Proportional or Preferential?' Abstracts of Behaviour 2019, joint meeting of the International Ethological Congress and the Animal Behavior Society 2019
• Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences
  Westphal, Sydney & T. Burk, 'Insect Visitors to Prairie Flowers: Proportions of Different Groups'
  129, p. 62 2019
• Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences
  Wankmuller, R. T., O'Brien, J. S., & T. Burk, 'Flower Visits by Prairie Butterflies: According to Flower Abundance or Butterfly Preference?'
  127, p. 61 2017
• Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences
  Wankmuller, Robert T. and Theodore Burk. Flower Visits by Monarch Butterflies at Four Eastern Nebraska Prairies. Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences.
  136, p. 61 2016
• Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences
  Mullally, Hannah L., Theodore Burk, and Mackenzie Taylor. Orange Sulphur Butterflies, Colias eurytheme, Acquire Substantial Amounts of Pollen When Visiting Prairie Flowers. Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences.
  136, p. 61 2016
• Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences
  Kaneshiro, Lexi, Tommy Bae, and Theodore Burk. Faithfulness of Flower Visits by Two Prairie Butterflies. Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences
  134, p. 64 2014
• Burk, T. Habitat Corridor Use by the Regal Fritillary, a Prairie Butterfly of Conservation Concern, Abstracts of the 50th Annual Meeting, Animal Behavior Society 2013
• Proceedings of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences
  Fukumoto, R. & T. Burk, 'Buttterfly Population Censuses at Hitchcock Nature Center'
  132, p. 72 2012

Presentations

• Pollinators, Oaks and Prairie, Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Consortium, Pahuk, Cedar Bluffs, NE 2021
• Let Me Tell Ya 'Bout the Birds and the Bees, the Flowers and the Trees: a Pollination Primer, American Association of Zoo Keepers, Omaha Chapter, Buzzed for Bees. Zoom Presentation Series 2021
• Butterflies and Flowers at a Restored Tallgrass Prairie, Hitchcock Nature Center Insect Club, Hitchcock Nature Center, Honey Creek, IA 2021
• The Prairie Butterfly Project: Recent Findings, Glacier Creek Preserve 7th Annual Research Conversations, Glacier Creek Preserve, Bennington, NE 2021
• Butterflies and Flowers at a Restored Tallgrass Prairie, Environmental Science/Sustainability Seminar, Creighton University 2021
• The Insect Apocalypse, Hitchcock Nature Center Insect Club, Hitchcock Nature Center, Honey Creek, Iowas 2020
• Butterflies: How Are They Doing and Why Should You Care?, presentation to Creighton Jaybackers, Field Club, Omaha, NE 2020
• Bag Bugs: Invasive Insects, Skutt High School Research Club, Skutt High School, Omaha, NE. Also presented on 3/26/2021 2019
• The Sixth Extinction and the Little Things that Run the World, Invited presentation at Brownell-Talbot High School as a capstone to the all-students' summer reading program based on E. Kolbert's The Sixth Extinction: an Unnatural History 2019
• Prairie Butterfly Flower Visits: Proportional or Preferential?, poster presentation at Behaviour 2019, joint meeting of the International Ethological Congress and the Animal Behavior Society, T. Burk and Abby Robinson, University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago, IL 2019
• Insect Visitors to Prairie Flowers: Proportions of Different Groups, Sydney Westphal & T. Burk, 129th annual meeting of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE 2019
• Prairie Butterfly Research Update, Oral presentation at Glacier Creek Preserve Annual Research Conversations meeting, Glacier Creek Preserve, Bennington, NE 2019
• Save Our Species: Even the Small, Six-legged Ones, Invited oral presentation at Creighton University Sustainability Forum 2019
• Native Thistles and Pollinators, Invited presentation, 3rd annual Iowa Habitat Partners Conference, Des Moines, IA; sponsored by Iowa Department of Natural Resources, United States Department of Agriculture, and Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever 2019
• Gardening For Butterflies, Northern Lights Garden Club, Florence, NE 2018
• Monarchs and Regals: Butterfly Royalty of Midwestern Prairies, Hitchcock Nature Center Speaker Series, Hitchcock Nature Center, Honey Creek, IA 2018
• The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful: Invasive, Native, and Beneficial Insects of the Midlands, Green Bellevue Speaker Series, Bellevue, NE 2018
• Prairie Butterfly Project Research Update, Glacier Creek Preserve Research Conversations, Glacier Creek Preserve, Bennington, NE 2018
• Birds, Insects, and Small Mammals of the Loess Hills and Prairies, one of three co-presenters, Pottawattamie County Conservation Board 'Introduction to Land Management' program, presented in both 2017 and 2018 2017
• Fire Management Practices to Support Pollinator Populations, Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Consortium meeting, Waubonsie State Park, Hamburg, IA 2017
• Forensic Entomology, Fontenelle Forest Insect Club, Fontenelle Nature Association, Bellevue, NE 2017
• Wankmuller, R. T., J. S. O'Brien, and T. Burk, Flower Visits by Prairie Butterflies: According to Flower Abundance or Butterfly Preference?, 127th annual meeting of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE 2017
• Newest Results from the Prairie Butterfly Project, Glacier Creek Preserve Annual Research Conversations, Glacier Creek Preserve, Bennington, NE 2017
• "The Prairie Butterfly Project". Glacier Creek Preserve 2nd Annual Research Conversations. 2016
• "Techniques for Monitoring Butterflies and Other Pollinators". Public presentation, Glacier Creek Preserve. 2016
• Wankmuller, Robert T. and Theodore Burk. "Flower Visits by Monarch Butterflies at Four Eastern Nebraska Prairies". 126th Annual Meeting of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE. 2016
• Mullally, Hannah L., Theodore Burk, and Mackenzie Taylor. "Orange Sulphur Butterflies, Colias eurytheme, Acquire Substantial Amounts of Pollen When Visiting Prairie Flowers". 126th Annual Meeting of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE. 2016
• "Population Genetics Basics", 3 guest lectures in Biology 317, Genetics, class at Creighton University. 2016
• "Butterflies of Glacier Creek Preserve", presentation to Lewis and Clark Middle School 7th grade class. 2016
• "Regal Fritillaries and Other Pollinators", invited talk at Nebraska State Monarch and Pollinator Summit, Lincoln, NE. 2016
• "Forensic Entomology: an Introduction", presentation to Westside High School Forensic Biology classes. 2015
• "Prairie Butterfly Research", presentation for UNO Education Department Pre-Service Teacher's Class on Scientific Method, Glacier Creek Preserve. 2015
• "Fire and Prairie Butterflies", invited talk at the 2015 meeting of the Tallgrass Prairie and Oak Savanna Fire Science Consortium, Glacier Creek Preserve. 2015
• "Public Gardens, Butterflies, and Other Pollinators", talk at public art exhibit involving a public space garden, 25th & Lake Street, Omaha, NE. 2015
• "Long-term Studies of Butterfly Populations and Flower Visits at Eastern Nebraska Prairies". Glacier Creek Preserve 1st Annual Research Conversations. 2015
• "Forensic Entomology: an Introduction", presentation to Westside High School Forensic Biology classes. 2015
• "The Passenger Pigeon of Our Time? The Plight of the Monarch Butterfly", Keynote presentation, Creighton University Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences Spring Banquet. 2015
• "The Passenger Pigeon of Our Time? The Plight of the Monarch Butterfly", After-dinner presentation at the 2015 Founders' Day Dinner, Omaha Association of Phi Beta Kappa. 2015
• Keynote Talk at The Land Institute's Prairie Festival, Salina, KS, "Land Ethic, from a Reasoned - an Impassioned - Perspective" 2014
• "The Birds and the Bees - Birds' Version!", Invited Talk, Omaha Urban Bird and Nature Society, University of Nebraska at Omaha. 2014
• Kaneshiro, Lexi, Tommy Bae, and Theodore Burk. "Faithfulness of Flower Visits by Two Prairie Butterflies". 124th Annual Meeting of the Nebraska Academy of Sciences, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE 2014
• "A Social Butterfly? Politics and the Plight of the Monarch Butterfly", Guest Lecture in SRP 436, Politics and Ethics of Science and Technology. 2014
• "The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful: Butterfly Royalty of Eastern Nebraska Prairies", invited talk in Creighton University Environmental Sciences Seminar Series 2013
• "Butterflies of Eastern Nebraska - and the Flowers They Love!", invited talk, Omaha Audubon Society, Omaha, NE 2013
• "Habitat Corridor Use by the Regal Fritillary, a Prairie Butterfly of Conservation Concern", Poster Presentation at 50th Annual Meeting, Animal Behavior Society, Univ. of Colorado 2013
• "Lepidoptera as Pollinators", invited talk in the Pollinator Workshop and Habitat Tour for Landowners, sponsored by Pheasants Forever/Nebraska Environmental Trust/Nebraska Game and Parks/Natural Resources Conservation Service/Nebraska Audubon; Spring Creek Prairie Audubon Center, Denton, NE 2013
• Regal Fritillary Populations and Nectar Plants at Four Eastern Nebraska Prairies, Invited Talk in the Researching the Rare, Threatened, or Endangered Insects in the North Central Region symposium, 67th annual meeting of the North Central Branch, Entomological Society of America, Lincoln, NE 2012
• Darwin on Slavery and Human Races, Invited Talk to correspond with the opening in Reinert Alumni Library of the exhibit Re-Writing the Book of Nature: Charles Darwin and the Rise of Evolutionary Theory, a traveling exhibit of the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, and the NIH Office of History, Creighton University, Omaha, NE 2012

Federal

• NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research grant for Nebraska Behavioral Biology Group (University of Nebraska - Lincoln, UN - Omaha, and Creighton); Creighton sub-components: Initial Award $467,557 (1993-1996), Renewal $68,107 (1996-1998)

Awards

• Distinguished Faculty Award
  For 30 years of teaching in the Pre-Medical and Pre-Dental Post-Baccalaureate Program
  School of Health Sciences Multicultural and Community Affairs Office
• Professional Excellence in Pre-Major Advising
  Creighton College of Arts and Sciences
• Dean's Award for Professional Excellence in Service
  Creighton College of Arts and Sciences
• Ratio Studiorum Program Outstanding Advisor Award
  Creighton College of Arts and Sciences
• Professional Excellence in Freshman Advising Award
  Creighton College of Arts and Sciences
  Creighton College of Arts and Sciences
• Father William Kelly Award for Outstanding Achievement in Teaching
  For implementation of the Senior Perspective Course component of the Core Curriculum
  Creighton University
• Father William Kelly Award for Outstanding Service in a Support Area
  For service as a member of the Pre-Health Sciences Advisory Committee
  Creighton University
• Outstanding Advisor Award
  Creighton College of Arts and Sciences
• Dean's Award for Excellence in Teaching
  Creighton College of Arts and Sciences
• "Iggy Award"
  Received in 2012, 2014, and 2020 as a faculty member named by a student as exhibiting the Jesuit Cura Personalis in an affirming manner
  Creighton University Office of Student Retention

Consulting

• Consultant
  Consultant on Butterfly Flower Use
  Provided input on flower use by butterflies to the Xerces Society. Some of my findings were highlighted in their new publication "Native Thistles: A Conservation Practitioner's Guide"
  Xerces Society (International Organization for Conservation of Invertebrates)
  2018 - 2018
• Consultant at Glacier Creek Preserve
  Member of Management Committee
  Based on my expertise from my ongoing research, I am a member of the Glacier Creek Preserve Management Committee, which oversees management of this important local prairie preserve.
  Glacier Creek Preserve, University of Nebraska at Omaha
  2013 - 2013