The Center for Aquatic Environmental Studies - A Miniature Controllable Aquatic Ecosystem for the Study of Biogeochemistry

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This project has developed a conceptual framework for a Center for Aquatic Environmental Studies (CAES) in which students can investigate biogeochemical processes in a miniaturized aquatic ecosystem. The project supports two laboratories of the CAES: four miniature aquatic ecosystems in which plants and invertebrates live and grow in several large tanks and an isotopic laboratory where processes of heavy metal sequestration can be measured. The new equipment includes the basic materials for the aquatic ecosystems (e.g., tanks and filters) and for isotopic sample preparation (e.g., fume and laminar flow hoods, balance, oven, and hotplates). The CAES is being used to develop lab experiments that can be used throughout the curricula in Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Geology, and Biology. These experiments include studies of the ecology of the system (e.g., population dynamics), nutrient cycling, acid mine drainage, and sequestration of heavy metals in aquatic plants, such as duckweed and water hyacinth. Students can use the lab in introductory-level courses and can return to the CAES frequently throughout their course of study, eventually doing senior projects under faculty supervision as part of a 'capstone' course. Throughout their study, students work in cooperation with others with diverse expertise, learning from other students as well as from professors and the mini-ecosystem itself. Students develop greater sophistication in their understanding and abilities as time goes by, much as one does in projects associated with a job. The CAES is a permanent entity, so students can benefit from long-term data sets. Research at the senior level can be original, and students are being encouraged to write publishable articles in conjunction with their advisors.