IRES: The Development of Biological Indicators of Environmental Stress and Sustainable Development in the Danube Delta, Romania

0623474 Ehlinger这个IRES项目将派遣威斯康星大学密尔沃基分校（UWM）的本科生到罗马尼亚黑海的多瑙河三角洲生物圈保护区（DDBR）进行研究。 该提案将每年资助12名美国本科生在罗马尼亚度过六周，与康斯坦察Ovidius大学的研究人员合作，为期三年。 学生将收集数据并分析分层环境压力源和生物反应之间的联系，并在人类社会和经济需求的背景下解释这些关系。 三个总体学生研究目标提出的建议：以确定和量化的空间和时间模式在一个梯度的关键人为引起的压力源在DDBR，有助于生物完整性下降;为了更好地了解将压力源与生物终点联系起来的机制，利用鱼类，无脊椎动物，研究如何利用生物指标监测退化情况，支持生态恢复的科学努力，并制定多瑙河三角洲生态系统可持续发展的政策。 在罗马尼亚，美国学生将在密尔沃基参加为期4周的技术研讨会，学习研究所需的实验室和现场技能。在罗马尼亚，美国学生将在一个从苏联共产主义遗产走向与西方社会和欧盟一体化的国家的复杂社会和经济现实的背景下，发展环境监测方面的科学知识。关于可持续发展的人的方面的研讨会和罗马尼亚语基础课程。 作为UWM和Ovidius大学之间机构间协议的一部分，PI预计六名罗马尼亚学生将参加UWM环境科学公司赞助的实习计划。 学生们将沿着美国学生参加在密尔沃基举行的研讨会和讲习班，之后他们将一起前往罗马尼亚进行研究。 为36名美国本科生提供支持，在一个独特的湿地生态系统中进行跨学科研究，该生态系统传统上没有受到美国科学家的太多关注。 其结果和分析将有助于多瑙河三角洲地区的环境管理。 美国学生将参加大量的国际研究经验，这将使他们准备在全球环境中成功运作。 两名美国教师将陪同学生加强研究联系，并确保访问的美国学生得到良好的指导。 为了招募合格的学生，主要研究者将与几个当地组织合作。 其中一个组织，UWM国际教育中心已经成功地招募了来自代表性不足的少数群体的学生参加国际研究和教育活动。

0623474EhlingerThis IRES project will send undergraduate students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) to conduct research at the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR) on the Black Sea in Romania. The proposal will fund twelve U.S. undergraduate students per year to spend six weeks in Romania collaborating with researchers from Ovidius University in Constanta over a three-year period. Students will gather data and analyze the linkages between layered environmental stressors and biological responses and interpret these relationships within the context of human social and economic needs. Intellectual Merit Three overall student research objectives are presented in the proposal: to identify and quantify spatial and temporal patterns across a gradient of key human-induced stressors in the DDBR that contribute to declines in biological integrity; to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms that link stressors with biological endpoints by conducting a series of ecophysiological and eco toxicological studies using fish, invertebrates, and bacterial bioreporters; and to examine how biological indicators can be used to monitor degradation and support scientific efforts for ecological restoration and formulation of policies for sustainable development of the Danube Delta Ecosystem. Students will develop scientific expertise in environmental monitoring within the context of the complex social and economic realities of a nation moving out form a legacy of Soviet communism toward integration with western society and the European Union.Prior to arriving in Romania, the U.S. students will spend four weeks in Milwaukee participating in technology workshops to learn the laboratory and field skills required for the research, seminars on the human dimensions of sustainable development, and a basic Romanian language course. As part of an inter-institutional agreement between UWM and Ovidius University, the PI's expect that six Romanian students will participate in a corporate-sponsored internship program in environmental sciences at UWM. The students will study along with the U.S. students in the seminars and workshops in Milwaukee, after which they will travel and participate together conducting research in Romania. Broader ImpactsSupport is provided for 36 U.S. undergraduate students to conduct interdisciplinary research in a unique wetlands ecosystem that has not traditionally received much attention from U.S. scientists. Their results and analyses will assist environmental management in the Danube Delta region. The U.S. students will participate in substantial international research experiences that will prepare them to operate successfully in a global environment. Two U.S. faculty members will accompany the students to strengthen the research ties and ensure that the U.S. students who visit are well-mentored. To recruit eligible students, the principal investigators will cooperate with several local organizations. One of these organizations, the UWM Center for International Education has already been successful in recruiting students from under-represented minority groups to participate in international research and education activities.