FSML: Improving infrastructure to facilitate research at the Pymatuning Lab of Ecology

FSML：改善基础设施以促进 Pymatuning 生态实验室的研究

• 批准号: 1224202
• 负责人: Rick Relyea
• 金额: $ 34.95万
• 依托单位: University of Pittsburgh
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2012
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2012-08-01 至 2014-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1224202&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: FSML; Improving; infrastructure; facilitate; research

The University of Pittsburgh is awarded a grant to make infrastructure improvements to the Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology (PLE - http://www.biology.pitt.edu/facilities/pymatuning), one of the seven founding member of Organization of Biological Field Stations. With this award, an existing building constructed in the 1960s will be replace with one that will contain three new labs and multiple faculty research offices. The first lab will expand the space available for faculty and student research on bird behavior, and provide additional space suitable for animal research. Another large lab will be devoted to research in molecular and microbial ecology, an important and growing area of research for which PLE currently has no capacity. Several PLE research groups conduct research that includes molecular and microbial elements, but they must return to their home institutions to complete this work. This lab will include space to house an autoclave, glass dishwasher, centrifuge, ice machine, and other equipment. The third lab will be an invertebrate lab for two new PLE researchers and their students. Since 2007, PLE has undergone a revitalization and experienced tremendous growth in all of its many missions; research use has increased by 40%, undergraduate enrollment by 76%, outreach by 556%, and conference use by 45%. In terms of research publications, PLE produced an average of 3 publications/yr from 1981 to 2000; this has increased to 21 publications/yr from 2007 to 2011. During this time, six PIs have begun work at the station with three more expected in 2012. At the same time, the University has dedicated itself to improve the PLE facility by investing in wireless communication throughout the facility, renovating several building and constructing two new buildings. Although the construction of the new building is strongly motivated by a need to expand research capacity for internal and external NSF-funded researchers, it will also provide opportunities for new courses and expanded outreach. As PLE has experienced substantial growth in undergraduate enrollment, including the recent addition of five regional undergraduate universities to the PLE education consortium. The molecular/microbial lab at PLE will support synergistic activities including new courses in Molecular Ecology, Molecular Evolution, and Microbial Ecology. Equally exciting is the opportunity to dramatically increase outreach opportunities. While PLE outreach has grown strongly during the past 5 yrs, the addition of a molecular/microbial lab will be of immediate use to the Department of Biological Sciences' Outreach Office which reaches more than 320 middle and high school classes (8,300 students) annually throughout western PA. The new lab will allow the Outreach Office to use PLE (located 2 hrs north of Main Campus) as a second base of operations to conduct molecular and microbial outreach modules for regional high schools during the fall and winter months when researchers are not in residence. The Outreach Office conservatively estimates that a PLE-based operation could reach at least 25 schools (750 students) annually in northwestern PA. This carefully planned expansion of outreach efforts also extends the months of productivity for a traditionally seasonal field station.

匹兹堡大学获得了一项赠款，以改善生态生态学实验室（PLE -http：//www.biology.pitt.edu/facilities/pymatuning），这是生物实地站组织组织的七个创始成员之一。有了这个奖项，将在1960年代建造的现有建筑物将被替换为包含三个新实验室和多个教职研究所的建筑物。第一个实验室将扩大可用于鸟类行为的教师和学生研究的空间，并提供适合动物研究的额外空间。另一个大型实验室将致力于研究分子和微生物生态学，这是PLE目前没有能力的重要研究领域。几个PLE研究小组进行了包括分子和微生物元素的研究，但他们必须返回其家庭机构才能完成这项工作。该实验室将包括容纳高压釜，玻璃洗碗机，离心机，冰机和其他设备的空间。第三个实验室将是针对两名新的PLE研究人员及其学生的无脊椎动物实验室。自2007年以来，PLE经历了振兴，并在其许多任务中经历了巨大的增长。研究用途增加了40％，本科入学率增加了76％，外展增加了556％，会议使用率增加了45％。在研究出版物方面，PLE从1981年到2000年平均生产了3个出版物/年。从2007年到2011年，这已经增加到了21个出版物/年。在此期间，有6个PI在2012年开始在车站工作，并在2012年进行了3次工作。与此同时，该大学致力于通过在整个工厂进行无线通信进行投资，在整个设施中进行投资，翻新几座建筑物并建造了两座新建筑。尽管新建筑的建设是有必要扩大内部和外部NSF资助研究人员的研究能力的强烈动机，但它还将为新课程和扩大外展提供机会。随着PLE的本科入学率经历了大幅增长，包括最近在PLE教育联盟中增加了五所区域本科大学。 PLE的分子/微生物实验室将支持协同活动，包括分子生态学，分子进化和微生物生态学的新课程。同样令人兴奋的是，有机会大大增加外展机会。尽管在过去的5年中，PLE外展活动已经强劲增长，但分子/微生物实验室的增加将对生物科学系的外展办公室立即使用，该局每年在整个PA，每年都有320多个中学和高中班（8,300名学生）。新实验室将允许外展办公室使用PLE（位于Main Campus以北的2小时）作为第二个运营基地，以在研究人员不在居住的秋季和冬季中为区域高中进行分子和微生物外展模块。外展办公室保守地估计，基于PLE的行动每年可能在宾夕法尼亚州西北部至少达到25所学校（750名学生）。精心计划的外展工作的扩展还延长了传统季节性现场站的几个月生产率。