REU Site: 3D Herbivory and Biodiversity of Tardigrades in North American Forest Canopies: Inspiring Students with Physical Disabilities to Pursue Field Biology

该REU Site奖授予肯塔基州鲍德温市的贝克大学，与加利福尼亚州旧金山的加州科学院合作，将在2015-2017年夏季支持8名学生为期10周的培训。该项目为有或没有行动不便的学生(拄着拐杖或坐着轮椅)提供机会，对水熊(缓步动物门)的世界和森林树冠高边疆的生态奥秘进行原创研究。学生将接受攀爬绳索和采样树顶栖息地的培训，以发现新的分布、生态和物种。他们将使用先进的显微镜(PC、DIC、AF、SEM)来收集分析、演示和出版所需的数据和图像。学生研究人员将前往佛罗里达州、马萨诸塞州或俄勒冈州的LTER地点的替代森林类型，以收集比较数据。学生们将通过在加州科学院的海报演示来完成研究过程，在那里他们还将通过教授用于采样树冠的攀登技术来参与公共宣传。对生活在森林树冠中的迟滞生物进行的三维比较生态学研究将揭示这些生物的分布以及未被开发的温带森林的复杂性。预计共有24名学生将在该方案中接受培训，这些学生主要来自研究机会有限的学校，他们可能患有行动不便。学生将沉浸在研究设计、规划、实施、分析和报告中。所有人都将在科学会议上以海报和演讲的形式展示他们的工作，许多人将为同行评议的期刊撰写手稿。我们以结果为导向的REU经验将激励无论是否残疾的学生攻读研究生学位，并将在他们成为教育工作者、科学家和思想领袖的过程中提升他们的职业生涯。REU方案的通用网络评估工具(由生物科学局生物基础设施司资助)将用于衡量培训方案的有效性。学生必须同意在项目结束后被NSF自动电子邮件报告系统跟踪。欲了解更多信息，请访问www.bakeru.edu/canopy，或联系威廉·米勒(William.Miller@BakerU.edu)或梅格·洛曼(mlowman@calAcademy emy.org)。

This REU Site award to Baker University, Baldwin City, KS, in collaboration with the California Academy of Science, San Francisco, CA, will support the training of eight students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2015-2017. The program offers students with and without ambulatory disability (on crutches or in wheelchairs) the opportunity to conduct original research into the world of water bears (phylum Tardigrada) and the ecological mysteries of the high frontier of the forest canopy. Students will be trained to climb ropes and sample treetop habitats to discover new distributions, ecologies, and species. They will use advanced microscopes (PC, DIC, AF, SEM) to amass the data and images necessary for analysis, presentation, and publication. Student researchers will travel to alternative forest types at LTER sites in Florida, Massachusetts, or Oregon to collect comparative data. Students will complete the research process with a poster presentation at the California Academy of Science, where they will also engage in public outreach by teaching climbing techniques used to sample the tree canopy. The three-dimensional, comparative ecological studies of tardigrades living in forest canopies will shed light on both the distribution of these organisms and the complexity of underexplored temperate forests. It is anticipated that a total of 24 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities and who may have ambulatory disabilities will be trained in the program. Students will be immersed in research design, planning, conduct, analysis and reporting. All will present their work as posters and talks at scientific meetings, and many will write manuscripts for peer reviewed journals. Our results-orientated REU experience will motivate students, with or without a disability, to pursue graduate degrees and will enhance their careers as they become educators, scientists, and leaders of thought. The common web-based assessment tool for REU programs (funded by the Directorate for Biological Sciences, Division of Biological Infrastructure) will be used to measure the effectiveness of the training program. Students must agree to be tracked after the program by the NSF automated email reporting system. Information is available at www.bakeru.edu/canopy, or by contacting William Miller (William.Miller@BakerU.edu) or Meg Lowman (mlowman@calacademy.org).