EAGER: PPER Evaluating potential for lake water quality decline by partnering with citizen scientists

保持缅因州湖泊高水质的挑战包括预测湖泊生态系统对变化的反应以及居民参与湖泊管理活动的程度。这项研究项目的长期目标是促进对控制湖泊对环境因素敏感性的过程的基本理解。公民科学家正在接受培训，以收集项目研究人员用来描述当地环境特征的数据。该研究项目的跨学科方法，特别是在利益相关者参与实施最佳管理实践方面，可以作为其他州的典范。该项目的目标是让公民科学家在夏季期间多次从低营养到富营养的湖泊中同时采集25个缅因州湖泊的水和沉积物样本。数据的综合使项目研究人员能够为湖泊水质的变化制定科学基础，并开发出外海磷浓度的预测模型。通过研讨会以及与公民科学家和湖泊居民的项目前和项目后调查，研究人员阐明了湖泊水质变化受到自然和人为因素影响的过程，并确定了影响人类系统的认知和行为因素。项目研究人员正在培训公民科学家进行适当的样本采集实践，并开发调查以评估湖泊管理活动和参与情况。之后，研究人员正在实施湖泊管理研讨会，以分享项目成果。由湖泊利益攸关方参与的预测湖泊磷模型的开发将促进湖湖学领域内的知识，并将有助于制定适应性管理进程，从而加强社会和生物物理组成部分之间的相互作用。

Challenges to maintaining high water quality in Maine lakes include predicting the responses of lake ecosystems to variations and the extent of engagement of residents in lake stewardship activities. The long-term goal of this research project is to advance a fundamental understanding of processes that control the susceptibility of lakes to environmental factors. Citizen scientists are being trained to collect the data that projects researchers are using to characterize the environmental characteristics of the local environment. The cross-disciplinary approach to the research project, especially with respect to stakeholder engagement in implementing best management practices, can act as a model for other states.The goal of this project is to engage citizen scientists to collect water and sediment samples from 25 Maine lakes simultaneously several times during the summer season across a continuum of oligotrophic to eutrophic lakes. The synthesis of data allows the project researchers to formulate a scientific basis for the changes in lake water quality and to develop a predictive model for the epilimnetic phosphorus concentrations. Through workshops and pre- and post-project surveys with citizen scientists and lake residents, the researchers are articulating processes by which changes to lake water quality are influenced by natural and anthropogenic factors and identifying cognitive and behavioral factors that affect the human system. The project researchers are training citizen scientists in proper sample collection practice and developing surveys to assess lake stewardship activities and engagement. Afterwards, the researchers are implementing lake stewardship workshops to share the project findings. The development of the predictive lake phosphorus model involving lake stakeholders will advance knowledge within the field of limnology and will allow the development of an adaptive management process whereby the interaction between the social and biophysical components are enhanced.