Collaborative Research: IRES Sites: Freshwater biodiversity research opportunities for students in the imperiled lakes and streams of western Kenya

这个IRES项目将为来自几个美国机构的18名本科生提供科学和文化研究机会，其中包括那些来自传统上代表性较低的群体的学生。这些学生将与肯尼亚研究人员和本科生合作，调查肯尼亚西部的淡水生态系统。在考察旅行之前，学生们将接受关于生物多样性研究方法以及肯尼亚语言和文化的培训，为他们在国外的经历做好准备。在肯尼亚，参与者将采集鱼类、水生大型无脊椎动物，并进行水质分析；以更好地了解形成这些生物群落的动态，以及当代环境变化如何影响关键的淡水水生栖息地。此外，使用尖端分子技术，学生将有机会参与发现和正式描述该地区大量未知物种。淡水生态系统是世界上最受威胁的生态系统之一，学生在本项目中获得的技能和经验将使他们为全球淡水生态系统保护工作做出贡献。从肯尼亚回来后，学生们将参与个人项目，并通过社交媒体、会议和同行评议的出版物传播他们的成果。通过为这些学生提供这种独特的国际研究体验，该项目将培训和准备下一代美国科学家，以参与和领导全球科学界解决持续的生物多样性危机。干旱的东非淡水生物多样性受到许多持续威胁的困扰；为依赖这些资源生存的淡水生态系统和人民提供了不确定的未来。这一合作项目将为18名本科生提供为期一年的机会，让他们参与研究肯尼亚西部淡水生态系统中独特而濒危的生物多样性，包括在肯尼亚进行为期六周的实地考察。除了启动对新一代美国生物多样性研究人员的培训外，该项目还将建设肯尼亚人从事生物多样性研究的能力。鱼类和水生大型无脊椎动物在淡水环境中发挥着许多重要的生态系统作用，因此是监测生态系统健康的理想研究对象。关于肯尼亚西部淡水生物多样性的基线数据令人惊讶地很少。利用下一代测序技术(元生物编码)、传统的分子和形态方法以及生态学研究，学生将研究该地区的水生生物多样性；了解促进这种多样性的生物地理过程；并确定这些环境如何应对持续的人类压力。随着开采和水电项目对肯尼亚水资源的开采增加，该项目的结果将对确定生物多样性热点和防止该地区生物多样性的进一步丧失至关重要。该项目将通过与社区中为少数群体服务的机构的持续合作，在国内机构招收传统上代表性不足的学生。实验室和实地的研究项目将为学生在未来的努力中解决迫在眉睫的生物多样性危机提供基础。学生参与者将通过向肯尼亚导师学习并与肯尼亚本科生互动，获得对肯尼亚西部文化和环境的宝贵见解。将为学生提供机会，并鼓励他们通过公开宣传和在国内和国际会议上发表演讲来分享他们的经验和研究成果。我们还将在以往成功的基础上发展主办机构的研究能力，为当地学生和研究人员提供培训机会，改善该地区的自然历史收藏，并为该地区的生物多样性制定指南。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This IRES project will provide scientific and cultural research opportunities for 18 undergraduate students, including those from traditionally underrepresented groups, from several US institutions. These students will collaborate with Kenyan researchers and undergraduate students to investigate the freshwater ecosystems of western Kenya. Prior to the research trip students will receive training in biodiversity research methods and the language and culture of Kenya to prepare them for the experience abroad. In Kenya, participants will collect fishes, aquatic macroinvertebrates, and conduct water quality analyses; to better understand the dynamics that shape these biological communities and how contemporary changes to the environment are affecting critical freshwater aquatic habitats. Additionally, using cutting-edge molecular techniques, students will have the opportunity to participate in the discovery and formal description of a vast array of unknown species in the area. Freshwater ecosystems are among the most threatened ecosystems in the world and the skills and experiences students will gain during this project will prepare them to contribute to freshwater ecosystem conservation efforts globally. Upon returning from Kenya, students will engage in individual projects and disseminate their results via social media, conferences, and peer-reviewed publications. By providing these students this unique international research experience, this project will train and prepare the next generation of U.S. scientists to engage with and lead the global scientific community in addressing the ongoing biodiversity crisis. Freshwater biodiversity in arid East Africa is beset with many ongoing threats; providing an uncertain future for freshwater ecosystems and people that rely on these resources for survival. This collaborative project will provide 18 undergraduate students a year-long opportunity to engage in research on the unique and imperiled biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems of western Kenya, including six weeks of field work in Kenya. In addition to initiating the training of a new generation of U.S. biodiversity researchers, the project will build the capacity of Kenyans to engage in biodiversity research. Fishes and aquatic macroinvertebrates perform many crucial ecosystem roles in freshwater environments, and are thus ideal targets of study for monitoring ecosystem health. Striking little baseline data on the freshwater biodiversity of western Kenya is available. Using Next-Generation Sequencing techniques (metabarcoding), traditional molecular and morphological approaches, and ecological studies, students will research aquatic biodiversity in the region; understand the biogeographical processes that promoted this diversity; and determine how these environments are responding to ongoing anthropogenic pressures. With exploitation of water resources in Kenya on the rise due to extraction and hydropower projects, the results of this project will be critical for identifying biodiversity hotspots and preventing further loss of biodiversity in the region. The project will recruit traditionally underrepresented students at home institutions and through ongoing collaborations with minority-serving institutions in the community. Research projects in the lab and field will provide a foundation for students to address the looming biodiversity crisis in future endeavors. Student participants will gain valuable insights on the culture and environments of western Kenya by learning from Kenyan mentors and interacting with Kenyan undergraduate students. Students will be provided with opportunities and encouraged to share their experiences and research findings through public outreach and presentations at national and international meetings. We will also build upon prior successes developing the research capacity of host institutions, providing training opportunities to local students and researchers, improving the natural history collections for the region, and developing guides for the region's biodiversity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.