Collaborative Research: Track 1, IRES sites: International Research Experience for Students in Freshwater Ecosystems at the Epicenter of Neotropical Biodiversity, Guiana Shield

这一国际学生研究体验(IRES)项目为美国本科生提供了一个独特的机会，让他们在面临严重而紧迫的环境挑战的热带地区学习淡水生态学和生物多样性研究的多学科方法。该项目将使来自斯蒂芬·F·奥斯汀州立大学和德克萨斯农工大学的两批本科生沉浸在关于新热带生物多样性的研究、生态学原理和方法的指导以及研究成果的应用，以应对人类对圭亚那生态系统服务的影响。圭亚那是一个生物多样性的发展中国家。通过实地和实验室研究，学生将与美国和圭亚那科学家合作，填补关于热带淡水生物多样性和埃斯奎博河流域溪流、河流和泛滥平原栖息地环境条件的重大知识空白。该项目建立在美国投资促进机构和圭亚那大学研究人员之间正在进行的研究合作的基础上。除了培养学生的技术技能和推进科学知识，这些合作还将培养专业关系，并为新一代参与国际事务的科学家做出贡献。南美洲东北部的圭亚那盾生态区(横跨圭亚那、巴西、苏里南、法属圭亚那和委内瑞拉等国)以出众的水生和陆地生物多样性而闻名，包括高度的物种特有。尽管如此，这一地区的探索仍然很少，初步迹象表明，仍有数百种物种未被描述。大多数调查都是在相对容易进入的地区进行的，这严重限制了对生态和生物地理的了解以及设定保护优先事项的能力。在圭亚那，黄金开采、伐木、农业扩张和石油开采正在增加，对淡水生态系统和生物群的影响也在增加。黄金开采是一个特别严重的问题，因为它用汞污染河流和溪流，汞进入食物网，最终影响人类健康，特别是在严重依赖内陆渔业的农村社区。在两年的每一年中，六名学生将参加为期5周的圭亚那夏季实地考察。学生将使用收集环境数据的方法，调查水生生物(如鱼类、两栖动物、水生大型无脊椎动物和植物)、分类，以及马扎鲁尼河和鲁普努尼河及其相关支流和湿地的生态学。学生将与当地导师和来自圭亚那大学的学生以及美国PI一起参与合作项目。实地和实验室活动将向学生传授国际合作研究，并使他们了解他们的贡献如何影响淡水生物多样性的保护和管理，以支持热带水生生态系统提供的重要生态系统服务。该项目由国际科学与工程办公室(OISE)资助。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 International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) project provides a unique opportunity for US undergraduate students to learn multidisciplinary approaches in freshwater ecology and biodiversity research in a tropical region facing serious and immediate environmental challenges. The project will immerse two cohorts of undergraduate students from Stephen F. Austin State University and Texas A&M University in research on Neotropical biodiversity, instruction in ecological principles and methods, and application of research findings to address human impacts on ecosystem services in Guyana, a biodiverse and developing country in South America. Through both field and laboratory research, students will collaborate with US and Guyanese scientists to fill significant knowledge gaps regarding tropical freshwater biodiversity and environmental conditions within streams, rivers and floodplain habitats in the Essequibo River Basin. The project builds upon ongoing research collaborations between US PIs and researchers at University of Guyana. In addition to developing students’ technical skills and advancing scientific knowledge, these collaborations will foster professional relationships and contribute to a new generation of internationally engaged scientists. The Guiana Shield ecoregion in north-eastern South America (extending across countries of Guyana, Brazil, Suriname, French Guiana and Venezuela) is known for exceptional aquatic and terrestrial biodiversity, including high levels of species endemism. Even so, this region remains poorly explored, and early indications are that hundreds of species remain undescribed. Most surveys have been conducted regions with relatively easy access, which severely limits understanding of ecology and biogeography as well as the ability to set conservation priorities. In Guyana, gold mining, logging, agriculture expansion, and petroleum extraction are increasing with impacts to freshwater ecosystems and biota. Gold mining is a particularly serious concern because it contaminates rivers and streams with mercury, which enters food webs and ultimately affects human health, especially in rural communities that depend heavily on inland fisheries. During each of two years, six students will participate in a 5-week summer fieldtrip in Guyana. Students will employ methods for collection of environmental data, survey of aquatic biota (e.g., fishes, amphibians, aquatic macroinvertebrates and plants), taxonomy, and ecology within the Mazaruni and Rupununi rivers and associated tributaries and wetlands. Students will participate in collaborative projects with local mentors and students from University of Guyana as well as the US PIs. Field and lab activities will teach students about collaborative international research and allow them to understand how their contributions can influence conservation of freshwater biodiversity and management in support of important ecosystem services provided by aquatic ecosystems in the tropics. This project is funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE).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.