The Center for Aquatic Environmental Studies - A Miniature Controllable Aquatic Ecosystem for the Study of Biogeochemistry

该项目为水生环境研究中心（CAES）开发了一个概念框架，学生可以在其中研究微型水生生态系统中的生物地球化学过程。该项目支持CAES的两个实验室：四个微型水生生态系统，其中植物和无脊椎动物在几个大型水箱中生活和生长，以及一个同位素实验室，可以测量重金属封存过程。新设备包括水生生态系统的基本材料（例如，水箱和过滤器）和同位素样品制备的基本材料（例如，烟雾和层流罩、天平、烤箱和热板）。CAES被用于开发可在环境科学、化学、地质学和生物学课程中使用的实验室实验。这些实验包括对生态系统的研究（如种群动态）、营养循环、酸性矿井排水以及水生植物（如浮萍和水葫芦）对重金属的隔离。学生可以在入门级课程中使用实验室，也可以在整个学习过程中经常回到CAES，最终在教师的监督下完成高级项目，作为“顶点”课程的一部分。在整个学习过程中，学生们与其他具有不同专业知识的人合作，向其他学生、教授和微型生态系统本身学习。随着时间的推移，学生的理解和能力会越来越成熟，就像一个人在与工作相关的项目中所做的那样。CAES是一个永久性实体，因此学生可以从长期数据集中受益。高级水平的研究可以是原创的，并且鼓励学生与他们的导师一起撰写可发表的文章。

This project has developed a conceptual framework for a Center for Aquatic Environmental Studies (CAES) in which students can investigate biogeochemical processes in a miniaturized aquatic ecosystem. The project supports two laboratories of the CAES: four miniature aquatic ecosystems in which plants and invertebrates live and grow in several large tanks and an isotopic laboratory where processes of heavy metal sequestration can be measured. The new equipment includes the basic materials for the aquatic ecosystems (e.g., tanks and filters) and for isotopic sample preparation (e.g., fume and laminar flow hoods, balance, oven, and hotplates). The CAES is being used to develop lab experiments that can be used throughout the curricula in Environmental Sciences, Chemistry, Geology, and Biology. These experiments include studies of the ecology of the system (e.g., population dynamics), nutrient cycling, acid mine drainage, and sequestration of heavy metals in aquatic plants, such as duckweed and water hyacinth. Students can use the lab in introductory-level courses and can return to the CAES frequently throughout their course of study, eventually doing senior projects under faculty supervision as part of a 'capstone' course. Throughout their study, students work in cooperation with others with diverse expertise, learning from other students as well as from professors and the mini-ecosystem itself. Students develop greater sophistication in their understanding and abilities as time goes by, much as one does in projects associated with a job. The CAES is a permanent entity, so students can benefit from long-term data sets. Research at the senior level can be original, and students are being encouraged to write publishable articles in conjunction with their advisors.