UMEB: Undergraduate Training in Ecological and Evolutionary Analyses of Micro and Macrobiotic Systems

爱达荷州立大学(ISU)的UMEB项目名为“微生物和大型生物系统的生态和进化分析的本科生培训”，每年将指导六名本科生参与旨在解决西部山区生态系统健康和环境复杂性之间关系的项目。在西部山区间的许多农村社区，环境健康状况迅速恶化，对这些社区的可持续经济和社会福祉产生了不利影响。ISU UMEB将通过集中研究几个关键的环境问题来应对这一复杂的问题，包括利用人工湿地技术处理农业径流、土壤和地下水污染与修复，以及环境病原体的检测和跟踪。UMEB的本科生将参与数据收集，获得分子技术的实践经验，解释实验结果，并充当科学界和非科学界之间的信息纽带。现有的三个研究项目将成为指导学生学习环境生物学的重点：1)波特诺夫河流域评估项目，2)锦绣人工湿地系统，3)生物地理学和土地利用模式对蛇河平原种群的影响。每个项目都与山间西部有明显的相关性，每个项目都有不同学科的多名研究人员参与，所有这三项努力都将为学生提供更多一对一指导的机会，并让学生接触到各种科学方法。最终目标是通过为有前途的本科生提供刺激的研究经验，提高对环境研究的热情和欣赏。学生将在进行研究方面有丰富的经验，在适当的技术方面有坚实的基础，并具有沟通技能，使他们能够将他们的研究结果传达给其他科学家和普通公众。如需更多信息，请联系约瑟夫·库克(cookjose@isu.edu)或理查德·井上(Inourich@isu.edu)。

The UMEB program at Idaho State University (ISU) is entitled "Undergraduate Training in Ecological and Evolutionary Analyses of Micro and Macrobiotic Systems" and will mentor six undergraduate students each year in projects designed to address the relationship between ecosystem health and environmental complexity in the Intermountain West. Environmental health has been deteriorating rapidly in many rural communities of the Intermountain West, adversely impacting the sustainable economic and social well being of these communities. The ISU UMEB will respond to this complex set of problems by focusing research efforts on several key environmental issues, including agricultural runoff treatment by constructed wetland technology, soil and groundwater contamination and remediation, and detection and tracking of environmental pathogens. Undergraduate students in the UMEB will participate in data collection, gain hands-on experience with molecular techniques, interpret experimental results, and serve as informational links between the scientific and lay communities. Three existing research projects will be focal points for mentoring students in environmental biology: 1) Portneuf River Watershed Assessment Project, 2) Fairview Constructed Treatment Wetland System, and 3) Biogeography and Land Use Pattern Impacts On Snake River Plain Populations. Each project has demonstrable relevance to the Intermountain West, multiple investigators in various disciplines are involved in each project, and all three efforts will provide increased opportunities for one-on-one mentoring of students and for students to be exposed to a variety of scientific approaches.The ultimate objective is to increase enthusiasm and appreciation for environmental research by providing stimulating research experiences for promising undergraduate students. Students will have significant experience in conducting research, a solid grounding in appropriate techniques, and communication skills that enable them to convey the results of their research to other scientists and to the general public. Contact Joseph Cook (cookjose@isu.edu) or Richard Inouye (inourich@isu.edu) for further information.