REU--An Undergraduate Research Program on the Elwha Dam Removal and Restoration Project in Washington State

华盛顿州埃尔瓦河上游的两座水坝被正式称为“鲑鱼恢复工程”，将从2007年开始拆除，这将极大地改变生态系统，使鲑鱼重新进入河流上游。这将是有史以来规模最大的大坝拆除和栖息地恢复工程，被国家公园系统列为第二紧迫的恢复优先事项。Elwha水坝的拆除为半岛学院（PC）提供了一个前所未有的REU站点设置，每年可容纳16名学生，以解决以前从未在这种背景和规模下研究过的基本生态问题，这些问题与营养和营养网、演代、水生和陆地栖息地以及野生鲑鱼流域内的河流过程有关。一个由PC、西华盛顿大学/赫胥黎环境学院（赫胥黎学院）、奥林匹克国家公园（ONP）、美国地质勘探局生物资源司（USGS BRD）、NOAA渔业西北渔业科学中心（NWFSC）和下埃尔华部落（Elwha部落）的科学家组成的联盟已经成立，以研究大坝拆除之前、期间和之后的流域。每年将有16名学生与联盟导师一起研究恢复管理方案，同时探索生态学，野生动物科学和恢复生态学的基本问题。学生将参加为期一年的课程（秋季至夏季学期），其中包括100多个小时的课程活动和400个小时的Elwha系统研究，并作为联盟的正式参与成员工作。研究项目将集中分析全年Elwha生态系统的各种参数，确定种群分布和丰度变化的机制和指标；预测大坝拆除后这些种群的变化；并提供有关大坝拆除和修复工程影响的信息，供全世界使用。感兴趣的学生请联系REU学生顾问Brian Hauge博士（brianh@pcadmin.ctc.edu）或REU项目负责人Bill Eaton博士（bille@pcadmin.ctc.edu）获取更多信息。相关信息也可在http://pc.ctc.edu/academics/artssciences/life_sciences/research.asp上获得。

The removal of two dams on the upper Elwha River in Washington State, officially described as a salmon restoration project, will begin in 2007, and will change the ecosystem dramatically for re-entry of salmon into the upper river. It is to be the largest dam deconstruction and habitat restoration project conducted and is ranked as the second most urgent restoration priority by the National Park System. The removal of the Elwha dams presents an unprecedented REU Site setting at Peninsula College (PC) for 16 students per year to address fundamental ecological questions never before studied in this context and scale, associated with nutrients and trophic webs, succession, aquatic and terrestrial habitats, and fluvial processes operating within a wild salmon watershed. A consortium, consisting of scientists from PC, Western Washington University/Huxley College of the Environment (Huxley College), Olympic National Park (ONP), USGS Biological Resources Division (USGS BRD), NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC), and Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal (Elwha Tribal) has been created to study the watershed before, during and after dam removal. Sixteen students per year will work with consortium mentors to investigate restoration management regimens while exploring fundamental questions in ecology, wildlife sciences, and restoration ecology. Students will be involved in a year-long course (Fall through Summer Quarter) that includes over 100 hours of course activities and 400 hours of research on the Elwha system, working as full participating members of the consortium. The research projects will focus on analysis of a variety of parameters in the Elwha ecosystems throughout the year, identifying mechanisms and indicators of changes in population distribution and abundance; predicting changes in these populations due to dam removal; and providing information on the effects of dam removal and restoration projects for use worldwide. Interested students should contact Dr. Brian Hauge, REU Student Advisor (brianh@pcadmin.ctc.edu) or Dr. Bill Eaton, REU Project leader (bille@pcadmin.ctc.edu) for more information. Information is also available at http://pc.ctc.edu/academics/artssciences/life_sciences/research.asp.