IRES: The Development of Biological Indicators of Environmental Stress and Sustainable Development in the Danube Delta, Romania

这个IRES项目将派遣威斯康星大学密尔沃基分校（UWM）的本科生到罗马尼亚黑海的多瑙河三角洲生物圈保护区（DDBR）进行研究。该提案将资助12名美国本科生每年在罗马尼亚与康斯坦察奥维迪乌斯大学的研究人员合作6周，为期3年。学生将收集数据并分析分层环境压力源和生物反应之间的联系，并在人类社会和经济需求的背景下解释这些关系。在提案中提出了三个总体学生研究目标：确定和量化DDBR中导致生物完整性下降的关键人为应激源的时空格局；通过对鱼类、无脊椎动物和细菌进行一系列生态生理学和生态毒理学研究，更好地了解应激源与生物终点之间的联系机制；并研究如何利用生物指标监测退化，支持科学工作，促进生态恢复和制定多瑙河三角洲生态系统可持续发展的政策。学生将在一个国家从苏联共产主义遗产走向与西方社会和欧盟融合的复杂社会和经济现实的背景下，发展环境监测方面的科学专业知识。在抵达罗马尼亚之前，美国学生将在密尔沃基度过四周的时间，参加技术研讨会，学习研究所需的实验室和实地技能，参加关于可持续发展的人的方面的研讨会，并学习基本的罗马尼亚语言课程。作为威斯康星大学与奥维迪乌斯大学（Ovidius University）机构间协议的一部分，PI预计6名罗马尼亚学生将参加威斯康星大学由企业赞助的环境科学实习项目。这些学生将与美国学生一起在密尔沃基的研讨会和讲习班上学习，之后他们将前往罗马尼亚并共同参与开展研究。更广泛的影响为36名美国本科生提供支持，在一个独特的湿地生态系统中进行跨学科研究，这一研究传统上没有受到美国科学家的太多关注。其结果和分析将有助于多瑙河三角洲地区的环境管理。美国学生将参与大量的国际研究经验，这将为他们在全球环境中成功运作做好准备。两名美国教师将陪同学生加强研究联系，并确保访问的美国学生得到良好的指导。为了招募合格的学生，主要研究人员将与几个当地组织合作。其中一个组织是威斯康星大学国际教育中心，它已经成功地从代表性不足的少数群体中招募学生参加国际研究和教育活动。

0623474EhlingerThis IRES project will send undergraduate students from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) to conduct research at the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR) on the Black Sea in Romania. The proposal will fund twelve U.S. undergraduate students per year to spend six weeks in Romania collaborating with researchers from Ovidius University in Constanta over a three-year period. Students will gather data and analyze the linkages between layered environmental stressors and biological responses and interpret these relationships within the context of human social and economic needs. Intellectual Merit Three overall student research objectives are presented in the proposal: to identify and quantify spatial and temporal patterns across a gradient of key human-induced stressors in the DDBR that contribute to declines in biological integrity; to gain a better understanding of the mechanisms that link stressors with biological endpoints by conducting a series of ecophysiological and eco toxicological studies using fish, invertebrates, and bacterial bioreporters; and to examine how biological indicators can be used to monitor degradation and support scientific efforts for ecological restoration and formulation of policies for sustainable development of the Danube Delta Ecosystem. Students will develop scientific expertise in environmental monitoring within the context of the complex social and economic realities of a nation moving out form a legacy of Soviet communism toward integration with western society and the European Union.Prior to arriving in Romania, the U.S. students will spend four weeks in Milwaukee participating in technology workshops to learn the laboratory and field skills required for the research, seminars on the human dimensions of sustainable development, and a basic Romanian language course. As part of an inter-institutional agreement between UWM and Ovidius University, the PI's expect that six Romanian students will participate in a corporate-sponsored internship program in environmental sciences at UWM. The students will study along with the U.S. students in the seminars and workshops in Milwaukee, after which they will travel and participate together conducting research in Romania. Broader ImpactsSupport is provided for 36 U.S. undergraduate students to conduct interdisciplinary research in a unique wetlands ecosystem that has not traditionally received much attention from U.S. scientists. Their results and analyses will assist environmental management in the Danube Delta region. The U.S. students will participate in substantial international research experiences that will prepare them to operate successfully in a global environment. Two U.S. faculty members will accompany the students to strengthen the research ties and ensure that the U.S. students who visit are well-mentored. To recruit eligible students, the principal investigators will cooperate with several local organizations. One of these organizations, the UWM Center for International Education has already been successful in recruiting students from under-represented minority groups to participate in international research and education activities.