MRI: Acquisition of a Seal AQ2+ Discrete Autoanalyzer for interdisciplinary research in aquatic ecology by faculty and undergraduates at Baruch College

该奖项是根据2009年美国复苏和再投资法案（公法111-5）资助的。在NSF MRI-R2项目的支持下，纽约城市大学巴鲁克学院购买了一台离散自动分析仪，这是一种自动化仪器，能够提供强大的痕量测量，适应不同盐度的水样，同时进行多种类型的溶质测定，并且可以由包括学生在内的不同专业水平的许多用户操作。Seal AQ 2+离散自动分析仪的购置将使海洋、半咸水和淡水样品中的溶质测量成为可能。由于它是自动化的，该机器将允许教师和学生收集更多的数据，在实验室中的多任务，并将节省资金，因为它需要的样品和试剂相对于手动分光光度法低得多。 该仪器将能够研究不同的生态主题，如牡蛎恢复和氮循环，评估营养浓度和生物膜生长限制的空间变异性，为城市河流（布朗克斯河，纽约州，美国）的河流恢复提供信息，并了解控制入侵硅藻Didymospehnia geminata在美国东北部开花的驱动力。 该仪器还将用于培训本科生进行研究，使用当前和先进的技术。 研究结果将发表在同行评审的期刊上，并由学生和教师在区域和国家会议上提出。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5). Support from the NSF MRI-R2 program allowed Baruch College, City University of New York, to purchase a Discrete Autoanalyzer, an automated instrument that is capable of providing robust measurements of trace quantities, accommodating water samples of variable salinity, conducting multiple types of solute assays simultaneously, and can be operated by many users with different expertise levels, including students. The acquisition of a Seal AQ2+ Discrete Autoanalyzer will enable the measurement of solutes in marine, brackish, and freshwater samples. Because it is automated, the machine will allow faculty and students to collect more data, multi-task in the laboratory, and will save money because it requires much lower volumes of samples and reagents relative to manual spectrophotometry. The instrument will enable research on diverse ecological topics, such as oyster restoration and nitrogen cycling, assessing spatial variability in nutrient concentration and biofilm growth limitation to inform stream restoration of an urban river (Bronx River, NY, USA), and understanding the driving forces that control blooms of an invasive diatom, Didymospehnia geminata, in the Northeastern US. The instrument will also be used to train undergraduate students in research, using current and sophisticated technologies. Results from the studies will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented by students and faculty at regional and national meetings.