"Lake Tahoe to Pyramid Lake": Summer Research Experience in Arid West

内华达大学里诺分校- REU项目抽象智力价值。环境学院REU站点计划将全国招募的本科生与有成就的学术科学家联系起来，以进一步科学地了解我们的生物区域。这些研究小组将在内华达州的东部塞拉地区工作，特别是在太浩湖-特拉基河-金字塔湖流域。这个REU网站涵盖了广泛的生物和自然资源科学研究，主题范围从火灾对流域恢复的影响到太浩湖岸带对水质的人为影响。REU网站的参与者将接触到各种科学调查和技术，以深入了解科学如何为土地使用政策和保护措施提供信息。该计划的总体目标是探索适应性管理流域所需的科学中各个子领域的跨学科交叉点。该计划的统一方法以社会和生物科学与自然资源管理政策的必要结合为中心。学生参与的研究项目位于生物多样性的分水岭内，这是一个独特的生态系统，在山区、沙漠和河岸生物群落中提供了各种引人注目的研究机会。更广泛地说，该计划使学生接触到将这些生态系统与西方用水和保护的更大问题联系起来的综合研究问题。探索这些问题需要利用最先进的技术，同时也允许每个学生深入探索给定项目的特定方面。更广泛的影响。本课程的重点是团队建设和积极的工作环境，以及本科生在这些过程中的作用。因此，REU网站计划的影响将扩大学生对有效研究计划的理解和参与，同时产生有可能对特定领域做出重大贡献的研究。该计划的预期结果是在学生、教师和自然资源管理者之间架起一座桥梁，共同努力提高我们对应用环境中区域保护问题的科学理解。

UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA, RENO - REU PROJECT ABSTRACT Intellectual Merit. The Academy for the Environment REU Site program will link nationally recruited undergraduates with accomplished academic scientists to further the scientific understanding of our bioregion. These research teams will work in the Eastern Sierra Region of Nevada, specifically within the Lake Tahoe-Truckee River-Pyramid Lake watershed. This REU site encompasses a wide range of biological and natural resource science research, and the topics range from studies on fire effects on watershed restoration to the anthropogenic influences on water quality along the shore zone at Lake Tahoe. The REU Site participants will be exposed to diverse scientific inquiries and technologies to gain insight into the manner in which science informs land use policy and conservation initiatives. The overarching goal of this program is to explore the interdisciplinary intersections of the various subfields in the sciences that are required for adaptively managing watersheds. The unifying approach of the program centers upon the necessary union of social and biological sciences with natural resource management policy. The research projects with which students are involved are situated within a biologically diverse watershed, a unique ecological system that provides varied and compelling research opportunities in mountain, desert, and riparian biotic communities. More broadly, the program exposes students to integrated research questions that connect these ecosystems to larger questions of water usage and conservation in the West. The exploration of these inquiries entails utilizing state-of-the-art technologies, while also allowing each student to explore in depth a particular aspect of a given project. Broader Impacts. An important emphasis of this program is team building and positive work environments and the role of undergraduate students in these processes. As a result, the impact of the REU Site program will expand the students' understanding of, and participation in, effective research programs while producing research that has the potential to contribute significantly to a particular field. The desired outcome of this program is to bridge students, faculty, and natural resource managers in a collective effort towards enhancing our scientific understanding of regional conservation issues in an applied context.