Arctic Microbes: Population Abundance and the Effects of a Warming Environment

部落学院和大学方案(TCUP)的一个目标是提高为本国土著学生服务的特定高等教育机构的科学、技术、工程和数学(STEM)教学和研究能力。扩大这些机构的研究能力扩大了学生在STEM领域追求具有挑战性的、有回报的职业的机会，提供了可能与当地相关的领域的研究性学习，并鼓励教师群体将目光投向传统课堂之外的智力和专业成长。该项目与这一目标直接一致，而且将增加关于环境变暖对北极微生物影响的知识体系。伊利萨格维克学院是目前唯一位于北极的美国大学，它提供了收集微生物变化数据的有利位置。伊利萨格维克学院将使用从土壤样本中提取的DNA和RNA来检验这一假设，即北极地区影响微生物的温度变化之后是北极植被的变化，这最终将影响北极动物和北极人的生存生活方式。本科生将参加实地考察和样本采集，学习基因组学和基因测序，土壤测量技术和数据分析。此外，学生还将在科学会议上体验科学交流。将有大学前课程，包括本科生研究人员的演讲和微生物学夏令营，中学生可以在那里学习STEM职业，并参与可能影响他们生活的主题的现场研究。

A goal of the Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP) is to increase the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) instructional and research capacities of specific institutions of higher education that serve the Nation's indigenous students. Expanding the research capacity at these institutions expands the opportunities for students to pursue challenging, rewarding careers in STEM fields, provides for research studies in areas that may be locally relevant, and encourages a faculty community to look beyond the traditional classroom for intellectual and professional growth. This project aligns directly with that goal, and moreover will increase the body of knowledge on the impact of a warming environment on arctic microorganisms.Ilisagvik College is the only U.S. college located in the Arctic at this time, which provides an advantageous location to collect data on microbial changes. Ilisagvik College will use DNA and RNA extractions from soil samples to test the hypothesis that temperature changes in the Arctic that affect microorganisms is followed by changes in arctic vegetation, which will ultimately affect arctic animals and the subsistence lifestyle of people in the Arctic. Undergraduate students will participate in fieldwork and sample collection, learn about genomics and gene sequencing, soil measurement techniques, and data analysis. In addition, students will experience communicating science at scientific conferences. There will be pre-college programming including presentations by the undergraduate researchers and summer camps on microbiology, where secondary students can learn about STEM careers and become involved with place-based research on topics that may affect their lives.