REU Site: Life in the Mountains: Field Research in Gothic, Colorado

这个REU网站奖给落基山生物实验室（RMBL），位于哥特式，CO，将支持10名学生在2024年至2026年的夏天10周的培训。预计共有30名学生，主要来自研究机会有限的学校，包括但不限于来自洛杉矶社区学院的学生，以及来自代表性不足的群体的学生，将接受该方案的培训。参与者将参与以山区生活为中心的实地研究，利用研究最多的生态系统之一，包括自然历史和长期研究，以追求涉及支持生物多样性和生态系统过程的基本生物过程的问题对人类至关重要，包括人类健康，粮食生产和营养流。学生将学习如何进行研究，许多人将在科学会议上展示他们的工作成果。该计划的评估将通过在线工具进行。学生应使用NSF ETAP（教育和培训应用程序：https://etap.nsf.gov）申请REU网站。大多数项目将以生态学和进化生物学为中心，有机会研究跨学科的生物过程，从基因到生态系统。项目的例子包括探索环境变化对生活史，行为和种群动态的影响，使用蝴蝶，使用机器学习算法训练无人机图像以检测连接花卉资源和传粉者的大规模模式，探索与区域和当地温度变化有关的高山植物相对丰度的变化，以及一种新的范围转移的石蛾如何改变涉及蝾螈和鸟类的食物网联系。RMBL将接待来自100多所高等院校的科学家，导师将从全国各地的生物学和相关部门中选出。RMBL的教育团队根据申请材料进行选择，学生将从现场指导开始，并参与独立的、有指导的研究。他们还将参加由导师，RMBL的教育团队和大型研究社区支持的负责任的研究行为（RCR）道德和技能研讨会，以及研讨会，远足，观鸟和mothing。有关该计划的更多信息，请访问rmbl.org/education，或联系PI Ian Billick或co-PI迷迭香Smith（rmblreu@rmbl.org）。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This REU Site award to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), located in Gothic, CO, will support the training of 10 students for 10 weeks during the summers of 2024-2026. It is anticipated that a total of 30 students, primarily from schools with limited research opportunities, including though not limited to, students from Los Angeles community colleges, and also from under-represented groups, will be trained in the program. Participants will engage in place-based field research centered on life in the mountains, leveraging one of the most studied ecosystems, including natural history and long-term research to pursue questions involving the fundamental biological processes that support biodiversity and ecosystem processes critical to humans, including human health, food production, and nutrient flows. Students will learn how research is conducted, and many will present the results of their work at scientific conferences. Assessment of this program will be done through an online tool. Students should apply to the REU site using NSF ETAP (Education and Training Application: https://etap.nsf.gov).Most projects will center on ecology and evolutionary biology, with opportunities to investigate interdisciplinary biological processes, from genes to ecosystems. Examples of projects include exploring the impact of environmental variation on life histories, behavior, and population dynamics, using butterflies, using machine learning algorithms to train drone imagery to detect large scale patterns linking floral resources and pollinators, exploring the change in the relative abundance of alpine plants in relation to regional and local temperature change, and how a new range-shifting caddisfly alters food-web connections involving salamanders and birds. With RMBL hosting scientists from 100+ colleges and universitities, mentors will be chosen from biology and related departments from across the country. Selected by RMBL’s education team based upon application materials, students will start with onsite orientation and participate in independent, mentored research. They will also participate in Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) ethics and skills workshops, as well as seminars, hikes, birding, and mothing, supported by mentors, RMBL’s education team, and large research community. More information about the program is available by visiting rmbl.org/education, or by contacting the PI Ian Billick or the co-PI Rosemary Smith at rmblreu@rmbl.org.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.