SFS Annual Meeting

5/24/2018  |   11:00 - 11:15   |  320

BUILDING CURRICULUM VITAE OF FUTURE AQUATIC SCIENTISTS WITH CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES Like many college students, future aquatic scientists are concerned about their career path and in turn, academic programs are evaluated and potentially funded, based not only by their number of graduates, but also placement in the workforce or graduate programs, research, and presentations. Progression benefits the student, academic programs, and the body of aquatic science. In our experience, vitae-building activities embedded in courses, career pathway discovery, and academic counseling are methods that have benefited students and faculty. Success stories and challenges faced by faculty and students from small, mostly undergraduate institutions will be discussed.

Tamara Sluss (Primary Presenter/Author), Kentucky State University, tamara.sluss@kysu.edu;


Rhiannon Cecil (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Kentucky State University, rhiannon.cecil@kysu.edu;


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5/24/2018  |   11:15 - 11:30   |  320

A STREAM-SPECIFIC MACROINVERTEBRATE FIELD GUIDE FOR MOBILE DEVICES. Macroinvertebrates are ideal study subjects for young scientists. However, identification can frustrate students, yield inaccurate data, and reduce replication needed for interesting questions. Since 2008, Vermont EPSCoR’s Streams Project has developed tools to streamline identification and encourage students to address bigger questions. High school teams sample water and macroinvertebrates and use GIS-derived landscape data. We developed a stream-specific macroinvertebrate application for mobile devices to improve identification efficiency and accuracy. The app downloads photographs and content from a customizable wiki platform. The wiki is built around two components: 1. Invertebrate templates, and 2. Stream site pages. For each taxon we build a short web page called a ‘template’ with a brief description and photograph. The templates are assembled like Lego bricks on stream pages based on site data. Each high school uploads data from two streams to share with their peer teams. Students analyze land-use data, long-term macroinvertebrate and water quality data from multiple streams. Thus a team from rural Vermont can compare forested or agricultural streams to urban streams in San Juan or East Boston. Each team presents their year-long project as a poster or talk at our annual symposium.

Declan McCabe (Primary Presenter/Author), Saint Michael's College, dmccabe@smcvt.edu;


Janel Roberge (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Vermont EPSCoR, jroberge@smcvt.edu;


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5/24/2018  |   11:30 - 11:45   |  320

A BIOMONITORING INVESTIGATION TO PROMOTE DEEP, REAL-WORLD UNDERSTANDING OF FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS: A CASE STUDY FROM AN ENGLISH WINTER I present an assessed biomonitoring investigation conducted by undergraduates on my Freshwater Ecosystems module. A local government ecologist asks us to explore a real-world case in which river health may be compromised by a polluting effluent. In a spirit of collaborative, inquiry-based learning, student groups design a study to determine the impact of the effluent, selecting sampling sites, biotic groups (primarily invertebrates), sampling methods, and analytical approaches. We visit the river (accompanied by the government ecologist) to collect biotic samples and environmental data. Samples are processed, specimens identified, and data analyzed using discipline-specific metrics, indices, and multivariate options. Students produce and defend ‘posters’ at an ‘e-conference’. Delivering one assessment through multiple practical classes maintains motivation, provides regular formative feedback opportunities from both staff and peers, and promotes deep understanding. Linking the assessment to a current, real-world scenario highlights the relevance of the work, engendering motivation and potentially shaping career aims. The inquiry-based approach requires students to make decisions, developing transferable skills including problem-solving and leadership, as well as personal attributes such as confidence. During the e-conference, discussion and evaluation of each other’s investigative approaches promotes critical reflection on effective practice.

Rachel Stubbington (Primary Presenter/Author,Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Nottingham Trent University, rachel.stubbington@ntu.ac.uk;


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5/24/2018  |   11:45 - 12:00   |  320

ADOPTING PARTNERSHIPS TO INCREASE AWARENESS OF FRESHWATER RESOURCES THROUGH CITIZEN SCIENCE Citizen science provides a useful tool for monitoring natural resources and increasing awareness of the services these provide. In this presentation we will highlight a partnership established between Georgia Southern University and the Ogeechee Riverkeeper to provide training, tools, awareness and educational opportunities to students and residents through the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Program. Through this partnership we’ve developed a series of workshops that can be incorporated to high school and university courses, as well as local community groups, leading to yearly volunteer certifications in three areas of monitoring: chemical, bacterial, and macroinvertebrates. To date, the partnership has been incorporated readily into two university courses, two high school courses, multiple university organizations, and citizen groups to train over 100 volunteers in 3 years. In addition, a continuous dataset has been developed for a creek at the Georgia Southern University Statesboro campus where monthly data has been recorded spanning the 3-years of the program. Our goal is to continue developing educational programs with the opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of having healthy freshwater ecosystems, while also providing opportunities for citizens to contribute to our monitoring efforts for streams in the region.

Checo Colon-Gaud (Primary Presenter/Author), Georgia Southern University, jccolongaud@georgiasouthern.edu;


Luke Roberson (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Ogeechee Riverkeeper, luke@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org;


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5/24/2018  |   12:00 - 12:15   |  320

INTEGRATING INQUIRY-BASED CLASSROOM PEDAGOGY INTO A WEB-BASED OUTREACH PROJECT: A VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP TO LAKE TANGANYIKA Fostering science-literate citizens who value aquatic ecosystems requires expertise in educational and communication strategies. We produced a website on the Lake Tanganyika ecosystem that uses visually appealing media to engage citizens’ interest in the importance of intact ecosystems for human well-being. We paired the website with an inquiry-based high school curriculum that engages students in the practice of science. Students design and conduct experiments that allow them to discover the relationship between light and nutrients in fueling food webs. Students evaluate real data from Lake Tanganyika to understand climate-induced changes in the physical properties of the lake. The students accumulate knowledge and scientific evidence about lake ecosystem function. At the end of the unit, they develop and defend arguments to predict the consequences of climate change for the lake’s food web and ultimately, for people. We will discuss the costs and benefits of pairing formal and informal science education, and discuss tools for evaluating the efficacy of each. Such collaborative efforts between scientists, communication experts, and education specialists, are outside the purview of most scientists, but engage the public imagination and help them understand the practice and value of science.

Yvonne Vadeboncoeur (Primary Presenter/Author), Wright State University, yvonne.vadeboncoeur@wright.edu;


Lisa Kenyon (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), wright State University, lisa.kenyon@wright.edu;


Elliot Gaines (Co-Presenter/Co-Author), Wright State University, elliot.gaines@wright.edu;


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5/24/2018  |   12:15 - 12:30   |  320

LEAF-PACKS AND ARTISTS: NURTURING ANALYSIS AND OUTREACH In the last decade RISD has developed a diversity of science electives for students of the arts—created for students with little academic background in the sciences, but with major interest and visual/spatial skillsets. I present four years of data on the modified leaf-pack experiments we do in my course, Urban Ecology: How Wildlife Interacts with an Urbanizing Landscape, with accompanying outreach materials designed by the students. The entire process of collecting and processing the data at two sites along one of RI’s major rivers—one urban, one semi-rural—is done by the whole class. Small groups conduct their own spatial analysis of the surrounding land-use—depending upon each group’s consensus on how to categorize land-use and how to quantify it—with or without any technological tools. They consider the biological and spatial data together to form a hypothesis and ultimately a conclusion about the impacts of land-use on adjacent aquatic communities. The BIV is usually higher and %EPT is generally lower at the more urban site. Students also create outreach infographics for the watershed council to use, based on what they have observed and learned from the experience.

Maria Aliberti Lubertazzi (Primary Presenter/Author), Rhode Island School of Design, malibert@risd.edu;


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