REU Site: Assessment and Sustainable Management of Ecosystem Services

University Of Arkansas, Fayetteville AR

Investigators

Abstract

The University of Arkansas will provide an integrated research experience for three cohorts of 10 undergraduate students, each working with federally recognized Native American Tribes in Oklahoma, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Students will begin with a two-week immersion course on Experimental Design and an Exploration of Sustainability Ethics across cultures (Module 1), followed by a six week Research Experience (Module 2), and concluding with a one week intensive program in Data Analysis and Scientific Communications (module 3) where students will draft, review, revise, and submit written and oral reports of their work. The focus of the work will be measuring, managing, and restoring ecosystem services in a sustainable framework. The REU program will develop student skills thru the process of developing testable hypotheses, collecting and analyzing data, and communicating results in both oral and in written form. The cohort groups will work with a faculty advisor from the Project Team, as well as Environmental Program Officers within the Cherokee, Pawnee and Santee Sioux Nation Tribal programs. The program will emphasize the process of science, the ethic of sustainability, and the cultural connections of ecology with tribal traditions. Students will work with faculty and graduate students on projects ranging from GIS-land use analysis to nutrient spiraling in streams to bird/mammal surveys in riparian zones. More information is available at http://www.baeg.uark.edu/REUSustainableTribes/, or by contacting Dr Marty Matlock at mmatlock@uark.edu or 479/575-2849.