WSC-Category 1: Integrated Biophysical-Social Research for Water and Ecosystem Sustainability in an Effluent-Driven Urbanizing Watershed

University Of North Texas, Denton TX

Investigators

Abstract

1039172 Hoeinghaus WSC-Category 1: Integrated Biophysical-Social Research for Water and Ecosystem Sustainability in an Effluent-Driven Urbanizing Watershed The proposed research will develop a multidisciplinary collaborative to integrate biological, physical and social sciences to advance water and ecosystem sustainability in the face of climate change and rapid urbanization. This endeavor will utilize the Integrated Science for Society and Environment framework, and build on a history of prior interdisciplinary research. Intellectual Merit: The upper Trinity River basin study area, including the Dallas ? Fort Worth Metroplex, has great potential as a model system for other rapidly urbanizing watersheds becoming increasingly reliant on surface water. Existing data on biological, geophysical, built environment and social components will be identified, compiled and served in a way that expands the spatial and temporal scope of research potential and enables novel cross-cutting research directions. Data are already available to initiate multidisciplinary research within and across three primary themes: 1) land-use/built environment, hydrologic modeling and water resources; 2) aquatic invertebrate biodiversity, distribution and environmental relationships; and 3) demographic variation in environmental literacy and perceptions regarding water resources. Targeted field research and public surveys will fill gaps in available data and as needed for linked human and natural systems modeling. Using the new database and preliminary analyses, they will identify and establish field sites for hypothesis-driven place-based research. Outcomes from this WSC Category 1 project will tie in with ongoing research by the PIs and collaborators, and will provide the basis for competitive proposals for WSC Category 2 or 3 funding, as well as for ULTRA, IGERT and REU programs. Broader Impacts: This project will enhance ongoing efforts in the following areas: 1) graduate and undergraduate education and research, 2) general public and K-12 environmental literacy, and 3) teacher education and environmental training. Two graduate students and one undergraduate research assistant will be directly supported by this project, and additional volunteers (at least two from underrepresented groups) earning research experience through the Texas Academy of Math and Science program will be involved in field and lab research. These students will benefit from interactions with faculty across biological, physical, engineering and social sciences, and from the experience working as part of a larger multidisciplinary endeavor. The Stakeholder Advisory Board provides one mechanism for dissemination of information to the general public and decision makers, and we will also develop a public-access database served by UNT Digital Library. This project will support and enhance K-12 education by supplying data to state-mandated environmental education programs held in the Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building at UNT. These environmental education programs are regularly visited by over 500,000 users per year. Through connections with other ongoing research and education programs, the multidisciplinary approach and findings from this project will be shared with local area teachers, and through them their students.