REU Site: Field Studies in Global Change at the Headwaters of the Mississippi

The Earth is changing rapidly and it is important to understand how ecosystems and organisms will be challenged in the future. Global change affects ecological processes at many different scales, from sub-cellular to ecosystems, and it is the great breadth of these scales that make understanding processes difficult. This REU site is designed to introduce undergraduate students to research into global change ecology and teach them how to deal with large and/or multiple scales and data sets. Participation by students from underrepresented groups is strongly encouraged in order to nurture their interest in global change issues and to produce a more diverse corps of future leaders in this important area of research. Students participating in this program will (1) Conduct research under the mentorship of faculty engaged in research in global change ecology, (2) Develop research, collaboration and oral communication skills, and (3) Become oriented to various aspects of scientific research via faculty- and graduate-student panels, an on-site research symposium, an ecological issues course and ethics seminars. Five to ten students each summer will conduct independent research with a faculty mentor at the University of Minnesota's Itasca Biological Station and Laboratory (IBSL). Students will have access to continuously downloaded climate and limnological data from Lake Itasca. These data along with other databases will be used to train students to analyze and interpret large data sets. The summer program will begin with a three-day orientation session and conclude with a poster session, in which students will present results from their independent research projects, and a banquet. Students will benefit greatly from the setting (IBSL is one of the oldest and best-equipped biological stations in the country) and faculty involved in this program. More information is available by contacting Dr. James Cotner, at cotne002@umn.edu; Sehoya Cotner at harri054@umn.edu; or Evelyn Juliussen at (612) 625-2275, ejuliuss@umn.edu; or by visiting http://www.cbs.umn.edu/main/summer_research/.