PS 1-9 - On-campus ponds as a focal system for interdisciplinary undergraduate research

Background/Question/Methods

Engaging undergraduate students in interdisciplinary research is a strong asset to the development of their scientific skills, but organizing interdisciplinary research opportunities can be difficult, especially at smaller academic institutions. We formed an interdisciplinary team - including faculty in ecology, geography, geology, and virology - with the goal of conducting complementary research projects in the nine on-campus ponds to address the overall question of what factors drive biodiversity in these ponds. The campus ponds serve as a useful resource for ecological questions since they vary in surface area, depth, watershed land cover, and other factors. Different faculty/research groups take turns presenting their research ideas and preliminary data in weekly lab meetings. Here we present summaries of (1) the key results from the macroinvertebrate, virus, geospatial, fish, and turtle teams and (2) students’ perceived gains in scientific skills over the course of a semester-long research experience, as evaluated by a standard SALG URSSA assessment.

Results/Conclusions

Zooplankton abundance was significantly higher in summer, while benthic macroinvertebrate diversity did not differ significantly with season. Preliminary viral metagenomic analysis of material from one pond showed sequences from numerous viruses of prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Geoscience students have mapped pond boundaries and watersheds and are developing land use and land cover maps. Ichthyology students completed the first formal survey of fish species in each pond (5 species total, 0-3 species per pond) and used molecular methods to confirm species identifications. The turtle team examined correlations between 14 years of turtle population data and data collected by the previously-described teams and has not yet discovered significant factors affecting turtle populations.
Student self-evaluations indicated “moderate” to “good” perceived gains in a wide range of skills, including ability to work independently and collaboratively, confidence in ability to contribute to science, ability to explain projects to people in different fields of study, preparing scientific posters, and time management.
Together, these results indicate the value of this approach to an interdisciplinary applied learning experience for undergraduates: students are helping to build long-term datasets and contributing to a larger project while also developing skills and interests that will be useful in their future careers.