Sustainable RIVER REU – now accepting applications

Subject: Sustainable RIVER REU – now accepting applications

The Sustainability Program at the University of South Dakota is offering a NSF REU program this summer titled “Sustainable RIVER (Remediating InVasives to Encourage Resilience).” Sustainable RIVER is a full-time, paid, undergraduate research opportunity. In the Sustainable RIVER project, the students will investigate different invasive elements and cultural and natural stressors affecting the Missouri River. The students will conduct an independent research project (see below), participate in field trips on and along the Missouri River, and produce a team project.

Research projects for the summer of 2019 are:

  • Effects of invasive trees on native floodplain forest vegetation and breeding birds
  • Effects of modified sediment loads on Missouri River and tributary hydrology
  • Effects of invasive fish on Missouri River food webs
  • Geological heritage sites along the Missouri River corridor
  • Examining the effects of pesticides on amphibian disease
  • A changed river’s effects of pesticides on amphibian disease
  • Ethnohistorical relationships among American Indian tribes and the Missouri River
  • Importance of aquatic insect-derived fatty acids to riparian birds along the Missouri River
  • Perceptions of multifunctional landscapes along the Missouri National Recreational River

The Sustainable RIVER project will run from 28 May to 2 August 2019. Students participating in the project will receive a $5,500 stipend plus additional funding for food, housing, and travel. This project is open to any undergraduate student, but students from community and tribal colleges and students studying sustainability are especially encouraged to apply. Applications for the project can be submitted now through 15 February 2019.

Please forward this e-mail onto students who may be interested in this opportunity.

If you would like more information about the Sustainable RIVER project, please visit www.SustainableRIVER.org.

Cheers,

Meghann