Home > About
Interdisciplinary Modeling of Aquatic Ecosystems Curriculum Development Workshop
 |
Home |
Project Summary
The Interdisciplinary Modeling for Aquatic Ecosystems Curriculum Development workshop was held at Granlibakken Conference Center and Resort on July 17-22, 2005. This workshop resulted in the development of a graduate level course with an overall objective of engaging interdisciplinary discourse in modeling aquatic ecosystems. We are currently finalizing materials that can be distributed as a collection via an internet website so that instructors who wish to teach this course at any institution of higher learning will have background materials and a recommended curriculum.
The Draft Workshop Report submitted to NSF and a 'canned' presentation about the workshop is available from the documents page: www.ag.unr.edu/saito/intmod/documents.html.
The science and management of aquatic ecosystems is inherently interdisciplinary, with issues associated with hydrology, atmospheric science, water quality, geochemistry, sociology, economics, environmental science, and ecology. Addressing water resources issues in any one discipline invariably involves effects that concern other disciplines, and attempts to address one issue often have consequences that exacerbate existing issues or concerns, or create new ones (Jørgensen et al. 1992; Lackey et al. 1975; Straskraba 1994) due to the strongly interactive nature of key processes (Christensen et al. 1996). Thus, research and management of aquatic ecosystems must be interdisciplinary to be most effective, but such truly interdisciplinary work is often difficult to implement. Interdisciplinary modeling is a useful approach for managing and understanding aquatic ecosystems, but there are several impediments to the implementation of successful interdisciplinary modeling of aquatic ecosystems, including (1) different spatial and temporal scales that specific disciplines are concerned with (Nilsson et al. 2003); (2) differences in degrees of uncertainty of data and models (Crockett 1994; Minns et al. 1996), and (3) lack of awareness of what modeling options are available in an interdisciplinary sense. All of these are intertwined with (4) difficulties in communication between disciplines, where different terminology and perspectives can get in the way of discussing common issues or concerns (Cullen 1990; Nicolson et al. 2002; Nilsson et al. 2003). And finally, (5) scientists and modelers need to be educated and trained about interdisciplinary approaches (Nicolson et al. 2002; NSF 2000; USGS 1999).
This workshop had been designed to result in the development of a graduate-level course that specifically addresses the impediments identified above by introducing students to models that are available in different disciplines and how such models might be applied together to address aquatic ecosystem issues, addressing issues of variability and uncertainty in implementing interdisciplinary approaches, and giving students experience in working in interdisciplinary teams to apply interdisciplinary modeling approaches to increase knowledge about aquatic ecosystems. These students will then be better-prepared for professional or academic careers in which they interact with peers from other disciplines to address real-work aquatic ecosystem issues. Senior investigators from different institutions participated in this workshop by giving lectures on modeling topics, and graduate students will participate to provide valuable feedback on educational approaches that are most effective for fostering learning about interdisciplinary approaches and issues.
References:
- Christensen NL, Bartuska AM, Brown JH, Carpenter S, D’Antonio C, Francis R, Franklin JF, MacMahon JA, Noss RF, Parsons DJ, Peerson CH, Turner MG, Woodmansee RG. 1996. The report of the Ecological Society of America committee on the scientific basis for ecosystem management. Ecological Applications 6(3):665-691.
- Crockett P. 1994. Water-quality modeling. In: Calow P, Petts GE, editors. The rivers handbook: hydrological and ecological principles. Volume 2. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publications. p 213-226.
- Cullen P. 1990. The turbulent boundary between water science and water management. Freshwater Biol 24:201-209.
- Jørgensen SE, Patten BC, Straskraba M. 1992. Ecosystems emerging: toward an ecology of complex systems in a complex future. Ecological Modelling 62:1-27.
- Lackey RT, Powers JE, Zuboy JR. 1975. Modeling to improve management of bass fisheries. In: Clepper H, editor. Black bass biology and management. Washington (DC): Sport Fishing Institute. p 430-435.
- Minns CK, Kelso JRM, Randall RG. 1996. Detecting the response of fish to habitat alterations in freshwater ecosystems. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 53 (Suppl. 1):403-414.
- Nicolson CR, Starfield AM, Kofinas GP, Kruse JA. 2002. Ten heuristics for interdisciplinary modeling projects. Ecosystems 5:376-384.
- Nilsson C, Pizzuto JE, Moglen GE, Palmer MA, Stanley EH, Bockstael NE, Thompson LC. 2003. Ecological forecasting and the urbanization of stream ecosystems: challenges for economists, hydrologists, geomorphologists, and ecologists. Ecosystems 6:659-674.
- [NSF] National Science Foundation. 2000. Environmental science and engineering for the 21st century: the role of the National Science Foundation. NSB 00-22. Available at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2000/nsb0022/reports/nsb0022.pdf.
- Straskraba M. 1994. Ecotechnological models for reservoir water quality management. Ecological Modelling 74:1-38.
- [USGS] US Geological Survey. 1999. Summary report of the workshop on enhancing integrated science. Available at http://www.usgs.gov/integrated_science/summaryrpt.pdf.
Aquamod Listserve: The aquamod listserve has been temporarily disabled. We will be starting a new listserve shortly. Please email Laurel Saito if you would like to be added to the listserve.
[Updated Oct 2006]
