River flows and riparian invertebrate communities in Southern California streams
Albert Ruhi Vidal, Professor
Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Applications for Spring 2025 are closed for this project.
How could we best manage local water supplies in ways that benefit communities and rivers? Los Angeles County in Southern California imports the majority of its water. After residents use this water, wastewater treatment facilities clean it and then generally discharge it into local streams, such as the Los Angeles River and Santa Clara River. There are now efforts to recycle more of this water and discharge less of it into streams in the name of increasing local water supplies. These changes raise questions about what the appropriate amount and timing of discharges would be so that we could bolster water supplies and restore ecological integrity at the same time.
We are studying the relationships between flows and ecosystems in the Santa Clara and L.A. Rivers, and the potential for using flows as a restoration tool. For the past four years, we conducted fieldwork along these rivers, collecting aquatic and riparian invertebrates, surveying birds and vegetation, and interviewing people.
For this URAP project, we are seeking students to support our efforts identifying and sorting the riparian invertebrates, which are important bioindicators in this study.
Role: Terrestrial (riparian) invertebrate (e.g., beetles, spiders, and ants) identification and sorting using a microscope. Build on your knowledge of identifying and sorting terrestrial invertebrates to order and family levels.
Qualifications: Students should have some previous experience with IDing terrestrial invertebrates and a strong interest in entomology. Please reference any past experience with IDing beetles, ants, and spiders (and other invertebrates) in your statement.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Melissa von Mayrhauser
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Environmental Issues Biological & Health Sciences Engineering, Design & Technologies