The Potential for Wastewater Effluent to Restore Coastal Stream Ecosystems in Southern California
Albert Ruhi Vidal, Professor
Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Applications for Spring 2024 are closed for this project.
Water conservation policies in Southern California are promoting the recycling of effluent, but reductions in these discharges may lead to stream drying and alteration of river food webs. Environmental managers are grappling with how much they should reduce discharges to some reaches of the Santa Clara and Los Angeles Rivers, where effluent has influenced flows since the mid-to-late 20th Century, creating novel aquatic ecosystems and recreational opportunities. For the past three years, we have sampled aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates and conducted bird and vegetation surveys. With all of these data, we are modeling flow-food web relationships, which will inform recommendations for flow management, including using effluent as a restoration tool.
Role: I am looking for students who will have the following roles. Please indicate in your application which role (or roles) interests you.
1) Aquatic invertebrate (e.g. true fly, dragonfly and mayfly larvae) identification and sorting using a microscope.
2) Terrestrial invertebrate (e.g. beetles, spiders, and ants) identification and sorting using a microscope.
Qualifications: 1) Aquatic invertebrate sorting - Students are not required to have previous invertebrate identification experience, but a strong interest in entomology and freshwater ecology are desired. Please reference any past experience with collecting, sorting, and IDing invertebrates in your statement. Students should be able to commit to working 6 hours in the lab per week.
2) Terrestrial invertebrate IDing and sorting - 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 terrestrial inverts) in your statement. Students should be able to commit to working 6 hours in the lab per week.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Melissa von Mayrhauser, Graduate Student
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Related website: https://nature.berkeley.edu/ruhilab/
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