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Term project | Sample
Data | Final report
content & format | Grading
form.pdf | Background topics | Identification
references
Background Topics
A review of literature on some aspect of aquatic microecosystems.
This may include one of the following.
- Impact and mitigation of storm drains on aquatic ecosystems.
- How sensitive are these systems to human induced changes?
At what time of year are human-induced deviations from optimal
most damaging?
- What is the impact of invasive species introduction on ecosystem
function and service?
- What are the dynamics of nutrient cycling in aquatic ecosystems?
How important are wetlands to total nitrogen transport in
rivers?
- What are minimum water quantity and quality requirements
for maintenance of a healthy ecosystem?
- What are the inequities between supply and demand of water?
a. Who are the relevant stakeholders that use water, how much
do they use, and how much access do they have to this resource?
b. How much is left for ecosystem functioning and if not enough,
how will the lack of water affect ecosystem functioning?
c. How can conflict among stakeholders, and those between
stakeholders and nature's needs, be reduced and resolved?
d, What are the feedbacks between water scarcity for human
purposes and mismanagement?
e. What are the connections between land and water quantity
(land use/management change, large dams, channelization, changes
in evapotranspiration, discharge)? How does the conversion
of land to agriculture impact discharge timing and magnitude
through energy and water balance changes? How has irrigation
impacted local and regional discharge and how is this likely
to change with more intensive agriculture and changing climate?
- What are the connections between land and water quality
(salinization caused by land use and water diversions, eutrophication,
nitrogen and phosphorus loading, toxins)? How do fertilizer
application practices and crop types affect the magnitude
and variability of the flux of nitrogen in river systems and
to the ocean? How are those likely to fluctuate in the future?
- How does water management impact coastal zones (loss of
land from sediment starvation and loss of habitat, saltwater
intrusion, and altered biogeochemical fluxes) by reducing
water flow rates?
- What are the ecological consequences of inter-basin transfers
(species transfer, wetlands/estuary alterations)?
- What are the consequences of disruption of connectivity
in time and space (upstream downstream, riparian)?
- How does wetland destruction/restoration impact greenhouse
gas production (CH4, CO2)?
- What are feedbacks between species loss (due to invasive
species, pollution, ecosystem change) and ecosystem health?
- How might climate-induced changes in the cryosphere (glacial
and snow) impact human and aquatic ecosystems dependent on
them?
a. What are the potential feedbacks to atmosphere, infrastructure,
and ecosystems of future permafrost changes?
b. What are the feedbacks to the planetary energy budget of
future changes in snow and lake ice area?
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