In terms of providing habitat for threatened and endangered species, freshwater habitats rank as the most imperiled ecosystems on Earth. Historically and currently used for transportation, irrigation, energy production, waste disposal and recreation, it is important to understand how freshwater systems funtion and how we can work toward ecological restoration of freshwater habitat. This program will focus on the foundations of and research methods in freshwater ecology. Topics covered will include basic water chemistry, stream flow dynamics, primary productivity, aquatic insect ID, trophic dynamics, ecological interactions, organic matter and nutrient dynamics, current threats to freshwater ecosystems and ecological restoration. The course will focus on current research in ecosystem ecology, community ecology and ecological genetics in riparian zones, streams, rivers and lakes. Seminar readings will focus on human-freshwater interactions and regionally important freshwater topics in the Pacific Northwest. Field trips will be undertaken regardless of weather conditions to local freshwater environments and the course will include several hands-on lab activities. 

2014Syllabus

Faculty Biography:

Carri LeRoy, Ph.D., is a stream ecologist who is fascinated by interactions between forests and streams, and has studied riparian systems in Washington, Arizona, and Utah for the past 10 years. She is also Co-Director of the Sustainability in Prisons Project at Evergreen. Dr. LeRoy has published over 25 scientific research articles with students and collaborators in the fields of stream ecology, ecological genetics, riparian forest ecology and prairie plant community dynamics. As an MES faculty, she gets to teach about the ecology of the Pacific Northwest as well as the applications and theory of statistics and quantitative methods. Her interests in non-formal education are based in her experience with environmental and place-based education, her work with incarcerated students and her desire to facilitate environmental stewardship in broad audiences. Other topics she is interested in include: invertebrate community ecology, trophic dynamics in lake ecosystems, long-term monitoring of ecosystem function, and issues of aesthetics in science.