This project will assist in the development of an aquatic ecology center at Arkansas Tech University that is designed to demonstrate ecological principles and promote interdisciplinary research by undergraduate students. The center is well equipped for sampling living organisms, but these biotic communities can be greatly influenced by transient abiotic factors that vary regularly (e.g., daily or seasonally) or are unpredictable (e.g., occur during storm events or accidental pollutant discharge). Equipping the aquatic ecology center with two sequential water samplers; two meters for continuous chemical records; two water level recorders; and accessories to electronically transfer data will permit students to investigate both short-term and long-term environmental changes. Multiple meter sets will allow hypothesis testing among stream sites and among lake depths. This center will provide invaluable experience to upper division undergraduates in several science majors regardless of whether they enter their careers directly or pursue graduate degrees. The equipment will also be of use in a summer conservation course for high school science teachers, and in the Gifted and Talented program for outstanding high school students.
