Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/P020259/1
Taxonomic skills and field techniques for freshwater ecology and quality
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Dr A Jungblut, The Natural History Museum, Life Sciences
- Grant held at:
- The Natural History Museum, Life Sciences
- Science Area:
- Freshwater
- Overall Classification:
- Freshwater
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Climate & Climate Change
- Freshwater communities
- Community Ecology
- Conservation Ecology
- Systematics & Taxonomy
- Water Quality
- Abstract:
- We propose an Advanced Training Short Course on TAXONOMIC SKILLS AND FIELD WORK TECHNIQUES for UK freshwater ecology and quality because accurate species identification is fundamental for bio-assessments, monitoring and conservation, research into food webs and ecosystem function, ecosystem services and climate change as well as to inform management and policy such as the Environmental Agency. Current undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, however, does not provide the necessary essential training for postgraduate research or professional careers in freshwater environmental management and policy makers, leading to a skills gap in taxonomy and systematics, fieldwork and freshwater sciences as highlighted by NERC. The lack of taxonomic training is also demonstrated by NERC-funded university-based research leaders recommending participation of PhD students at previous NERC courses on freshwater skills led by the same NHM team in 2014-2016. This is supported by 81 postgraduate student and ECR applications over the three years (each course had only 15 places), including 16 NERC and 1 EPSRC-funded postgraduate students and early-career scientists from academic disciplines in freshwater ecology, conservation and management. NHM is ideally suited to deliver such a course because of its extensive expertise in freshwater taxonomy, biodiversity, field work, contract work and training. Advance training outcomes of NHM ATSC: 1. Awareness of biological diversity of UK freshwater benthic and pelagic habitats. 2. Ability to identify freshwater macroinvertebrates, algae, cyanobacteria, protists, lichens. 3. Ability to use the appropriate handbooks and keys for taxonomic identification. 4. Experience in the preservation of different freshwater groups for voucher specimens and long-term storage. 5. Understand and implement best practice in sampling techniques, recording protocols for species lists, community assessment, monitoring. 6. Understand how to adopt appropriate sampling techniques according to particular research questions and habitat characteristics. 7. Understand the process of integrating taxonomic data and physical and chemical properties of freshwater aquatic habitats. 8. Understand the principles of biosecurity. 9. Awareness of sampling permits, benefit-sharing agreements, sites of special interest and licencing procedures for specially protected species under the Wildlife & Countryside Act. Our proposed ATSC training is unique because of its focus on taxonomic training covering both benthic and planktonic freshwater groups such as macroinvertebrates, algae, cyanobacteria, protists, aquatic lichens. There is no comparable course currently offered. Training will be delivered by way of lectures, fieldwork and bespoke hands-on identification work in small groups with experts to ensure that participants will become confident in applying relevant sampling and identification techniques and terminology to be able to work independently using the appropriate identification keys and guides. NHM staff have extensive experience in postgraduate training through NHM involvement in five NERC DTPs, MSc and MRes programs with University College London, Royal Holloway and Imperial College, and supervision of PhD students from other UK and overseas universities. NHM staff are regularly involved in NHM education programs for school students, volunteers via citizen sciences programs at the Angela Marmont Centre for UK Biodiversity. The NHM Life Science Department has excellent infrastructure to support the course including laboratory facilities for invertebrate sample sorting, specimen preparation and compound light microscopes and stereomicroscopes for identification work. For phycological and aquatic lichen training identification there are compound light microscopes with camera imaging systems. The NHM has lecturing facilities, library for references literature, and extensive taxonomic type specimen reference collect
- NERC Reference:
- NE/P020259/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Doctoral Training
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Advanced Training
This training grant award has a total value of £47,594
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Other Costs |
|---|
| £47,594 |
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