Freshwater Ecosystems Revitalizing Educational Programs in Limnology (1996) / Chapter Skim
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4 Education in Limnology: Current Status and Recommendations for Improvement
4 Education in Limnology: Current Status and Recommendations for Improvement
Pages 118-153
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From page 118... ...
Knowledge is transferred to the practitioners of the future primarily at colleges and universities, and it is there that much of the new knowledge needed to solve problems of inland aquatic ecosystems is developed. Colleges and universities need to provide more opportunities for future water managers to learn about limnology during their undergraduate years.
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From page 119... ...
While some interdisciplinary fields, such as oceanography, soil science, and forestry, have departments or schools of their own, academic limnology remains scattered and lacks well-defined degree programs. One result of the scattering of limnology courses across departments and the lack of named degree programs is that limnology graduates produced by the various "nonlimnology" departments often lack knowledge of some critical subfields of limnology (such as physical limnology)
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From page 121... ...
graduate schools of limnology, does not offer a formal undergraduate degree in limnology. Instead, students gain exposure to limnology through well-supported interdisciplinary programs and highly visible introductory limnology courses, in which enrollment typically exceeds
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From page 122... ...
. Although a limnology major may not be a necessary option at every school or even at most schools, the visibility and cohesiveness of teaching in limnology nevertheless need to be increased so that undergraduate students are aware of the opportunity to specialize in freshwater studies.
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From page 123... ...
At the University of Alabama, students obtain graduate degrees in aquatic ecology primarily through the biology depart
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From page 124... ...
On the other hand, limnology students with degrees from civil and environmental engineering departments may have strong training in water chemistry or hydrology but relatively little knowledge of the organisms that inhabit aquatic systems. Limnology students typically do not receive adequate training across the major types of aquatic ecosystems (wetlands, streams, and lakes)
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From page 125... ...
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From page 126... ...
126 FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS risk of being closed when a professor retires or moves (see Chapter 2 and Box 4-54. Improving Education in Limnology: The Basis for Reform In summary, the current status of limnological education in North America is unsatisfactory.
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From page 127... ...
Curricular enhancements are needed to ensure that students are exposed to the broad range of subdisciplines comprising this field and that they are encouraged to integrate this knowledge into a holistic understanding of how inland aquatic ecosystems function. In addition, administrative changes are necessary to improve coordination among the limnologists housed in a variety of departments and colleges of major universities or to bring them together under a single program or department.
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From page 128... ...
Although interdepartmental undergraduate majors in other fields can be found at some major universities, by far the majority of bachelor's degree programs are housed within traditional departments. The interdepartmental approach, which is inherently less structured, may be less satisfactory for undergraduate degree programs than for graduate programs.
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From page 129... ...
EDUCATION IN LIMNOLOGY 129 essentially the equivalents of academic departments, granting degrees at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels (see Boxes 4-6 and 4-7~. These institutes maintain faculty with specialties in the subdisciplines of limnology, conduct large research programs, have their own budgets, and '.
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From page 130... ...
Some may argue that the highly stressed financial situation within most American universities provides an unlikely climate for the development of new departments. However, current unrest in academia involves much more than retrenchment caused by financial considerations.
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From page 131... ...
interdisciplinary graduate program in water resources science at the University of Minnesota provides broad training through core courses in surface and ground water hydrology, limnology, aquatic chemistry, water quality management, and water resource policy and law. Several areas of specialization are possible beyond the common core, including biological, chemical, and geological limnology and watershed management.
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From page 132... ...
.s.s.s.. A 11 ss~:ssss~sss ~S~s~ss :S.SSS.S:S:SSS:S:S:S:S:S:S:S:S:SSS:S~ faculty receive strong support for participation in extradepar~entaI activHies such as interdisciplinary graduate programs but in over cases/ faculty may encounter disincentives to such parEcipabon.
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From page 133... ...
! SSS~S~SsSsS~SsS~S~SsSsS~S~SsS~SsSsS~SsSsSsS The approach taken for the environmental science program at Me Swiss Federal Institute of Technology gee Pox 4-7)
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From page 134... ...
For example, strong university commitment to Kent State's water resources program has been essential to eliminate potential problems in dividing overhead costs among departments, cross-listing courses, and approving joint appointments. Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, which has three interdepartmental programs providing graduate study in aquatic science, also report strong support from the university administration.
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From page 135... ...
colleges and universities and should be designed not just for those who plan to become aquatic scientists but for all undergraduates with an interest in lakes, rivers, and wetlands. The course should educate students about the nature, origin, and development of inland aquatic ecosystems, their interactions with the surrounding environment, and their importance for human society.
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From page 136... ...
Such a course would have to be broadly integrative and include all types of inland aquatic ecosystems within a watershed perspective. Box 4-11 describes one possible scheme for organizing an introductory limnology course.
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From page 137... ...
Synthesis Course in Limnology The undergraduate curriculum shown in Box 4-12 includes an advanced limnology course covering all types of freshwater ecosystems and taught through case studies. In this capstone course, students would learn about current water resource problems at the global, national, and local levels and about how limnology can be brought to bear to solve them.
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From page 139... ...
Laboratory and Field Experience for Undergraduates Undergraduate limnology programs must include laboratory and field components. A good example of a limnology course providing extensive
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From page 140... ...
Field and laboratory work requires a large investment in bme for students and resources on We part of the university. Hands-on experience is essential however, to provide adequate exposure to real aquatic ecosystems, so that students knowledge ~1 extend beyond ~ ~o)
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From page 141... ...
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From page 142... ...
The course requirements for all three purposes are similar, but the details may differ. In particular, students entering limnology graduate programs who did not study aquatic science in obtaining their bachelor's degree probably will need some introductory limnology and aquatic science courses that are not necessary for students with aquatic science backgrounds.
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From page 143... ...
Even as more universities create strong interdisciplinary undergraduate programs in aquatic science, and even if some universities create limnology majors for undergraduates, master's degree programs will have to maintain flexibility to accommodate the varied backgrounds of students. Some of the most prominent limnologists have stumbled on this field from unusual pathways, and master's degree programs should be open to accepting students who do not "discover" limnology until the end of their undergraduate years.
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From page 144... ...
Experience at a field station is an excellent way to obtain this training, but it can also be accomplished as part of a laboratory for a graduate-level limnology course. A thesis or practical project is a highly important component of a master's degree because it provides students the experience of initiating, carrying out, and completing a project of their own.
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From page 145... ...
The stream ecology program at Arizona State University, described in Box 4-14, provides one example of a strong mentoring system. In addition to mentoring, however, Ph.D.
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From page 146... ...
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From page 147... ...
Although the principles of how aquatic ecosystems operate can be learned in classrooms, hands-on experience is the only way to gain a true appreciation for the complexities of aquatic systems. Field experience is essential not only for graduate students, who may themselves become scientific researchers and aquatic resource managers, but also for undergraduate students, who benefit greatly from a firsthand understanding of how aquatic systems operate, from learning scientific research methods, and from the atmosphere at field research sites, which is distinctly different from the on-campus atmosphere.
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From page 148... ...
as well as Canadian universities. According to the Organization of Biological Field Stations, TQ3 biologi ~..
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From page 149... ...
. The range of ecosystem types and the geographic distribution of field stations should be expanded to encompass a broad range of aquatic ecosystems that occur across the continent.
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From page 150... ...
. An educational program should be developed in which students from various universities would visit a set of a field stations representing a wide range of ecosystem types and investigation techniques over the course of a semester.
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From page 151... ...
training the next generation of scientists who will help develop the knowledge necessary to reverse the damage done to the world's lakes, streams, and wetlands in order to preserve their usefulness for the future. As awareness of the value of freshwater resources increases, so will the importance of establishing strong educational programs that meet all three of these needs.
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From page 152... ...
. Provide all interested students with an opportunity to gain laboratory and field experience, at either on-campus aquatic ecosystems, nearby aquatic ecosystems, or formal field stations.
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From page 153... ...
Numerous barriers must be overcome to achieve the goals described, and it will be difficult for academic limnologists to overcome these barriers by themselves. University administrators, water resource managers in government and the private sector, and professional societies involving limx~ologists all have key roles to play.
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