Undergraduate Research Opportunity
Watershed Sciences and Environmental Management
San Marcos River

When: Fall 2006 and/or Spring 2007
Location: San Marcos River and UT Geography
Student: geography, geology, biology, engineering. Preference to student who would complete an honors thesis
Pay: $10. hour, 10 hrs per week
Contact: Dr. Paul F. Hudson (pfhudson@mail.utexas.edu), Dept. Geography & the Environment

Overview:
This research experience in watershed sciences and environmental management utilizes the San Marcos River as an outdoor laboratory for utilizing geomorphology and hydrology to teach fundamental concepts in stream and restoration and management. The San Marcos is a beautiful spring fed river that flows out of the Balcones Escarpment. Cryptocoryne Becketti is an invasive exotic water plant from Sri Lanka that was unintentionally introduced into the San Marcos River about fifteen years ago, and has since rapidly spread along the channel bed. The plant threatens the last remaining stands of native Texas Wild Rice, which grows in the channel bed, and has also altered habitat of endangered fish (Fountain Darter). The US Fish and Wildlife and Texas Parks and Wildlife have teamed up to remove the Cryptocoryne Becketti by dredging the channel. The process of channel dredging in itself represents a major form of disturbance to the San Marcos River, and requires monitoring so that the channel may not excessively erode, and so that the channel may recover after dredging is completed.

Geomorphic monitoring for river management is increasingly recognized as critical to the conservation and recovery of stream and riparian habitat that undergo environmental disturbance. This research experience will expose students to different conceptual approaches and methods (field and laboratory) for monitoring the impact of an environmental disturbance to a river system. Specific topics will include: bank erosion assessment, channel bed adjustment, stream discharge, and sediment transport. Students will learn common procedures used in river monitoring, including surveying, channel bed sampling, laboratory analysis of river sediments, and various GISc technologies (GIS, GPS, remote sensing).

Requirements:
Prior course work or experience in working with rivers and/or riparian science is required. Relevant course work may come from geography, geology, biology, or engineering. The student would be expected to sign up for an independent study course with Hudson, or enroll in Fluvial Geomorphology (GRG 338-c) in Fall '06.

Students should have an interest and enthusiasm for field work, lab work, and working with data bases (GIS, spreadsheets). The student will work closely with a small team involved with the project, including Hudson, other students, and personnel from Texas Parks and Wildlife. The research experience is especially suited for students interested in completing an undergraduate honors thesis. Students interested in being considered for this Research Opportunity should submit a resume and transcripts.