USU 'BugLab' Scientist April 9 Water Initiative Speaker

Utah State University taxonomist Eric Dinger shares observations from studies conducted in the otherworldly beauty of Mexico’s Cuatro Ciénegas Valley and Arizona’s Fossil Creek during the USU Water Initiative Seminar Wednesday, April 9. Dinger speaks at 4 p.m. in the Biology-Natural Resources building, room 102. His talk, “Aquatic Conservation in Southwest Karstic Ecosystems,” is free and open to all.

Dinger is a postdoctoral researcher in the Bureau of Land Management’s National Aquatic Monitoring Center (aka “The BugLab”) based at USU. For the past 13 years he’s studied aquatic insects as a tool to evaluate management actions and conservation risks.

 

Dinger, who recently completed his doctorate at Northern Arizona University, will discuss fresh-water stromatolites, among the world’s oldest known fossils, in the Cuatro Ciénegas biosphere reserve in northern Mexico.

 

He also details his study of stream restoration efforts following the 2005 decommissioning of the Fossil Creek Dam in central Arizona. The NAU-led research was the subject of the 2007 documentary “A River Reborn: The Restoration of Fossil Creek.”

 

The USU Water Initiative is an interdisciplinary collaboration of the university’s Utah Water Research Laboratory, the colleges of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, Natural Resources, Science, Engineering, Agriculture and the Huntsman School of Business. Established in 2003, the initiative fosters collegial sharing of water-related research and ideas throughout campus and the community.

 

On April 16, the Water Initiative welcomes guest speaker Ken Bencala, U.S. Geological Survey, to campus. Visit the USU Water Initiative Web site for a complete seminar schedule.

 

 

Contact: Kim Schreuders (435) 797-2941 [kim.schreuders@usu.edu]
Writer: Mary-Ann Muffoletto (435) 797-3517 [maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu]