research focus
At this time, Riparia is focused on four major areas of research, and associated outreach and education
activities:
- Wetlands and Watersheds: Long-term studies of the ecology and management of wetlands, streams,
and riparian areas on a watershed basis.
- Ecological Indicators: Development and testing of ecological
indicators for wetlands, streams, and forests with an emphasis on assessments across spatial scales
from site to landscape.
- Conservation Science: Applying the principles and practices of natural
sciences and social sciences to foster the conservation of biodiversity and aquatic ecosystems,
with an emphasis on wetland-dependent wildlife.
- Ecological Restoration: Development of design principles
and monitoring protocols for wetland creation and restoration sites based on a set of reference
wetlands.
Also, Riparia has initiated several lines of inquiry associated with tool development that are promising
as basic research initiatives in the immediate future. These include:
- Investigation of ecological thresholds. Research into the evidence of such thresholds, their determination
and expression, and the amendment of restoration strategies given such ecosystem responses are
all potential avenues under this umbrella topic.
- Determination of wetland community characteristics
on a statewide basis utilizing the reference database. The database has now become extensive enough
to qualify as a comprehensive expression of wetland types of the Commonwealth.
- Characterization
of ecosystem characteristic responses to human disturbance. Moving beyond community-level responses
to ecosystem level ones is a natural and important extension of previous work.
Listings of our current and recently completed projects and publications are available on this web
site.