A MODERNIZED AQUATICS LABORATORY FOR RESEARCH AND TRAINING AT HIGHLANDS BIOLOGICAL STATION

For nearly 90 years the Highlands Biological Station (HBS; highlandsbiological.org) has been a center for scientific research, teaching, training as well as public education and enrichment focused on the biological richness of the southern Blue Ridge Escarpment region. The study of Blue Ridge escarpment watersheds and aquatic ecology and biota has long been an important research activity at HBS because of the Station's proximity to the headwaters of several major river systems of upland North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. These river systems have both Atlantic and Gulf drainage and support some of the richest aquatic diversity in North America. The HBS Aquatics Laboratory was built in the late 1950s and has served the scientific community well for over 5 decades, supporting numerous scientific studies and specialized aquatics courses for teaching and training undergraduates, graduate students, and Federal and State agency biologists nationwide. This project aims to modernize and expand this now-dated laboratory at a time when Blue Ridge Escarpment watersheds are experiencing accelerated changes, from development to precipitation patterns to dam removal, activities that affect or are projected to alter forest hydrology and stream and river health in complex ways. The wettest region in the eastern continental US, the southern mountain region and its aquatic resources are a natural laboratory and classroom, and an ideal setting for learning about how watersheds and river systems function ecologically and respond to environmental changes.

This project aims to reconfigure, update, and expand the HBS Aquatics Laboratory by (1) modernizing the lab infrastructure by upgrading outdated electrical, lighting, HVAC, insulation, and plumbing; (2) rearranging and replumbing existing research tanks and artificial streams; (3) expanding the research lab to provide bench space, restroom, and accommodate upgraded research equipment; and (4) reorganizing and upgrading the adjacent exterior space by replumbing outdoor artificial streams and creating storage for field equipment. The upgraded HBS Aquatics Laboratory will support a greater breadth of controlled laboratory and field studies of regional riverine and stream system ecology, improving the scientific understanding of these systems and thus providing the information needed to inform planning, management, and mitigation. Expansion of the facility is also designed to dovetail with the growing public education and enrichment activities at HBS, introducing K-12 students and life-long learners to the equipment and methodologies of aquatic sciences.