Impacts of urbanization on streams in Mesoamerica
Dr. Krista Capps, an aquatic ecologist, is an assistant professor at the University of Georgia, Odum School of Ecology and Savannah River Ecology Laboratory. Dr. Capps conducts research in Athens, Georgia as well as in Mesoamerica where she focuses on quantifying the impacts that anthropogenic activities have on urban and rural water systems. Her lab studies the impacts that urbanization and agricultural may have on the condition of the water system including nutrient dynamics. I asked her about why researching impacts of urbanization on streams is important and how you can help. You can view her lab website http://cappslab.ecology.uga.edu/ for more information.
Questions:
1. Why did you decide to become a stream ecologist?
After gathering some experience with freshwater systems through a study abroad program and the peace corps, I observed how connected people are to water. While on a study abroad trip in India, I saw people bathing and burying their dead in the river, and that moment just seeing how inextricably linked people are to rivers in so many ways, and many of those ways cause us to basically compromise the quality and quantity of water flowing through a system. I gained some life experience with the Peace Corp, where I worked with water resource management. I was still exposed to people having issues with water, water conservation, and human health and the environment. These experiences lead me to the work I do now.
2. Why did you decide to conduct your research in Mesoamerica?
I previously did tropical work in Honduras with the Peace Corps, and I loved working in that part of the world. However, politically it was not stable enough for me to work in Honduras. With shifts in political power possibly impacting the research there, I decided that working in southern Mexico was a better option for me.
3. Why would you say it’s important to study urbanization and agricultural development in Mesoamerica?
It is important to study these topics anywhere with the increases in urbanization and agricultural landscapes across the world. For agricultural landscapes, palm oil expansion is a huge point of conservation concern. Banana crops have been impacted by these changes, and it is important to look at the impacts on streams as well. For urbanization, the way the world is growing we are becoming more and more urban, so it is important to study the impacts that urbanization will have on the environment in not only Mesoamerica but also in places like Athens, Georgia.
4. What do you think the future of urbanization on streams will look like?
The impacts of human wastewater and industrial waste are important to look at. Especially in cities that are located at the headwaters of streams, as they impact everything downstream. As humans we need water to live, we need to understand that the water we drink has been through the water cycle. We need to further understand our impacts, and we need to think of ourselves as an active part of the water cycle. However, there is still a lot that we can learn about the impacts that we have, so that is where my research comes in.
5. What do you think the average person could do to decrease their impacts on the water system and the environment?
People getting educated about water is very important, and for people to understand where the water comes from and where it goes. It’s also important to understand the privatization of water, and that in some places water is not drinkable besides purified bottled water which is sold from private companies. The market for bottled water is usually owned by and supports wealthier people, because poor people cannot afford to buy water, so water rights is important to understand too. People in the U.S. supporting the private water companies leads to those companies in other countries continuing to support wealthier people, while poor people do not have enough drinkable water. The average person can educate themselves about their impact on the water cycle, and they can think about the impacts of the companies they buy from.
6. You were recently awarded the NSF CAREER Grant focusing on the impacts of wastewater on tropical rivers, do you think the recent effects of Covid-19 will impact your research?
Yes for that project specifically, it will be impacted logistically by a possible delay. The grant begins in September of 2020, so if there is another wave of the virus, then the research will be delayed. The data of this project will probably not be impacted because of the location. However, I do have other projects that may experience an impact to the results. For example with wastewater in Athens, without students being in Athens because of the shelter in place order, there are less people producing waste in Athens. As well as, shelter in place regulations may actually cause interesting stress on wastewater treatments, since people will be in their homes more and using their septic systems more.
I would like to thank Dr. Capps for her time to take part in this interview. Dr. Capps had many insightful answers about our water system and how people fit into it. Three things I would like to highlight from this interview are:
1. It is important for people to understand that everything is connected, and that humans are part the environment including the water cycle.
2. The world is becoming more urbanized, and as that happens there will be impacts that people may not think about such as impacts to wastewater infrastructure.
3. Continuing research on these issues is important, because we need to understand how urban and agricultural expansion will impact other aspects of the environment.
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