NSF Org:	DEB Division Of Environmental Biology
Recipient:	UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO
Initial Amendment Date:	April 28, 2003
Latest Amendment Date:	April 28, 2003
Award Number:	0308825
Award Instrument:	Standard Grant
Program Manager:	Mark R. Walbridge DEB  Division Of Environmental Biology BIO  Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	June 1, 2003
End Date:	May 31, 2005 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$8,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$8,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 2003 = $8,000.00
History of Investigator:	Thomas Turner (Principal Investigator) turnert@unm.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	University of New Mexico 1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO ALBUQUERQUE NM  US  87131-0001 (505)277-4186
Sponsor Congressional District:	01
Primary Place of Performance:	University of New Mexico 1 UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO ALBUQUERQUE NM  US  87131-0001
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	01
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	F6XLTRUQJEN4
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	ECOSYSTEM STUDIES
Primary Program Source:	app-0103
Program Reference Code(s):	SMET, 9179, 9169, 9150, EGCH
Program Element Code(s):	118100
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.074

ABSTRACT

Human alteration of river ecosystems is an enormous concern worldwide. This study is focused in the Middle Rio Grande (MRG) of New Mexico, which has been severely altered since the early 1900s. The overall aim of the research is to document present conditions and reconstruct past conditions of the MRG aquatic food web to understand how river regulation (e.g., dam and levee construction, large-scale diversion of water for human use) has affected organisms that live there. Naturally occurring stable isotopes will be used as biochemical tracers to document production and cycling of food energy through the entire MRG ecosystem from plants to fishes. We will then compare isotope signatures of present day fishes to historical fish specimens held in the Museum of Southwestern Biology (up to 63 years) to evaluate (i) changes over time in carbon sources entering the food web due to altered flood cycles, (ii) changes in fish food web as non-native fish species increased in abundance and many native fishes declined, and (iii) variation in nitrogen fertilizer inputs from agriculture over time. This research will advance knowledge of how aquatic communities respond to river regulation over decadal time spans. More broadly, this research focuses on developing a novel method to address the challenging problem of reconstructing community food web structure and function following river ecosystem alteration.

Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.