| NSF Org: |
EF Emerging Frontiers |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | August 4, 2011 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 2, 2014 |
| Award Number: | 1065286 |
| Award Instrument: | Continuing Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Elizabeth Blood
EF Emerging Frontiers BIO Directorate for Biological Sciences |
| Start Date: | October 1, 2011 |
| End Date: | September 30, 2017 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $735,916.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $743,360.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
FY 2013 = $357,264.00 FY 2014 = $36,362.00 |
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
51 COLLEGE RD DURHAM NH US 03824-2620 (603)862-2172 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
51 COLLEGE RD DURHAM NH US 03824-2620 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): | MacroSysBIO & NEON-Enabled Sci |
| Primary Program Source: |
01001314DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT 01001415DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT |
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.074 |
ABSTRACT
The overarching question that Scale, Consumers and Lotic Ecosystem Rates (SCALER) will address is: How can small-scale ecological experiments be applied to understand the behavior of entire ecological systems? Funds are provided to address:: 1) How should measures of fundamental properties of streams and effects of animals on those properties be scaled up to predict ecosystem characteristics of stream networks. 2) How do patterns of scaling compare across the wide array of ecological systems (from tundra to tropical forest) that occurs across North American? The SCALER experiment will be done in tropical forest, temperate mountainous forest, prairie, northern boreal evergreen forest, and tundra areas. Streams in each of these five areas will be examined at scales of centimeters to 10?s of meters in small, medium and large streams. Rates of stream metabolism (photosynthesis and respiration) and nutrient uptake will be measured as well as the way these rates respond to animal exclusions (used to mimic loss of animal diversity in streams). These local results will be linked to the scale of watersheds and regions by modeling. Watershed scale predictions will be verified by broader, but less intensive sampling. Mechanistic explanation of how ecological measurements and experiments in streams can be scaled to watersheds will be provided. This scaling will be characterized in each of the five areas across the continent to explore how scaling differs across natural habitats. The knowledge that will be generated by this project is essential to quantify controls on stream ecosystem processes as well as to manage human impacts on entire watersheds. The experimental and modeling results will be relevant to general ecology because few nested, and experimental and theoretically coupled scaling experiments have been undertaken in any environment. Results will inform those involved in conservation, management, and restoration of freshwater resources. Resource managers will gain a quantitative rationale and framework to link local measurements to regional patterns. The highly collaborative team will train six graduate students, five post doctoral students, and mentor three early career faculty members. Additional collaborations will be encouraged to collaborate and perform similar projects at additional sites through workshops related to the objectives and research design.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
Note:
When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external
site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a
charge during the embargo (administrative interval).
Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from
this site.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Freshwater ecosystems provide a number of ecosystem services that benefit many people, ranging from clean drinking water, habitat for aquatic life, and recreation. Understanding the processes that maintain healthy aquatic ecosystems is therefore essential. The Scale, Consumers and Lotic Ecosystem Rates (SCALER) project studied aquatic metabolism across a range of streams of different size in tropical, temperate, prairie, boreal, and arctic regions. The overall goal was to understand how measurements made at a few locations can be used to understand function of entire river systems. We used a combination of field measurements and models to meet this goal. Measurements and experiments were identical in river systems of each of the five biomes, which each had six sites with measurements nested at two scales (microhabitat, reach), linked to watershed models. Synoptic sampling at each site was done to characterize watershed scale patterns.
In the tropical river system, nutrients that enter small headwater streams can be quickly used by the stream biota. While some of these nutrients are then stored within the headwater streams, a large proportion is also transformed into other forms that are transported farther downstream, and thereby reach the coastal zone.
Model results suggest that river networks become saturated above certain flow levels, meaning that supply to the river network is so high that demand can't keep up and is small compared to total inputs. When river networks saturate, they can no longer control how much nutrient is exported from the watershed, and most non-point sources then reach the coastal zone. However, saturation is less likely if the inherent demand for a nutrient is high (as it often is for some nutrients like ammonium) or if there are a large number of wetlands, ponds, or lakes in the river system. Drainage density, stream hydraulics and light regime are also important factors that determine how important aquatic processes are in entire river networks. Based on how the cumulative amount of stream habitat increases with river network size and because upstream inefficiencies can be used by downstream rivers and lakes, as watershed size increases, the influence of aquatic processes also increases. Findings are important from a management perspective because it shows how entire river networks function as a unit, suggesting that maintaining function in small headwater streams is important to maintain water quality downstream.
Last Modified: 12/14/2017
Modified by: Wilfred M Wollheim
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
