NSF Org:	DEB Division Of Environmental Biology
Recipient:	REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
Initial Amendment Date:	March 20, 1995
Latest Amendment Date:	February 26, 2001
Award Number:	9420064
Award Instrument:	Continuing Grant
Program Manager:	Penelope L. Firth DEB  Division Of Environmental Biology BIO  Directorate for Biological Sciences
Start Date:	March 15, 1995
End Date:	August 31, 2001 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount:	$789,900.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date:	$789,900.00
Funds Obligated to Date:	FY 1995 = $170,000.00 FY 1996 = $140,000.00 FY 1997 = $154,900.00 FY 1998 = $165,000.00 FY 1999 = $160,000.00
History of Investigator:	John Pastor (Principal Investigator) jpastor@d.umn.edu Yosef Cohen (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office:	University of Minnesota-Twin Cities 2221 UNIVERSITY AVE SE STE 100 MINNEAPOLIS MN  US  55414-3074 (612)624-5599
Sponsor Congressional District:	05
Primary Place of Performance:	University of Minnesota Duluth 1049 UNIVERSITY DRIVE 209 DARLAND DULUTH MN  US  55812-3011
Primary Place of Performance Congressional District:	08
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI):	KABJZBBJ4B54
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s):	ECOSYSTEM STUDIES, POP & COMMUNITY ECOL PROG
Primary Program Source:	app-0195  app-0196  app-0197  app-0198  app-0199
Program Reference Code(s):	9169, 9178, 9251, EGCH, SMET
Program Element Code(s):	118100, 118200
Award Agency Code:	4900
Fund Agency Code:	4900
Assistance Listing Number(s):	47.074

ABSTRACT

Abstract: PI-PASTOR: Individual species of animals or plants can produce effects which are strongly manifest at the ecosystem or landscape level. The population dynamics of such organisms, or the elimination of such species, can have dramatic ecosystem impacts. Such an animal with such a strong ecological footprint is the moose. This project uses state-of-the-art tracking technology linked to a global positioning system (GPS) to study the effects of moose at Voyageurs National Park, MN. The project studies the energetic balance of individual moose, the effect of moose on plant species distribution, the animal's effects on soil nutrient cycling, and develops a simulation model to study foraging strategy of moose and the impact of moose on landscape patterns. This research is valuable because it links behavioral and population studies with ecosystem and landscape level responses. The interfaces between these disciplines often do not overlap, although the two-way interaction between population biology and ecosystems ecology is often acknowledged. Three components of the research are especially well formulated and planned. First, the animal tracking work provides the detail necessary to examine animal behavior, foraging strategy, and spatially-explicit landscape effects. Second, the simulation model quantifies the impacts of this large grazing animal and may find application with numerous other large herbivores. Third, the research addresses animal linkages to processes such as nutrient cycling and decomposition in addition to structural components of ecosystems such as plant community distributions.

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