Award Abstract # 9726921
LTER: Plum Island Sound Comparative Ecosystem Study (Pisces)Effects of Changing land Cover, Climate and Sea Level on Estuarine Trophic Dynamics

NSF Org: OCE
Division Of Ocean Sciences
Recipient: THE MARINE BIOLOGICAL LABORATORY
Initial Amendment Date: July 7, 1998
Latest Amendment Date: July 20, 2004
Award Number: 9726921
Award Instrument: Continuing Grant
Program Manager: Phillip R. Taylor
OCE
 Division Of Ocean Sciences
GEO
 Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date: July 1, 1998
End Date: June 30, 2005 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $4,140,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $4,859,262.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 1998 = $655,000.00
FY 1999 = $939,264.00

FY 2000 = $765,000.00

FY 2001 = $755,000.00

FY 2002 = $780,345.00

FY 2003 = $842,558.00

FY 2004 = $122,095.00
History of Investigator:
  • Charles Hopkinson (Principal Investigator)
    chopkins@uga.edu
  • Bruce Peterson (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • John Hobbie (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Linda Deegan (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Anne Giblin (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Marine Biological Laboratory
7 M B L ST
WOODS HOLE
MA  US  02543-1015
(508)289-7243
Sponsor Congressional District: 09
Primary Place of Performance: Marine Biological Laboratory
7 M B L ST
WOODS HOLE
MA  US  02543-1015
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
09
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): M2XKLRTA9G44
Parent UEI: M2XKLRTA9G44
NSF Program(s): Population & Community Ecology,
LONG TERM ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH,
BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY,
ENVIRONMENTAL GENOMICS,
CONNECTIONS,
TEACHER PROFESSIONAL CONTINUUM,
Ecosystem Science
Primary Program Source: app-0100 
01000102DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT

app-0102 

app-0103 

app-0104 

app-0198 

app-0199 

04000405DB NSF Education & Human Resource
Program Reference Code(s): 0000, 1195, 1306, 1316, 1650, 4444, 9117, 9169, 9177, 9178, 9232, 9251, EGCH, OTHR, SMET
Program Element Code(s): 112800, 119500, 165000, 169300, 192200, 727100, 738100
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.050

ABSTRACT

Human activities in rivers and watersheds have altered enormously the timing, magnitude and nature of inputs of materials such as water, sediments, nutrients and organic matter to estuaries. An important but neglected linkage between land and coastal waters is the input of dissolved and particulate organic carbon and organic nitrogen. This long term ecological research (LTER) in land/ocean margin ecosystems will focuses on the question-How will trophic structure and primary and secondary productivity in estuaries be affected by changes in organic matter, nutrient and water fluxes caused by changing land cover, climate and sea level? The project examines this question through 1) short and long term measurements of the fluxes of dissolved and particulate organic carbon and organic nitrogen entering estuaries from land, marshes and the ocean, 2) short and long term manipulative experiments to determine the effects of nutrient and organic matter interactions on the flow of C and N through pelagic and benthic food webs, and 3) modeling the effects of land use changes on food web transformations. The proposed research integrates estuarine biogeochernistry with studies of food webs and population biology of higher trophic levels. The research program will create a legacy of well designed and documented ecological experiments and observations. A data base of research results will be accessible (WWW) to the scientific community. The study builds on the existing long term research record at Plum Island Sound, MA, and at the North Inlet, SC and Wells, ME National Estuarine Research Reserves. Intensive work will take place at Plum Island Sound, and specific comparative studies at North Inlet and Wells. The research is designed to take advantage of natural differences between these systems to determine the importance of inorganic and organic matter interactions in controlling trophic structure, production and efficiency. The project will make a unique contribution to our understanding of land margin ecosystems by determining how changing nutrient supply interacts with the quality and quantity of organic matter to affect estuarine trophic structure. It will also develop modeling methods to link highly variable physical drivers, here tides, long term sea level rise, river inflow, and water circulation, with the understanding of ecological processes. The dynamic models developed will be useful in a variety of ways for predicting effects of various coastal management options. For example, the spatially explicit models to be developed can be used to predict the effects of changing land use on eutrophication and fish production.

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