Grantee Research Project Results
Contrasting Patterns of Community Responses to Environmental Stressors: The Role of Ecological History and Community Structure
EPA Grant Number: U914778Title: Contrasting Patterns of Community Responses to Environmental Stressors: The Role of Ecological History and Community Structure
Investigators: Fischer, Janet M.
Institution: University of Wisconsin - Madison
EPA Project Officer: Hahn, Intaek
Project Period: January 1, 1995 through January 1, 1996
Project Amount: $102,000
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1995) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Academic Fellowships , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Fellowship - Ecology
Objective:
The objective of this research project is to develop a functional framework to better quantify local and regional dynamics of zooplankton communities, focusing on similarities and differences among diverse systems and the major environmental factors controlling the functional configuration of communities. For a relatively simple zooplankton community, the taxonomic representation of the community can be daunting. The functional approach to be developed in this research involves a simpler representation of zooplankton communities based on feeding mode and body size. Although previous research (e.g., Sprules and Holtby, 1979) has suggested that a functional approach may be useful, this approach has been largely ignored by zooplankton community ecologists. The utility of this functional framework will be tested using a combination of: (1) comparative analyses of zooplankton communities of groups of lakes in several different regions; and (2) experiments in which taxonomically different zooplankton communities are subjected to the same stress to test for common responses. The combination of comparative analyses and experiments will permit an evaluation of the utility of a functional approach across a broad range of spatial and temporal scales.
Supplemental Keywords:
fellowship, zooplankton community, taxonomy, framework, spatial and temporal scales, community configuration, stress responses., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Aquatic Ecosystems & Estuarine Research, Aquatic Ecosystem, Ecology and Ecosystems, ecosystem monitoring, toxicology, lakes, aquatic ecosystems, environmental stress, ecological classification, ecosystem stress, community structureProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.