Grantee Research Project Results
Waterfowl Abundances Along the Pacific Coast During the Late Holocene
EPA Grant Number: U915763Title: Waterfowl Abundances Along the Pacific Coast During the Late Holocene
Investigators: Bovy, Kristine M.
Institution: University of Washington
EPA Project Officer: Lee, Sonja
Project Period: September 1, 2000 through September 1, 2003
Project Amount: $90,247
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (2000) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Fellowship - Social Sciences , Academic Fellowships , Environmental Justice
Objective:
The objective of this research is to evaluate the effects of human hunting, climate change, and tectonic activity on waterfowl abundances along the Pacific Coast during the late Holocene.
Approach:
Archaeological data can provide the critical long-term temporal dimension needed to understand the processes that have structured, and are structuring, modern biotic communities. The investigator is analyzing waterfowl remains from previously excavated archaeological sites along the Pacific Northwest Coast that date to the late Holocene. The research uses predictions drawn from foraging theory to evaluate whether human hunting pressure has had an effect on the waterfowl populations involved. To determine how waterfowl have responded to past climatic and tectonic change, data will be arrayed against independently reconstructed environmental and geological data. Identifications and age-determinations will be made using comparative skeletal collections housed in the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture (University of Washington).
Expected Results:
This study will result in a better understanding of the status and future of modern populations of prehistoric waterfowl (Anatidae).
Supplemental Keywords:
social science, archaeology, waterfowl, Anatidae, ducks, birds, human hunting, climate change, tectonic events, Pacific Northwest., RFA, Air, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Ecological Indicators, Anthropology, Biology, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, exploratory research environmental biology, Pacific Northwest, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, climate change, ecological effects, biological models, assessment methods, bird habitat, climate change effects, bioassessment, bioindicator, community composition, ecological assessment, archaeological research, environmental monitoring, climate variability, social science, adaptive technologies, adaption mechanisms, biological activity, biophysical factors, ecological research, climatic influence, waterfowlProgress 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.