Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Wyoming EPA/EPSCoR Proposal - Strategic Improvement Plan
EPA Grant Number: R829426E01Title: Wyoming EPA/EPSCoR Proposal - Strategic Improvement Plan
Investigators: Hall, Robert O. , Ben-David, Merav
Institution: University of Wyoming
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: July 17, 2002 through September 30, 2004 (Extended to July 14, 2005)
Project Amount: $39,269
RFA: EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) (2001) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: EPSCoR (The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research)
Objective:
The Wyoming U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)/Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) project was designed to facilitate/accelerate the progress of at least two young researchers toward achievement of nationally competitive status. Furthermore, the research project provided opportunities for enhancing environmentally related human resources through the involvement of high school, undergraduate, and graduate students. The conduct of the Science and Engineering Environmental Research (SEER) project (No. R829426E02), entitled “Influence of bio-pollution on ecosystem processes: the impact of introduced lake trout on streams, predators, and forests in Yellowstone National Park,” played an important role in the sharpening of communication with state and federal agencies concerned with environmental sciences and natural resource management. Site visits by experts from some of the country’s top research universities, and invited campus presentations by nationally recognized authorities, enriched university researchers and students.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
The Strategic Improvement Plan (SIP) component of the Wyoming EPA/EPSCoR project has met most of the stated objectives.
Both Drs. Hall and Ben-David were able to obtain additional funds for unfunded components of this study from other sources (such as the University of Wyoming [UW]-National Park Service [NPS] Research Center, Jackson Hole One-Fly, and UW Center of Biomedical Research Excellence), as well as for other projects (including the National Science Foundation [NSF], U.S. Forest Service [USFS], and state agencies), thus enhancing their nationally competitive status. Dr. Ben-David was invited to present results from this study at the EPA Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Environmental Research Seminar held in Denver, Colorado, in May 2004. She also presented this project in an invited lecture at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in November 2004. These invitations further demonstrate the contribution of this project to enhancing the careers of these two young investigators.
Through the SEER project, and with support from the SIP, two graduate students (Jamie R. Crait and Lusha M. Tronstad) were trained. Mr. Crait completed all laboratory and data analyses and defended his thesis on April 15, 2005. He also submitted two manuscripts for publication (Journal of Mammalogy and Ecology, see the list of publications in the Final Report for No. R829426E02). He is continuing to work towards his doctoral degree. Mr. Crait presented results from this project at the International Otter Colloquium and The World Conservation Union (IUCN)/Species Survival Commission – Otter Specialist Group Meeting, held in Frostburg, Maryland in June 2004, and at the Wyoming State Chapter of the Wildlife Society, Dubois, Wyoming in December 2004. Ms. Tronstad, who is in the final stages of laboratory and data analyses, presented results from this project at the North American Benthological Society Meetings in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in May 2004, and in New Orleans in May 2005.
Four undergraduate students (Jessica Boyd, Kaithryn Ott, Christine Fisher, and Robert Eddy) have participated in fieldwork and assisted with laboratory work and analyses. Two of these students (Jessica Boyd and Kaithryn Ott) also conducted their own research projects within the larger project as independent studies. Ms. Boyd is developing methods for extracting DNA from feces of river otters to develop population estimates for these carnivores. She presented results from her work as a poster at the Wildlife Society 11th Annual Conference in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, September 2004.
Ms. Ott investigated the effects of otter fertilization on growth of understory plants. She has contributed her data and analyses to a manuscript written by Mr. Crait, which currently is under review for publication in Ecology. Ms. Ott also started work on an NSF-funded project exploring the effects of otter fertilization on ecosystem processes in coastal Alaska.
Christine Fisher used her experience from this project to obtain a position as a technician, working on an NSF-sponsored project examining the impact of fishes on ecosystem function in Venezuela. She has contributed data and writing to a multi-authored manuscript together with Dr. Tronstad. Ms. Fisher currently is applying to graduate schools to obtain a Master’s degree in Aquatic Ecology. All undergraduate students were able to obtain additional funding for their research through the NSF-EPSCoR program at the University of Wyoming. The high number of female students recruited to work on this project is in accord with the mission of the University of Wyoming to target underrepresented populations in student activities.
Since the initiation of the project in the summer of 2002, three progress reports were submitted to the NPS and two to the UW-NPS Research Center. These reports facilitated increased communication between researchers of the project, park biologists, and park managers on the control of lake trout bio-pollution. We actively collaborated with park scientists, including Dr. Todd Koel, a member of Dr. Tronstad’s dissertation committee, and a co-author on her presentations and future publications. Future research and management actions are being discussed. Because the results of the SEER project are applicable to many aquatic systems in Wyoming and other western states, these reports were distributed to the Bureau of Reclamation and the USFS Pacific Northwest Research Station.
In March 2003, Dr. C.T. Robbins from Washington State University was invited to the University of Wyoming to evaluate the SEER project, provide input to Drs. Hall and Ben-David, and deliver a departmental seminar. Dr. Robbins is an expert on linkages between aquatic and terrestrial systems through his work on bears in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. In March and April 2004, Drs. Mary Power and Jennifer Tank were invited to provide similar evaluation and input and to deliver a departmental seminar at the University of Wyoming. Both Dr. Power (University of California–Berkeley) and Dr. Tank (Notre Dame University) are well-known stream ecologists. Dr. Tank has worked on how spawning salmon affects nitrogen cycling in salmon spawning streams in Alaska, and provided detailed advice on our study. During their visit, plans for future collaborations were drafted, including expansion of the otter component of the project to the Ecological Research Station on the Eel River in California. Their visits inspired female students because Dr. Power and Dr. Tank are excellent examples of successful women field biologists.
Journal Articles on this Report : 1 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 19 publications | 7 publications in selected types | All 4 journal articles |
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Type | Citation | ||
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Crait JR, Ben-David M. River otters in Yellowstone Lake depend on a declining cutthroat trout population. Journal of Mammalogy 2006;87(3):485-494. |
R829426E01 (2004) R829426E01 (Final) R829426E02 (2004) R829426E02 (Final) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
ecological effects, ecosystem, indicators, terrestrial, aquatic, analytical, surveys, western states, environmental sciences, natural resource management,, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Water, ECOSYSTEMS, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, estuarine research, Ecology, Aquatic Ecosystems & Estuarine Research, State, Aquatic Ecosystem, Biochemistry, Ecological Monitoring, Ecology and Ecosystems, bioassessment, estuaries, biopollution, Yellowstone Park, marine biology, lakes, algal blooms, strategic improvement plan, Wyoming, coastal ecosystems, environmental indicators, water qualityRelevant Websites:
http://www.uwyo.edu/bhall/ Exit
http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/Zoology/faculty/Ben-David/ Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe 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.