Project Information

Title: Trophic Dynamics of Intertidal Soft-Sediment Communities: Interaction Between Bottom-Up and Top-Down Processes 030635

Project Year and Number: 2003: 030635

Other Fiscal Years and Numbers for this Project: 2004: 040635

Principal Investigator (PI): Mary Anne Bishop (Prince William Sound Science Center)

Managing Agency: NOAA

Assisting Personnel: None

Research Location: Copper River Delta and Orcca Inlet-Eastern Prince William Sound

Restoration Category: Research

Injured Resources Addressed: Intertidal Organisms, Sediments

Abstract: Vast expanses of intertidal sand/mudflats serve as a critical link in the food web of nearshore communities along the southcentral Alaska coastline. The rich abundance of benthic invertebrates residing within the sediments of intertidal flats and the large network of subtidal channels that bisect these flats provide a significant prey resource for numerous species of fish, crabs, birds, and marine mammals. One of the largest expanses of intertidal sand/mudflats occurs in the Copper River Delta and eastern Prince William Sound (Orca Inlet). This project will conduct a large-scale field study that examines the physical/chemical and biological factors that limit and/or regulate invertebrate community dynamics. The largely "bottom-up" approach proposed (physical/chemical parameters - phytoplantkon/epibenthic production - invertebrate production) is balanced by the largely "top-down" focus of a companion project funded by the Prince William Sound Oil Spill Recovery Institute that examines predator dynamics and assesses their role in invertebrate community dynamics.


Proposal: View (239 KB)

Reports:
Annual Report FY03: View (504 KB)
Final Report: Final Report Not available. For current status, please contact us.

Publications from this Project: None Available