The grant could provide up to $450,000.
The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in understanding links between river management, stream metabolism and aquatic ecosystems in the upper Basin of the Colorado River. The objectives of the project are to 1) characterizing stream metabolism at various sites throughout the Upper basin of the Colorado River through collection and analysis of high frequency dissolved oxygen data, 2) collect and analyze data for higher trophic levels (e.g., insect and fish) both with respect to environmental drivers and variation in stream metabolism, 3) conduct a literature review and analysis of links between stream metabolism and higher trophic levels across other sites, and 4) provide CRSS modelling to determine variation in river discharge under different management scenarios and how it may impact aquatic ecosystems and/or fish population dynamics.