COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Migratory Fish as Material and Functional Linkages Across Tropical Andean landscapes

洄游鱼类是许多河流系统的主要组成部分，是世界各地河流渔业的支柱。拟议的研究探讨洄游鱼类作为下游洪泛区和上游皮埃蒙特生态系统之间联系的重要性。进行大规模季节性洄游的鱼类可以通过提供能量和营养补贴以及影响营养循环率和生产力，成为这些生态系统之间的重要联系。这项研究的重点是一个物种，flannelmouth characin Prochilodus mariae，使壮观的迁移从洪泛平原地区到安第斯山脉的皮埃蒙特在委内瑞拉。拟议的研究分为三个目标。首先，将测量Prochilodus将氮从洪泛平原转移到安第斯山脉的程度。第二个目标是研究Prochilodus对养分循环的影响，从而对河流的生产力和新陈代谢。第三个目标是确定在旱季流过程的重要性，全年的流生产和养分循环模式。这项研究将从概念上推进我们对单个物种如何影响景观中不同区域的生态系统水平过程的理解。它整合了人口，社区和生态系统生态学，这是生态学的一个重要的当代挑战。这项研究的更广泛的影响是几个。研究重点是在整个南美洲热带地区具有重大社会，经济和文化意义的洄游鱼类，因为它们是渔业的重要组成部分和人类蛋白质的主要来源。这些研究将把捕鱼的人类层面与我们对热带溪流功能的理解联系起来。最后，这项研究将为来自美国和委内瑞拉的研究生和本科生提供培训，包括在科学领域代表性不足的群体，并将加强与委内瑞拉同事和机构的联系。

Migratory fishes are major components of many river systems and comprise the mainstay of riverine fisheries around the world. The proposed research examines the importance of migratory fishes as linkages between downstream floodplain and upstream piedmont ecosystems. Fishes that make large seasonal migrations can be important links between these ecosystems by providing energy and nutrient subsidies and by influencing nutrient recycling rates and productivity. This study focuses on one species, the flannelmouth characin Prochilodus mariae, that makes spectacular migrations from floodplain areas into the Andean piedmont in Venezuela. The proposed research is organized under three objectives. First, the extent to which Prochilodus transfers nitrogen from floodplains into the Andes will be measured. The second objective examines the effects that Prochilodus has on nutrient cycling and therefore on stream productivity and metabolism. The third objective is to determine the importance of stream processes during the dry season to year-round patterns of stream production and nutrient cycling. This research will conceptually advance our understanding of how individual species affect ecosystem-level processes across different regions in a landscape. It integrates across population, community and ecosystem ecology, which is an important contemporary challenge in ecology. Broader impacts of this study are several. The research focuses on migratory fishes that have great social, economic, and cultural significance throughout tropical South America, as they are important components of fisheries and major sources of human protein. These studies will link the human dimension of fishing to our understanding of how tropical streams function. Finally, this research will provide training of graduate and undergraduate students from the U.S. and Venezuela, including groups underrepresented in science, and it will strengthen ties to Venezuelan colleagues and institutions.