NSF East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) for FY 2013 in Japan

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This action funds George Livingston of The University of Texas at Austin to conduct a research project in Biological Sciences during the summer of 2013 at the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Tsukuba, Japan. The project title is "Using Microcosms to Test the Effect of Disturbance on Spatial Food Webs." The host scientists are Noriko Takamura and Kayoko Fukumori.This award implements an experiment testing spatial ecological theory using aquatic microbial microcosms. The experiment is aimed at testing the combined effects of dispersal and disturbance on the matching between species and their optimal environments, food webs, and ecosystem function. This is accomplished by manipulating the rate at which patches are destroyed in landscapes with low levels of dispersal. Humans are dramatically reducing connectivity in many landscapes, resulting in the decline and collapse of food webs and ecosystem services like pollination and pest control. This experiment will help provide general mechanisms for landscape-level food web decline. Broader impacts of an EAPSI fellowship include providing the Fellow a first-hand research experience outside the U.S.; an introduction to the science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture and language. These activities meet the NSF goal to educate for international collaborations early in the career of its scientists, engineers, and educators, thus ensuring a globally aware U.S. scientific workforce. Furthermore, the Fellow will engage in two outreach seminars at universities in Japan and network to establish future collaborations with two research groups beyond the primary host scientists.