CALFED Science Fellowships Announced

October 18, 2007

Contact: Christina S. Johnson, csjohnson@ucsd.edu, 858-822-5334

Carmel Finley

A toxicologist who thinks endocrine disrupting contamination might be impairing fish health in the San Francisco Bay-Delta and an ecologist who believes nutrient pollution may be making the region more vulnerable to non-native species invasions are among this year’s recipients of CALFED Science Fellowships.

Others receiving the fellowship include a wetland ecologist who hypothesizes that freshwater marshes in the Bay-Delta will be casualties of climate change and a river ecologist who links natural river flows to the maintenance of riparian forest habitat.

“My research will provide critical insights into fish productivity and water quality, since both are linked to tidal wetland health,” said Lisa Schile, a fellowship recipient and doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, who will be studying the effects of higher salinity levels and higher sea level – changes associated with global warming scenarios – on Bay-Delta wetland habitats.

Heidi Weiskel, another fellowship recipient and doctoral student in ecology in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at UC Davis, will be studying whether nutrient pollution is facilitating invasive species success. “If it does, we will know that limiting nutrient pollution can be a tool for controlling invasive species,” she said. We could go after what is making habitats friendlier for them.”

“We hope to be able to identify dynamic floodplain areas where forests can regenerate,” said John Stella, a professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, who will be the academic mentor for fellow Alex Fremier. “This will allow managers to prioritize conservation of these areas.” Stella and Fremier, a postdoctoral researcher at SUNY, will be collaborating with The Nature Conservancy on the project.

Each of the six selected fellows will receive up to three years support to conduct research of relevance to maintaining reliable water supplies and improving ecosystem health in the Bay-Delta and Central Valley. Annual stipends are $25,000 for doctoral students and $45,000 for postdoctoral researchers.

Support for the projects comes from CALFED Bay-Delta Program, a collaboration of 25 state and federal agencies with management or regulatory responsibilities in the San Francisco Bay-Delta and Central Valley, through its science program.

“We are excited about tapping the expertise of young scientists,” said Shauna Oh, the program manager at California Sea Grant who oversees the fellowship program on behalf of the CALFED Science Program. “It is exciting to see them have the opportunity to address pressing issues in the Bay-Delta.”

California Sea Grant is pleased to announce the six winners for 2007:

Susanne Brander, a doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Toxicology at UC Davis; she hopes to identify specific endocrine disrupting chemicals causing the most harm to target fish species such as silversides, salmon and Delta smelt.

Alex Fremier, a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Forest and Natural Resources Management at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse; his project will hopefully improve the long-term prospects for restoring and protecting one of the signature species of the Central Valley’s riparian ecosystem – the Fremont cottonwood.

Sara Hughes, a doctoral student at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UC Santa Barbara; she will examine the policies and practices influencing how water is used in the Bay-Delta, especially as it relates to the Environmental Water Account, which attempts to maintain a store of water to release as needed to maintain target fish populations.

Susan Lang, a postdoctoral researcher in the Geosciences Research Division of Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla; she will develop novel isotopic biomarkers to identify sources of organic carbon supporting zooplankton in Suisun Bay. The findings have implications for explaining the decline of pelagic fish species in the region.

Lisa Schile, a doctoral student in ecosystem sciences in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley; she will test plants’ tolerances to higher salinity and inundation levels, in anticipation that climate change likely will bring both to the Bay-Delta. The project will shed light on how plants might respond to changing environmental conditions.

Heidi Weiskel, a doctoral student in ecology in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at UC Davis; she will lead one of the first-ever efforts to examine the potentially critical relationship between nutrient pollution in the Bay-Delta and aquatic invasive species.

For information on how to apply for a CALFED Science Fellowship or to read project summaries of new and ongoing research by CALFED Science Fellows visit our education program online at http://www.csgc.ucsd.edu/.