9513306 Cahoon This award will partially cover travel and related equipment shipping costs for Dr. Lawrence Cahoon, Department of Biological Sciences at the Wilmington Campus of the University of North Carolina, to enable him to conduct collaborative research with William Vant of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Hamilton, New Zealand. The focus of this investigation is on the ecology of benthic microalgae in an estuarine ecosystem. The research will investigate the relationship between microalgal and phytoplankton biomass and production in the Manukau Harbor. This estuarine ecosystem receives treated sewage effluent from Auckland, creating a strong gradient of nutrient loading and turbidity. The study will test the hypothesis that light attenuation by phytoplankton, and its derived detritus, drives an inverse relationship between the algal and plankton biomass. The study brings together the expertise of the New Zealand investigator in light attenuation in aquatic ecosystems and the American researcher in the measurement of benthic microalgal biomass and production. ***
