Project Number
R/SF-47
Project Date Range
-
Focus Area(s)
Education, Training and Public Information
This project examines the principle “you are what you eat” for zooplankton in the San Francisco Estuary. To do this, the fellow is documenting the natural abundances of carbon, nitrogen and sulfur isotopes in zooplankton collected from the estuary today and comparing them to those of archived zooplankton samples. The goal is to document shifts in the diets of zooplankton over time, with particular emphasis being given to the relative dietary contributions of phytoplankton vs. terrestrial-derived organic matter. Results are of immediate relevance to evaluating whether there are sufficient food resources for species such as the delta smelt.