Project History and personnel
History
Dr. Catherine M. Pringle established the STREAMS project in 1986 to study the ecology and biogeochemistry of tropical lowland streams. Little is known about the biogeochemistry, structure, and function of Neotropical streams. While some attention has been focused in South America on the Amazon and its tributaries, very little scientific attention has focused on links between stream biogeochemistry and stream ecology in Central America. Results of the STREAMS project, obtained over the last two decades, comprise one of the few long-term datasets on stream solute chemistry in primary lowland rainforests of Central America. The project encompasses three areas: (1) linkages between stream ecology and biogeochemistry, (2) ecology and natural history of streams communities, and (3) water resource conservation and environmental outreach on water quality and quantity issues.
Personnel
Project Directors (P.I.'s)
Alonso Ramírez
Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University
Marcelo Ardón
Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University
Catherine M. Pringle
Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia
On-Site Project Manager
Minor Hidalgo
La Selva Biological Station
Post-Doc
Nicholas Marzolf
Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University
Graduate Student
Ana M. Meza Salazar
Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University
Collaborators
Pablo Gutiérrez Fonseca
University of Costa Rica
Carissa Ganong
Missouri Western State University
Funding history
The project began in 1986 funded by postdoctoral fellowships/awards to Dr. Catherine M. Pringle from a variety of sources including the Noyes Foundation (through the Organization for Tropical Studies); the American Association of University Women; and the National Geographic Society. In 1988, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Ecology Program began funding the project through an initial award to C. M. Pringle. The NSF has almost continually funded the Project since 1988 by consecutive NSF awards. The project is currently funded by NSF's Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) Program.
