Achievement

Katie Roach is carrying out comparative research on food web ecology in temperate and tropical rivers in central Texas and the Western Amazon (Tambopata Province in Madre de Dios, Peru). She will quantify patterns of nutrient cycling and stable isotopes and relate these to the structure and function of fish communities. Her initial field work begins in May 2009. She has secured permission to collaborate with the local indigenous community that owns and manages the oxbow lake where she will be conducting her research. She will also work with several Peruvian ichthyologists and NGOs to frame her research to address ecological and conservation concerns. She also published in peer-reviewed journals and gave multiple presentations at conferences in the past academic year.