The Nature Conservancy and University of Rhode Island Award Grant for Marine Conservation Research

Graduate student will study Rhode Island fish nurseries

Narragansett, RI — June 4, 2007 — The Nature Conservancy and the University of Rhode Island (URI) today announced that graduate student Ivan Mateo will receive a grant for marine conservation research. For the second year, the Conservancy and URI have awarded grants to support students working in coastal and marine conservation science and policy in collaboration with URI faculty.
Mateo will be researching the nurseries of tautog, an economically important species of fish, in Rhode Island.

“As we focus on the incredible diversity and productivity of our state's estuarine and marine areas, it makes sense to work closely with the incredible faculty and graduate students at URI," said Jane Coit, State Director of the Rhode Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. "Mateo is the type of student who applies science to help solve the practical problems we confront as we work to protect our marine environment.”

The program provides a valuable collaboration said M. Beverly Swan, URI provost. “We are a research university. As such, we strive to involve students directly in research. This program is a model both of our goal and our accomplishments. We are extremely proud of these students.”

Mateo, whose work will be overseen by Dr. David Bengtson, will be looking at the importance of open coastline and enclosed bays and lagoons as nursery habitats for tautog, an important species of fish in the region. “In light of the fact that the northeastern coast of the United States has experienced a major loss of its estuarine habitats due to human alteration of the coastal zone, data are needed to quantify the importance of specific coastal habitat types in sustaining tautog populations,” Mateo said in his abstract.

Mateo will use the grant to analyze chemical signatures from otolith organs, those that provide hearing and balance functions, in tautog that were collected in 2006. Through the analysis, researchers will be able to determine which nursery areas provide the greater numbers of adult fish so that efforts can be made to protect those areas.

With more than 100 marine projects in 22 countries and all coastal U.S. states, The Nature Conservancy focuses on marine conservation that achieves demonstrable results. Working with partners, the Conservancy creates lasting conservation results that benefit marine life, local communities and economies. The Rhode Island Chapter of The Nature Conservancy has been working for decades to protect the state's coastal habitats, river systems and other natural areas that support the areas fish and wildlife.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.