TBI Grants Awarded 2011-12

Applicant Funded	School, Dept., or Major	Project Title	Type of Project	Amount Awarded
Danielle Carter/ Drew Talley	Marine Science and Environmental Studies, College of Arts & Sciences	The Effects of Shore Drift on Island Food Webs in Bahía de los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico	Faculty Research	$9,354
David Brennan	School of Law	Trans-Border Moot Court Competition	Border Activity	$1,300
Rebecca F. Schwartz	Marine Science and Environmental Studies, College of Arts & Sciences	Trophy Fish from Bahía de los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico: Historical Evidence for Changes in Size Distribution and Species Composition Since the Mid-20th Century	Faculty Research	$3,334
Elizabeth Hetherington	Marine Science and Environmental Studies, College of Arts and Sciences	Science at the Border	Border Activity	$4,000

 

Danielle Carter
dcarter@sandiego.edu
Drew Talley
dtalley@sandiego.edu
University of San Diego, College of Arts & Sciences
"The Effects of shore Drift on Island Food Webs in Bahía de los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico "
Faculty Research
$9,354

Description of Project:
This project will be focusing on the importance of marine input, specifically algal wrack, on terrestrial food
webs on the islands of Bahía de los Angeles. We will be spiking the algae with a stable carbon isotope in order
to determine the pathway in which it is entering the island food web. By doing this, we will gain a better
understanding of these unique habitats and we will be better able to protect them. We will be working in
collaboration with scientists from both sides of the border, and a local non-profit group, Ocean Discovery
Institute, which will be bringing a group of high school students to the study site in Bahía de los Angeles in
order for them to help conduct relevant marine science research, such as this project.

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David Brennan
dbrennan@sandiego.edu
School of Law
"Trans-Border Moot Court Competition"
Border Activity
$1,300

Description of Project:
This proposal identifies the concept of a regional trans-border moot court competition between law schools in
Baja California Norte and Southern California ABA-accredited law schools that would be established,
administered and hosted by the USD Law School. The annual three-day competition would be scheduled for
the spring of each year beginning in 2012. The competition would involve an equal number of teams from both
sides of the border. The competition format would be appellate-style based on a defendant's appeal from a
mock criminal oral trial from the courts of Baja California Norte. The competition-problem would be
presented to the competitors in an audio-video format taken from the mock-trail to allow the competitors to
address realistic oral trail procedural and substantive issues for the appeal issues that are based on current
practices and events in the trial courts.

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Rebecca F. Schwartz
rebeccas@sandiego.edu
University of San Diego, College of Arts & Sciences
"Trophy Fish from Bahía de los Angeles, Baja California, Mexico: Historical Evidence for Changes in Size
Distribution and Species Composition Since the Mid-20th Century"
Faculty Research
$3,334

Description of Project:
The rapid growth in commercial, recreational, and artisanal fisheries in north-west Mexico, including Bahía de
los Angeles, over the past few decades has led to the widespread degradation of local marine ecosystems and
food webs. In order to better protect this valuable region, for its biologically significant natural diversity, for
the local community, and for the larger Mexican economy, it is important to understand how fisheries within
Bahía de los Angeles have changed since human activity began to affect its functioning. However, scientific
data for fisheries landings do no exist before the beginning of heavy human use (the early to mid-20th
century). In this case, historical data, in the form of photographs of recreational fish catch provide information
where traditional scientific data do not. The goal of this study is to use these photographs to analyze changes
in trophy fish from Bahía de los Angeles.

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Elizabeth Hetherington
ehetherington@sandiego.edu
College of Arts and Sciences
" Science at the Border "
Border Activity
$4,000

Description of Project:
The goal of the "Science at the Border" project is to strengthen bi-national scientific interactions by bringing
marine science and environmental studies faculty from Mexican universities to USD for a series of lectures
throughout the 2011-2012 academic year. The USD community will benefit from this project through
increased interactions across the border, which could lead to better communication and understanding of
marine science research occurring in Mexico. This project will be equally beneficial for Mexican universities
because it will provide a setting for Mexican scientists to collaborate and interact with American scientists.
Furthermore, increasing interactions between the marine science community at USD and in Baja California
will increase options for funding, a diversity of viewpoints, and, overall, create a richer academic setting.

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