USA.- Alaska Sea Grant has selected six research projects for funding during 2018–2020, with the majority of the work getting underway next month.
The researchers will receive $1.3 million to study a diverse range of topics intended to help Alaskans understand, conserve and sustainably use the state’s rich marine and coastal resources. The research will advance knowledge in Sea Grant’s main focus areas: healthy coastal ecosystems, sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, and resilient communities and economies. Six graduate students are involved, contributing to the next generation of science professionals in Alaska.
“We received 47 pre-proposals and 18 full proposals. The six that we funded ranked highest in a rigorous peer-review process and will address critical needs for Alaska marine and coastal research,” said Ginny Eckert, Alaska Sea Grant’s associate director of research. “The investigators work within the University of Alaska system as well as Alaska agencies and nonprofits with expertise in marine and social sciences.”
Alaska Sea Grant is part of the College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the National Sea Grant Program, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Titles of the funded projects and researchers involved are:
Integrating local ecological knowledge and survey data to improve assessment and management of rockfishes in Alaska
Anne Beaudreau, UAF CFOS
Scott Meyer and Ben Williams, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Kelp reproduction and harvest rebound in Kachemak Bay, Alaska
Brenda Konar, UAF CFOS
Metabolic and growth physiology of early life history stages of the northern spot shrimp, Pandalus platyceros
Sherry Tamone, University of Alaska Southeast
Potential for resilience—examining the effects of ocean acidification on native Alaska bivalves
Amanda Kelley, UAF CFOS
Arctic Risk Management Network: Linking regional practitioners and researchers to improve mitigation through participatory action research by community monitors about erosion, surges, and nearshore sea ice loss as mutual priorities
Tom Ravens, University of Alaska Anchorage
Anne Garland, Applied Research in Environmental Sciences Nonprofit Inc.
Jacquelyn Overbeck, Alaska Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys
Assessing the resilience of Southeast Alaska salmon to a shifting freshwater environment
Jeffrey Falke, Alaska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit at UAF, U.S. Geological Survey
Ryan Bellmore, Pacific Northwest Research Station, U.S. Forest Service
Rebecca Bellmore, Southeast Alaska Watershed Coalition
Davin Holen, Marine Advisory Program, UAF CFOS
ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Ginny Eckert, 907-796-5450, ginny.eckert@alaska.edu
ON THE WEB: For a full description of the projects, visit Alaska Sea Grant research projects https://seagrant.uaf.edu/research/project-directory.php
Source: Alaska Sea Grant
