NURC/UNCW Announcement of Research Opportunities

[Thomas Potts]

The National Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina
at Wilmington is soliciting proposals for undersea research in the
southeast U.S. and Gulf of Mexico in 2000.  Regional research priorities
are as follows, but projects aren't limited to these areas:

Sustain Healthy Coasts
=B7 Describe hypoxia associated with the Mississippi River plume
(especially within the "dead zone"), including its relationship to
natural and anthropogenic activities and its affect on living resources.
=B7 Assess and monitor reef communities, especially those in the Grays'
Reef, Florida Keys, and Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuaries
and around offshore platforms, and determine their role in sustaining
ecosystem productivity.
=B7 Establish research and innovative monitoring programs in marine
reserves (Tortugas, Florida Middle Grounds, and Oculina research
reserves) and other protected areas in the Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary to help distinguish natural system variability versus change
caused by "no-take" management strategies.

Assess and Predict Global Environmental Change
=B7 Determine impacts of global climate changes on marine communities and
biodiversity, and identify potential indicator species or assemblages
for this purpose.

Building Sustainable Fisheries
=B7 Examine waters and substrates necessary for fish spawning, feeding or
growth to maturity. Specifically, studies that describe and identify
Essential Fish Habitat (EFH), identify adverse impacts to EFH
(pollution, nutrient runoff, and coastal development), and identify
actions to conserve and enhance EFH.
=B7 Fisheries oceanography and recruitment processes: Examine economically
valuable fisheries (including highly migratory species) including fate
of eggs, larvae, and post-settlement juveniles.
  =B7 Research to document the significance of spawning events (especially
corals and fish aggregations) within the Gray's Reef, Florida Keys, and
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuaries.
  =B7 Identification of factors that affect recruitment of conch, lobster,
and corals within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary; including,
limits to spawning, reproductive behavior, larval supply, habitat
limitation, post-settlement processes, and sources of recruits.

Please see http://www.uncwil.edu/nurc or contact Tom Potts
(pottst at uncwil.edu) for more information on available undersea systems
and technology, award conditions, and deadlines.