[Coral-List] Announcement - Tegner Memorial Research Grants in Marine Historical Ecology

[Sara Maxwell]

Apologies for Cross-Posting - Please foward
 
 

Mia J. Tegner Memorial Research Grants in Marine Environmental History
and Historical Ecology

 

 

Marine Environmental History and Historical Ecology

Many marine ecosystems experienced drastic alteration long before we
acquired scientific understanding of the pre-impact state. Environmental
history and historical ecology are studies that reveal the baseline
conditions crucial for identifying appropriate conservation targets.
They link the past to the present and provide a blueprint for potential
guidance in restoring ecosystems.

 

Dr. Mia J. Tegner

The late Dr. Mia J. Tegner, marine biologist at Scripps Institution of
Oceanography, studied the ecology of kelp forest communities, sea
urchins and abalone populations, and was particularly interested in
understanding how marine populations and ecosystems have changed as a
result of human activities. Her dedication to marine biology and
contribution to a seminal paper on historical ecology inspired MCBI to
create this program to honor her legacy.

 

Research Grants

Goal- To fund studies examining past ecosystem conditions (i.e.,
historical baselines). This work should be relevant to policy makers and
conservationists in their efforts to restore and conserve marine
biodiversity. 

 

Scope- The program will focus on projects from both natural and social
scientists that seek to uncover interactions between natural and human
history in the marine and estuarine environments anywhere in the world.
MCBI is particularly interested in studies that seek to describe systems
prior to large-scale human impacts and industrialization. Research may
draw on sources ranging from culturally and geographically derived data
to biological and physical data. Examples of possible information
resources include fishery data, letters, journals, interviews, oral
histories, historical documents, maps, photos, field surveys, etc. 

 

Eligibility- MCBI invites individuals and collaborative teams from
academic institutions, government agencies, and non-governmental
organizations to apply. Preference to graduate students and
post-graduate researchers.

 

Application Guidelines- The deadline for submission is January 15, 2004.
MCBI will notify awardees by April, 2004. Grants will range up to $6,000
for a period of one year. We encourage electronic submissions. To
minimize MCBI processing time, applicants must limit proposals to 2
pages, plus supporting documents. Include:

 

1)         A concise project description, summary of methodology,
justification for the proposed project, expected impacts, and the
project's relevance to marine conservation (max 2 pgs).

2)         Supporting documentation should include:

.           a budget (with detail on additional sources of funding, if
they exist)

.           complete list of project collaborators and their
affiliations 

.           curriculum vitae for the principle investigator

.           letter of support from primary academic advisor (if
applicant is a student or postdoctoral fellow)

.           contact information for at least one referee.

 

Applicants are responsible for submitting all proposal materials by the
deadline by email (Word and Excel documents preferred), to: Angela
Morgan, Historical Ecologist, angela at mcbi.org. Details at www.mcbi.org.

 

	Winners of the 2001 grants:

*	
Brian Wysor and Suzanne Fredericq of the University of Louisiana at
Lafayette will use their Tegner grant to apply DNA sequencing techniques
to determine whether seaweed species off Panama are natives or recent
invaders. "I am absolutely delighted and honored to be one of the
recipients of a Mia Tegner grant," Mr. Wysor said. "This award will...
contribute to an improved understanding of the threat of algal
bioinvasions in the vicinity of the Panama Canal," he continued.

*	
Susanna Fuller and Susan Gass of Dalhousie University in Halifax NS will
study of the status and distribution of deepsea corals and sponges off
Newfoundland, Canada. They will be interviewing fishermen about the
abundance of these crucial deepsea structure-forming species before they
were largely eliminated by bottom trawling, a fishing technology that
drags heavy nets across the seabed.

*	
Peter Auster and Ivar Babb of University of Connecticut-Avery Point and
Les Watling of the University of Maine will study of historic
distributions of deepsea corals off New England. They will examine
historic records for evidence of reefs or thickets of corals before
fishing using destructive bottom trawling gear became widespread.

*	
Joseph Roman of Harvard University in Cambridge MA will use DNA
sequencing to estimate populations of great whales before they were
killed off by commercial whaling. These methods can provide estimates
that are very different from numbers estimated from whalers' logbooks,
and can therefore provide independent estimates of whale populations and
their role in marine ecosystems.

*	
Catherine R. Samson and Graham J. Edgar of the University of Tasmania in
Hobart will study of changes in marine habitats in SE Tasmania since
European settlement. By taking cores of the sediments, Drs. Samson and
Edgar aim to document the disappearance of species and changes in marine
ecosystems in this part of Australia since Europeans settled Tasmania in
the 1800s.

*	Angela M. Arnold of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore MD
will study the history of Chesapeake Bay food webs before overfishing
for oysters and overnourishment pollution in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed caused drastic ecosystem changes. From sediment cores, Ms.
Arnold will analyze microorganisms that indicate past conditions and use
carbon 14 analysis to date sediment layers.
<http://www.mcbi.org/Advancing/Advancing.htm#top> 


 
 
Lance Morgan, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist
Marine Conservation Biology Institute