[Coral-List] UPR Sea Grant RFP

[Kurt Grove]

The University of Puerto Rico Sea Grant College Program (UPRSGCP) is 
seeking high quality proposals for its 2008-2010 competitive marine 
research program.

Documents and forms are available at:

http://seagrant.uprm.edu and http://uprsg.wordpress.com 
<http://uprsg.wordpress.com>

For the last 28 years our mission has been to promote the conservation 
and sustainable use of the coastal and marine resources of Puerto Rico 
and the U.S. Virgin Islands in ways that benefit the entire population 
and the Caribbean in general. One of 31 programs throughout the coastal 
United States, the University of Puerto Rico Sea Grant College Program 
achieves its mission through a multi-faceted approach that includes: 
research, outreach and formal (K-12) and informal education programs.

UPR Sea Grant links the university, which focuses on the development of 
theoretical and applied research, with regional and national agencies, 
and stakeholders in a way that increases our understanding of coastal 
and marine ecosystems and habitats, coastal communities and economies, 
coastal hazards, urban coasts, and the application of digital technologies.

Our request for proposals for 2008-2010 presents a new set of research 
areas.

In line with the National Sea Grant College Program's theme areas, the 
following priority needs were identified as the most important ones for 
our region:

Ecosystems and ecology: From microbial ecology to regional ecological 
interactions of the Caribbean Sea.

Coastal hazards: prediction, models, policies and the impacts of events 
on coastal communities and the economy.

Climate change: science, policy and societal impacts.

Land use impacts: the land-coast interface, coastal development, 
watershed management, water quality, pollutants and toxics, groundwater, 
and impacts to wetlands, estuaries, coral reefs and associated habitats.

Coastal processes: the oceanographic dynamics of waves, currents and the 
deposition of sand and sediments, alteration of coastal habitats, and 
loss of shoreline.

Socioeconomic processes of resource use and coastal communities: 
traditional ecological knowledge, economic valuation of coastal and 
ocean resources, participation in governance and institutional 
arrangements, resilience of communities, and gentrification.

Mariculture: new technologies, bio-fouling effects, biotechnological 
applications, optimal systems and policies.

Certainly, these topics are interrelated as they depict the complexity 
of coastal and ocean ecosystems, which are always intersected by the 
human experience. We strongly recommend that research proposals give 
serious consideration to this fact. In addition, each research proposal 
must include an outreach or education component that enables the sharing 
of research results with potential information users.

Schedule:

March 28 Preliminary proposals due at UPRSG before 4:30pm
May 2 Request for full proposals
June 20 Deadline to receive full proposals
August 31 Evaluation of Proposals
September 18 Final selection of projects
Notifications will be sent by September 19, 2007

Contact us at seagrant at uprm.edu <mailto:seagrant at uprm.edu>