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CSCOR Implements 23 New Sponsored Research Projects, Totaling Over $11 Million

In fiscal year 2006, CSCOR provided over $11 million in funding to sponsor 23 new research projects. Projects were selected through a rigorous, competitive, peer-review process. This cutting-edge research will provide the critical information and predictive capabilities required to manage the Nation's coastal resources in an ecosystem context.

New projects are underway in five major program areas: harmful algal bloom (HAB) research program —Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) , Northern Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Research Program (NGOMEX), South Florida Program, Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies 2006 (CRES), and Ecological Forecasting (ECOFORE).

Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) Program

The ECOHAB Program, established in response to the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act in 1998 and reauthorized in 2004, awarded nine new grants in 2006, including two, five-year, regional projects in areas that were heavily impacted by devastating blooms in 2005. The regional project in the Gulf of Maine and adjacent shelf waters will focus on bloom dynamics and toxins of Alexandrium fundyense with the aim of assisting managers and industry to more fully exploit both nearshore and offshore shellfish resources. In the eastern Gulf of Mexico a regional project will examine the role of nutrients, including those from human activities, in stimulating blooms of Karenia brevis. A three-year project will investigate the interaction of genetic variation and environmental factors in controlling K. brevis growth and toxicity. Three projects will target the mechanisms by which shellfish and copepods become insensitive to toxins, thus increasing toxin accumulation and transfer to higher trophic levels, including humans. Another study will examine the accumulation and impacts of freshwater toxins in fish from the Great Lakes. A new project will examine factors controlling blooms of Heterosigma akashiwo, an organism that severely impacts the mariculture industry in Pacific coastal waters. The CSCOR HAB programs support academic, government, and private sector scientists and managers working to improve HAB prediction and response in order to reduce HAB impacts on coastal communities.

FY 2006 ECOHAB Projects

Northern Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Research Program (NGOMEX)

The NGOMEX Program awarded five multi-year, interdisciplinary grants to study hypoxia impacts on the Northern Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Research efforts will focus on development of quantitative models to predict the spatial and temporal extent of the hypoxic zone given varying levels of nutrient inputs, physical forcing, and any other key anthropogenic or natural factors that control hypoxia. These predictive models will be validated by extension of the long-term monitoring program. Other projects will develop quantitative models to determine the individual- and population-level effects of different spatial and temporal extents of hypoxia on ecologically and commercially important aquatic species. One of these will model food web trophic dynamics from bacteria to pelagic fish, with an emphasis on modeling the effects of hypoxic zone extent on pelagic fish at the population level. Another will develop a population-level model to determine the impacts of hypoxic zone magnitude and extent on economically important (croaker) and ecologically important (benthic copepods) populations. The overall goal of these studies is to provide resource managers with new tools, techniques and information to make informed decisions and assess alternative management strategies regarding hypoxia. These projects will continue NCCOS' decade-long focus on coastal hypoxia as mandated by the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act (HABHRCA) and its recent reauthorization.

FY 2006 NGOMEX Projects

South Florida Program

The South Florida Program funded seven two-year grants to support coastal ecosystem studies in South Florida including Florida Bay, Florida Keys, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS), and adjacent coastal waters. Projects include seagrass and nutrient loading/cycling studies, and development and testing of models to characterize and predict the implications of restoration actions on the valuable natural resources in the region. Projects fulfill NOAA's commitments to the South Florida Ecosystem Restoration effort, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP), and FKNMS management needs.

FY 2006 South Florida Program Projects

Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies 2006 (CRES)

The CRES 2006 Program awarded one new grant in FY'06 that strives to improve understanding of the structure, dynamics, and processes of deep hermatypic (light-dependent) coral reefs, necessary to identify and address management concerns. The CRES Program was initiated in FY '02 as a science-based, integrated approach to understand coral reef dynamics and processes, and to provide tools, ecosystem forecasts and options for coral reef management strategies in the Caribbean (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands), and Micronesia (Guam, Yap, Palau, and Pompeii). The 2006 Deep CRES grant program will build upon the successes of the earlier CRES programs in the Caribbean and Micronesia.

FY 2006 CRES 2006 Program Project

Ecological Forecasting (ECOFORE) Program

The ECOFORE Program awarded one new grant to examine how forecasts of anthropogenic (land use, invasive species) and natural (climatic variability) stresses influence hypoxia formation and ecology in Lake Erie, and how the resulting hypoxia will influence fish production potential. CSCOR is committed to developing predictive capabilities for coastal ecosystems, and to supporting the transition of science results to management tools. This project will advance ecological forecasting capabilities in support of regional ecosystem-based management and NOAA's ecosystem and climate goals, and is an example of the types of ecological forecasts that can be developed by top academic and NOAA scientists working in concert with coastal managers.

FY 2006 ECOFORE Program Project

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