Funding for the national competitive HAB programs, ECOHAB, MERHAB, and PCM HAB, is provided on a rotating regional basis in order to address programmatic needs and make more efficient use of resources.
Each year every geographic region will be eligible to submit funding proposals to one of the three HAB programs. Regional eligibility will rotate annually on a three-year cycle (Table 1).
Table 1. Regional rotation of programs.
Regional Group |
Geographic Regions |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
1 |
Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean/Pacific Islands |
MERHAB |
ECOHAB |
PCM HAB |
2 |
West Coast, Alaska, |
ECOHAB |
PCM HAB |
MERHAB |
3 |
South Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, |
PCM HAB |
MERHAB |
ECOHAB |
The geographic region signifies where the HAB occurs, where the field work will be conducted, and/or where the benefit of the research will accrue. The location of the investigator(s) is not a determining factor. In cases where the choice of region is ambiguous, investigators are advised to consult with the appropriate Program Manager. Regional-scale proposals can extend across Geographic Regions in the same Regional Group (e.g. a regional-scale proposal can extend between the South Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic - both Group 3), but not across different Groups (e.g. the South Atlantic - Group 3, and Gulf of Mexico - Group 1) without permission of the Program Manager.
Most of the boundaries between regions listed in the table are self-evident. However, the boundary between the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic is set at Jupiter, FL, in order to group together HABs associated with coral reefs that occur in both the Gulf of Mexico and the southeast coast of Florida. However, all proposals concerning primarily Karenia species will be submitted to competitions for the Gulf of Mexico, even if they occur on the Atlantic coast.
Some projects may not readily fit into a regional context. For example, a project may compare regions, involve many species, have a national scope, or be independent of a particular region. Proposals for projects that do not clearly fit into the regional rotation designated for each program in Table 1 must have permission of the appropriate Program Manager or they will be rejected without review.
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