NOAA/NCCOS Offers 2025 Regional Ecosystem Research Grant for Marine Protected Areas

The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)/Competitive Research Program (CRP) [formerly Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR)/Coastal Ocean Program (COP)], in partnership with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and National Marine Protected Areas Center, is soliciting proposals under the Regional Ecosystem Research Program for projects to understand species’ habitat usage and connectivity in and around marine protected areas. This information will be used to improve the ability of resource managers to address habitat connectivity, species’ habitat affinities, and spatial and temporal usage of habitats in management plans for marine protected areas. Funding is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2025 Federal appropriations. If funds become available for this program, two projects are expected to be supported for up to three to four years in duration, with an approximate annual budget for each project up to $500,000, not to exceed $2,000,000 per project. 

An informational webinar on this solicitation will be offered on October 22, 2024 from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Information regarding this Announcement, including the webinar and additional background information, is available on the NCCOS Regional Ecosystem Research Program page (https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/crp/regional-ecosystem-research/). 

NOAA is committed to making equity central to its mission. This supports a vision in which the nation’s people, economy, and ecosystems are thriving and supported by NOAA’s equitable and actionable weather, water, and climate research and services. NOAA encourages applicants and awardees to support the principles of equity in science and service delivery when writing their proposals and performing their work. By promoting equity NOAA seeks to improve the creativity, productivity, and the vitality of its research community. 

Electronic Access: Proposals should be submitted through Grants.gov, http://www.grants.gov. Sign up to receive any potential amendments to this Announcement via http://www.grants.gov.

The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)/Competitive Research Program (CRP) [formerly Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research (CSCOR)/Coastal Ocean Program (COP)], in partnership with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and National Marine Protected Areas Center, is soliciting proposals under the Regional Ecosystem Research Program for projects to understand species’ habitat usage and connectivity in and around marine protected areas. This information will be used to improve the ability of resource managers to address habitat connectivity, species’ habitat affinities, and spatial and temporal usage of habitats in management plans for marine protected areas. Funding is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2025 Federal appropriations. If funds become available for this program, two projects are expected to be supported for up to three to four years in duration, with an approximate annual budget for each project up to $500,000, not to exceed $2,000,000 per project. 

An informational webinar on this solicitation will be offered on October 22, 2024 from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Information regarding this Announcement, including the webinar and additional background information, is available on the NCCOS Regional Ecosystem Research Program page (https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/crp/regional-ecosystem-research/). 

NOAA is committed to making equity central to its mission. This supports a vision in which the nation’s people, economy, and ecosystems are thriving and supported by NOAA’s equitable and actionable weather, water, and climate research and services. NOAA encourages applicants and awardees to support the principles of equity in science and service delivery when writing their proposals and performing their work. By promoting equity NOAA seeks to improve the creativity, productivity, and the vitality of its research community. 

Electronic Access: Proposals should be submitted through Grants.gov, http://www.grants.gov. Sign up to receive any potential amendments to this Announcement via http://www.grants.gov.

Department of Commerce (DOC)/NOAA supports cultural and gender diversity and encourages women and minority individuals and groups to submit applications to its programs. In addition, DOC/NOAA is strongly committed to broadening the participation of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal colleges and universities, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian institutions, Asian American and Native Pacific Islander-serving institutions, and institutions that work in underserved areas. DOC/NOAA encourages applications involving any of the above institutions to apply.

Please note that:

1. PIs must be employees of an eligible entity listed above; and applications must be submitted through that entity. Non-Federal researchers should comply with their institutional requirements for application submission.

2. Non-Federal researchers affiliated with NOAA-University Cooperative Institutes will be funded through cooperative agreements.

3. Foreign researchers must apply as subawards or contracts through an eligible U.S. entity.

4. Federal applicants are eligible to submit applications for intra- or inter-agency funds transfers through this competition. Non-NOAA Federal applicants will be required to submit certifications or documentation showing that they have specific legal authority to accept funds for this type of research.

5. An eligible U.S. entity may propose Federal agency researchers as funded or unfunded collaborators. If Federal agency researchers are proposed as funded collaborators, the applicant should present the collaborator’s funding request in the application in the same way documentation is provided for a subrecipient for purposes of project evaluation, even though intra- or inter-agency funding transfers will generally be used if the project is selected.

6. NCCOS researchers may apply through an eligible U.S. entity as funded or unfunded collaborators, but cannot be the lead PI on the application. NOAA Federal salaries will not be paid.

NCCOS/CRP, in partnership with NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and National Marine Protected Areas Center, is soliciting proposals under the RER Program to understand species’ habitat usage and connectivity in and around marine protected areas (MPAs). This information will be used to improve the ability of resource managers to address habitat connectivity, species’ habitat affinities, and spatial and temporal usage of habitats in MPA management plans. This research supports national and global commitments to effectively conserve 30% of marine and coastal areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, by 2030.  

Connectivity can be broadly defined as the exchange of materials (e.g., nutrients and pollutants), organisms, and genes within and across geographic space, and can be divided into three categories: (1) genetic connectivity that concerns the exchange of genetic material, (2) demographic or ecological connectivity, which is the exchange of individual propagules, juveniles, and adults, and (3) oceanographic connectivity, which includes flow of materials and circulation patterns and variability that underpins many of these exchanges. This Announcement primarily addresses demographic or ecological connectivity; however, projects may also address genetic and oceanographic connectivity, as appropriate.

Protected areas as defined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature are “A clearly defined geographical space, recognised, dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.” For the purposes of this Announcement, other effective area-based conservation measures, or OECMs, are also eligible as a research focus. An OECM as defined by the Convention on Biological Diversity is “a geographically defined area other than a protected area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in situ conservation of biodiversity with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socioeconomic, and other locally relevant values.”

MPAs have been used as one of the main tools to protect significant natural and cultural resources within the marine environment for the benefit of present and future generations. While the use of MPAs and MPA networks as resource management tools has grown significantly in recent decades, there is still substantial scientific investigation needed to improve our understanding of habitat connectivity, species’ habitat affinities, and spatial and temporal usage of habitats, as well as the extent to which surrounding areas benefit from MPAs (e.g., post-recruitment spillover, larval dispersal, and protection of spawning aggregation sites). For an MPA or MPA network to meet its intended purpose, it is imperative that it encompass the habitat requirements for key species, taking into account the species’ home range, site fidelity, and ontogenetic patterns of habitat use. Lack of this type of knowledge is a major impediment to the protection and management of marine resources for sustainable fishing, maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem services, recovery of endangered species, restoration of ecosystems, economic stability in coastal communities, habitat conservation, and other management goals in the face of natural disasters, climate change, habitat degradation, and other ecosystem threats.

To increase the resistance and resilience of MPAs to climate and other anthropogenic impacts, this Announcement solicits proposals focused on characterizing the movement of organisms within and between habitats and geographies, and understanding the relationship between species’ use of habitats, physical processes, biological and cultural resources, and MPA boundaries.  

Proposed projects must address species of management relevance to an MPA or MPA network in the waters under the jurisdiction of the U.S. (including U.S. territories and the Great Lakes). The inclusion of sites in and around sites across the National Marine Sanctuary System (including Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument) is encouraged, but not required. The relevance of the proposed project to ongoing management actions (e.g., restoration or zoning efforts) and their ability to address priority conservation and management questions, as well as significant information gaps and research needs should be prioritized. The goal is to provide resource managers with actionable information that can be addressed more readily in MPA management plans and resource protection measures. Each proposal must address research priorities (a), (b), and (c) below; while not required, they may also address priority (d).

Using management relevant species (i.e., commercial, recreational, keystone, foundational, and/or ecologically important species) as exemplars or models in the selected MPA or MPA network,

a.   Characterize temporal and spatial connectivity (between locations) of species to document the reliance of species with differing requirements on essential habitats, physical processes, connectivity corridors, and environmental conditions.

b.   Determine the extent to which MPA boundaries or networks are sufficient to encompass these essential habitats, processes, and environmental conditions.

c.   Identify, characterize, and assess climate induced and other anthropogenic pressures influencing organismal connectivity and/or movement, site fidelity, habitat utilization, and behavior in and around MPAs.

d.   (optional) Document processes and mechanisms by which an MPA benefits populations and communities in areas outside its boundaries (e.g., post-recruitment spillover, larval dispersal, and protection of spawning aggregation sites or other critical areas).

Note: applicants addressing priorities (a) through (d), or just (a), (b), and (c) only will be evaluated using the same criteria. There is no added benefit to applications in the evaluation process if they address all four priorities.

Both Indigenous knowledge and local knowledge can be excellent sources of historic and current information on such matters as critical spawning and nursery locations, life cycle phenology, physiographic affinities, and the movement of resources, as well as the drivers of resource change. We encourage the inclusion of this type of information in applications, as appropriate. 

In November 2022, the White House Council on Environmental Quality and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy jointly issued “Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Indigenous Knowledge,” which instructed agencies to apply Indigenous Knowledge in decision-making, research, and policies. NOAA has also developed “Guidance and Best Practices for Engaging and Including Indigenous Knowledge in Decision Making.” Accordingly, we encourage applicants to consider, as appropriate, the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge, including through co-production with Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous knowledge may be valuable in identifying and understanding culturally important areas and species.  

Another source of information relevant to these priorities may be the local knowledge of people and communities (e.g., fishing communities) that have operated and adapted over decades to centuries of continuous dependence on local resources. They have a wealth of experience, tested by time, and we encourage applicants to consider inclusion of this type of knowledge as appropriate.

Expected Outputs:

(1) Characterization and visualization of organismal movement and/or connectivity across time (e.g., daily, monthly, and seasonally).

(2) Habitat usage and requirements of selected species.

(3) Identification of environmental and anthropogenic pressures influencing organismal connectivity and/or movement and resource utilization, and characterization of the scope and scale of those influences.

(4) Recommendations for how to design zoning programs with targeted spatial and temporal considerations to achieve management goals (e.g., protection, restoration, and/or sustainable use).

(5) Documented knowledge of the species’ reliance on essential habitats, physical processes, and environmental conditions.

(6) (Optional) Identification of benefits, if any, to areas outside the MPA(s).

Expected Outcomes:

The intended outcome of this research is to address resource questions of MPA managers and provide resource managers and other end users with the scientific information and tools necessary to improve the relevance and effectiveness of MPAs and MPA networks in protecting critical processes affecting connectivity. Results from this research will also be of wide interest to scientists and managers applying findings from population connectivity studies to support MPA planning and management. Management end users of these research results include federal, state, territorial, and/or tribal authorities, the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the National Marine Protected Areas Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Regional Fishery Management Councils, and any other organization or agency with a management role in MPAs or in areas affected by them. 

Application of research results for use by resource managers, policy-makers, and other end users is a central objective of NCCOS/CRP. Proposals should clearly articulate outcome-based management goals of the project (more information can be found at https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/about/fundingopportunities/outputs-and-outcomes/) and a continuous engagement process with relevant end users. Engagement efforts with MPA managers and other end users may include, but are not limited to, consultation during proposal preparation, annual meetings, workshops, training sessions on how to apply information or tools, and inclusion on coordination calls. At a minimum, the Lead Principal Investigator (PI) must establish a management transition advisory group (MTAG) composed of resource managers and other prospective end users of the research project outputs. The purpose of the MTAG is to ensure that effective collaboration between the project PI(s) and end users occurs and research results are transferred to the end users. To facilitate a collaborative scientific approach with end users, the Lead PI shall hold at least one meeting per year with project PIs and their MTAG. The purpose of the annual meeting will be to present results of the research to date and to interact with the MTAG to ensure that collaboration between the PIs and the MTAG is maximized and that research results are optimized for utility by end users. The end users can then help facilitate the transfer and use of information derived from this work for management applications, including sustainable fisheries management, habitat conservation and protection, and protection of listed threatened or endangered species. Applicants should include all costs associated with the annual meetings and MTAG engagement (except for end user travel costs for federal employees) in their proposal.

Once a proposal is selected for funding, the PIs will be expected to work with the NCCOS/CRP Program Manager and MPA staff to develop outreach and education materials (e.g., materials for websites, handouts, and social media; incorporating research into the classroom; and highlighting research findings/discoveries as they emerge). The NCCOS/CRP Program Manager will work closely with the Lead PI to ensure that the appropriate management representatives (as end users of the program outputs) are engaged as advisors to the project.