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The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science/Competitive Research Program, in partnership with NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, is soliciting proposals under the Regional Ecosystem Prediction Program for a project up to five years in duration to conduct research to improve the understanding of population connectivity of key mesophotic coral ecosystem species in the Hawaiian Archipelago. This information will be used to improve the ability of resource managers to proactively develop strategies to manage and protect poorly understood mesophotic coral ecosystems and provide insight into regional ecosystem connectivity. Funding is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2019 Federal appropriations. If funds become available for this program, one project is expected to be supported for up to five years, with an approximate annual budget of up to $1,000,000.

The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science/Competitive Research Program, in partnership with NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, is soliciting proposals under the Deep Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies Program for a project up to four years in duration to conduct research to improve the understanding of mesophotic coral ecosystems (MCEs) in American Samoa. MCEs are characterized by the presence of light-dependent corals and associated communities typically found at depths from 30-40 m and extending to over 150 m in some tropical and subtropical regions. MCEs may be regarded as extensions of shallow coral ecosystems including sharing common species, but also contain species unique to mesophotic depths. This information will be used to improve the ability of resource managers to proactively develop strategies to manage and protect poorly understood mesophotic coral ecosystems. Funding is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2019 Federal appropriations. If funds become available for this program, one project is expected to be supported for up to four years, with an approximate annual budget of up to $600,000.

Healthy and productive fisheries are an essential component of the U.S. economy. There is increasing concern about the impacts of climate variability and change on fish stocks, fisheries, and marine ecosystems in the U.S. Climate variability and change influences many parameters (e.g. extreme events, winds, ocean temperatures, stratification, currents, coastal precipitation, inundation, etc.) that directly and indirectly affect marine ecosystem conditions including the abundance, distribution, and productivity of fish stocks that support economically important fisheries. Sustainable fisheries management in a changing climate requires an improved understanding of how climate, fishing, and other stressors interact to affect fish stocks (including their habitats and prey), fisheries and fishing-dependent communities. To address these issues of growing concern, in 2014 the Office of Atmospheric Research (OAR) Climate Program Office and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Science and Technology launched a new partnership to advance understanding of climate-related impacts on fish or other species that support economically important fisheries and fishing communities. The goal is to inform sustainable fisheries management and promote resilience of the nation's fish stocks and fisheries in a changing climate. For FY17, this OAR/NMFS partnership, through the Coastal and Ocean Climate Applications (COCA) Program, will continue to take a regional approach to improving the resilience and adaptation of fisheries in a changing climate by soliciting proposals under two competitions. The first competition solicits proposals for projects in the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) and the second competition solicits proposals for projects in the Northeast US Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem (NESLME).

The Graduate Fellowship Program awards at least two new PhD fellowships each year to students who are interested in careers related to marine ecosystem and population dynamics, with a focus on modeling and managing systems of living marine resources. The emphasis will be on the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing marine ecosystems, for assessing the status of fish, invertebrate, and other targeted species stocks, and for assessing the status of marine mammals, seabirds, and other protected species. Fellows will work on thesis problems of public interest and relevance to NMFS under the guidance of NMFS mentors at participating NMFS Science Centers or Laboratories. The NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowships in Population and Ecosystem Dynamics meets NOAA's Mission goal of "Protect, Restore and Manage the Use of Coastal and Ocean Resources Through Ecosystem-Based Management".

Save the Redwoods League supports basic and applied hypothesis-driven research on the biology and ecology of coast redwood and giant sequoia forests. To conserve and restore these ecosystems in the coming decades, the League funds research that expands our understanding of ecosystem function, community interactions, rare and threatened species, and the impact of climate change on redwood forests. We welcome proposals on all topics that advance our understanding of these ecosystems.

Coral reefs and associated seagrass and mangrove communities are among the most complex and diverse ecosystems on earth. They support important fishing and tourism industries, protect coasts from wave and storm damage, build tropical islands, contain an array of potential pharmaceuticals, and provide essential services like food security, livelihood, and culture, among other benefits.As shallow-water, near shore communities, coral reef ecosystems are ecologically closely linked to adjacent watersheds and are highly vulnerable to human activity. Stresses in the coral reef environment include poor water quality from runoff and inadequate sewage treatment, destructive fishing practices, sedimentation, recreational overuse and misuse, and impacts from climate change and ocean acidification.To address these threats, Congress passed the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (Act), which established the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and provided guidance for allocation of Federal funding toward efforts to conserve coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. and Internationally. As required in the Act, one of the primary functions of the CRCP is to provide matching grants of financial assistance to external partners for coral reef conservation projects consistent with the Act and CRCP priorities. 

The invasion of Dreissena spp. (zebra mussels, ZM; quagga mussels, QM) caused dramatic ecological effects on the Great Lakes ecosystems, which include changes in fish abundance, extirpation of native mussels and profound changes in benthic invertebrates. Until now most dreissenid control measures have focused on reducing mussel settlement in commercially important raw water plumbing; yet, this provides little benefit to ecosystem restoration which is affected by the dreissenid abundance in the natural environment. However, preliminary research in our laboratories has demonstrated that algae produce chemicals that can stimulate or inhibit dreissenid spawning. The stimulatory chemicals may be the normal triggers of spawning that signal when conditions are amenable to larval development; whereas the inhibitory algal chemicals may be protective or toxic signals that prevent predation by dreissenid mussel adults and larvae. Thus, instead of focusing on toxic non-specific chemicals to kill mussels, as are used in water treatment facilities and power stations, we propose to identify and deploy algal chemicals, which are potentially species specific (and therefore more environmentally benign) natural products to regulate dreissenid mussel reproduction to reduce mussel populations at ecosystem scales.

The Wildlife Conservation Society is inviting proposals from nonprofit conservation organizations through its Climate Adaptation Fund. Building on the society's 120-year history in long-term conservation efforts, the WCS Climate Adaptation Fund will award up to $2.5 million in grants in 2018. The grants are designed to strengthen the capacity of wildlife and ecosystems to adapt to climate change by enhancing dynamic ecological processes and ecosystem functionality (as opposed to projects that benefit a particular species or landscape attribute). Projects should focus on improving the adaptive capacity of ecosystems rather than simply conserving or restoring their historic conditions. Projects that implement joint mitigation and adaptation (JMA) approaches are encouraged. To be eligible, applicants must be a U.S.-based nonprofit conservation organization with 501(c)(3) status that incorporates climate adaptation science into its proposal and uses strategic communications to increase the conservation impact of its results. The fund also seeks on-the-ground projects using strategic communications to leverage broader impact through replication of adaptation practices across landscapes.

The principal objective of the NOAA Coastal Resilience Grants Program is to implement projects that build resilience of U.S. coastal communities and ecosystems. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, this solicitation is seeking coastal habitat restoration projects that build resilience by conserving and restoring sustainable ecosystem processes and functions and reducing the vulnerability of coastal communities and infrastructure from the impacts of extreme weather events, climate hazards, and changing ocean conditions. This program supports activities that restore or create natural infrastructure and natural landscape features to provide valuable ecosystem functions and services, such as habitat for fish, improved water quality and quantity, flood reduction, and erosion protection. Proposed projects should also support sustainable fisheries managed by NOAA under the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (Managed Species), contribute to the recovery of protected resources managed by NOAA under the Endangered Species Act (Listed Species) - including species identified by NMFS as "Species in the Spotlight," and/or benefit native fish species of the Great Lakes.

NSF currently supports 28 LTER sites, and the solicitation is open to renewal proposals only. To address ecological questions that cannot be resolved with short-term observations or experiments, NSF established the Long Term Ecological Research Program (LTER) in 1980. Two components differentiate LTER research from projects supported by other NSF programs: 1) the research is located at specific sites chosen to represent major ecosystem types or natural biomes, and 2) it emphasizes the study of ecological phenomena over long periods of time based on data collected in five core areas. Long-term studies are critical to achieve an integrated understanding of how components of ecosystems interact as well as to test ecological theory. Ongoing research at LTER sites is expected to contribute to the development and testing of fundamental ecological theories and significantly advance understanding of the long-term dynamics of populations, communities and ecosystems. It often integrates multiple disciplines and, through cross-site interactions may examine patterns or processes over broad spatial scales.

One important effect of global climate change is the reduction in naturally stored water resources which, for Peru, means melting glaciers and a decrease in the size of highland wetlands (paramos). The loss of these areas decreases water availability for upland and lowland communities and increases the potential for Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). This APS seeks to stimulate adaptation projects that assist indigenous mountain communities, rural and urban areas, and local and regional governments potentially affected by GLOFs or changes in water availability. General project outcomes will be long-term, sustainable approaches that help reduce the impact of climate change on glaciated and highland wetland ecosystems and on those that depend on these ecosystems' services.

Temper of the Times Foundation provides funds only to nonprofit organizations classified as 501(c)(3) public charities by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation does not provide grants to individuals, for-profit organizations, or government agencies. Grants are typically between $5,000 and $15,000 and are awarded for projects that will lead to measurable outcomes for wildland ecosystem conservation and restoration in the United States. Grants may be used to fund the production of print, radio, or television ads, to pay for advertising space or airtime, or to produce or distribute pamphlets, books, videos, or press packets. Because grants are for wildland ecosystem advertising campaigns, not for general organizational support, they may not be used to cover costs associated with the production of organization newsletters, membership campaigns, or for staff salaries. In addition, the Foundation cannot fund lobbying efforts or candidates for political office.

The Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) supports fundamental research on populations, species, communities, and ecosystems. Scientific emphases range across many evolutionary and ecological patterns and processes at all spatial and temporal scales. Areas of research include biodiversity, phylogenetic systematics, molecular evolution, life history evolution, natural selection, ecology, biogeography, ecosystem structure, function and services, conservation biology, global change, and biogeochemical cycles. Research on organismal origins, functions, relationships, interactions, and evolutionary history may incorporate field, laboratory, or collection-based approaches; observational or manipulative experiments; synthesis activities; as well as theoretical approaches involving analytical, statistical, or computational modeling.

The Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) Program supports the generation of extended time series of data to address important questions in evolutionary biology, ecology, and ecosystem science. Research areas include, but are not limited to, the effects of natural selection or other evolutionary processes on populations, communities, or ecosystems; the effects of interspecific interactions that vary over time and space; population or community dynamics for organisms that have extended life spans and long turnover times; feedbacks between ecological and evolutionary processes; pools of materials such as nutrients in soils that turn over at intermediate to longer time scales; and external forcing functions such as climatic cycles that operate over long return intervals. The Program intends to support decadal projects.

The Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) supports fundamental research on populations, species, communities, and ecosystems. Scientific emphases range across many evolutionary and ecological patterns and processes at all spatial and temporal scales. Areas of research include biodiversity, phylogenetic systematics, molecular evolution, life history evolution, natural selection, ecology, biogeography, ecosystem structure, function and services, conservation biology, global change, and biogeochemical cycles. Research on organismal origins, functions, relationships, interactions, and evolutionary history may incorporate field, laboratory, or collection-based approaches; observational or manipulative experiments; synthesis activities; as well as theoretical approaches involving analytical, statistical, or computational modeling.

Shell is a leading oil and gas producer in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, a recognized pioneer in oil and gas exploration and production technology and one of America's leading oil and natural gas producers, gasoline and natural gas marketers and petrochemical manufacturers. Focus on energy awareness with special publics, increasing interest in technical careers among students and professional development in science and math among educators. We support K-12 programs that boost math and science skills, as well as university programs that aid engineering and geoscience students and departments. Shell funds projects at vocational and technical schools where chemical and refinery operators and technicians are trained. We are especially interested in supporting educational outreach in math, science and technology to women/minority students and academic institutions with ethnically diverse enrollments. Focus on biodiversity initiatives with support to programs that restore critical ecosystems, address water, air quality research, preserve wetlands and sponsor wetlands initiatives. As part of our commitment to environmental stewardship, we support projects that restore and protect critical ecosystems. In addition to restoration and preservation efforts, we fund research projects for threatened wildlife and/or habitats.

With generous support from the Cleveland Zoological Society, the Asia Seed Grants Program provides funds to support field conservation and research projects in Asia. Annual awards ranging from $1000 to $3500 will be made to conservation and research initiatives involving wildlife and their habitats, and educational or cultural activities that involve or impact wildlife and their habitats. Ideal projects have clear and direct conservation impact, positively affect local people and create opportunities for capacity building in country. Projects focusing on the following areas of special interest to the Zoo are strongly encouraged to apply: -Wildlife protection (law enforcement, illegal wildlife trade issues, etc.) -Human wildlife conflict mitigation -Development and promotion of sustainable environmental practices -Habitat protection and restoration (terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems) -Capacity-building, education/training, community-based conservation and development -Conservation biology, ecology and natural history studies (terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems)

The new National Ocean Policy calls for actions to improve understanding of and capacity to respond to ocean acidification, recognizing the potential adverse impacts of an acidifying sea upon marine ecosystems. The effects of ocean acidification could significantly affect strategies for developing practices towards the sustainability of ocean resources. Basic research concerning the nature, extent and impact of ocean acidification on oceanic environments in the past, present and future is required. Research challenges include: Understanding the geochemistry and biogeochemistry of ocean acidification; Understanding how ocean acidification interacts with biological, chemical and physical processes at the organismal level, and how such interactions impact the structure and function of ecosystems, e.g. through life histories, adaptive evolution, food webs, biogeochemical cycling, and interactions with other changes in the ocean (e.g., temperature, stratification, circulation patterns); and Understanding how the earth system history informs our understanding of the effects of ocean acidification on the present day and future ocean. The Ocean Acidification program is in its fifth and anticipated last year of competition. We expect this to be the last solicitation specifically targeting Ocean Acidification.

To address ecological questions that cannot be resolved with short-term observations or experiments, NSF established the Long Term Ecological Research Program (LTER) in 1980. Three components differentiate LTER research from projects supported by other NSF programs: 1) the research is located at specific sites chosen to represent major ecosystem types or natural biomes; 2) it emphasizes the study of ecological phenomena over long periods of time based on data collected in five core areas; and 3) projects include integrative, cross-site, network-wide research. Ongoing research at LTER sites must test important, current ecological theories and significantly advance understanding of the long-term dynamics of populations, communities and ecosystems. It often integrates multiple disciplines and, through cross-site interactions, examines patterns or processes over broad spatial scales. Recognizing that the value of long-term data extends beyond use at any individual site, NSF requires that data collected by all LTER sites be made broadly accessible.

The Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) supports fundamental research on populations, species, communities, and ecosystems. Scientific emphases range across many evolutionary and ecological patterns and processes at all spatial and temporal scales. Areas of research include biodiversity, phylogenetic systematics, molecular evolution, life history evolution, natural selection, ecology, biogeography, ecosystem structure, function and services, conservation biology, global change, and biogeochemical cycles. Research on organismal origins, functions, relationships, interactions, and evolutionary history may incorporate field, laboratory, or collection-based approaches; observational or manipulative experiments; synthesis activities; as well as theoretical approaches involving analytical, statistical, or computational modeling.