Award Abstract # 2344553
RII Track-1: Interface of Change: Building Collaborations to Assess Harvested and Farmed Marine Species Prioritized by Gulf of Alaska Communities Facing Environmental Shifts

NSF Org: OIA
OIA-Office of Integrative Activities
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS
Initial Amendment Date: April 9, 2024
Latest Amendment Date: April 15, 2024
Award Number: 2344553
Award Instrument: Cooperative Agreement
Program Manager: Andrea Johnson
andjohns@nsf.gov
 (703)292-5164
OIA
 OIA-Office of Integrative Activities
O/D
 Office Of The Director
Start Date: July 1, 2024
End Date: June 30, 2029 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $20,000,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $3,545,442.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2024 = $3,545,442.00
History of Investigator:
  • Brenda Konar (Principal Investigator)
    bhkonar@alaska.edu
  • Lee Ann Munk (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Jason Fellman (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Davin Holen (Co-Principal Investigator)
  • Schery Umanzor (Co-Principal Investigator)
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
2145 N TANANA LOOP
FAIRBANKS
AK  US  99775-0001
(907)474-7301
Sponsor Congressional District: 00
Primary Place of Performance: University of Alaska Fairbanks Campus
2145 N. TANANA LOOP
FAIRBANKS
AK  US  99775-0001
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
00
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): FDLEQSJ8FF63
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): EPSCoR RII Track-1
Primary Program Source: 01002425DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 5294, 7273, 7592, 7715, 7754, 9150, EGCH, SMET
Program Element Code(s): 193y00
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.083

ABSTRACT

Climate-driven changes occurring in northern latitudes are having major effects on Alaska, including widespread glacial recession, thawing permafrost, and changes in hydrologic regimes, thus affecting coastal watersheds. The impacts from climate change are significantly impacting coastal Alaska, including the Gulf of Alaska. The Interface of Change (IoC) project will build capacity in community co-developed, use-inspired research on seaweeds, shellfish, and mariculture across Alaska. The IoC team, along with an extensive group of collaborators, plans to use remote sensing, modeling, environmental data, field surveys, and lab and field experiments to understand and quantify changes to freshwater and material export in the region. The broader impacts activities of IoC include engaging diverse, coastal communities in Alaska (including Alaska Native communities) in inclusive, place-based, formal and informal STEM activities and fostering entrepreneurship connected to IoC activities and findings. IoC will be administered by the University of Alaska Fairbanks in collaboration with University of Alaska Anchorage and University of Alaska Southeast.

IoC seeks to 1) build collaborative research capacity to assess the impact of climate-induced changes on marine resources important to high-latitude coastal communities; and 2) generate environmental data and web-based tools to inform adaptive community solutions to sustainably wild-harvest and farm marine species. To achieve these goals, IoC researchers will address traditional seaweed harvesters' concerns regarding optimal harvest-timing and location, and the effects of increased glacial discharge on seaweed harvest. The IoC team will characterize land- and ocean-influenced environmental parameters to determine their impact on bivalve distribution, abundance, and physiology at sites selected in consultation with local communities. The IoC team will determine how fish populations and fishing communities are responding to environmental change through a multidisciplinary approach incorporating local and traditional knowledge, climate science, remote sensing, ecohydrology, coastal hydrology, and fisheries biology. The team will engage with both subsistence harvesters and farmers to characterize changes to community use of marine species. The IoC team will leverage existing harvest surveys, summarize the most recent harvest data in each study region, and identify key changes over time. Research efforts are well integrated with education, workforce development, and diversity plans that span academic, Tribal, federal, state, and private sectors.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.

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