For further information on this announcement of opportunity for
Steller's sea lion research, contact:
Dr. John A. Calder
Director, Arctic Research Office
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Silver Spring, MD 20910
John.Calder [at] noaa.gov, Phone: 301-713-2518, ext. 114
Dr. Elizabeth Turner
Coastal Ocean Program
NOAA National Ocean Service
105 Nesmith Hall, UNH
Durham, NH 03824
elizabeth.turner [at] noaa.gov, Phone 603-862-4680
Dr. Gunter Weller, Director
Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research (CIFAR)
301 International Arctic Research Center
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7740
gunter [at] gi.alaska.edu, Phone: 907-474-7371
DEADLINE FOR PROPOSALS IS: March 12, 2001
This announcement is also available on-line at: http://www.cifar.uaf.edu
Announcement of Opportunity
The Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research (CIFAR) was established in
1994 through a Memorandum of Agreement between the University of Alaska
and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). CIFAR
undertakes activities to improve the effectiveness of NOAA-sponsored
research and to provide a focal point for NOAA's interactions with the
Arctic research community. In the current fiscal year, NOAA received
supplemental funding to provide scientific support for management
decisions regarding fisheries and marine mammal interactions in the Gulf
of Alaska and Bering Sea. The western population of Steller's Sea Lion
(SSL) has been in decline for several decades and is now considered
endangered. There are several possible factors causing this decline. One
of these factors is commercial fishing in habitat critical to the SSL,
thought to cause a harmful reduction in SSL prey availability. Current
management efforts are focused on this factor alone. To determine if
other factors might be important in the decline of the western SSL
population, NOAA has been directed to conduct research focused on two of
the other hypothesized factors, namely impacts of ocean climate regime
shifts, and changes in predator/prey relationships. The NOAA Office of
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the NOAA National Ocean Service
(Coastal Ocean Program) have asked CIFAR to help organize the scientific
community to respond to these needs. Through this announcement, CIFAR
requests proposals for the following research program.
Background information on the issues surrounding the decline of the
western population of Steller's Sea Lion from a fisheries perspective
may be found at:
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/default.htm
Study goals:
A. Determine the impact of ocean climate variability and change on the
North Pacific and Bering Sea ecosystem, with particular emphasis on fish
and marine mammal species abundance, composition, and distribution, and
assess the relative importance of climate variability and change in the
decline of the western population of Steller's sea lion;
B. Study and evaluate predator/prey relationships as they relate to the
decline of the western population of Steller's sea lion;
C. Summarize and evaluate the existing state of knowledge regarding
decline of the western population of Steller's sea lions;
D. Communicate research results to interested parties in a timely and
coherent fashion.
Science questions:
A. Can it be demonstrated that shifts in ocean climate, either directly
or indirectly through the food web, are probable causes for the
significant decline in the western population of Steller's sea lion over
the past few decades? Sub-questions may relate to physical or biological
aspects of the larger issue. For example, proposals may address the
question of what drives the North Pacific gyre and its variability, or
further downscale the question to what drives the Alaska Stream.
Proposals may address links between physical variability and specific
portions of the marine food chain, for example nutrients, zooplankton,
or seabirds. Other desired topics include satellite oceanography, data
assimilation, and modeling. It is not necessary for a single proposal to
address the entire issue, yet proposals must indicate how the proposed
work closely relates to the science questions.
B. Recognizing that there are other possible causes for the noted
decline in population of Steller's sea lion, can the relative
significance of the impact of shifts in ocean climate be determined?
C. What are the food-web relationships (bottom-up and top-down)
affecting Steller's sea lions? Are there seasonal and/or age-related
changes to these relationships?
D. Have there been changes in the predator/prey relationships in the
North Pacific and Bering Sea over the past several decades that could be
associated with decline in the western population of Steller's sea lion?
Note:
Proposals are requested that address the science questions described
above. These proposals should propose specific scientific study that,
alone or in concert with other studies, would provide an answer to the
questions posed. Science studies may include fieldwork, model-based
efforts, analysis of retrospective data sets or of traditional
knowledge, evaluation of the paleo record, or any combination. In
particular, proposals are requested that complement and enhance field
studies to be undertaken by NOAA and the University of Alaska (including
the Alaska Sea Life Center) that address the science questions above.
These studies are focused in the areas of Sequam Pass, Unimak Pass,
Shumagin Island, Kodiak Island, and Prince William Sound/Chiswell
Island. However, proposals focused on other areas in the Gulf of Alaska
and the Bering Sea will be considered
For details on these studies, contact:
- Phyllis.Stabeno [at] noaa.gov, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory,
conducting biophysical research cruises near Kodiak and Aleutian
Islands;
- Tom.Loughlin [at] noaa.gov, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, conducting
studies of SSL biology, foraging behavior, and movement, in the
Aleutians and Gulf of Alaska;
- shannon_atkinson [at] alaskasealife.org, Alaska Sea Life Center, conducting
dietary and physiology studies on captive and wild SSL, and shark
predation and prey availability studies in Prince William Sound and the
northern Gulf of Alaska;
- ffkmw [at] aurora.alaska.edu (Kate Wynne) or foy [at] sfos.uaf.edu (Bob Foy),
University of Alaska, conducting dietary and prey availability studies,
and shark and killer whale predation studies near Kodiak.
Outreach and communications needs:
A. A summary, synthesis, and interpretation of all available physical
and biological information relevant to the science questions above is
required. This report is to be based on all available, relevant
information sources, specifically to include those in the U.S., Canada,
Russia, and Japan. A draft report, suitable for peer review, is to be
submitted to CIFAR by September 15, 2001. It is anticipated that a
multi-disciplinary, team approach will be proposed for completing this
report. In addition to the report itself, the data and information on
which the report is based are to be assembled into a digital database
and provided to the scientific community, either through the World Wide
Web or through a recognized data center.
A draft report, suitable for peer review, is to be submitted to CIFAR by
September 15, 2001.
Note:
Proposals are requested to undertake this summary, synthesis, and
interpretation. The proposals should state the approach to be used, the
lead authors of the report, the key questions or discussion topics
expected to be discussed in the report, and the major data and
information sources to be used in preparing the report. A milestone
chart should be included that identifies the requirement for a review
draft to be available in September 2001.
B. NOAA's efforts to address the above science questions must be seen by
all interested parties as being appropriate, relevant, and adequate for
providing useful input to the questions regarding resource management in
the North Pacific and Bering Sea. To be useful, the results of NOAA's
efforts on the ecology of Steller's sea lion must be communicated to the
public and to policy- and law-makers in a clear, understandable manner.
Note:
Proposals are requested that propose to undertake a continuing program
of outreach and communications. The objective is to involve stakeholders
in addressing these topics, and to translate scientific knowledge into a
form that is readily understood by all interested parties. In
particular, proposals are requested for the planning and conduct of a
symposium in mid-2003 that will bring together scientists and policy
makers to review new knowledge related to the science questions above,
and to identify research priorities for the future.
Start dates:
All activities should be proposed assuming a start date of July 1, 2001,
and duration of 24 months. (Except the summary/synthesis/interpretation
report for which an interim report is due on September 14, 2001 and a
final report by December 14, 2001 for a total project duration of 6
months.) The final six months of the 24-month period will be devoted to
data and information evaluation, synthesis, and reporting. A mid-point
workshop will be held in Seattle, WA to provide an opportunity for
preliminary data analysis and revisions to upcoming studies.
Submission of proposals:
Proposals must be submitted to the CIFAR office at the address given
below by March 12, 2001.
Review and evaluation:
Proposals will be reviewed by a panel of experts convened by CIFAR and
also by a coordinating group representing the major organizations
involved in research on Steller's sea lion. Proposals that are of high
merit and that either would enhance or extend work already planned or
would provide new insight to the science questions will be selected for
funding. Investigators may be asked to modify their proposals to align
better with other funded investigators.
APPENDIX
GENERAL INFORMATION
The NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and the NOAA
National Ocean Service will jointly sponsor this research program
through CIFAR. Approximately $4,000,000 in FY2001 will be available
under this announcement, with about half of the funds to be directed
toward studies of predator-prey relationships. Proposals will be
reviewed for scientific merit and for their relationship to studies
supported by other funds. Proposals that do not directly address the
goals and science questions in the announcement will not be reviewed.
ELIGIBILITY
Scientists from any governmental, academic, or non-profit research
organization located or chartered in the United States of America may
submit proposals. Scientists from other organizations may be included as
sub-awardees.
PROPOSAL PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS
PROPOSAL FORMAT
Proposals should not exceed 6 pages in text and illustrations (not
including cover page, abstract, references, budget page and curriculum
vitae). Proposals should be stapled in the upper left-hand corner, but
otherwise be unbound, and have 2.5-cm margins at the top, bottom and on
each side. The type size must be clear and readily legible, in a
standard font size of 10-12 point. The original signed copy should be
clipped together (not stapled) and printed on one side of each sheet
only. An additional 10 copies of the proposal are required, and may be
printed on both sides.
When submitting collaborative proposals involving more than one
institution, each institution should submit its own cover page with
appropriate signatures and its own budget. The title of the proposal,
the text, disclosures, vitae etc. should be the same and a cover letter
should indicate that the proposal is a collaborative one jointly
submitted with another (or other) institution(s) which should be named.
SECTIONS OF THE PROPOSAL
Cover page.
The cover page should include a title, the Principal Investigator's
name(s) and affiliation(s), complete address, phone, fax and e-mail
information, the budget summary broken out by year, and the date
submitted. The investigator's authorized institutional official must
sign it.Abstract (on a separate page).
This should list the nature of the proposed work (e.g., hypotheses to be
tested, the relationship of the proposed studies to the science
questions, etc.) and a summary of the key approach.Project Description.
This section should refer to a specific science question in the
Announcement, present the problem or opportunity to be addressed by the
project, and state the questions, hypotheses, and project objectives,
clearly relating them to the goals of this competition. Proposals should
summarize the approach that will be used to address the questions,
hypotheses and objectives; describe how the PIs and co-PIs would
contribute to the overall study approach; describe the methods to be
used; and present expected results.Data Plan. The proposal MUST include a plan on how the data generated
by the proposed research will be made available to other scientists
(e.g., web pages) and deposited in a recognized data archive. It is the
responsibility of the PI to contact the data archive and arrange for
submittal of data in a format accepted by the archive.References cited.
Milestone chart for the project.
Statement of the project responsibilities of each Principal
Investigator and key participant.Budget
Use the NOAA Coastal Ocean Program budget form (available at
http://www.cop.noaa.gov/grants/intro.htm, Section D, Summary Proposed
Budget). This is nearly identical to NSF form 1030. Budget categories
include the following: salaries and wages, fringe benefits, equipment,
travel, materials and supplies (expendable), publication costs,
consultant services, computer services, sub-awards, tuition, other
expenditures, and indirect costs (facilities & administration). The full
cost of logistics should be included in the budget or shown as a
contribution from another source. Travel to the mid-program workshop in
Seattle should be included. Travel expenses need to be broken down by
airfare and per diem.Biographical sketch.
This is limited to two pages for each Principal Investigator and should
be focused on information directly relevant to undertaking the proposed
research.- Federal employees.
Proposals are welcome from those federal agencies whose legislated
mission allows participation.
SUBMISSION AND REVIEW SCHEDULE
Proposals due at CIFAR: March 12, 2001
Final decisions announced: April 6, 2001
Funds available: July 1, 2001
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
It is preferred that academic scientists associated with a NOAA Joint or
Cooperative Institute submit their proposals through the Institute, but
this is not a requirement.
****PROPOSAL SUBMISSION****
One (1) original and ten (10) copies must be received no later than 5:00
p.m., March 12, 2001, at the CIFAR office (address below).
Express mail packages should have the following phone number listed on
the envelope: (907) 474-5818.
Address submissions to:
FY2001 CIFAR/NOAA Steller's Sea Lion Competition
Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research
306 IARC, 930 Koyukuk Drive
PO Box 757740
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7740
ATTN: Dr. Gunter Weller
CONTACT INFORMATION
For further information, contact:
Dr. John A. Calder
Director, Arctic Research Office
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Silver Spring, MD 20910
John.Calder [at] noaa.gov, Phone: 301-713-2518, ext. 114
Dr. Elizabeth Turner
Coastal Ocean Program
NOAA National Ocean Service
105 Nesmith Hall, UNH
Durham, NH 03824
elizabeth.turner [at] noaa.gov, Phone 603-862-4680
Dr. Gunter Weller, Director
Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research (CIFAR)
301 International Arctic Research Center
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7740
gunter [at] gi.alaska.edu, Phone: 907-474-7371
NONDISCRIMINATION
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides awards for
research in the sciences. The awardee is wholly responsible for the
conduct of such research and preparation of the results for publication.
NOAA, therefore, does not assume responsibility for such findings or
their interpretation. CIFAR welcomes proposals on behalf of all
qualified scientists and engineers, and strongly encourages women,
minorities, and persons with disabilities to compete fully in any of the
research and research-related programs described in this document. In
accordance with Federal statutes and regulations, and NOAA policies, no
person on the grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin, or
disability shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits
of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity
receiving financial assistance from NOAA.