REU Site: Integrated Studies in a Rapidly Warming Fishery Ecosystem

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

The Gulf of Maine, and the northwest Atlantic in general, has warmed at four times the global average rate over the last 34 years, and since 2004, the Gulf of Maine has warmed at a rate faster than 99% of the world's oceans. The observed warming has been shown to have marked impacts on species distribution, fisheries productivity and the economic viability of fisheries. The Gulf of Maine fishery ecosystem presents an ideal system for students to explore coupled natural and human system dynamics. The Gulf of Maine Research Institute will host a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site that will bring six students to Portland, ME each summer for three years. The program will conduct a national search for applicants and seek to engage students who are from schools with limited research opportunities. Most of the funding provided supports student stipends, housing and travel to attend the program. This project supports the national goals of developing the next generation of scientists and the scientific workforce.Eighteen REU students at GMRI will explore the structure and function of the Gulf of Maine fishery ecosystem (plankton to seafood), how it is changing over time (trends and prediction), how it responds to perturbations (e.g., climate and fishing), and how changes may affect local economies. They will develop independent, hypothesis-driven research projects and will be exposed to multiple scientific approaches, including classic experimental ecology, observational science, and statistical and dynamical modeling. The primary objective of the program is to train the next generation of scientists capable of describing, quantifying and communicating the interconnections between environmental and human influences on marine ecosystems. Students will receive training and professional development, including safety training, ethics training, and data management, analysis and scientific communications workshops. Activities include a journal club, regular seminars and a final student symposium.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.