Applications Open for 2020 NC Coastal Research Fellowship

September 9, 2019 Katelyn Vause 2-min. read

Wild horses on Carrot Island/ Rachel Carson Reserve across Taylor's Creek from downtown Beaufort.

North Carolina Sea Grant is joining the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve in accepting applications for the 2020 North Carolina Coastal Research Fellowship.

Graduate students based in North Carolina have the opportunity to conduct research within one or more of the 10 sites that constitute the Coastal Reserve. Using the reserve sites as a research platform, fellows must conduct hypothesis-based research that addresses coastal management issues in one or more of the following broad focus areas (in no order of importance):

Social and/or economic value of coastal ecosystems and protected areas
Effects of air or water quality on coastal habitats and associated flora and fauna
Sources, composition, and impacts of marine debris
Invasive species: distribution and abundance, impacts on coastal ecosystems and human communities, and/or effectiveness of management strategies
Maritime forests: factors impacting regeneration, the effects of wildfire and prescribed fire on ecosystem components and processes, and changes in coverage over time

“This fellowship program, entering into its second decade of service to N.C. graduate students, is providing increased opportunity for work in our State’s Coastal Reserve sites this year,” says John Fear, North Carolina Sea Grant deputy director. “I look forward to reading all the excellent applications from both our Universities’ main campuses as well as their coastal labs.”

Proposals are due by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019. The successful applicant will be notified by Dec. 13, 2019. North Carolina Sea Grant and the N.C. Coastal Reserve anticipate awarding one fellowship for $10,000. All work must take place between Jan. 6, 2020 and Dec. 31, 2020.

For details on the application process, including instructions on how to complete a data management plan required by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, go to ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/ncsg_reserve_fellowship. Read about past fellows at go.ncsu.edu/oww27d.

Photo: Carrot Island, Rachel Carson Reserve, courtesy of VisitNC.com