Community Collaborative Research Grants<\/a><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Credit: ISS\/NASA<\/p>\n\n\n\n Registration for the 2022 North Carolina Coastal Conference is now open. On November 7 and 8, the hybrid conference will take place online and in person at NC State University in Raleigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are looking forward to gathering researchers, agency and business experts, community leaders, students, and all who are interested in coastal topics for these engaging presentations and discussions,\u201d says Susan White, executive director of North Carolina Sea Grant, which hosts the conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The event will offer presentations on a range of current issues relevant to our coast and the watersheds that feed our estuaries and ocean. Topics will focus on research and outreach, across disciplines that include STEM fields, arts, education, and the humanities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read more and register.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n This year\u2019s NC STEM Policy Fellows (left to right): Joshua Reding, Anastasia Dulskiy, Nitesh Kasera, Maya Hoon, Aditya Keskar, and Rachel Johnson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Six STEM Policy Fellows recently began service in North Carolina state government. The yearlong assignments provide graduate students with opportunities to explore careers outside academia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe look forward to highlighting the successes of these new fellows as they work to tackle key science policy issues across the state,” says Susan White, North Carolina Sea Grant’s executive director.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n North Carolina Sea Grant administers the NC STEM Policy Fellowships, with a generous matching grant from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and support from the host offices.<\/a>Madison Lytle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Carrie Clower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n North Carolina Sea Grant and the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve have awarded Coastal Research Fellowships to Madison Lytle and Andrew McMains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSupport for these fellowships allows us to address important site management topics facing North Carolina\u2019s coast,\u201d says Rebecca Ellin, program manager of the Coastal Reserve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Madison Lytle, a doctoral student in integrative, comparative, and marine biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, will research how water clarity affects Halodule wrightii \u2014 a light-dependent type of seagrass. This declining species plays an important role in aquatic ecosystems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeagrass is a critical habitat for a multitude of species in our estuarine systems,\u201d says John Fear, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s deputy director. \u201cUnderstanding the factors impacting its ability to thrive is vitally important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Andrew McMains, a doctoral student in East Carolina University\u2019s program in biology, biomedicine, and chemistry, will record the numbers and types of fish found in an inlet and an estuarine channel, with a focus on how they respond to dredge plumes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStudies like this,\u201d Fear says, \u201ccould help identify better management strategies, enhancing our ability to maintain critical channels as well as our natural fisheries resources.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Carrie Clower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Coastal Research Fellowship<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2019, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, and North Carolina State University organized the NC Fish Forum to help people understand what fish are safe to eat and in what quantities. The partnership continues to reveal new insights about contaminants in fish, increase collaboration between health departments and researchers, inform more health-protective advisories, and communicate risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For many people, fishing is a source of affordable food, but some types of fish can contain potentially harmful contaminants. Findings from the forum have highlighted key challenges, including limited awareness of advisories and lack of collaboration between health departments and researchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To increase awareness about advisories, the researchers developed outreach materials about safely catching and preparing fish. Collaborators also are creating resources on how to collect fish samples that health departments can use to inform new advisories and how to confidently communicate health risks to affected populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, research from Duke University on the Cape Fear River informed a state regulator\u2019s decision to update consumption advisories for several species and locations along the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program supports the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Mali Velasco<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n NIEHS podcast about the outreach campaign<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n more on the Fish Forum<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n After a national search, North Carolina Sea Grant welcomed Dan DiNicola<\/a> (right) aboard in July as science writer and digital content producer, a role that includes serving as science editor for Coastwatch. DiNicola began his career in marine policy and species conservation before transitioning to science communication, with an emphasis on visual storytelling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am passionate about being in the field and making complex topics resonate with audiences,\u201d says DiNicola, who comes to North Carolina by way of the Pacific Northwest, where he was the communications manager for the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and for the marine biology program for four years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In that role, he transformed communications for one of the nation\u2019s preeminent fisheries institutions, while also ushering in a new era of marine science at the university by developing recruitment strategies for its nascent undergraduate marine biology program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Prior to his time at the University of Washington, he was the communications specialist at the University of Miami for RECOVER, which investigated the impacts of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are pleased to have Dan bring his skills and expertise to our team,\u201d says Susan White, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s executive director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Johnna Brooks of North Carolina State University has received a joint fellowship with the 2022 National Marine Fisheries Service and Sea Grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThrough the NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship Program, this year\u2019s class of talented fellows will advance their scientific and technical skills while informing current sustainable fisheries and environmental management challenges,\u201d said Jonathan Pennock, director of the National Sea Grant College Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since 1999, the NMFS-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship program has trained the next generation of specialized experts in fisheries management. The program addresses the critical need for future fisheries scientists by supporting students pursuing doctoral degrees in related fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brooks (right) is one of seven fellows in \u201cpopulation and ecosystem dynamics,\u201d a field vital to high quality fishery stock assessments. She will serve at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, looking at the development of a seasonal size-structured, tag-integrated, stock assessment model of estuarine fish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NC State applied ecologists Jeffrey A. Buckel and Jie Cao will provide guidance as faculty advisors, and Kyle Shertzer, the center\u2019s stock assessment team leader, will serve as the NOAA mentor for Brooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to NC State, this year\u2019s fellows attend universities in Alaska, California, Florida, Michigan, Massachusetts, New York, and Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n NMFS-Sea Grant Fellowship<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n North Carolina Sea Grant and NC Space Grant have awarded joint graduate research fellowships to Allie Best of the University of North Carolina Wilmington and Nicholas Corak of Wake Forest University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The fellowships support graduate students studying high-priority needs within North Carolina watersheds, coastal areas, and nearshore environments. Their research projects can make use of data from NOAA and NASA\u2019s vast archives, as well as the agencies\u2019 remote-sensing data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTechnological innovations have expanded how researchers can study our state\u2019s coastal region,\u201d says Susan White, executive director of North Carolina Sea Grant and NC Space Grant. \u201cAnd this partnership has expanded the scope of research topics and techniques for students with interests in coastal issues, aerospace, or both.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Allie Best will model specific habitat needs of the wintering swamp sparrow, a species almost exclusively restricted to brackish marshes along the Atlantic coast \u2014 areas that are experiencing sea level rise. Her work will help inform conservation goals and management strategies for the species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Through partnerships with coastal agencies, including The Nature Conservancy and the Audubon Society, Nick Corak will identify coastal study sites where prescribed burns occur regularly using satellite remote sensing from NASA and on-site measurements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Katie Mosher & Lauren D. Pharr<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sea-Space Fellowships<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Science Communicators of North Carolina have awarded all three of the organization\u2019s top 2022 honors for journalism to Coastwatch cover stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lauren D. Pharr took third place for \u201cWings of Change: The Impacts of a Warming Climate on Birds of North Carolina<\/a>.\u201d Pharr is a contributing editor for Coastwatch, a Ph.D. student at NC State University, and a former Global Change Fellow with the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLauren\u2019s expertise as an avian ecologist radiates through \u2018Wings of Change,\u2019\u201d says Coastwatch editor Dave Shaw. \u201cHer writing makes it an elite story.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Julie Leibach, former science editor of Coastwatch, split first place honors with Shaw for the year\u2019s best science journalism. Leibach\u2019s \u201cModel Behavior<\/a>\u201d describes how researchers draw on lifeguard expertise \u2014 and artificial intelligence \u2014 to improve rip current forecasting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJulie\u2019s articles never fall below exceptional,\u201d says Shaw, adding that during Leibach\u2019s four-year stint with Coastwatch, her features picked up seven honors and awards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/13\/2022\/09\/Register-Now-for-the-NC-Coastal-Conference-crop-as-needed-scaled.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nRegister Now for the NC Coastal Conference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nNC STEM Policy Fellows Begin State Assignments<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n
Coastal Research Fellows Study Seagrass and Dredge Plumes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/a>NC Fish Forum Marks Three Years of Collaboration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nDan DiNicola Joins Sea Grant<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\nNC\u2019s Johnna Brooks Nets National Fellowship<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Sea-Space Fellows Study Sparrows and Prescribed Burns<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\nCoastwatch Sweeps NC Science Journalism Awards<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n