Funded Projects
North Carolina Sea Grant’s core funding cycles provide two years of funding for research that covers a breadth of coastal issues and needs related to focus areas outlined in our Strategic Plan. Recent examples have included shellfish and finfish aquaculture, water quality, storm surge, environmental education, coastal communities and public health.
Here are listings for recent projects, with the lead researcher, also known as the principal investigator. For more information on specific projects, contact John Fear, NC Sea Grant deputy director, via email at: jmfear@ncsu.edu.
| Title | Researcher | Funding Cycle | Key Terms | In The News |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Understanding the Effects of a Newly-Discovered Trematode Parasite on Wild and Cultured Bay Scallop Production | Julia Buck, University of North Carolina Wilmington | 2022-2024 | seafood, scallop, parasite | |
| Assessing Long-Term Water Temperature Patterns in North Carolina Estuaries: A Key for Gauging and Predicting Ecosystem Health in an Era of Global Change | Joel Fodrie, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2022-2024 | estuary, climate change, ecosystem health | |
| Trickle-Down Effects of Increasing Coastal Sediment Loads on Tidal-Creek Levee Morphology, Salt-Marsh Platform Accretion, and Resilience to Sea-Level Rise Since AD 1900 | Antonio Rodriguez, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2022-2024 | salt marsh, climate change, sea level rise | |
| Identifying the Drivers of Chronic Coastal Flooding: A Community-Centric Approach | Katherine Anarde, North Carolina State University | 2022-2024 | flooding, coastal communities, stormwater management | from NC State University |
| JustWater: Policy Leadership and Environmental Justice During Disaster Recovery | Bethany Cutts, North Carolina State University | 2022-2024 | environmental justice, disaster recovery | |
| Assessing Spatial and Temporal Controls on Sediment Transport in Currituck Sound | David Lagomasino, East Carolina University | 2022-2024 | coastal resilience, marsh | |
| Developing a Model for Supporting Coastal Resilience through Youth-led Coproduction | Kathryn Stevenson, North Carolina State University | 2022-2024 | coastal resilience, coastal communities | |
| Potential Impacts of Marine Dredging on Key Commercial and Recreational Fish and Shellfish: Informing Decisions Regarding Mitigation and Seasonal Closures of Dredging to Maintain North Carolina’s State Ports | David Eggleston, North Carolina State University | 2022-2024 | fish, shellfish, habitat degradation | |
| Assessing Influence of Sea-Level Rise Induced Salt Intrusion and Associated Circulation Change on Southern Flounder Recruitment Processes in Albemarle-Pamlico Sound | Liu Qianqian, University of North Carolina Wilmington | 2022-2024 | sea level rise, climate change, fish | |
| Multi-Trophic Waste Management for Finfish Mariculture in Land-Based Recirculating Aquaculture Systems Using the Salt-Tolerant Halophyte Salicornia virginica | Md Shah Alam, University of North Carolina Wilmington | 2022-2024 | aquaculture, fish, aquaponics, glasswort, pickleweed | |
| Can Strategic Riparian Buffers Improve Coastal Resilience to Changing Conditions in the Cape Fear River Watershed? | Katherine Martin, North Carolina State University | 2020-2022 | coastal resilience, pollution, water quality | from Autumn 2022 Coastwatch |
| Changing SAV Communities and Impacts on Blue Crabs: Potential Ecosystem and Fisheries Impacts of Climate Change | Jessie Jarvis, University of North Carolina Wilmington | 2020-2022 | climate change, blue crabs, fisheries | |
| A Process-Based Model of Wind-Wave and Boat-Wake Attenuation to Aid Evaluation and Design of Living Shorelines | Johanna Rosman, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2020-2022 | living shorelines, erosion, seawalls | |
| Improving Predictions of Estuarine Flooding and Circulation During Storms | J. Casey Dietrich, North Carolina State University | 2020-2022 | flooding, hurricanes | |
| Mitigating the Effects of Storm Water Flooding in Coastal Regions Using Machine Learning Techniques | Alex Manda, East Carolina University | 2020-2022 | flooding, stormwater, AI | from Summer 2021 Coastwatch |
| Evaluating the Reproductive Cycle and Development of Spawning Methods for Native North Carolina Sunray Venus Clams — A Candidate Species for Crop Diversification | David Cerino, Carteret Community College | 2020-2022 | aquaculture, mariculture, clams, shellfish | |
| Increased Commercial Aquaculture Production of U.S. Bay Scallops Argopecten irradians in North Carolina | Ami Wilbur, University of North Carolina Wilmington | 2020-2022 | aquaculture, mariculture, scallops, shellfish | from Autumn 2015 Coastwatch |
| Impacts of Culture Technique and Position in the Estuary on the Nutrient Removal Potential of Oyster Aquaculture | Michael Piehler, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2020-2022 | aquaculture, mariculture, oysters, shellfish, water quality | |
| Development of a Tool to Forecast Closure of Shellfish Aquaculture Harvest Areas | Natalie Nelson, North Carolina State University | 2020-2022 | shellfish, aquaculture, mariculture | from NC Sea Grant 2022 |
| Strengthening Community Networks for Environmental Learning and Resilience through Children | Kathryn Stevenson, North Carolina State University | 2020-2022 | community, environmental literacy, education | from Autumn 2023 Coastwatch |
| Improving Environmental Decision Making in Coastal Communities through Giving Children a Voice: Building Science Literacy, Civic Engagement, and Coastal Resilience through K-12 Citizen Science | Kathryn Stevenson, North Carolina State University | 2018-2020 | community, environmental literacy, education | From Currents |
| The Missing Link? The Role Dissolved Organic Nitrogen Plays in Controlling Phytoplankton and Eutrophication Dynamics in the Neuse River Estuary, NC | Hans Paerl, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2018-2020 | algal blooms, HABs, water quality | |
| Evaluating Cultch Oyster Reefs as Essential Fish Habitat | David Eggleston, North Carolina State University | 2018-2020 | aquaculture, mariculture, oysters, shellfish, fisheries | From Currents |
| Improving Saltmarsh Conservation by Examining Transgression Across a Range of Upland Gradients and Saltmarsh Widths at Decadal to Millennial Time Scales | Antonio Rodriguez, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2018-2020 | salt marsh, sea level rise, climate change, habitat | From Currents |
| The Value of Fishing, Farming and Eating: New Approaches to Understanding Coastal Community Well-Being in a Changing World | Grant Murray, Duke University | 2018-2020 | mariculture, fisheries, economics | |
| Quantifying the Geomorphic, Ecological, and Socioeconomic Impacts of Shoreline Management Strategies: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach | Devon Eulie, University of North Carolina Wilmington | 2018-2020 | economics, management, coastal resilience | From Currents |
| Building Resilience by Innovating through Diverse Group Engagement (BRIDGE): Long-Term Recovery from Hurricane Matthew | Bethany Cutts, North Carolina State University | 2018-2020 | disaster recovery, hurricanes, flooding, community | From Winter 2022 Coastwatch |
| Habitat Value of Oyster Leases within Estuarine Landscapes for Finfish and Crustaceans | Joel Fodrie, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2018-2020 | aquaculture, mariculture, oysters, shellfish, fisheries, crabs | From Currents |
| Characterizing and Manipulating Oyster Microbiology for Aquaculture Applications | Rachel Noble, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2018-2020 | aquaculture, mariculture, oysters, shellfish | From Summer 2019 Coastwatch |
| Quantifying Spawning Populations of River Herring Using Environmental DNA | Erin Field, Eastern Carolina University | 2018-2020 | fisheries | |
| Hypoxia and Algal Bloom Forecasting for the Neuse River Estuary | Daniel Obenhour, North Carolina State University | 2016-2018 | algal blooms, HABs, management | From Currents |
| Going with the Flow: New Approaches for Determining Drivers of Toxic Cyanobacteria Blooms in the Cape Fear River, NC | Hans Paerl, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2016-2018 | algal blooms, HABs, management | From Currents |
| Effects of Oyster Grow-Out Cages on the Condition and Ecosystem-Services of Seagrass Communities | Joel Fodrie, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2016-2018 | aquaculture, mariculture, oysters, shellfish, seagrass | From Winter 2015 Coastwatch |
| Interactions between Waves, Flooding and Beach Morphology During Storm Events | J. Casey Dietrich, North Carolina State University | 2016-2018 | storms, hurricanes, storm surge, coastal resilience | |
| “Next Generation” Coastal Communities: Leveraging Social Capital to Build Local Leadership Capacity | David Griffith. East Carolina University | 2016-2018 | coastal communities, leadership, local knowledge, policy | From Spring 2018 Coastwatch |
| Overcoming Technical Barriers to Cost-Effective Production of Marine Finfish Fingerlings and Expanded Growout Production: Optimizing Nursery Stocking, Feeding and Harvesting Strategies | Wade Watanabe, University of North Carolina Wilmington | 2016-2018 | aquaculture, mariculture | From Hook, Line, and Science |
| Fishery Management Implications of Environmentally Determined Sex and Biased Juvenile Sex Ratios in Southern Flounder | Russell Borski, North Carolina State University | 2016-2018 | fisheries management, flounder | From EurekAlert! |
| Understanding the Public Health Risk Associated with Under Dock Oyster Culture and Aquaculture Activities in the Estuarine Waters of North Carolina | Rachel Noble, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2016-2018 | aquaculture, mariculture, oysters, shellfish, public health | From the Holiday 2016 Issue of Coastwatch |
| Building Climate Literacy and Coastal Hazard Resilience through Intergenerational Transfer | Markus Nils Peterson and Kathryn Stevenson, North Carolina State University | 2016-2018 | storms, climate change, environmental literacy |